Chapter One: Ascendancy
Wakefield, 30th December 1460:
Edmund, Earl of Rutland didn’t dare turn around to see the battle raging behind him. He didn’t want the reminder that his father was almost certainly dead, and if he wasn’t yet...
Well, it wouldn’t be long. His father the Duke of York’s army was far too heavily outnumbered to succeed, and Margaret of Anjou would onlu take York captive if it were to execute him. No doubt she would equally want him, his second son, dead - but York had insisted that Edmund escape the battlefield on horseback, accompanied by his tutor Robert Aspell and a gentleman from Kent called Richard Lovelace. He had told Edmund to go to the family home in Ludlow to meet Edmund’s older brother Edward and tell him of what had happened, and then fight on to keep the House of York alive.
Edmund could see his father’s face in his mind. His panicked, stressed face as he ordered Edmund to run. And with that image seared into his mind, Edmund couldn’t stop himself - he glanced behind him at the battle and wondered if his father was still alive.
What he saw was even more worrying. A group of six Lancastrian horsemen racing towards Edmund, Aspell and Lovelace. “Prepare yourselves,” Edmund called back to Aspell and Lovelace, who turned around to face the incoming danger. As the horsemen caught up with the party of three and encircled them, Edmund and Lovelace both drew their swords.
Aspell was no fighter. It was a fight of two men on foot - and Edmund was nowhere near as skilled with a sword as he was with a quill - against six professional soldiers. They would almost certainly die, save intervention directly from God himself, but Edmund hoped they could at least do some small damage.
One of the horsemen - the one directly in front of Edmund - hopped off the back of his horse, landing with a gentle thud on the muddy field. He carried a shield decorated with alternating blue and white stripes - an emblem, Edmund remembered, of some scion of the Grey family.
“Who are you?” Edmund demanded.
The man took his helmet off, revealing a face of dark brown eyes and hair that was just beginning to turn silver. “My name is Sir John Grey, of Groby. These gentlemen are my retainers.” He explained [1]. “And who might you three be, deserting the battle while we are on the cusp of victory?”
He thinks we’re Lancastrians,
Edmund realised. There could be hope for us yet.
“This,” Aspell said, before Edmund could say anything, “is the Earl of Rutland, the son of the mighty Duke of York. Spare his life, and your mercy shall be rewarded.”
John Grey’s men started laughing. “Mercy? From York’s corpse?” One of them laughed, and a furious bubble of rage rose in Edmund.
“How dare you-“ Edmund began, but Lovelace put his hand on Edmund’s chest, stopping him from going any further.
John Grey looked at his men. “Mercy. Mercy from York, no.” He murmured, then turned to face Edmund. “You know, I have two sons myself. Some years younger than you, mind,” John said and chuckled. “My eldest, Thomas - he is only five years old, bless his soul - you remind me of him, prince.”
Edmund said nothing. He kept his sword in his hand, ready for anything.
John glanced briefly into the sky and back at Edmund. “As a son of York, you are a traitor to King Henry, and as his humble servant it is my duty to arrest you.”
“You will not take me easily,” Edmund threatened.
John sighed. “Yet despite my duty to the throne, I cannot look at you and not see my little Thomas. Mercy from York, no - but I believe in a merciful God.” Then he bellowed an order to his men.
“Stand aside, men!” He ordered. “Let these three go. They are no danger to us.”
There was shocked and angry mumblings from John’s men, but Edmund only smiled instead. “Thank you, Sir John Grey. I will not forget this.”
“Get as far away from here as you can, young prince, and perhaps our paths will cross again.” John said, and Edmund, Aspell and Lovelace set off running once again.
Following the Battle of Wakefield, Richard, Duke of York was captured by the Lancastrians. He was executed and his head was placed on a pike overlooking Micklegate Bar, one of the four main gates into the city of York. An unknown Lancastrian supporter mockingly adorned his head with a paper crown.
Meanwhile, Edmund, Earl of Rutland travelled to Ludlow Castle, where he was reunited with his older brother and best friend Edward, Earl of March. He informed Edward that, with their father dead, Edward was now rightfully the Duke of York and the Yorkist claimant to the English throne. On 2nd February 1461, Edward and Edmund won at the Battle of Mortimer’s Cross, assisted by William Herbert, allowing the Yorkist army to march towards London. They were joined by the Earl of Warwick, who had lost custody of the captive Henry VI at the Second Battle of St Albans, and were welcomed into the city of London. On 4th March 1461, Warwick proclaimed Edward as King Edward IV, the rightful King of England. After gathering an army from London, the Yorkists marched north to do battle with the Lancastrians once more.
The Yorkist and Lancastrian armies finally came together at the Battle of Towton, also in Yorkshire, on 28th-29th March 1461. England had never seen a battle like it on its soil before - future historians and analysts estimated that between 1-2% of the population of England at the time fought at Towton, as did 75% of England’s noblemen. The result was an incredible success for the Yorkist party. With the wind behind them, the arrows of the Yorkist longbowmen travelled further than usual, laying waste to the enemy, while snow blew into the faces of the Lancastrian archers, lowering their own usefulness. The Yorkist army successfully routed the Lancastrians, and the majority of the army fled. As the Lancastrian soldiers crossed Tadcaster Bridge to escape, the bridge gave way, and hundreds of men drowned in the icy and flowing waters of the River Wharfe. Henry VI escaped the carnage with his wife Margaret and their son Edward, fleeing further north to Scotland to take shelter. The Lancastrian casualties were still high - among others, Sir Andrew Trollope, Sir Henry Stafford, and Edward and Edmund’s brother-in-law Henry, Duke of Exeter were all killed in action. Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset escaped to Scotland with the Lancastrian royals, and the Earl of Northumberland, Henry Percy, fled to his northern estates. With the Lancastrian army in tatters, Edward’s position on the throne as King Edward IV was - for the moment, at least - unchallenged.
The day after the Battle of Towton was a day of great celebration. The Yorkist army took control of Pontefract Castle, and a huge feast was organised. Edward IV began to grant gifts of patronage to his supporters, few as they were. Edmund’s earldom was upgraded to a duchy, and he was also given the earldom of Northampton as a secondary title. Edward also wrote a letter to Philippe III, Duke of Burgundy, who currently had as his wards Edward and Edmund’s younger brothers George and Richard to inform the duke that he would be sending an envoy to bring his brothers to London within the next two months. George and Richard were then made the Dukes of Clarence and Gloucester respectively.
Many prisoners were taken at the Battle of Towton, many of whom would be executed. One of these prisoners was Sir John Grey of Groby, who - after Wakefield - had fought for the Lancastrian cause at the Battle of St Albans and stayed within Margaret of Anjou’s retinue. However, the Duke of Rutland recognised his name in the list of the prisoners taken, and told Edward to write a letter immediately pardoning John for fighting against the Yorkists. A similar pardon was then offered to the rest of the prisoners - they were given the option to go free as they had been as long as they swore loyalty to the new King Edward IV. Ralph Percy - brother of the Earl of Northumberland - was one such knight who took the pardon, but the fact remained that Sir John Grey was the first Lancastrian nobleman pardoned by a Yorkist king.
[1] - and here we have the PoD. IOTL, it was Lord Clifford who apprehended Edmund on the way out of Wakefield. Here, it is Sir John Grey.
hopefully I'll do you proud!
