“My husband hunts the wolves that have been terrorizing our villages. I came to Edinburgh on an errand for him, and as my mission is complete, I will return home tomorrow,” Arabella answered the prince.
“Then ye will take supper wi’ me tonight,” Jamie Stewart said.
“Certainly not!”
“Ye canna refuse me,Aunt,”he said softly. “I am the heir to Scotland’s throne. Insult me, and ye do yer family a disservice.”
Arabella suddenly found herself in a quandary. Was Jamie telling her the truth, or was he merely attempting to gain his own way in this matter? She honestly did not know, but she also found she did not like the idea that he would bully her with his royal position in an effort to gain his own way.
“I will have my supper in the hall with the rest of the court, my lord,” she told the prince. “I cannot refuse you if you wish to sit with me.”
“There are no women at court since my mother died, madame,” the prince answered. “I would have ye take supper wi’ me in my private apartments.”
“Surely, my lord, you understand that to have supper with you in your apartments, no matter how innocent such a meeting between us would be, should certainly compromise my reputation. I know you would never do that to either me or to your uncle, who is so fond of your highness.”
The prince laughed. “Ye may attempt to elude me, Arabella Stewart, but I will nae let ye. ‘Tis lonely and dull here at court now that there is no queen or pretty maids. All that I have are my studies and the company of my younger brothers and our tutors.”
For a moment he almost sounded like the boy he should have been, but the Countess of Dunmor, wary, saw the mischievous light lurking in the prince’s eyes behind the pitiful look of innocence he was attempting to turn on her. She was in a complete quandary as to what to do, when the Earl of Angus joined them.
“My lord,” she said brightly, “the prince is having a supper party in his apartments this evening, and I am certain he wants you to come! Is that not so, my lord?”
“I shall be delighted to join ye,” Archibald Douglas said with a grin before the prince might tell him nay. “I hae best go and tell my servants to prepare for us then.”
Jamie Stewart said, realizing that he had been bested in his attempt to seduce the Countess of Dunmor this day. “If I ever go to war, Aunt,” he told her, “I can only hope that ye are on my side.” Then with a bow he was gone. The Earl of Angus chuckled.
“Madame, ye must, indeed, hae been desperate to call upon me for my aid.” He took her arm in his and they began walking. “He’s a braw laddie, our wee prince.”
“He’s a wily young lecher and should have his ears boxed,” Arabella said furiously. “He has been most outspoken in his desire to take me to his bed. How dare he, my lord! I have certainly not encouraged him, nor would I ever betray my husband or put the horns of a cuckold upon his head.”
The Earl of Angus could see that she was very upset, and so he did not tease her. Instead he said, “The prince is at least a real man, unlike his father. It pleases us to see that that is so, for we must look beyond the day when James III rules in this land.”
“The king is far different than any man I have ever known,” Arabella admitted, “but I see no reason for you to dislike him so greatly, my lord. Like you, he prefers the company of men. The difference is that the men he likes are not always of the nobility, and are men whose interests and tastes are more refined than yours. You suggest some unnatural relationship between the king and his friends; and yet the king fathered three sons, and Queen Margaret openly adored and respected her husband. I suspect you now dabble with the idea of setting the son above his father. I think you are wrong.”
Archibald Douglas, who was not normally respectful of a woman’s intelligence, suddenly found himself respecting the young Countess of Dunmor for speaking bluntly, even if she was wrong. She could influence her husband, and Tavis Stewart would certainly be of help to their cause. “Madame,” he began slowly, carefully choosing his words, “I dinna dislike the king, but he is a weak man, and no matter how deep yer friendship wi’ him may be, ye must admit the truth of that. England now has a strong king. The kings before Henry Tudor had other problems. Richard spent most of his reign fighting to maintain his tenuous hold upon his throne. His brother before him, Edward, was involved wi’ not only threats to his kingship, but was forced to contend wi’ serious family problems as well. And before him, poor feeble-minded Henry of Lancaster, a pawn to his lords, a pawn to his wife’s ambitions. But now, Arabella Stewart, now England has Henry Tudor, and the Yorkists hae nothing left but a boy-earl in the Tower and a pretender in the king’s kitchens.”
“There are King Edward’s sons, Edward and Richard,” Arabella said faintly.
“Those poor laddies are surely dead, madame, if nae at their uncle’s hand, then certainly at Henry Tudor’s. He will hae no serious threat to his kingship left living. Not for himself, and nae for his son. King Henry Tudor is England’s king for as long as he shall live. Now Scotland needs a strong king,” Archibald Douglas told her.
“Perhaps you are correct, my lord, but perhaps you are not. A king is anointed with God’s own holy oil at his crowning, and it is not for us, mere mortals, to question God’s judgment. This king will reign in Scotland until God wills it otherwise. To think treason is to go against God’s own order, my lord.”
“Divine Right,”Angus said with a smile. “Aye, a king rules byDivine Right,but sometimes we mere mortals must gie God a wee bit of a helping hand, madame.”
Arabella was forced to laugh. “My lord,” she said, “you are incorrigible, but what’s worse, you are wrong and refuse to acknowledge it. Still, I cannot argue with you, as you have rescued me from a most difficult position. You may admire the prince’s manly behavior toward women, but I know you would not want the wife of a friend forced into a compromising situation.”
Now it was Archibald Douglas’ turn to laugh. “Madame, ye made it impossible for me to refuse ye. I dinna think young Jamie was pleased to have found his cleverly planned rendezvous turning before his own eyes into a supper party for three.”
“Do you mean he would not even have fed me?” Arabella demanded, outraged.
“Why prepare supper when ye dinna mean to eat it?” Angus said with a grin. “Jamie is a careful young fellow wi’ his gold. He can be generous when he chooses, but I’ve nae known him to be deliberately wasteful.”
Arabella suddenly found herself giggling. “Oh, my lord,” she gasped, looking up into Archibald Douglas’ blue eyes, “I think I see why my husband is fearful of allowing me to roam unprotected and alone. The prince is a sly fox, but I am obviously just a lamb.”
Archibald Douglas chuckled. “‘Tis true,” he agreed with her, “and yet, madame, I hae seen ye turn into a wee fierce thing when angered. Still, anger is nae defense against a prince of the blood royal.”
“Please do not leave me with Prince James,” Arabella said, suddenly sobered and serious. “I cannot accede to his implied demands, and yet I cannot openly insult him without incurring his enmity. I know he will one day be king, but that should not give him the right to bully any woman into his bed.”
“It is your very refusal that makes ye so tempting, madame,” the Earl of Angus said. “Jamie Stewart is nae used to ladies who say nae to him. I will nae leave ye alone wi’ him, however, I promise ye. I could nae face yer husband if I did, for I know the prince desires ye, and Tavis knows it too. Why on earth did ye come up to Edinburgh wi’ out him?”
