LOVE AND WAR
— 38. Fondle

FLASHBACK
1467

    Nora laid on her back in bed, her hands placed just under her growing belly. Edward laid on his side next to her, running his hands over her pregnant belly.

Seeing a sudden kick from the inside of Nora's belly, Edward turned to Nora in shock. "What was that!" He asked in shock, sitting up in order to look down at her belly.

"Did he..." He trailed off and Nora smiled, nodding her head.

"Yes, she did," She corrected him, smiling down at her pregnant, "She has been doing it a lot more as of late."

"Can she hear me?" Edward questioned and Nora shrugged.

Without hesitation, Edward placed his hands on her belly and leaned closer. "Hello, it's your father," He whispered at her belly, causing Nora to begin to laugh, "I cannot wait to meet you. Your brothers and your sister are waiting as well."

Just then, the baby began to kick again, causing them both to laugh. Edward looked up at Nora, almost amazed by the sight.

PRESENT TIME

"My son, do you know who your father is?" Nora asked her son in French as Edward held him while she stood beside the York king.

George giggled, looking straight toward Edward as he began to reach for his father's face.

"My God!" Edward exclaimed as Nora began to chuckle, "Only a year old and already understanding French."

"I have quite a lot of time on my hands. Teaching our children French and Latin is only the beginning of what they're able to do. Trust me," Nora explained, earning a smile from Edward.

"They are all clever, like their mother," Edward commented as Nora leaned her head against his shoulder.

"And strong, like their father," Nora added in and Edward turned to face her, kissing her softly.

Edward pulled away after a moment, walking over to his son's cradle before placing him in.

    He walked over to Nora, continuing to smile. "Now, I must return to my kingly duties, but shall I see you later, my love?" Edward jokingly asked, despite knowing the answer.

"What do you think?" Nora retorted and Edward rolled his eyes, kissing her on the cheek before walking out of the room.

____

That afternoon, Nora sat in the nursery for her children at the castle. She was with Lizbeth, who was now nine, Thomas who was eight, and Grace, who was six. Arthur was off elsewhere, most likely spending time with his half-sister Lizzie.

  Lizzie, who was the eldest of the children belonging to Elizabeth and Edward, seemed to be the one closest to her half-siblings.

Well, at least Arthur, Lizbeth, and Thomas, who were closest in age with her.

Nora sat with her children, telling them a story she created off the top of her head.

When the story was over, Nora stood up from her seat, her three children quick to follow behind her as she walked out of the room.

"Father told me I'm to marry a foreign prince one day," Lizbeth spoke up as Nora began to walk away, causing her to stop and turn to face her eldest daughter, "He says the day will come where I'm longer considered a bastard to the court. I'll be named a Princess."

Nora forced herself to smile, not wanting to even ask what Edward was up to behind her back.

"But I don't want to marry someone I do not even know, Mother," She continued on, rushing over to her mother before she grabbed her by the arm, "I want to stay here, forever, with you and Father, Mother."

Nora chuckled, looking down at her daughter with an amused look. "You may think that now, but one day, you will want to marry. You'll want your own family. A husband that will love and cherish you, a man who will treat you fairly and give you many sons and daughters. The more, the better. Trust me."

"Who will I marry?" Thomas asked, a sheepish smile forming on his lips, "I hope she's beautiful. And rich. Uncle George says it doesn't really matter if she's pretty or not. It just matters if they have a lot of money. The money they have will make up for the looks they lack."

   Instead of being annoyed with George for saying a thing to little Thomas, Nora couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She smiled, shaking her head as she placed a hand on both of their backs.

"Let's go eat," she insisted, a smile on her face.

____

      Later on, Edward was walking with Richard and George down the hallway, speaking of royal matters regarding Burgundy when Lizbeth was on the verge of running past them.

    She stopped when she realized her two uncles and her father were standing there. She immediately bowed to them, sending them an apologetic look due to interrupting them.

"Lizbeth!" Edward exclaimed happily anyway, rushing forward. He wasted no time picking up his eldest daughter, holding her in his arms as he spun her.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek, smiling brightly at her. "Aren't you beautiful?" He complimented his daughter, "Aren't you the most beautiful girl in the world?"

Lizbeth began to blush, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know..." She shyly answered, causing Edward to smile.

