Free Richard III and the Murder in the Tower by Peter A. Hancock Page B

said unto the lord Hastings, that he much misliked these two several councils. ‘For while we (quod he) talk of one matter in the tone place, little wot we whereof they talk in the tother place.’ ‘My lord, (quod the lord Hastings) on my life never doubt you. For while one man is there which is never thence, never can there be thing once minded that should sound amiss toward me, but it should be in mine ears ere it were well out of their mouths.’ This meant he by Catesby, which was of his near secret counsel, and whom he very familiarly used, and in his most weighty matters put no man in so special trust, reckoning himself to no man so lief, sith he well wist there was no man to him so much beholden as was this Catesby; which was a man well-learned in the laws of this land, and by the special favor of the lord chamberlain, in good authority; and much rule bare in all the county of Leicester, where the lord chamberlain’s power chiefly lay.
     
    Having reported this, we now turn to More’s surmise about the reasons for Catesby’s actions. In respect of his approach to Hastings concerning his position on Richard’s aspiration for the throne, More is characteristically ambiguous. 36 He reported that:
    So surely thought he (Hastings) that there could be none harm toward him in that council intended where Catesby was. And of truth the protector and the duke of Buckingham made vert good semblance unto the lord Hastings, and kept him much in company. And undoubtedly the protector loved him well, and loath was to have lost him, saving for fear lest his life should have quailed their purpose. For which cause he moved Catesby to prove with some words cast out afar off, whether he could think it possible to win the lord Hastings into their party. But Catesby, whether he assayed him or assayed him not, reported unto them that he found him so fast, and heard him speak so terrible words, that he durst no further break. And of truth the lord chamberlain, of very trust, showed unto Catesby the mistrust that other began to have in the matter. And therefore he, fearing lest their motions might with the lord Hastings minish his credence, whereunto only all the matter leaned, procured the protector hastily to rid him. And much the rather, for that he trusted by his death to obtain much of the rule that the lord Hastings bare in his county; the only desire whereof was the allective that induced him to be partner and one special contriver of all this horrible treason.
     
    Note that the way More approaches this issue is exactly the same way in which he later does in respect of the burial place of the princes. In this way, More describes a situation and its natural alternative, thus allowing him to cover the whole field of possibilities. 37 In the present case it is found in the phrase, ‘But Catesby, whether he assayed him or assayed him not, reported unto them that he found him so fast, and heard him speak so terrible words, that he durst no further break.’ The overall tenor of the comment is that Catesby did approach Hastings and that he received a negative response, which subsequently sealed Hastings’ fate. What is not explained is: who identified and approached Catesby as the go-between if he did actually act as the conduit between Richard and Hastings in this case? Who was it who thought that Catesby would be the right individual, and what gave them the belief that he would carry this through in adherence to their own strategy and not continue to support the person who was supposedly his major patron? On this issue, More is silent. Further, when did this purported approach take place? If Hastings was happy to reassure Lord Stanley about Catesby’s fidelity, he surely cannot have made this statement after Catesby’s approach. However, where is the time for Catesby to approach Hastings privately if the timeline More identifies is correct? It suggests the morning of the 13th at the very latest, but there is precious little time