Anne. She and Clarence, her husband, it
might be supposed, would take an interest in Lady Anne's fate. Indeed,
Clarence did take an interest in it, but, unfortunately, the interest
was of the wrong kind.

The Earl of Warwick had been immensely wealthy. Besides the ancient
stronghold of the family, Warwick Castle, one of the most renowned old
feudal fortresses in England, he owned many other castles, and many
large estates, and rights of property of various kinds all over the
kingdom. Now Clarence, after Warwick's death, had taken most of this
property into his own hands as the husband of the earl's oldest
daughter, and he wished to keep it. This he could easily do while Anne
remained in her present friendless and helpless condition. But he knew
very well that if she were to be married to any person of rank and
influence on the York side, her husband would insist on a division of
the property. Now he suspected that his brother Richard had conceived
the design of marrying her. He accordingly set himself at work
earnestly to thwart this design.

It was true that Richard had conceived the idea of making Anne his
wife, from the motive, however, solely, as it would seem, to obtain
her share of her father's property.

Richard had been acquainted with Anne from her childhood. Indeed, he
was related to the family of the Earl of Warwick on his mother's side.
His mother, Lady Cecily Neville, belonged to the same great family of
Neville from which the Warwicks sprung. Warwick had been a great
friend of Lady Cecily in former years, and it is even supposed that
when Richard and his brother George were brought back from the
Continent, at the time when Edward first obtained possession of the
kingdom, they lived for a time in Warwick's family at Middleham
Castle.[H] This is not quite certainly known, but it is at any rate
known that Richard and Anne knew each other well when they were
children, and were often together.

[Footnote H: For a view of this castle, and the grounds pertaining to
it, see page 180.]

There is an account of a grand entertainment which was given by the
Warwick family at York, some years before, on the occasion of the
enthroning of the earl's brother George as Archbishop of York, at
which Richard was present. Richard, being a prince of the blood royal,
was, of course, a very highly honored guest, notwithstanding that he
was but a child. So they prepared for him and some few other great
personages a raised p