❝you think Achilles was of impressive descent?
touch me one more time❞
The one where King Edward IV is captivated by Charlotte Neville and their love has far-reaching consequences. For Charlotte had a place in Edward's heart no one could tear her fr...
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Westminster Palace, London April 1483
"Marie, am I a vain woman?" Charlotte asked playfully. "As much as I love Kathryn, I can't help but wince every time someone refers to me as her grandmother."
Despite her words, Charlotte couldn't help but smile thinking of that precious little angel who had chubby cheeks and a gummy little smile that could melt the hardest of hearts.
She remembered her elation when she learned that her daughter-in-law was pregnant, even if it was less than a year after Rickon was born. By that point, she'd known her boy would likely be her last child and so, it had been accompanied by a feeling of melancholy as becoming a father would be an undeniable sign that her eldest son was no longer a child, but a man.
"No, Charlotte. You, like most people, do not like the reminder that you are growing older," Marie assured her as she fixed her hair. "Don't you remember what Anne told us? She had never felt as old as when Bess told her she wants to send letters to Piero di Medici. Although..." Marie chuckled. "Richard's face was certainly worth it when he heard about it."
Charlotte stifled a giggle, remembering her brother-in-law's reaction.
"To be young again," Charlotte said with a sigh.
Speaking of being young: in the mirror's reflection, she caught sight of her eldest daughter trying to sneak into her chambers unseen. Charlotte watched as Lily kept glancing over at her, unaware that her mother could see her and then she darted to an empty chair, clearly intending to make it seem as though she had been there the entire time, in the middle of her mother's ladies.
Charlotte decided to wait a few minutes, allowing Lily to feel a measure relief before shattering her illusion that she had successfully tricked her mother.
"Princess Lily, you were supposed to accompany me back to my apartments after welcoming the Prince of Wales. Did something cause you to lose your way?" She asked sternly, still not turning around, mostly so Lily could not see the amusement in her eyes or the fact that she was fighting a smile.
"Forgive me, Mother, I was catching up with a friend," Lily told her, her cheeks pink and her eyes low, obviously feeling guilty for lying to her mother. "It won't happen again."
Charlotte exchanged a knowing smirk with her sister. Whenever Edmund visited court, Lily seemed to always be in the company of one Richard Grey, whether it was for a dance at a banquet or a stroll in the gardens.
Despite her initial disapproval of the betrothal, she was now glad for it. At least her eldest daughter would be bound to England. It was a match beneath her blood, but Lily would not leave England. Nora would be in France and Bella in Scotland and there were talks of sending Caitlin the German states or another of the Italian city-states. If all the engagements came to pass, Lily would be the only daughter she kept close.
