"Because she is a witch," Tabitha offered.
Richard choked on his tea. "Mrs. Crowe," he managed.
"She asked, Your Grace."
"You cannot simply call the Queen Mother a witch."
"You know her?" she asked Tabitha.
"Do I?" Tabitha said.
It was not a question. The answer that came with a long list of things better left unsaid. Livia understood that whatever Tabitha knew of the Queen Mother was not court gossip to be repeated.
Richard dabbed his mouth with his napkin, still recovering from nearly dying. "I spent a great deal of time with Henry when we were young. My mother did not trust anyone else with me. Whenever I went to visit, she insisted Tabitha accompany me. The Queen Mother never liked her."
"That is putting it mildly," Tabitha said.
"She did not like people she could not bend. And Tabitha has always been rather impossible to bend."
"Because I have a spine," Tabitha replied.
