6 The Matter of the Royal Seal

CHAPTER 6 The Matter of the Royal Seal King Henry woke from his nap in a state of panic. He knew that he was dying and wanted to make sure that everything would run smoothly when he was gone. The king of England had so many responsibilities. What if Edward had trouble? Was his son feeling too much stress? Was that why he was speaking so strangely? King Henry called Lord Hertford to his

room. He was one of the king's most trusted friends. He knew almost all of the king's business. In fact, he was among the few people who knew how long the king had been sick. He also knew that Prince Edward had been taking over some of the king's work. "We need to finish our work," King Henry said. "We'll need the royal seal to complete these new laws." Henry was finding it difficult to breathe. He spoke very slowly to save his strength. "I loaned the seal to Prince Edward a few days ago. Please get it from him." "Of course, Your Majesty," Hertford said. He went straight to Prince Edward's room. When he got there, Hertford found Tom working on his Latin homework. He appeared to be studying very hard. Hertford wondered if the prince's sick mind made it more difficult to learn.

"Sir, your father sent me," Hertford said and bowed before Tom. "He asked that I bring the royal seal to him." Tom looked up from his textbook. He was very confused. What on Earth was a royal seal? "I beg your pardon, Lord Hertford," Tom said, "but I don't understand." "The royal seal," Hertford tried again. "Your father loaned it to you last week. We need it to finish some important business." Tom looked around the room. Would he even recognize the seal if he saw it? "Can you describe it to me?" he asked quietly. Poor Tom knew he was disappointing Hertford, but he was doing the best he could. "It has a handle and a gold disk at the bottom." Tom shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen that." He thought for a moment. "Perhaps the true prince already returned it." Tom noticed the look on

Hertford's face. "I mean, perhaps I returned it last week." Hertford spent the next few minutes trying to convince Tom that the royal seal— whatever it may be—was somewhere in the room. Tom just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Well, Hertford thought as he walked back to the king's room, the prince may be mad but at least he's still polite. When Hertford told King Henry that the royal seal was lost, the king sighed heavily. "I hope my son recovers quickly. It simply won't do to have a mad prince, let alone a mad king."