XV    

‘THE wedding has got to be stopped,’ the Earl of Edinburgh declared.

‘The wedding?’ Marie echoed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘You know as well as I do that it is not the best thing either for the Queen of Scots or for Scotland.’

‘But she loves the Dauphin and her heart is set on it. Anyway, how could anyone stop it even if they wanted to?’

‘If the sickly Dauphin were to die …’

‘God forbid such a thing!’ Marie cried out. But in her heart she often worried about the young man’s state of health and feared that he might not be long for this world. But God forbid such a thing, she repeated to herself.

‘Oh, I doubt if God would forbid it,’ the Earl told her. ‘But as for the wedding, however, you could have a few words in the young Queen’s ear. You have great charm and influence, and you would do your country a great service by helping me put a stop to this nonsense.’

Marie was beginning to feel uneasy.

‘Nothing I could say on the subject could possibly make any difference. Especially at this late stage. Anyway, Mary’s uncles have far more influence on the Queen than I could ever hope to have.’

‘But if the Dauphin were to die—if not by natural causes, perhaps by poison say—then their influence would die with him. Their bid for power through Mary would be ruined.’

‘Poison?’ Marie was shocked. ‘How can you even think of such a thing? I refuse to listen to any more of this treasonable talk.’

‘Now, now,’ Jamieson mocked. ‘Don’t pretend that you’re shocked.’

‘What do you mean—pretend?’ She was angry now. ‘I’m not pretending. I am shocked. You seem to be …’ She could hardly form the words. Surely she must be mistaken. ‘You seem to be suggesting that you … that we … might even bring about such a plot…’

‘There are no mights about it.’

‘You mean you are actually …’ Words failed her for a moment and then she said, ‘I am going to warn both the Queen and the Dauphin. If you value your own life, sir, you had better make haste to disappear on one of your journeys.’

The Earl was unperturbed.

‘No,’ he said calmly, ‘I have no journeys planned for the moment. And you will not repeat our conversation to anyone.’

‘And who will stop me?’

Unexpectedly one of his big hands shot out and snatched her to him. She was surprised not only at his action but at the rock hardness of his body.

‘How dare you!’

Before his mouth came down over hers, he whispered,

‘I’d dare anything for you.’

At first, surprise immobilised her. Also she experienced a physical thrill of a kind she’d forgotten existed. In the long years since her intimacy with Donald, there had been no other man. Donald had told her that she was a passionate woman. Now she realised how true his words had been. If this man had not spoken of murder …

She began to struggle against him but punching at his chest only made him laugh. His laughter ignited her temper and made her, with all her strength and in one vicious move, bring her knee up between his legs.

‘You … little … !’ he groaned, staggering away from her, bending forward, nursing himself.

‘Don’t you dare touch me again.’

‘What would you do?’ he managed. ‘Stab me? Do you always keep a dagger handy for killing your lovers?’

She froze.

‘Oh yes, we have more in common than you could possibly imagine.’

Cold terror paralysed her brain.

‘I … I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she managed to stammer.

‘Come now, lady. Can you really be so stupid? Indeed, you are obviously exceptionally clever. To have begun as a poor bastard and end as a friend and confidante of a queen, not to mention getting away with murder en route, is no mean feat. I admire you. I will indeed be happy to pay court to you if you’ll have me.’

‘You keep talking about murder. …’

He smiled.

‘You thought no-one knew. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I witnessed you despatching the old Duke. And a very thorough job you made of it!’ The Earl laughed inwardly at the irony of his accusation.

‘Why have you never said anything before?’ she gasped.

‘I’ve waited years for the right moment, and I’m pleased to say that you have not disappointed me.’

‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘There’s nothing to say. We’ll talk again when I’ve decided how best you can help me despatch that pathetic weakling.’

Later in her room, one question would not go away. Why had Guthrie Jamieson been hiding behind the tapestry in the Duke of Glasgow’s chamber? Why had he not rushed to the Duke’s aid or called the guard? Surely that would have been the natural and instinctive reaction. Of course he was a devious man. She suspected that he might have something to hide and that was why he hadn’t told anyone about her crime. Had he been saving his own skin, not hers?

The following day she sought him out and confronted him.

‘Why were you hiding in the Duke’s apartment?’

He laughed malevolently.

‘I was about to kill him myself but you saved me the trouble,’ he sneered.

‘But why? Why would you want to kill him?’

‘Let us just say he was taking English gold. He was about to betray many people. He had to be stopped.’

Was such a thing possible? She had become all too familiar with the treachery and double-dealing among the nobility. Perhaps it was true.

The Earl’s face took on a more sinister aspect. ‘So you have thought about my earlier proposition? After all, we wouldn’t want anyone to find out what really happened all those years ago, would we?’

‘You’re not going to blackmail me,’ Marie told Jamieson. ‘If you try to drag me down, I’ll take you with me. Believe me.’

The Earl studied her face for a few moments.

‘Yes, I do believe you. You are indeed a woman after my own heart. But do not imagine for a moment that someone in your lowly position at Court could possibly do me any harm. Whether you like it or not, the Dauphin must die, and you must help me or suffer the consequences. It matters not to me if he dies before the wedding or after it. You will find I am a patient man.’

And with a flamboyant bow, he turned and left the room.