Arthur

Chapter 20

Arthur, Prince of Wales; Ludlow Castle, Wales, England. January of 1502.

I had blissful days with Catalina; my Lady Grandmother had been strict regarding our routines, and settled that I should dedicate my day to political affairs, hunts and sports, while Catalina was not supposed to do much effort (clearly she hoped my wife was with child) and do charitable works for the poor. She even settles the nights I was supposed to visit my wife in her bedchambers; once a month, so it wouldn’t look as if we were unholy perverts and still enough to produce an heir, if we had not yet done so.

What she did not know was that, every night, I walked through the battlements from my private chambers to Catalina’s, and we’d spend the nights together without anyone’s knowledge. I would get up early in the morning to go back to my chambers and keep the appearance that we were a newly wedded couple who barely knew each other, as we used to. Obviously, we did not plan to keep on pretending forever; just until we were crowned King and Queen, and would be free of orders from her or anyone else. We were aware of her web of spies in our household; however, as we managed to find time for us, it was no bother.

“Don’t you feel suffocated?” She asked me one night, as she laid by my side, embraced by me. “I believe it’s quite unpleasant to have someone controlling your every move.”

“It is, but there isn’t anything I can do. She is my grandmother.”

“What about the Queen?”

“My mother doesn’t go along with her. They have an old intrigue.”

“Why is that?”

I sighed, trying to find the proper words.

“It’s an old scandal. My mother is a Princess of England by birth, something my grandmother would kill to be. Not to mention she was daughter to Elizabeth Woodville, and they had a great rivalry.”

“I thought Margaret Beaufort had been lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth.” She said; obviously she had heard it before coming to England.

“It is true, but after King Edward VI died and the throne became an easy target of a whole centenary war, they were no longer in the same side. My grandmother Elizabeth had her plans to save her sons and put them on the throne. My grandmother Margaret intended to put her own son in that place. Obviously, one had to lose.”

“What happened to the princes?”

“Nobody knows.” I said bitterly. “What a shame, two children… They all say it was Richard’s doing, but I have my doubts. It doesn’t make sense when we stop to analyze it.”

“Why is that? Didn’t he usurper the throne of his own nephew? Doesn’t it mean he wanted them out of his way?”

“He already had them out of his way. He made them bastards by nulling the marriage between King Edward and Queen Elizabeth. He kept the boys at the Tower simply for fear of their mother. He knew what a she-wolf she could be. Having them dead would only make it look bad for him. He already had the support of England; everyone preferred a grown man with a son as King than a boy.”

“Who else could it be, then?” Catalina asked, visibly shocked.

“I do not dare to think.” I shook my head. “I would question people whom I love. My grandmother, my father… I do not dare to think of that. It’s past, and this is what it is.”

“But would your mother marry the assassin of her brothers?”

“Ah, there you have, my dear. She was not to marry my father; she was to marry King Richard.”

I could see with delight the surprise in her beautiful face. “Her uncle?”

“Yes. Then you can ask: Would she marry the assassin of her own brothers? Because, I believe you know my mother a bit by now, would she do such a thing?”

She shook her head. “No. She is a saint.”

“I don’t think she would, either. But after Richard died, what choice did she have?”

“She could have claimed the throne for herself.” She said stubbornly. “Be the Queen of England by right, as the eldest daughter of a King.”

I laughed. “Women don’t rule England, my love. No one would fight to put a girl on the throne.”

“My mother is Queen on her own. Queen of Castille. My father and my mother have separate kingdoms, and they rule on their own, consult each other and rein over.”

“Well, it will never happen in England. I will die before seeing a woman taking the crown for her own.”

“Don’t say that!” She exclaimed, hurt.

“Well, be that as it may, my mother had no option and she knew that. Either she married my father or she would probably be killed. No one would want her to marry another prince and have a son with him, making the child an eligible heir.”

“Doesn’t your father love your mother? She is such a beautiful woman, so angelical…”

“I believe he loves her. He is fascinated by her, at the very least. I do not know about my mother, though. But I believe that she found some peace.”

“She lost her father, her brothers and her uncle all at once.” Catalina murmured. “And she survived, and became Queen. What an amazing woman.”

“No doubt.” I kissed her forehead. “What about your mother?”

“My mother, there is no such woman as her.” She smiled, proudly. “She is the wisest creature that has ever walked on this Earth.”

“Is that so?” I laughed.

“Yes. She is blessed by God, and she knows His will. She is always right, and even my father recognises that.”

“Were they arranged?”

“No. My father rescued my mother from an abusive brother and fell in love with her. She loved him as well, and they both got married. She fought to be recognised the heiress of Castille, and she won.”

“Tell me about her.” I asked.

“When I was six, we were in campaign and the Moors set fire to the the battlefield, where the Spanish were camping. Everything was lost. My mother ordered that the camping site would be rebuilt, but we had no clothes, no wood, no tools, nothing. And she had an answer: Made it from stones.”

“Stones?”

“Yes. And under her command, a city of stones was built in a few weeks.”

I was fascinated by the story of the queen who had ordered a city of stones. Catalina must have noticed my amusement, because she smiled and kissed me.

“And I tell you more, husband. There will be a day a woman will rule England on her own. And she shall be as good as Isabella of Castille.”