The queen’s ladies looked up anxiously as he entered, but the king said nothing, passing them by, Orva behind him, to enter his wife’s little privy chamber. Lady Grey was seated by the queen’s side on a stool, sorting colored threads. Both women looked up, and James Stewart smiled at them.
“Lady Grey, I will ask for your discretion, but I may need your help,” the king said. “And the old cats outside will want to know what was said here.”
“I know how to keep secrets, my lord,” Lady Grey said with a meaningful look at the king, for she had under duress aided him once before.
“Ce-ce?” the queen asked anxiously.
“Abducted by a lovesick border lord.” The king chuckled. “We will get her back. I must send to Sir William Douglas for his help.”
“The Douglas of Glengorm?” the queen exclaimed. “Oh, that poor man! To have done such a reckless thing when it is certain Cicely will wed the Gordon laird of Fairlea.”
“My mistress had not yet made up her mind,” Orva reminded the queen. “She found him handsome and charming, ’tis true, but she disliked his attempting to push her into a marriage she was not certain she wanted. You know my mistress well, my lady. She can be brought to the trough, but not forced to drink.”
“Aye, ’tis a truth,” the queen said. Then she giggled. “I really do feel sorry for Glengorm, not just because he has been reckless, but because Ce-ce will not be easy to woo.” She turned to the king. “That is why he has stolen her, Jamie. He wants a fair chance with her, and the Gordons would let no man near Ce-ce once Andrew Gordon decided that he would have her. Still, he cannot be allowed this behavior.”
“I know,” the king agreed. “Do I not already have enough difficulty with the northern lords, my love?” He sighed.
“Orva must go with your messenger to Sir William,” the queen said suddenly. “Ce-ce will need her, and feel more reassured by her presence. And Lady Grey and her husband must travel with them. Maggie wanted to go home several weeks back, but remained when I asked her to. I was comforted having another woman by my side who is with her first child, but I know Andrew Grey would have his child born at Ben Duff.”
Lady Grey threw the queen a grateful look. Helping the king secretly some weeks back had put her in a difficult position. The secret was one she had been unable to share with anyone, even with her husband. Being at court, where everything reminded her of the part she had been forced to play in a betrayal, distressed her mightily. Aye, she had wanted to go home weeks ago, but then the queen had begged her to remain, and she could not deny her royal mistress. “Thank you,Your Highness,” Lady Grey said softly. “I very much want to go home to Ben Duff.”
“Is it near Glengorm?” the king wondered.
“Aye, they are our nearest neighbors,” Lady Grey said.God’s wounds!What more did he want of her?
A brief smile touched the king’s lips, but was quickly gone. He knew exactly what Maggie MacLeod, Lady Grey, was thinking. However there would be time enough to enlist her aid if he decided he needed it. “I was simply curious,” James Stewart said. “There is so much of my country that I do not know yet.”
Outside the door of the queen’s privy chamber that led directly into the corridor, the Gordon of Huntley heard what he needed to hear. Stepping away from the little portal, he wondered if the king would tell him all he knew. Or if possibly he should send to the laird of Fairlea, and raise a troop of his clansmen to ride into the borders to fetch Lady Cicely back. Of course, by that time the girl’s virginity would have certainly been taken, but as long as she was not with Glengorm’s bairn, did it really matter? His kinsman was a proud man, but Cicely Bowen’s fortune could soothe his pride. Especially if she was a good wife to him both publicly and privately.
Wisdom, however, prevailed. The Gordon of Huntley decided to wait to see what the king would do. To his relief, the king took him aside that evening to tell him what Gordon already knew but dared not admit to, for how could he explain the knowledge he possessed? “My men and I can ride into the borders, my lord, and bring Lady Cicely back,” Gordon offered. “The Douglases are no friends of ours.”
“I need no clan warfare between you two,” the king said. “Keep your men in check, my lord. I will handle this situation.”
“I should advise Fairlea of the situation, my lord, for he is to wed the lass, and should know she may be sullied,” the Gordon of Huntley said.
“Advise Fairlea if you will, Huntley, but Lady Cicely had notagreed on any match, and I cannot force her to one, for I gave her father my word,” the king replied.
“But surely her father would approve the fine match my kinsman can offer,” Lord Gordon said. The girl was to be given a choice of whom she would wed? Ridiculous!
“The Earl of Leighton dotes upon his daughter,” the king answered. “He gave her his word that she could marry the man she loved, and no other. And I gave my royal word that I would uphold the earl’s promise to his child. Tomorrow I will send to Sir William Douglas to aid me in this situation with his cousin. Diplomacy will prevail in this matter.” And with those words the Gordon of Huntley was dismissed.
He bowed, and backed from the king’s presence.
The king’s privy chamber was now quiet. James Stewart sat in one of the two chairs facing each other by the blazing hearth. Rising, he took a few steps and poured himself a goblet of wine from the carafe on the table which was set before the lead-paned windows. Outside those windows the night was black, a sliver of waning moon not yet risen. He turned back to sit again by the fireplace, which was flanked by stone greyhounds. The chamber was small, with paneled walls and a coffered ceiling, but it suited him well and was his refuge from the court. Only invited guests were allowed into the royal privy chamber.
James was irritated by the commotion that the Douglas of Glengorm had caused. And his aggravation extended towards Lady Cicely Bowen as well. The Earl of Leighton was a sentimental fool that he allowed his daughter to choose her own husband. And James had been a bigger fool to agree to see to the girl’s marriage under such circumstances. But his Joan had begged him, and he had acquiesced to her plea.
James Stewart had known that Scotland would eventually recall him, and he would need a queen. It had been fortunate that he had fallen in love with the most suitable candidate for his hand. He wasnot usually a man to be driven by sentiment. The king had to admit to himself that he would have found himself with a difficult choice had another woman been more eligible. Of course he would have done what he had to do in that case. But there had been no other, and what tender emotions he had were reserved for Joan Beaufort.
Marriages among the nobility, however, were not usually love matches. Did his wife’s best friend hold out the hope of a love match? Was that why she was so reluctant to commit herself to the laird of Fairlea? Andrew Gordon was a perfectly excellent candidate for the girl’s husband. He had lands, cattle, the favor of his overlord. What more could the girl want? James Stewart had thought not to interfere in Cicely Bowen’s decision. But he had other, more important considerations, like the impending birth of his heir; like the MacDonald, lord of the isles in the north of Scotland; and a Highlands always on the brink of rebellion. He needed to get these matters under his firm control.
And he was being distracted by a silly girl who could not make up her mind, and a lovesick border lord who was about to cause a feud between himself and the Gordons of Huntley over her. Well, when he got her back he would have Joan speak to her, point out the advantages of marrying into the Gordons. And certainly after her sojourn in a rough border keep, Lady Cicely Bowen could be made to see reason. Aye, the king thought, his eyes narrowing. It would be quite to his advantage to have Ce-ce among the Gordons watching out for the interests of the Stewart queen, and by association Scotland’s king.
He called for his page, who he knew was sitting outside of the door to his privy chamber. “Did you find my secretary, Will?” he asked the boy.
“Aye, my lord. He is in the outer chamber awaiting your instructions,” the boy answered. “Shall I tell him to come in?”
“Aye, laddie,” James Stewart said.
