Autumn 1475684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3Zpeh1c9Q
Richard was tired. It had been a long, tedious journey home from France, and he couldn’t help but feel that the whole thing had been nothing but a waste of his time.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTN0hSqVnLV
He was angry, certainly, but tried to push away his distaste and think of brighter things, such as the wife and young baby waiting for him at home. It had been months since he had seen them, and although he had written to his wife frequently, he sorely missed the sound of her voice.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ138MHn8tV3
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Anne had begged him not to go, to sit this one out. She had pleaded with him, but Richard had shook his head and told her that he would always follow his brother into battle.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoDaUw9g7u
He scoffed beneath his riding helmet. The invasion of France had been a farce. Edward had backed out of battle at the earliest opportunity and settled for a treaty with the French king instead. Richard was furious. Parliament had raised funds for battle, and his brother wanted to sign a treaty and waste the battle funds on wine only a month after the war was waged?684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDWMFshTDq
The French were threatened, they knew the English would win if it came to a pitched battle, so why did Edward retreat? Several thoughts - most of them insults - ran through Richard’s mind. Edward might be his brother, and he might be the king, but it didn’t stop him being bloody infuriating.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmc6QYEJiFK
As the long country road wore on, Richard began to recognise landmarks. The hill to his left, or the dip in the road up ahead signalled that he was back in the familiar North, and he was glad to be home. Anne would be waiting up at the castle, and he would wake in the morning in the comfort of his own bed, kept warm by the body of his wife lying beside him. It was far better than the cold bed in a foreign land he had endured in solitude since July.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIAxNmvyzV
Most of his men had certainly not passed the months in solitude. Edward included had found comfort in the local prostitutes. His brother had laughed heartily when Richard declined a young woman’s offer, declaring that his younger brother was ‘altogether too chivalrous’ whilst taking the hand of another young lady himself. Richard had raised an eyebrow and turned back to his wine, thinking of Edward’s own wife Elizabeth, and how she was sure to disapprove.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiUpltBMds
Turning back to the Yorkshire countryside, he finally caught sight of home. The castle in the distance called to him and a smile graced his features at last.
Middleham was beautiful in the autumn. The windows were lit with the gentle glow of a dozen candles, and the lawns had been meticulously pruned to prepare for his arrival.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDzMmw85Uu
Taking a deep breath of the country air, he called his horse to a halt in the courtyard.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5hDScgg2w
He had barely dismounted when a slender figure came rushing towards him, throwing herself into his arms.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkISfOsjWAL
“Oh Richard! I was beginning to worry, you were supposed to be home before nightfall and… and…” She motioned to the darkening sky. “There are all sorts of bandits and criminals on the roads at night and oh, I was so worried!” She said without taking a breath. Richard let out a small laugh.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuyUgT2rZ28
“Anne, Anne,” He said, placing his hands on her shoulders and steadying her. “I am here, aren’t I? Did I not promise I would come back to you?” He gazed into her dark eyes, and she blinked slowly before nodding.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRd0FhHbLV
“Yes, I suppose you did.” She sighed. “But anything could have happened! You could have been robbed, or attacked, or killed!!” She said frantically. “After all Richard, you are the king’s brother!” She added in a whisper.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfZBjxvQka
Richard matched her tone with a smile on his face, and replied - also in a whisper -, “Anne, everyone knows I am the brother of the king. Why are we whispering?” He teased.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnEuHryyqJ1
She paused for a moment before giving a small laugh and rolling her eyes at him. She took his arm and linked it through her own. He placed his hand on top of hers and allowed himself to be led inside.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkNzB7Muj0
He hadn’t even had the chance to take off his armour yet.
Anne had dismissed their servants as soon as a hot bath had been prepared for her husband. He sank gratefully into the embrace of the water, allowing the heat to soothe his aching limbs. His back was giving him more pain than usual; he had spent too much time leaning over the reigns of a horse.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXaeagQKSm
Anne seemed to read his mind. Before his thoughts had even finished forming, her eyes were straying to his shoulders.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTC0DwAKwq
“Does it hurt?” She asked. He could have lied. He could have told her that the bend in his spine and the uneven angle of his shoulders did not hurt even a little, but she knew him too well to believe his tales, and he respected her too much to try and fool her.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4S5yuvfNrB
He said nothing, only nodded.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33HJkldRsc
“You pushed yourself too hard when you were in France. Edward should never have-” She began. Richard cut her off.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7IXp2YYR8
“Edward… Edward does what he has to do.” He began angrily, but finished with a sigh. His fingers splashed in the water, and he looked at the droplets, considering his brother. “Edward does what he wants to do.” He corrected.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZHGEjeVjD
Anne moved from her place on the window seat and knelt by the copper bathtub by the fire.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZKsVZF4kQ
“What is troubling you, Richard?” She asked softly.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EhXoBqS3O
He did not wish to burden her with his unease at the treaty, especially when he knew that the treaty and promise of peace was nothing less than a God send for Anne. She always worried herself into a frenzy when he was away on campaign.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6dQAwF87UT
“My brother’s actions sit uncomfortably with me is all.” He said with a small shrug.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUBPu5yyjYb
Anne folded her arms on the edge of the tub and leaned her head on them, gazing into the water. Silence fell between them for a moment, and Richard found it comfortable. He felt no need to fill the silence with meaningless babble, and he found solace in Anne’s mere presence. He marvelled at how she was able to melt away his anger and his discontent without saying a word. Without even knowing the details of Richard's disaffection with his brother, Anne was able to calm his temper.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhw0I19wcgy
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He leaned his head back against the rim of the tub, but a twinge in his back prevented the position from being comfortable.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3uwvjjquz
Anne raised her head and saw the brief flicker of pain on her husband’s face. She stood and moved until she was behind his head. She knelt down again, and gently touched his shoulder. Richard allowed his eyes to slowly close. Anne massaged his shoulder with her delicate fingers, carefully undoing all the knots in his twisted spine, placing pressure in all of the right places.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVyrZIxhgVA
This, she knew, was when her husband was at his most vulnerable. He flinched a little when she first touched his oddly shapen back, but he allowed her to continue.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7IGZFmnrA
Her hands were tender on the skin at the nape of his neck, and as the water began to cool she pressed a single kiss to his raised shoulder.
She stood silently, and paused at the door whilst Richard rose from the bathtub and began to dress in the clean clothes she had laid out for him.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcEK0yS1je
“I am glad you’re home.” She said with a gentle smile as he pulled a white cotton shirt over his head, concealing the deformity of his spine.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCkvmcWQ4N
“So am I, Anne.” He replied. “So am I.”
A/N - Richard, duke of Gloucester (later Richard III after 1483) was reported by Shakespeare to have had a hunchback and a withered arm. DNA tests prove that this was mostly myth, but he did have a severe case of scoliosis which raised one shoulder slightly above the other and gave him a 65 - 85 degree bend in his spine. It would have been unnoticeable under clothing or armour, but it meant that sitting for long periods in the saddle or fighting in battles would have been uncomfortable. However, it did not affect his fighting skill and he was still described as the 'most handsome man in the room after his brother Edward IV'.684Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEtu53vZ6d
