She understood Marion’s plight all too well and the potential results that could come from a few choice words of a king.
“Thank you, my lady,” Marion said.
As if realizing what she’d done by singling out Marion at the head table, the queen then glanced around the hall and leaned in to speak quietly with her husband. She then turned back to Marion wearing a huge grin.
“Would you like to see my pets?”
“Aye, I would like that very much, my lady.”
“The king has excused us from the hall to do whatever we wish for the rest of the afternoon and asks if you’ve brought a costume for this evening’s masque.”
Her heart dropped. She was not aware of a costumed event, and she was very sure her mother was not, lest she’d have had her decked out from head to toe in the most ridiculous outfit.
“I confess, I was not aware.”
“Oh dear, it must have slipped the king’s mind. No matter. We will ensure you and your family are properly decked out and now before we worry about any of that, let us go see the beautiful creatures my husband continues to gift me.”
The king rose and then everyone else in the hall did as well. The queen and Marion left the table and informed her parents of their intentions for the afternoon before leaving the hall. The queen assured Marion’s mother a costume would be provided for all of them and to not worry about her daughter.
Once out of sight of the members of the hall, the queen hoisted her skirts to Marion’s shock and sprinted across the side of the palace and on toward a large, covered structure closer toward the loch, giggling as she went. Marion had to break into a fast pace to keep her in sight at all, never mind catching up with her. By the time she reached the structure, she was winded.
The sounds and sights that caught her eyes then pushed all thoughts of a masque and a black rider from her thoughts. Caught in the stare of a thickly maned lion who roared so loud her chest felt the vibration, Marion was transfixed by his beauty and majesty.
“Come and meet my pets,” the queen demanded with a beaming smile.
The woman appeared more like the girl she was in these moments, and Marion’s resolve to remain unmarried to an old man solidified. She didn’t care what the family connection or gain, shewould not be caught in a situation like her new friend, even if the king was a kind man who enjoyed pampering his wife.
*
Alexander watched twoyoung women from his position near the stables that allowed the horses respite from the heat and exercise. He did not have to guess or suppose for a moment who they were. While he did not know the name of the red-haired lass, he did recognize the queen. Maybe the crowd inside was dispersing and so it would be a good time for him to quietly find a goblet of ale and something to keep him going for the rest of the day.
The air was considerably cooler inside the palace versus outside. Though the air off the loch offered a slight comfort, ’twas much more comfortable inside.
Alexander found a quiet corner to sit and enjoy some of the sumptuous feast in peace, but not for long.
“There you are,” Alain said. “Everyone has been asking for you.”
“And that is precisely why I have been attempting to enjoy my repast in peace. With no help from you for drawing attention to me.”
He didn’t really mean to criticize his friend, but he’d hoped for a few more moments of quiet.
“Ahhh, you mean you are not excited to meet Lady Fraser and her daughter, Lady Cora?”
“You know I am not.”
“And what about Lady Gordon and her daughter Lady Marjorie?”
“Not interested in meeting them either.”
“Well, they are interested in meeting you, so you had better finish your food, clean the meat out of your teeth, and do your duty to your king and mingle with his guests. It appears his wife and a new friend have removed themselves from the hall, so he is being accosted by every hungry mother in the palace right now looking for you.”
Great. That’s exactly what he wanted to avoid and knowing his king as well as he did, the man’s patience for Alexander’s absence would not last long. King James thrived on his guests intermingling, and if you were invited to a gathering of his, you were expected to be present to be entertained, but also entertain in return.
Sighing, he wiped his mouth and scraped his tongue across his teeth then bared them for Alain in a mock grimace.
“Aye, they look clean,” he said with a grin. “Now go and flatter the fillies.”
It was a cruel way to think of these young ladies. He was sure they had plenty of fine attributes among them; however, he despised the manner in which they were paraded in front of eligible men. Too many times he’d seen a mother tug on a lass’s neckline or worse, push her so that she would bump into him. Nay, this was not what he would consider an enjoyable gathering.
