King Henry

Chapter 31 - The Duke & The Dowager

"But if we overthrow Henry, who would be King?" the Duke asked. "I wouldn't trust your brother-in-law or nephew to rule over my garden, let alone an entire country and Richard doesn't want to be King."

"Well Richard may no longer have a choice," she said, shaking her head.

"With all due respect your majesty, you and I both know Richard isn't cut from the same cloth as his father and brother. I don't think he's capable of being a King. He's too shy and unsure of himself to be a leader."

"Yes, but that could actually work in our favor. Think about it. Richard has no interest in ruling, so with him on the throne you and I could regain control of the kingdom. Richard would be our little puppet and do whatever we tell him to, whereas Henry does what he wants and listens to no one."

The Duke nodded and said, "You're right. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Richard being King makes perfect sense."

She smiled and nodded saying, "I know. It does, doesn't it? But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, we need to gather allies. Princess Guinevere is on our side and she'll bring the King of France and the crown Prince of Spain with her. They're both in love with her so I think she could persuade them to do whatever we want.

"So we have Guinevere, Lord Viscount, the King of France and the Prince of Spain. Who else?"

"There are so many. Let's both start compiling a list of allies we can count on to side with us and then we'll compare the next time we talk."

"Yes your highness. What would you like to do about Eleanor in the meantime?"

The Dowager Queen thought about it and said, "Why don't we wait until we find out what the meeting was about and then we'll let that determine our next actions? Depending on what we find out, we may need to make her disappear," she said, letting out an exhale. "Permanently."

"You would have her killed? But your majesty, if Henry found out, we'd both be beheaded for sure."

"Yes well, if Henry's going to allow himself to be controlled and manipulated by a seductress witch, putting this entire kingdom in jeopardy, then he's going to have to face the consequences of his actions. If he does find out we were behind Eleanor's killing we just need to be ready with an army to protect us when he retaliates, which I'm sure he would. I know my son. He's never one to back down from a fight that he feels is justified."

"No he isn't, and he's never faced a fight he hasn't won. His father taught him very well. I've seen him in battle many times through the years and I don't think there's a man on this earth that could defeat him one on one. I know I'd hate to be on the receiving end of his sword."

"Well let's just hope it doesn't come down to a war Duke, but we need to be prepared just in case it does.  Now let's not waste any more time chatting. There is too much to be done. While you go talk to Lord Viscount to find out what the meeting was about, I'm going to pay a visit to the Tower of London to fill Guinevere in on what's been going on." She let out an exhale, shaking her head. "I need to start planning her escape from that dreadful place. No daughter of mine is going to be locked up in a filthy prison like some kind of animal."

The Duke nodded. "I'll help in any way I can your majesty."

***** Twenty Minutes Later *****

Duke Montelbane found Lord Viscount in the hallway outside the council room and discovered that the meeting was already over.

"Lord Viscount. May I have a word?" he asked.

"Of course old friend," he smiled, patting his shoulder. "You know you don't have to ask."

They both started walking down the stone hallway side-by-side.