Drawing to a halt in front of the King’s Suite, they were met by another welcoming group, this one led by Margaret Beaufort and included his niece, the Lady Elizabeth, the soon to be Queen. Swallowing nervously, Richard watched as Henry dismounted and went to greet his mother, bowing to her before he kissed her hand, a frown crossing Richard’s face as he took in the fact that he didn’t try to hug his mother as Richard or his brothers would have done when his mother was alive. It made him wonder if Henry actually had any emotional feelings for the woman who had given birth to him. Now while Henry greeted Elizabeth, one of the squires helped Richard down from behind Charles, the knight dismounting to take his arm and lead him into the apartments before anyone noticed them. But they didn’t get that far; Margaret Beaufort had heard the rumours and wanted to see who the lady who was sharing her son’s bed was.

She accepted that a man needed a mistress but she needed to see if this lady was of suitable birth to be bedded by the King. Striding over she intercepted Richard and Charles, reaching up to throw back the hood of Richard’s cloak, her jaw dropping when she saw who was stood there, her face darkening with rage before she lifted her hand and slapped Richard across the face. Henry rushed to her side, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to yield ordering Charles to take Richard inside, neither him or his mother noticing that Elizabeth on seeing her uncle had beamed, the happiest smile lighting up her face since the news of her uncle’s death had been given to her. Her future mother-in-law might not want Richard there but to Elizabeth it meant that she had an ally in her battle with the woman who wanted to rule the country through her future husband.