~The Hunt~

"There!" Eleanor pointed into the tall trees as a bird flew by. Richard immediately took up his bow, drawing back the string once he had collected an arrow and letting it fly, only to let out a frustrated huff when he missed.

"Another missed chance!" He sighed and Eleanor chuckled as he swung his quiver of arrows over his shoulder and they began to walk through the woods again, alert for any movement in the trees.
"Well you were the one that insisted we be at the back!" She laughed.

"That's because I prefer being at the back at court hunts!" Richard conceded "though I take it, you do not?" Eleanor shook her head, in truth not used to hunting on foot, let alone at the back.

She was more used to hunting deer or boars with a crossbow from the back of a horse that would take her where she commanded than trekking around the woods on the lookout for birds! And, it was true, she always took great pride in leading a hunting party, had also done so at Leeds Castle so retreating to the back had been a new experience, though not a disappointing one.

With the rest of the court ahead of them, she and Richard were free to wander along at their own place, affording them privacy to talk and to make sure that she did not overexert herself for the safety of their baby.

"It is true, I prefer to be at the front! Ready to take the kill" she replied with a smile "though I like the peace we have here, I shall not deny it!" Her confession made Richard smile and he linked their arms as they walked, looking at the cloudy sky above.

"We shall go hunting together in the North" he said and then it was Eleanor's turn to smile as she saw the expression on her husband's face, one he held whenever he talked of his home. It was a look of longing and an excitement that was almost childlike in nature but simply made her laugh and lean her head on his shoulder.

"Will we really? Together?" She asked, painting her another picture in her mind about what her life in the North of England would be like. Richard had already done a magnificent job at piecing together a form of heaven in his descriptions of his home and did so again as he nodded.

"Together" he confirmed, patting her hand "I know that the past year has been marred by war and grief, Eleanor, but when I take you and our child to Middleham then I want us to have a peace at last. A time when we shall finally be able to get to know one another!"

"Get to know one another?" Eleanor giggled "well I would say I know you rather well already since you have been sleeping naked in my bed since April of last year, Richard" he joined her laughter, slightly adjusting his grip on his bow before he shook his head.

"To know one another properly" he explained "we mean to be happy in our marriage now, do we not? Then surely we must get to know one another! Without the prying eyes of the court around! We must be allowed time to know each other's minds, each other's habits, I want us to be friends as well as lovers!"

"Friends as well as lovers?" Eleanor repeated with a grin, though she knew what his words meant and nodded in agreement with him. She knew that they meant to make their marriage firm once and for all and by having time to themselves then they would become one step closer to achieving that "well, I would like that too....and besides, with a little privacy we shall be able to improve on our parenting skills! First of all, I want to be the one to nurse our babe!"

Richard stopped in his tracks, an expression of surprise about his face as he looked down at his wife.
"Really?" He asked, curious about the idea, frowning (though not disagreeably) as he thought "why would you want to do that, sweetheart?"

"To ensure our baby's health!" Eleanor replied with a nod "I have thought a lot on it and while it may not be considered fashionable for a woman of my status to feed their child from their own breast, I have decided that I shall!" She tugged on his arm slightly for them to continue walking, the hunt quickly slipping from their minds as they began to think of their child "what could be better than food from their own mother?" She asked and Richard could not help but nod.

"I've never heard of it done" he admitted for his mother had always had a wet nurse and he had never had any younger siblings (in living memory) that he could remember being seen fed "but if you think that is what's best for the baby then I do not see there is anything stopping you!"

"Good" Eleanor returned "because I will be doing it weather I have anyone's approval or not! Now, I should probably inform you on who I want to have at the birth!"
"So you have decided?" Richard asked and she nodded.

"I want Elizabeth, my mother, Anais, Marie and...." her voice trailed away as she hesitated slightly.
"And?" He prompted.
"Margaret Beaufort"

At once, Richard's eyes appeared almost as large as saucers and he once again stopped walking, looking ahead of him, at Eleanor then back ahead of him again as if he had just encountered one of the biggest shocks of his life.
"Margaret Beaufort?!" He cried in disbelief, making Eleanor raise her eyebrows.

"Yes" she said with a small shrug, placing her hands on her swelled belly "I want her to be present....I think that she would be a comfort to me"
"A comfort?" Richard enquired "I wasn't aware you knew her!"

"Well I do....she is my friend....of sorts" Eleanor replied, her tone saddening slightly as she thought upon a subject she knew would always bring a stinging pain to her heart "she comforted me....when Jacquetta died....when....when you wouldn't" glancing up she watched as the shock in Richard's eyes turned to shame and he hung his head.

"I'll never stop feeling remorse for the way I treated you" he said quietly "never....when our daughter died I should have comforted you, held your when you cried but instead....instead I demanded sons of you and let you suffer, which I will never, ever do again, I swear it, Eleanor" Turning to her, he took her gloved hands and kissed them in turn gently squeezing as he did so "I know that I can never take my actions back, that I cannot undo the pain and hurt that I cause you but I can swear to you, that I shall never leave you alone to suffer again....I hope very much that you will not suffer, not ever, but if you do then I will be by your side and I will never leave it"

"That is quite a pledge of loyalty" Eleanor replied quietly, a sad smile touching her lips "b-but I think you mean it"
"I do!" Richard said, very much in earnest "I will be the husband that you have always deserved for I know I have failed in that....I assure you I will make you happy. If you want anything you need only ask and I will grant it to you!"

