In which Nora of Lancaster continues to fight for her family and their rightful place on the throne of England, despite all that she has lost already.
THE WHITE PRINCESS
BOOK TWO IN THE COUSIN'S WAR SERIES
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That night, Margaret ran into the chapel before throwing herself down on her knees as she began to pray, desperate for absolution.
She froze, hearing the door open and then close. She turned, knowing the person was Jasper the moment she heard him cough.
He seemed to be becoming more and more ill as each day passed. No one knew why.
"Margaret?" He called out, causing her to sigh in defeat before she stood up, "What is wrong?"
She took a deep breath, slowly turning to face him with a frantic look on her face. "I...I couldn't sleep," She confessed, feeling uneasy.
"Something is wrong. Tell me," Jasper insisted, a concerned look appearing on his face as he watched her pace around the chapel, "Perhaps I can share your burden. Is it Henry?" He asked and still, she didn't answer, causing him to become impatient, "Is it Elizabeth? What has she said to you? She is deranged. You said so yourself."
"One of them got away," She suddenly confessed, causing Jasper to frown in confusion since he didn't know what she was talking about.
"What?" he asked, a confused look on his face.
"The princes and Elizabeth's boys. One of them got away," She continued on, causing Jasper's frown to become even larger.
"Got away?" He asked, not knowing what she was getting at.
"Elizabeth told my physician, Doctor Lewis, years ago. She said, 'If you had four precious jewels, would you put all of them in the same box, especially when two of them were far more valuable than the others?'" She asked Jasper, not realizing she was telling someone who didn't already know about what she did, "Don't you see? She knew she couldn't get her own sons away, so she got one of Nora's out instead. Lord Strange said he had it handled, but one of them..." She trailed off, continuing to pace, "The older one, George, he had a dagger. He stabbed him in the arm and got away. When he didn't return to Westminster, we thought he was dead, but Elizabeth claims she took him away to safety.
"Margaret?" Jasper asked, a worried look on his face, "What did you do? What you speak of is murder."
Margaret froze, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she turned to face Jasper. "It is not murder if it is God's will," She answered, feeling no guilt for what she did, only regret that all of them didn't die as they were supposed to.
"It was you!" Jasper practically growled at Margaret, a look of disbelief on his face.
"No, I—" Margaret began to say, only to be cut off.
"You killed them," Jasper continued on, horrified by what he had learned.
"I did not!" Margaret exclaimed, beginning to become defensive.
