As if sensing his mother’s agitation, one-year-old Kieran began to fuss. Flexing his stubby fingers, he reached for his father, chortling when Rory hoisted him onto his shoulders.
Fiona paced, tsking impatiently when she crossed paths with harried dock workers scurrying here and there like busy bees.
“Strange ’tis business as usual here today,” Nairn remarked.
Fiona halted. “What’s special about today?”
Nairn’s eyes widened. “’Tis the day our new queen is being crowned in Westminster.”
“Pah,” Fiona exclaimed. “Anne talks of naught else but making Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland one country. She might bear the name Stuart, but she’s nay a Scot. Great Britain, indeed! Robert the Bruce must be twisting in his tomb.”
“Can she do that?” Nairn asked.
Rory feared Scotland might lose its independence in the near future, but this was a day for optimism. Fiona’s long-awaited Mazarin desk had finally arrived. “Only time will tell,” he replied.
Historical Footnotes
WILLIAM OF ORANGE
William III was King of England and Scotland from 1689 until his death in 1702. He was a grandson of Charles I, executed in 1649. His wife, Mary, was the eldest daughter of the catholic James II, deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1689. They were Protestants who ruled as joint monarchs. Mary died in 1694. Her sister, Anne, succeeded William. None of Anne’s children survived her, hence she was the last Stuart monarch. Many Scots fought and died in the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite rebellions which sought to restore James II’s descendants to the throne.
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BREACAN
Otherwise known as the Great Kilt, a belted, one-piece plaid that served as a kilt and a covering for the upper body.
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HOGMANAY
Scots have traditionally placed more emphasis on celebrating the new year than on Christmas. Christmas was not celebrated as a festival and virtually banned in Scotland for around 400 years, from the end of the 17th century to the 1950s. The reason for this dates back to the years of Protestant Reformation, when the Kirk proclaimed Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast. These days, Scots, as well as many others, sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight, but Burns didn’t publish his famous ditty until 1788, well after our story.
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MAZARIN
For more information see
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_Mazarin
Google has lots of good images.
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NEWTON CASTLE
A tunnel was rumored to have connected Newton and Ardblair.
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GREEN LADY GHOSTS
seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2013/06/scotlands-green-lady-ghosts.html
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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Twelfth Night is thought to have been written between 1601 and 1602, and was first performed on February 2nd, 1602.
About Anna Markland
I was born in England, but I’ve lived most of my life in Canada.
Education, business and disaster relief provided three interesting careers before I became a full-time writer.
Genealogy is a long-time hobby (aka addiction) that has had a tremendous influence on my stories. My romances are tales of family honor, ancestry, and roots.
I am a firm believer in love at first sight. My heroes and heroines may initially deny the attraction between them, but eventually the alchemy wins out. My novels are intimate stories filled with passion, intrigue, adventure and suspense.
Writing provides an escape into another world and time where I lose myself in the characters’ lives, confident they will triumph in the end and find love. I enjoy ferreting out bits of historical trivia in order to provide the reader with an authentic experience.
I hope you come to know and love my cast of characters as much as I do.
Website:
www.annamarkland.com
Kilty Party Page 21