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dence and his witnesses, and a report was prepared to put before Parliament when it assembled on the 25th. On the 10th Richard sent a letter to the city of York asking for troops to protect and support him.'
'Ha! Trouble at last.'
'Yes. On the 11th he sent a similar letter to his cousin Lord Nevill. So the danger was real'
'It must have been real. A man who dealt so economically with that unexpected and very nasty situation at Northampton wouldn't be one to lose his head at a threat.'
'On the 20th he went with a small body of retainers to the Tower - did you know that the Tower was the royal residence in London, and not a prison at all?'
'Yes, I knew that. It got its prison meaning only because nowadays being sent to the Tower has one meaning only. And of course because, being the royal castle in London, and the only strong keep, offenders were sent there for safe keeping in the days before we had His Majesty's Prisons. What did Richard go to the Tower for?'
'He went to interrupt a meeting of the conspirators, and arrested Lord Hastings, Lord Stanley, and one John Morton, Bishop of Ely.'
'I thought we would arrive at John Morton sooner or later!