The Daughter Of Time

When Marta makes her next visit, Grant asks her if a mother would accept a pension from the murderer of her sons as Elizabeth Woodville accepted one from Richard. Marta dismisses the historical interpretation of the queen’s motives as idiotic. She tells Grant:

“Perhaps when you are grubbing about with tattered records you haven’t time to learn about people. I don’t mean about the people in the records, but just about People. […] And how they react to circumstances” (151).

Later, Grant receives a telegram from Brent saying that he’s found a contemporary account from the Croyland region that hints that the princes were murdered before Richard’s death. He fears their whole investigation is about to fall apart.

Grant replies, asking Brent to see if he can find another such rumor coming from France at about the same time.

When Brent arrives in person bringing evidence of a similar accusation from the chancellor of France, Grant is pleased. The detective explains that John Morton, Richard’s enemy, hid in Croyland before fleeing to France. He is the one who spread the same rumor in both places.

Even after clearing this hurdle, Brent still feels they’re no closer to knowing why the boys were killed. Grant theorizes that Henry VII would benefit most from their deaths.