“Whose funeral?” She stood as he did.
“The earl of Desmond. He was executed as were his two small sons.” He tugged on his doublet.
“Desmond? Executed? Why, he was a most loyal Yorkist. What was his crime?” Denys shuddered at the thought of this latest execution. “This court is a bloodbath,” she muttered.
“There was no crime. Not on his part, but on the part of my wrathful queen.” Edward spoke as if resigned to the steady flow of executions Elizabeth instigated. “When Desmond first arrived from Ireland, we went hunting. I lightly solicited his opinion of my marriage to Bess. Desmond replied in all honesty that it was better to marry into a foreign alliance. Thinking no more of it, I made the mistake of casually mentioning the conversation to Bess. She flew into a rage, and cajoled the ea
