SCENE EIGHT — A WEDDING

(Music and the shivery sound of LA CORBIE’S voice as slowly MARY, with a white stole over her head, and DARNLEY enter. Solemn. Erotic. LA CORBIE’S Wedding Song)

LA CORBIE: Oor Queen has mairrit her a knight

His curls are fair as ony child

Sma’ is his mooth and his manner douce

His eyes are meek and mild.

   

Oor Queen has mairrit her a knight

She fondles him an’ he were her pet

He moves sae spry and his voice sae high —

Yon long lad he is a-growin’ yet …

Oor Queen has mairrit her a knight

His cheek as saft as ony baby boy

Soon may she declare a son and heir

To be oor nation’s joy.

         (Others carry on a sheet by four corners and place it flat out on the floor)

ALL: And we hae made to them a bed

We made it large and wide

That Mary oor Queen and the Lord Darnley

Micht lay doon side by side.

MARY: And each o’ ye draw oot a pin

A pin frae oot ma mournin’ gear

Alas, alack, in weeds o’ black

To show I hae a widow been

And ever sin’ I hae been wrapped in

Ma mournin’ gear, ma mournin’ gear,

For many a long and weary year.

        ( A pin is drawn out by each person in turn and all together sing LA CORBIE song again as the couple face each other and MARY unlooses her long hair and shakes it free )

And I shall loose ma long rid hair,

Ungimp ma girdles o’ the plaited silk

Slip frae ma sark and in the dark

Ma bodie will gleam as white as milk

And I shall be dressed in nakedness,

My briests twa aiples o’ desire

And you shall hae the brichtest jewel

That nestles in my brooch o’ red-gowd wire.

        (MARY and DARNLEY have each taken an end of the sheet and circled slowly, intent on each other, and twisted it into a rope, tighter and tighter. The drum stops. They move a step or two towards each other and the corded sheet twists in the centre to a love knot . DANCER, swift, snatches it immediately away