KING HENRY.
Have done with words, my lords, and hear me speak.
QUEEN MARGARET.
Defy them then, or else hold close thy lips.
KING HENRY.
I prithee, give no limits to my tongue.
I am a king, and privileged to speak.
CLIFFORD.
My liege, the wound that bred this meeting here
Cannot be cured by words; therefore be still.
RICHARD.
Then, executioner, unsheathe thy sword.
By Him that made us all, I am resolved
That Clifford’s manhood lies upon his tongue.
EDWARD.
Say, Henry, shall I have my right, or no?
A thousand men have broke their fasts today
That ne’er shall dine unless thou yield the crown.
WARWICK.
If thou deny, their blood upon thy head;
For York in justice puts his armour on.
PRINCE EDWARD.
If that be right which Warwick says is right,
There is no wrong, but everything is right.
RICHARD.
Whoever got thee, there thy mother stands;
For well I wot thou hast thy mother’s tongue.
QUEEN MARGARET.
But thou art neither like thy sire nor dam,
But like a foul misshapen stigmatic,
Marked by the Destinies to be avoided,
As venom toads or lizards’ dreadful stings.