In May 1465 Margaret related to John what Walter Lyhert had said about him: ‘My lord of Norwych seyd to me that he wold not ha byden the sorow and trobell that ye have a-byden to wyn all Ser John Fastolf ys gode.’ Moving from John Paston I to John Paston II we need to remember the Bishop's words; they are reassuring – we do not get our priorities wrong when placing (and keeping) the story of the will in the foreground. That is harder to do in the case of John Paston II than it has been in the case of his father. There seem to be rather more stories to tell when it comes to Sir John Paston. There is no doubt of the sorrow and trouble Fastolf's will caused Sir John in the years immediately after the death of John Paston I, yet with Sir John a broader world claims our attention, and other stories have to be told. They shall be told first.

Not told in full because all are familiar to those who know the history of the Pastons, and, when all is said and done, the main stem of our narrative is Fastolf's will. Besides, the letters open only small windows into Sir John's life. We know nothing, for example, of his women, apart from his skill at choosing them, and a letter from one of them which reads exactly as if it came from Doll Tearsheat: