December 1470. Windsor Castle, England.
Absence does make the heart grow fonder, Madeleine had learned.
Before his visit to court for the Christmas celebrations, she had not seen her eldest son in three years. The little chubby boy she remembered stumbling over his words and bringing her flowers from the garden was no more, replaced instead with a little serious lord, bowing carefully before her. “Lady Mother,” he whispered with a strange tilt to his words as if he was nervous. As if he was greeting a stranger. Her heart broke.
Her sister-in-law and Ned’s governess held his hand as they came to stand before her, but Madeleine paid her little attention. She looked at her son, her little boy. He was not as chubby as before, certainly because he spent his entire day running and playing through Ludlow Castle, but he still had those fat little cheeks he certainly inherited from her. Madeleine saw with glee that he had her hair, brown curls falling over his eyes, but that was where the similarities ended between them. He looked so much like Edward. There could be no doubt over who his father was.
“Go and hug your mother,” Anne of York whispered.
Ned gave a shy step forward and Madeleine knelt on the ground, hearing her ladies gasp as she did so. She didn’t care though. She didn’t care about anything other than her son. She opened her arms for him and he stepped forward even more. When he came close, Madeleine took his little hands in her own and kissed his little knuckles, pressing them to her face.
She raised her eyes, feeling them filling with tears, and touched his face gently, stroking his cheek. “How beautiful you are,” she whispered. He was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen, with a long and elegant nose and full pink lips. “How special. Do you remember me?”
He shook his head and Madeleine sat back on her ankles, feeling her legs ache under her weight.
“Well, I remember you,” she said. “I remember you very well. I think of you every day and every night, where I pray for you. Do you pray for me?”
He nodded. “I pray for the Queen every night,” he said in a loud voice. “Lady Exeter says I need to pray for my father, my mother and my little brother and sisters. And I do! Every night. I ask God to keep everyone… everyone safe!”
Madeleine smiled. “How good you are,” she said. With a little tug at his hand, she pulled him into an embrace, placing her nose in the crook of his neck to inhale his sweet smell. “I missed you so much, so so much," she whispered, so only he would listen to her. "Did you miss me?"
"I thought of the Queen every day," he said when she pulled away from him. "And the King too. And my brother and sisters.”
It wasn’t really the answer she was looking for, but Madeleine smiled all the same. “Good. We think of you every day too, Ned,” she said, pressing a small kiss to his cheek. She stood up and took his hand, drawing him close to the other side of the room. “I have some gifts for you. Would you like to see it?”
He nodded, biting his lower lip. She could see in his eyes how eager he was for his gifts, but, as a royal, he was drilled extensively into not showing his emotions so overtly. It made her heart thrum in pride. Madeleine brought Ned to the slightly large pile of presents that she and her ladies had picked up over the past.
He looked to Anne of York for confirmation before he picked up the first one.
