Rebellion by Livi Michael Page B

army. Now she had upset
     them again.
    This was another reason for Warwick’s daily
     circuit, so that his men did not have to raid.
    Meanwhile, he’d heard that the Scottish army
     was coming to relieve the besieged. He had already written to King Edward, who was laid
     low with measles, of all things, at Durham, telling him they had neither the power nor
     resources to resist the Scots. Certainly they could not invade Scotland.
    The question was whether the Lancastrians
     would give in before the Scots arrived. They did not know the Scots were coming; he’d
     taken good care to prevent that news from penetrating the walls of the castles. Any
     siege was a question of balance: hope, nerve and will against circumstance. And
     judgement, of course, though in his experience, intelligence was dependent on hope.
     Uncertainty alone could lead to despair. So the real question was how long it would take
     for hope to die.
    And then who would give in first: Lord Roos?
     The Earl of Pembroke? The Duke of Somerset?
    It was the kind of question he always
     enjoyed; a calculated risk. He made sure that generous offers were sent through to the
     captains of the besieged garrisons: free pardons for those who yielded, safe passage for
     those who wished to return to their old lands or to their old allegiance to King Henry;
     pensions andother rewards for those who would give up this allegiance
     and enter the service of the true king, Edward. Although he could not guess who would
     yield first he felt an underlying serenity, like a presiding angel gently spreading its
     wings, that assured him someone would.
    So he toured indefatigably, offering words
     of comfort to the men in these comfortless camps, where the rain and snow beat down
     intermingled, turning all the land to mire. Victory was certain, he told them, and they
     would be amply rewarded for their pains. He made sure that food and blankets were
     distributed as equally as possible, and listened when men complained, as men will, of
     cold and hunger and the aches and pains that troubled them; the chest and ear
     infections, the chilblains and infected feet from the long march north, the twitching
     nerves in their legs that kept them from sleep.
    It should not take long now, he told
     them.
    Even so, he was surprised; he felt a small
     prickle of astonishment and pleasure when, two days before Christmas, a message was
     conveyed to him from the Duke of Somerset. If Warwick would grant certain conditions –
     that custody of Bamburgh Castle would be granted to Sir Ralph Percy and that the lives
     of his garrison would be spared – he would hand over the castle and swear allegiance to
     King Edward.
    Warwick stood at once, pleasure warming him
     like a flame.
    â€˜Well then,’ he said, ‘we must go to meet
     him.’
    He rode through the night, and in the
     morning saw the great doors of Bamburgh open and the young duke emerge with a small
     party of men, looking gaunt and grim.
    Warwick rode forward to meet him, taking in
     the somewhat tattered appearance of the Lancastrian flag, the worn, hunted look on the
     young duke’s face. It was on the tip of his tongue to say, ‘My lord, you seem less of a
     man than you were,’ but he suppressed it. Somerset looked hostile and would not meet his
     eye.
    â€˜My lord,’ Warwick said, ‘you are welcome
     indeed.’
Sir Ralph Percy and
     Sir Harry Beaufort were sworn to be true and faithful as true liege men to our king
     and sovereign Edward IV. And they came to Durham and were sworn before him. And the
     king gave them his livery and great rewards.
    Gregory’s Chronicle
    The queen … fled back into
     Scottish territory, whence she was so sharply pursued that she was forced to take a
     carvel and, with a small number of supporters, sail to some coast for her safeguard.
     Not long after such a tempest arose that she had to abandon her carvel and take a
     fishing boat: by this