The Murders of Richard III - Elizabeth Peters [87]
“Then, at your last meeting, he realized that fondness was not the right word. The villagers are gossiping now about Sir Richard and Liz. Frank could hardly have missed seeing how Sir Richard felt, or the fact that Liz was beginning to reciprocate. He realized that he stood to lose, not only the girl he wanted, but the money he hoped to get with her.
“Liz and Sir Richard would have come to an understanding much earlier if it had not been for Sir Richard’s modesty and the determined pushing of Liz’s mother. Liz would violently resent her mother’s attempts to promote a ‘good’ marriage. Oh, yes,” she added, smiling at Thomas. “You thought Mrs. P.-J. was after Sir Richard for herself, didn’t you? She’s stupid, but she’s not that stupid. Her hostility toward Lady Isobel—who was unfortunately naive enough to think she had a chance with Sir Richard—was on Liz’s behalf. My dear man, the signs were plain to see! Do you remember our discussion about the dress Elizabeth of York wore to the Christmas party? Women know the importance of clothes. Mrs. Ponsonby-Jones supplies her daughter’s wardrobe. And the costumes Liz wore were lovely, not cheap, ill-fitting things from a costumer’s stock, but made for her out of expensive fabric, by her mother.
“Liz is Sir Richard’s second cousin once removed, or something of the sort; the relationship is not close enough to matter. Mrs. P.-J. must have been ecstatic when she realized Sir Richard loved her daughter. Even if she had approved of Frank, she would have dumped him ruthlessly in favor of a match with a titled millionaire. What mum wouldn’t? And maybe there is something to the baloney about maternal instinct. There are a few unsavory stories about young Frank’s habits with money….”
Thomas glanced at Philip. The actor didn’t look at him; he continued to watch Jacqueline, with an amused smile on his long mobile lips.
“When Frank realized the position, he must have considered alternatives,” Jacqueline continued. “He might have talked Liz into a hasty marriage. But that wouldn’t solve his problem. Marriages are easily dissolved these days. Sir Richard might marry and produce children…. Frank saw there was only one sure way of getting the two things he wanted—Liz and a fortune. The death of Sir Richard seemed a ludicrously easy solution.
“As a lawyer, Frank knew quite well that if Sir Richard died by violence, the first people the police would investigate were Sir Richard’s heirs. The murder had to be very carefully planned. As the enthusiastic Ricardian debate raged around him, Frank began to see the outlines of his plot.
“He forged the famous letter. It is not as difficult as you might suppose to produce a convincing fake. Genuine parchment can be obtained, from specialty shops, and the method of aging it is described in several books. I can give you the references if you—”
“Never mind,” Thomas said resignedly. “I believe you.”
“As for the content of the letter, that was equally simple. Buck gives a summary of it in his book, and we have genuine letters of the period, including letters written by Richard himself. These provided Frank with models for the correct phrasing, spelling, and so on. He found everything he needed right here, in Sir Richard’s library, including technical volumes of manuscript authentication, and a copy of the rare Kennett History of England, which includes Buck’s work. As Liz’s fiancé and a loyal Ricardian, Frank could work in the library whenever he liked.
“Remember that the letter was never intended to pass expert scrutiny. In this case Sir Richard was not an expert; his critical sense was dulled by his desire to believe in the letter, and the sentences Frank added exculpating Richard—probably on a second sheet of parchment, so that Weldon would believe it had been overlooked by Buck—made Weldon’s acceptance virtually