Jean’s lips pressed together as she fought to control her emotions. She said nothing more as they waited for Matthew to make an appearance in the hall.
He came, and his stance was one full of defiance. “Am I to finally be recalled to my position as Duin’s steward?” he asked bluntly.
“Nay, ye will nae serve me ever again,” the earl told his young brother, and derived satisfaction from the look of complete surprise upon Matthew’s handsome face. “Ye’ve committed treason, and put Duin and all of its inhabitants at risk, including my wife, my bairns, and yer own wife and bairn. Why, Matthew? Why hae ye involved yerself wi’ the Queen’s Men? They fight a losing battle. Can ye nae see it? The King’s Men hold the wee king. They hold Stirling. The power is wi’ them. I care nae a whit for who rules Scotland as long as Duin and its folk are safe. Yer actions hae put us all in danger.”
“She’s the queen!” Matthew burst out.
“Mary Stuart is dethroned. Finished! It is my opinion that she will never again sit on Scotland’s throne. The people loved her for her beauty, her kindness, her daring, her love for Scotland. But it was nae enough when she disappointed them wi’ one bad marriage after another. I believe her innocent of Darnley’s murder, but her association wi’ James Hepburn tainted her purity, for Bothwell hae many detractors only too glad to defame them both. I believe that even if she hae converted from the old Church to this new Protestant faith, Knox and his ilk would hae hated her. Mary Stuart is an intelligent and educated woman. Those who advised her had a difficult time wi’ that.”
“England’s queen rules supreme,” Matthew said. “Why is Mary Stuart so different?”
“England’s queen hae nae husband,” the earl said.
“There is the Dudley scandal,” Matthew countered.
“Suspected, but nae proven,” Angus retorted. “Mary Stuart, on the other hand, hae publicly paraded her marriages and love affair. They will nae take her back. And for this ye hae endangered us all. Worse, however, ye lied to me, Matthew.”
“I dinna!” he exclaimed.
“Ye dinna tell me the entire truth of yer involvement wi’ these misguided men,” Angus said. “My whole life I hae loved ye. I hae done my best by ye because of that love, and because of the love our father held for ye, but ye hae betrayed Duin. Ye show nae remorse for this. I dinna know what hae happened to ye, Matthew, but ye are nae the brother that I knew.”
“How stiff-necked ye’ve become,” Matthew said bitterly. “All ye can see is Duin, nothing more. They hae driven our queen away. Our beautiful queen wi’ her good heart, who generously gave freedom of faith to us all, old kirk or new kirk. They imprisoned her and stole her bairn. Why can ye nae see the wrong in it, Angus? Why?”
“I see the wrong. But ’tis a wrong that canna be righted. Much of Mary Stuart’s fate was of her own making. She was advised strongly not to wed Darnley, but she did. She was advised even more strongly nae to wed Bothwell. She did. Now she must live wi’ her decisions as ye must live wi’ yers. Ye will leave Duin on the morrow. I am banishing ye from my lands. Where ye go or what ye do is yer own choice. But ye will nae longer make decisions for Duin that ye hae nae right to make and put at risk all here.”
“No!” Agnes cried out, and then she flung herself at Angus’s feet. “Please, my lord, I beg ye. Dinna send Matthew away! Hae mercy!”
“Get up, Aggie!” Matthew Ferguson took his wife by the arm and yanked her roughly to her feet. “I need nae mercy of him. We’ll go to the Hamiltons. They are yer mam’s kin, and will surely take us in for our faithful service to the queen.”
Annabella had listened to it all, never speaking once. This was a tragedy. Now she spoke. “Angus, my lord and my love,” she began, putting a restraining hand on his arm, “surely if Matthew will repent of his errors in judgment, ye can forgie him.”
“I dinna need yer intercession, madam,” Matthew said angrily.
“Aye, ye do,” Annabella replied sharply.
“I dinna want it, then! Ever since ye came to Duin my brother hae changed. That is yer doing. He might hae wed a woman whose beauty matched his own. A fair lass wi’ a large dower. Instead he wed ye for a bit of land he could hae eventually bought. Ye hae turned him from Ferguson ways and now he takes sides wi’ murderers and usurpers instead of our true anointed queen. I hae committed nae sins from which I must repent, madam, but yer husband hae. When the queen is restored I will be given a title that I may pass on to my son, and he to his son one day.”
“Oh, Matthew, I dinna know what I hae done to gain yer enmity, but however I hae offended ye, I beg yer pardon for it. I want things to be as they were when I first came to Duin. I want ye and Angus once again to be loving brothers. I hae nae changed Angus. He hae done what he had to in order that we all might survive these changing times.”
“My God!” Angus Ferguson exclaimed, shocked by his younger brother’s words. “Is that how they turned ye? Is that the bauble they dangled before ye? A title? Jesu, Matthew! Mary Stuart will ne’er again sit on Scotland’s throne, and ye’re more likely to end up at the end of rope than gain a title. But I will nae allow ye to bring the rest of us down wi’ ye! Nor will ye blame my sweet good wife for imagined faults. I love this woman, Matthew. She hae no beauty that is visible. Her beauty is a different kind. It is one of the heart and of the soul. She is the best, the most perfect wife any man could hae, and she is mine. I am sorry ye canna understand that, brother.” He turned his gaze on Agnes, whose shocked face told him she had known nothing of the depth of her husband’s betrayals. “Aggie, ye may remain at Duin wi’ yer bairn. I’ll nae send ye into danger with this fool to whom ye’re wed.”
“I thank ye, my lord,” Agnes said with as much dignity as she could muster, “but I must go wi’ my husband. I will, however, ask sanctuary for our bairn until it is possible for us to establish another home.” When Matthew made to protest, Agnes said in soft but firm tones, “Nay, Matthew. I will follow ye into danger and the unknown, but I will nae expose our son to yer folly; nor should ye. Come now. We must pack if we are to leave on the morrow.”
“Wait!” the earl said. “I want to know how to get in touch wi’ the Hamiltons.”
“Why would I tell ye that? So ye can tell the King’s Men?”
“So I can release to them the messenger I have held imprisoned these past months. Lord Fleming sent a message that needs to go on. Since I hae already read it and found it harmless, I would let it pass on, for this is the last time Duin shall be used as a way stop.”
“Do whatever ye choose wi’ the courier,” Matthew said coldly. “I will carry the message myself to John Hamilton. It will help to ingratiate me wi’ him.”
“If the Queen’s Men should catch ye, brother, there will be nae doubt of yer treason. They will hang ye at the side of the road, and heaven help yer wife then,” the earl said quietly. “The messenger is paid to take the risk.”
“I’ll tell ye nothing,” Matthew said stubbornly. “Either ye gie me the message from Dumbarton, or it will nae be delivered, for ye’ll nae find the Hamiltons.”
“Angus, nay,” Annabella murmured low. “For my sister’s sake I beg ye to find another way. The countryside is so dangerous right now. Ye hae said it yerself.”
The Earl of Duin thought for a long moment. He was not of a mind to argue, and he wanted Matthew Ferguson gone. Though it broke his heart, he could no longer bear the sight of his younger brother. “Go to Brittany,” he said. “Yer mam still hae kinsmen in Mont de Devereaux. I will write a letter to Monsieur Claude. He could use a man of yer many skills. Go to Brittany, and avoid the Hamiltons for yer own sake, and that of yer family,” the earl advised.
