BOLINGBROKE But for our trusty brother-in-law and the Abbot
With all the rest of that consorted crew,
Destruction straight shall dog them at the heels.
Good uncle, help to order several powers
To Oxford or where’er these traitors are.
They shall not live within this world, I swear,
But I will have them if I once know where.
Uncle, farewell, and cousin, adieu.
Your mother well hath prayed, and prove you true.
DUCHESS Come my old son, I pray God make thee new. Exeunt. (5.3.136-145)
As ever, Bolingbroke’s on to the next thing, his intended severity emphasising what an escape Aumerle has had (he might react visibly to the description of what awaits his co-conspirators). It’s a useful reminder, naming the Abbot, of the brief episode when Aumerle, Carlisle, and the Abbot of Westminster first conferred about the plot, of how deeply embroiled Aumerle has been in the conspiracy, how lucky he is. It doesn’t matter who Bolingbroke’s trusty brother-in-law is (the relationship hasn’t ever been mentioned before and he doesn’t appear in the play: he’s the Duke of Exeter, married to Bolingbroke’s sister); here the point is that Bolingbroke is unswayed by family ties, and therefore it’s Aumerle’s abject confession, and especially his mother’s pleading, which have indeed saved his life. Destruction straight shall dog them at the heels. The traitors will be hunted down and destroyed. And it’s York who’s in charge, rewarded both for his loyalty and also counted on for his strictness, his moral rigidity; he must order several powers, troops of soldiers, to go to Oxford, to pursue and punish them. Bolingbroke wants the conspirators hunted relentlessly, wherever they try to hide; their fate is sealed, and when they are found, they will be dealt with without mercy. So that’s that—uncle, farewell, and cousin, adieu—brusque and polite, albeit acknowledging, again, that they’re family. No word of farewell for the Duchess, but a sideways note of respect and admiration: your mother well hath prayed, to Aumerle. It’s down to her. Don’t screw up, I’ll be watching. Prove you true: demonstrate your loyalty, don’t disappoint me, and don’t betray your mother’s trust either. Bolingbroke finishes with a couplet, and so should the scene, but the Duchess, of course, has the last word, turning the couplet into a triplet. Come my old son, fallen, sinful boy, I pray God make thee new. You’ve repented and been given a second chance; you can begin afresh. No acknowledgement of the King, either, now that she’s got what she wants; her eyes are only for her beloved son.