"When you grow older, men from all over the world will be begging for your hand in marriage, but you know what?" Edward asked his daughter kindly, "I shall let you decide on who you will marry. Does that sound well?"

   Lizbeth smiled happily, nodding her head in response. She didn't understand that her father doing such a thing was frowned upon. However, it was because in truth, he was her father's favorite child, despite being a girl. She was the apple of her father's eye, just like her mother was her father's. Edward spoiled her more than all her other siblings, that was for sure.

    A year had passed since then and Edward had lived up to his word. Numerous lords had asked for Lizbeth's hand in marriage, but Edward hadn't agreed to any of them. Surprisingly, he was allowing Lizbeth to decide.

    And when her father wasn't around, Lizbeth had admitted to her mother that the person she wanted to marry was her childhood friend Henry Tudor. At that moment, Nora had demanded that she never say those words again, especially in front of their father.

It was morning time one day and while Elizabeth was giving birth in her chambers, Edward was in his own room, fondling with two ladies of the court on the ground while Nora sat near them on the bed.

George sat from afar with his dog in his lap and Richard was at another end of the room, trying to block out what was happening before them. Lord Stanley was there, smiling amusement as he watched what Edward was doing.

Edward was drunk, as was Nora, which made her more willing than ever to have Edward do such thing in front of her.

   After twelve years at his side, the sight of him with another woman didn't bother her in the slightest, not even when it was Elizbeth.

    She now realized that George was right. He more than earned his title as the whore of England.

    Edward began to heavily make out with the woman closest to Nora before he began to kiss down her chest, near her exposed breasts.

Nora quietly laughed, amused by the fact that Edward couldn't sit straight while kissing the girl.

    She slowly turned to glance at George and Richard, who were more than disappointed in their elder brother. It wasn't because he was messing with two girls in front of them, it was the fact that he was doing it in front of Nora. How could he humiliate her in such a way?

   Edward then crawled over to the other girl, beginning to kiss her as well. Nora glanced around awkwardly as Edward climbed onto the laughing girl.

"Edward," She called out since she saw the way George and Richard stared at her.

   At the sound of her voice, Edward immediately turned to face her. She smiled at him and Edward started to crawl toward her, causing her to quietly giggle.

   Edward snapped his fingers at Lord Stanley, gesturing for him to hand him a cup of wine. He wasted no time doing so and after he was handed the wine, Edward stood up.

    He knelt on the bed, on the verge of bringing the cup to her lips. Just as the cup was about to touch her lips, Edward pulled it away, drinking it himself. Nora stared up at him, letting out a large scoff, which caused Edward to smirk in amusement.

"Sorry, my love," Edward jokingly pouted as he leaned forward, kissing her right in front of his brothers and Lord Stanley.

That was what annoyed Richard and George the most lately. Edward didn't care about who saw him with Nora anymore. He didn't care how he shamed his wife. He didn't care that while his wife was giving birth, he was with Nora. However, if it had been Nora giving birth, he would have been rushing to be at her side.

Edward turned, seeing that George's eyes were on him as he roughly kissed Nora. "I do not think my brothers enjoy seeing me debase you in such a way in front of them," He whispered, causing them both to laugh due to how drunk they were before they continued to kiss once more.

   Edward began to kiss down her neck, on the verge of untying her dress when Nora stopped him. She gave him a warning look, gesturing toward his brothers. "Would you really like your brothers and Lord Stanley to see what yours and yours alone, Edward?" She whispered to Edward, who gradually began to smirk.

"No, I do not," Edward slurred before kissing her.

"Didn't think so," she whispered to him with a smile on her face.

    With that, he stumbled as he stood up. He rose his glass, glancing around at his brothers and Lord Stanley. "A toast!" He exclaimed, slurring, "To my Queen and wife. Who even now is upstairs, giving birth to another son and heir for me."

"The Queen," Lord Stanley spoke up, lifting his glass.

"The Queen," Richard repeated while George placed his glass down and didn't say a word.

Moments passed and while Lord Stanley escorted the other ladies out, Nora remained with Edward and his brothers.

"I don't believe that this is the best way to celebrate the birth of your child," Richard complained to Edward as Lord Stanley walked back into the room.

"Oh, come on, Richard!" Edward argued as he began to walk around the room, "Don't be such a sour mouth!"

