My Father, William DeCarnys

[Alistair DeCarnys]

I do not recall a time when my father was not plotting something against the King of England. Oh maybe when I was really young but those memories are very vague at best.

He spent most of his time with my older brother Stephen. He was the golden child, the heir to my father’s legacy. They were involved in scheme after scheme for more wealth and power for themselves and the peerage. I would not be a part of their dishonesty and underhandedness. I believe that if I had participated I would have suffered the same fate of Stephen.

My father had made agreements with some extremely unlikely persons… this trust was his downfall. People he made the agreement with went back on their words and Stephen was implicated in a plot to overthrow the King.

Now, I am not saying that King Edward II was the brightest king or the most shrewd that existed. However, looking back on history he has been written as the weakest of the Plantagenet kings of the time. In the case of Stephen’s treason he seemed very strong.

Stephen was tried and executed, as was the norm for treasonous actions against the Crown. My father believed that all of the charges brought against Stephen were false and created to keep my father in his place in the peerage.

After Stephen’s death my father plunged further and further into a deranged state, fueled by the loss of his prized son. He decided on a course of action that had far more implications than just taking over the throne.