A light laugh escaped the Duchess and she nodded, slowly leaning against her husband for a moment, cradling her belly between them.
"We cannot erase the actions of our early days" she murmured "but we can and will make an effort now....and this child, our child will not only make us a Duke and Duchess with an heir but a mother and father with a baby that needs us"

Richard smiled, gently tilting her chin up with a finger.
"And do you think that shall bond us together?" He asked, pressing a soft kiss to Eleanor's mouth when she nodded before drawing away, linking their arms once more as they began to walk through the woods again, any thought of the hunt far from their minds.

"Will the North not be too cold for our babe?" She wondered aloud with a small frown. She had heard that it could be freezing when winter came and so was glad that they would be arriving around the summer months, yet she still worried all the same "I do not want them to catch a fever! Or either of us for that matter!"

"It will be perfectly safe as I have told you many times!" Richard chuckled "the servants are experts at crafting the best fires and there are blankets and furs in every room! There will never be a moment when our child knows the cold!"

"Good!" Eleanor replied with a short nod, shivering slightly as she pulled her cloak around her and Richard shifted the bow he had swung onto his shoulder "and remind me, again, who shall be with us when we arrive?"

A knowing grin lit up the Dukes face as he thought of his friends.
"Francis Lovell will be there" he answered "and Rob Percy, Jack Howard will most likely be there to greet us but may go back to his home, Tendring, after a while for he does not like to be away from his wife for very long!"

"Francis and Rob have wives too?" Eleanor questioned, arching an eyebrow "I remember you said at least one of them did!"
"The both do" Richard sighed "though while Rob loves his wife, an Eleanor just like you, Francis and his wife Anna hardly ever see one another...."

"Why?"
"Because they don't get along!" The pair came to halt again, leaning against opposite trees as Richard reached above his head and picked a leaf from a branch "they were an childhood alliance, married when Francis was just eight and Anna six. She doesn't like him, you see, thinks herself better than he is which irritates his friends and, of course, poor Francis! So he doesn't see her, and she never comes to the North, I don't think they have seen each other for over a two years now!"

"Two years?" Eleanor exclaimed, anxious to know about her husband's friends in order to not make any blunders when she met them in person (despite already slightly knowing Francis) "and what of Rob's wife? Is she well known to you?"

"Nell?" Richard replied with a nod "she's always been in rather delicate health and so does not stray from their home for very long. She and Rob have been married for just under a year, they were wed after Tewksbury, but I knew her before that, Rob has been enamoured with her for years" he paused for a moment, chuckling to himself as he remembered how Rob had trailed after Nell for three consecutive summers without fail "I think you would like her" he remarked and Eleanor smiled in agreement.

"Though I do not think I shall be fond of Anna" she returned with a playful roll of her eyes "does she truly think herself so high above Francis?" Richard nodded and Eleanor tutted "but why?" She asked "when I met Francis he seemed perfectly agreeable! Is she simply aloof?"

"Only as your sister is with most of the English nobles" Richard murmured, earning a look of warning from his wife that prompted them to keep walking.
"You know I do not like anyone speaking ill of my sister" she said quietly, taking his hand "no matter how much I think she may deserve harsh words"

"You do admit it then?" Richard asked "that she does deserve the harsh words of some?" Eleanor nodded solemnly, loath (as always) to speak even a word against her elder sister, despite her actions.
"When it comes to matters such as John" she answered quietly "but do not reproach me, Richard, for you would not hear a word against Edward, would you?"

"Never" Richard confessed with a nod before he smiled slightly, gently kissing her cheek "you have a strong sense of loyalty toward your sister, one I admire though I will never like her as you do"

"Well then we will have to settle for admiration, won't we?" Eleanor teased, not wanting to stay on the dubious topic of her sister for any longer than was necessary, having long since been aware of the dislike Richard felt towards Elizabeth. She understood it, of course, for the Queen was partly responsible for the death of those the young Duke had loved most dearly and for that he would never forgive her. But Eleanor did not want that to drive a wedge between them and so tried to discuss Elizabeth as little as often when with her husband "what do you think Anne shall do once we have settled in the North? I doubt she will want to stay under our roof forever!"

"She may have no choice for some time" Richard sighed, silently grateful that their conversation had been diverted "I know for a fact that George will not let go of Anne, or rather her fortune and control over the last Lancastrian heir, willingly so we must prepare ourselves for a fight, or rather, I must"

"You do not think that I intend to let you fight against George alone?" Eleanor retorted, arching an eyebrow, for her anger at her brother in law was far past restraint, was seeking for a way to project itself and she knew that a long brewing argument would perfectly suffice "if you have to fight Edward for custody of Anne then I shall come with you, besides, I believe that I may be able to sway my sister on this point" She glanced up at her husband, almost laughing at the look of doubt upon his face "I may have to cover our true intentions with falsehood....but if I can get her on my side then we have won!"

"And George will be baying for our blood!" Richard finished.
"He can bay all he likes!" Eleanor swiftly replied, determination entering her tone as she felt small raindrops begin to splash her cheeks "for this is yet another battle in which he shall not triumph over me!"