"Actually, Edward, he's right," George spoke up, agreeing with his youngest brother, "Half of England's already calling you a wastrel. This is not what we fought for."

"Yes, it is," Edward argued calmly, "Peace and plenty. It's exactly what we fought--"

"Whoring?" George suddenly cut his brother off, causing everyone in the room, including Nora, to turn to him, "Really? And worst of all, you've convinced Nora to join in on it," He paused, standing up from his seat, "What about a legacy? Don't you want to be remembered?"

"I will be remembered," Edward complained, looking offended by George's words.

"Yes. For being fat and lazy?" George retorted, causing Nora to quietly chuckle.

"Then, what do you suggest you York brothers do, dear George?" Nora asked and the three York brothers and Lord Stanley turned to look directly at her.

"I am glad you asked, dear Nora," George played along, smiling back at her, "I think we should take France."

"What, now?" Nora frowned, sending the man a concerned look.

"We shall right the wrongs that mad old Henry did to this country when he lost it. Win back our honor," George confidently explained as he walked toward Edward.

"A very sudden interest in the honor of your country, George," Richard remarked, clearly not convinced, "Could there be something in it for you?"

"Why not? You both have enough already! Nora as well," George began to explain with a large grin on his face.

As George began to rant to his brothers and Nora, Edward walked over to Nora. He bent down and began to kiss her passionately without a care in the world.

"If we take France..." He trailed off, quick to correct himself, "When we take France, you will need a Regent. I could do that. And he's got ten titles as well as the whole of the North of England virtually to himself."

Nora pulled away from the kiss, a smile forming on her lips. "It seems your brother has been counting, Edward," She commented, causing Edward to smile as well as he turned to look at his brother.

After a moment, he straightened his back, beginning to walk toward his brother. "France. Reclaim our Land. Perhaps we should," Edward decided before turning to Lord Stanley, "Stanley..."

"Your Grace," He responded, bowing to Edward as the York king grabbed Nora by the hand before beginning to lead her out of the room.

Nora politely bowed her head to Richard as she walked past him to leave, but it was clear he felt uneasy. Once she, Edward, and Stanley had left the room, Richard and George were left alone together.

   As soon as the door closed, Richard stood up from his seat with George's back facing him. "They might have forgotten your turn to Warwick, but I have not," He spoke up, earning an eye roll from George as the elder York brother turned to face him.

"And I've no forgotten that you've got Warwick castle, despite the fact that that the title belongs to me," George retorted as he began to walk toward Richard, "You both have more than your fair share already, so maybe it's time I started to take things?"

George sent Richard a small smile, just before walking out of the room, taking his wine with him.

___

    That afternoon, Nora was standing in the nursery for her children at the castle. She held little George in her hands as she rocked him.

She turned her head when the door opened and immediately smiled at the sight of Edward. "How's our little boy?" He questioned, smiling back at her.

"He is well," Nora replied as Edward walked over to her, taking their youngest son from their arms, "He's still a bit small for his age, but he will grow. I know it."

"He will. I'm sure of it," Edward agreed, nodding his head, "All of our children are strong. That is something I can admit. Even my brothers comment on that."

It was true. Many people were shocked by what Nora had been able to do. When women like Nora had as many children as she did, usually at least one of them ended up being a miscarriage or a stillbirth, but not for Nora.

All of her children were born healthy and strong, which was practically unheard of in Europe at that time.

Nora stared at Edward closely, an uneasy look on her face. Constantly, as Edward spent time with their sons, she couldn't help but think back to what Lizbeth had said over a year ago. She had told her mother that she would be a princess one day, it meant her brothers would be princes, princes that would become king one day.

Was Edward planning to announce their marriage?

A part of her would have been happy, but another part of her felt uneasy. It had the chances of starting a war. It would mean Edward was setting Elizabeth aside after nearly ten years of being 'married' to her and having her as his queen.

Edward turned to Nora, smiling when he noticed her staring at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Nora assured him, forcing a smile on her face as she shook her head.

"Clearly, it is not, but I shall wait until you're ready to tell me yourself," He answered, causing Nora to sigh in defeat.

He always saw through her. How was that? It felt as though she could keep nothing from him, but in truth, why would she need to? She trusted Edward above anyone. But if he truly was planning to do such a thing by casting Elizabeth aside, why hadn't he told her yet?