


No doubt the Prince will think of her tomorrow. We all miss her, Sire, his old friend reassured him. You passed her cross in Lincoln township?īurnell nodded, for he was well acquainted with the monuments the king had ordered be set up to mark the funeral procession of his first Queen ten years before. She carries her baby capably and should deliver in the spring. I have my young Queen to keep me warm on the winter nights, my friend. I am pleased to find you in good health, my Lord. But as you say, it was not too burdensome a ride from Lincoln. I am not disposed to campaigning as yourself, Lord King, Burnell sipped his wine. But while ‘The Hammer of the Scots’ was ageing too, he still cut an imposing figure who could handle a sword as well as any man alive and was not in need of immediate replacement. It was all part of the king’s succession plan. The king’s parliament of barons was assembled and tomorrow the seventeen-year-old Prince Edward of Caernarfon would be furnished with his new title though he be miles from his Principality and the Welsh themselves. He would not have chosen February or Lincoln to hold the investiture of the Prince of Wales but he was better than anyone at practising discretion in the presence of King Edward. The old spy master coughed again, tasting a little blood. Answers we could all believe in and trust. In light of events here tomorrow I needed answers. I know you are more comfortable in your warm tower dealing with my papers and the more delicate affairs of state, but as we were in Lincoln I had to send you in person. His pointed goatee beard was neat as usual and though his cough betrayed advancing illness his loyalty had been unfailing over the years. Burnell was as grey as he was, as ever short and stout in the belly but hunched and arthritic now in his old bones. The king had reseated himself and regarded him carefully. and, hot wine for my Lord Burnell! he gestured to a courtier as his chancellor, weary from his journey and soaked through by the rain and sleet he had ridden through, paced slowly and stiffly over to the fireplace.īurnell exchanged his wet cloak for a steaming goblet of wine, knelt to warm himself briefly, coughed again, rubbed some life back into his aching limbs and slowly straightened up to face his monarch, his back to the enormous fire. By your leave? He glanced at the blazing fire of enormous seasoned oak logs positioned to the left hand wall and half way down the hall. The new entrant coughed and rubbed his cold hands together. Our Parliament would not be complete without you, Robert, whatever my son might think.

The king smiled in greeting, his arms wide.

As he did so, those attending him scattered, bowing as they retreated backwards and leaving only his host, Henry de Lacey, the geriatric Earl of Lincoln, decrepit and hard of hearing, at his side. The king rose to his full height from his seat on the dais as his chancellor entered the wood panelled hall. He had said that he would “abide by the results of this poll, whichever way it goes.”Īlso read | True to his promise, Elon Musk sells 930,000 shares of Tesla stock worth $1.1 billionĪfter about 57.9 per cent of people voted in support of the stock sale, staying true to his promise Musk sold 930,000 shares of his company stock, which amounted to over $1.1 billion.įollowing this Musk once again sold 1.2 million shares held by his trust for over $1.2 billion on November 12.Ah, Burnell my friend. On Twitter a week ago, Musk said he would sell 10 per cent of his shares if social media users endorsed the move. Senate Democrats have proposed taxing billionaires' stocks and other tradeable assets in order to finance President Biden's social spending agenda and to close a loophole that allows these super-rich individuals to defer capital gains taxes indefinitely. The tweet by Sanders comes amid efforts in Washington to raise taxes on the ultra-wealthy. Want me to sell more stock, Bernie? Just say the word …
