“England. You would offend King Henry if you did not ask to send him an ambassador first. He may refuse, but then he cannot be distressed when you send ambassadors to France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire.
I would send men to all the kingdoms of note. Denmark, Italy, Portugal. And you should send someone to one of the smaller Mediterranean kingdoms, so your trading ships will have a place to stop to take on water and fresh food on their voyages to and from the eastern kingdoms.”
“What trading vessels?” Douglas said. “We have no trading fleet.”
“Once you open up direct relations with the European kingdoms you will find you will develop a trading industry. Trade is very important. It will bring prosperity to Scotland. Surely you are not against prosperity, my lord?”
“Again you sound like old James,” the countess’s brother scoffed.
Adair turned to James Stewart. “May I have Your Highness’s permission to speak most candidly?” she asked him.
“You may, cousin,” he responded.
“Your father, may God assoil his good soul, was not a strong king. And he did not have the respect of his lords, I fear. His own mother, your grandmother, Marie ofGueldres, was an educated and sophisticated woman who was his greatest influence. Raised in a Burgundian court, she taught him to appreciate beauty, learning, and the arts. Unfortunately, the loss of his own father at so tender an age left him bereft of the good influence of a strong man, for his lords, and especially those in charge of raising this king, were far too busy maneuvering for position and exploiting their authority to teach him what he needed to know to be a king. Their sole interest was in advancing themselves and lining their pockets.
“And then your father was declared of age to rule, but alas, he did not know how. And these same lords who should have taught him now despised him. Worse, they went out of their way to spite him, to defy him. Is it any wonder your father disliked them in return? Or that he turned to men with interests like himself for friendship?”
“Craftsmen and poets,” sneered James Douglas.
“Aye,” Adair agreed. “Men like the king himself, my lord. Men who understood him, and could talk with him on subjects that mattered to this king.”
“He should have sought the company of his own kind,” James Douglas said.
Oddly, the other men in the hall were silent, and appeared to be giving Adair’s words some thought.
“He had nothing in common with rough lords who drank and wenched and diced, whose joy was in hunting deer and boar. Old King James was a man of the arts.
And none of you made any attempt to understand him, so the situation grew worse as the years passed. Those men who surrounded the king, though they had the same interests as he, were no better than Scotland’s lords. They took advantage of their situation and became as arrogant as their rivals. You hanged several of them at Lauder Bridge, I believe, and then opened Scotland to my uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, and the king’s younger brother, the Duke of Albany. ’Twas badly done, my lord.
“Yet for all his faults the old king had some good ideas for Scotland, which were never put into effect, for you were all too busy fighting amongst yourselves. He is dead now at an unknown’s hand, and this king, who calls me cousin, rules Scotland. He is his father’s son in his love of learning and the arts. But he is also a Scots king who can sit in a Highland hall and speak that unpro-nounceable language of your north. He sees that the world around us is changing. He understands the necessity of sending his ambassadors to other lands because Scotland cannot isolate itself any longer. And Scotland should not be beholden to France for its protection. We should protect ourselves, and diplomacy is a better path to take than war.”
Conal Bruce was astounded by his wife’s speech.
Once again he realized that this woman who was his wife was a better wife than he should have had. For all she had been born on the wrong side of the blanket, she was a king’s daughter. There was noble blood on both sides of her family. And he was naught but a simple Scots border lord.
“There is a great deal of merit in my cousin’s words,”the king said slowly.
“Aye,” the Earl of Bothwell agreed, “there is. What can it hurt us to offer our ambassadors to the various lands?”
“The cost alone of sending these men out is apt to be exorbitant,” Douglas complained. “If we open an embassy it cannot be a paltry affair, lest Scotland be mocked for a poor showing.”
“Your embassies do not have to be grand affairs. We are a small country,” Adair told them. “A good showing is all that is required. Have your agents purchase suitable buildings in each place you put an embassy. Furnish it simply, in an attractive manner. It does not have to be ostentatious. Better it isn’t. But have the ambassador you send meet all the expenses of maintaining their embassy. It should be considered a great honor toserve King James the Fourth in such a manner. You must have your lords and other wealthy men who seek your favor clamoring for an ambassadorship. And it must be understood that they cannot just accept the position and remain in Scotland. They must take up their post in Paris, or London, or wherever they are assigned. If their families wish to go, so much the better.
A lady serving as her husband’s hostess on the day your coronation is celebrated, or on New Year’s Day, when Scotland’s embassy will be open to the public, will be most charming.”
“Aye,” the king agreed, “it would. I like your idea, cousin. Scotland can gain a great deal of prestige among the other kings if we open embassies of our own.”
“The French won’t like it,” Douglas said darkly.
“The French do not rule Scotland,” the king said sharply. “I will not be told what to do by anyone, but certainly not by the French. And I will pick men to fill these posts who will be loyal to me alone, and not their own interests.”
“But choose men with noble titles to do the countries honor,” the Earl of Bothwell suggested. “If a man has lands, can afford to maintain one of these embassies, and is true to you, you can create a title or two to fit the situation.”
“I already have several men in mind,” the king told them. Then he caught up Adair’s little hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it fervently. “My dear cousin, I do thank you for offering me such a splendid idea.” He turned to the laird. “Conal, your fair wife is a most amazing woman. I hope you appreciate her. You must come to Stirling in the spring,” he told them.
Now Eufemia Lauder came over to boldly slide herself onto the king’s lap and whisper something in his ear. He grinned and nodded as he reached up to casually fondle the woman’s plump breast beneath her gown as they continued to talk.
“What a pity you are a woman, madam,” the Earl ofBothwell said. “You would make a fine ambassador for us.”
