Kindred Spirits: Royal Mile

by Jennifer Wilson

  “But she definitely isn’t back? I know I tease her, but I truly don’t seek to upset her.” She glanced up to the tiny little St Margaret’s Chapel. Since her death, she hardly visited, knowing where she wasn’t wanted, and not always seeking controversy.

  “She hasn’t been seen here since your arrival in August, I promise you – there will be nobody to disturb you. We are going to place a standard number of guards here, as with everywhere, so nobody arriving would know any one building was getting particularly special treatment. If he comes here, he’d have to hunt through each building, he’d never be able to guess where you are. That’s if he even comes up here to look for you. I mean, we don’t know what he wants. He might just want to get away.”

  “Let us hope that is the case,” said Mary, as they slipped through the thick stone walls into the peace of the small chapel. On approaching the tiny altar space, she paused. “It truly is beautiful in here, isn’t it?”

  “You can see why Lady Margaret loves it so much. And she is our resident saint, after all, she deserves to have such a beautiful, calm little chapel to reflect in,” said Janet, before poking her head through the door to check whether there was any sign of activity.

  Seeing Robert wandering by, looking lost and confused, she summoned him.

  “Robert – go to the main gate, see what is going on. There is no need for alarm, but we would like to know what is happening. If you find anything, then come straight back here. And if you can, try to make sure nobody follows you.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Robert dashed off down to follow his instructions, as Janet turned again into the room. “It will be alright, Your Grace. He may not even come up here.”

  “That’s what Sir William said. And why would he? Surely he must know that if he comes anywhere near me or the court, he’ll simply end up back in custody. It has worked once, and for so long, so we know we can do it again.

  Janet had no response, so stayed silent. The two women sat on the low wooden benches, waiting for news.

  “This is ridiculous – I feel as though I am the prisoner here. I have done nothing wrong, and I have nothing to be afraid of, surely?” Queen Mary stood and shook the creases out of her gown. Seeing her companion remain seated made her falter. “But it is ridiculous.”

  Realising that she was right, and that in all truth, Darnley could be anywhere in the city by now, Janet stood and moved across to where Mary was now waiting beside the great wooden door, as though summoning the courage to leave the building. “He could be anywhere, Your Grace, and in truth, hiding in here was not the most Queenly suggestion I could have offered you. I apologise, but we were taken unawares by the news, and—”

  “And nothing, really Janet, it is fine. I appreciate that none of us were expecting this today. And after such a lovely evening last night as well – half of Edinburgh must be only just waking up, and nursing such heads this morning.”

  A sudden cry drew both their attentions, and stunned them into silence. Pushing against the wall, Janet caught Queen Mary’s eye, trying to determine what their next course of action should be. Drawing herself to her full height, Mary made the decision for both of them, stepping through the wall and out into the still half-daylight. She was Queen, and she was going to behave like one.

  The clamour was coming from the main courtyard. Giving Janet no chance to protest, Mary grabbed for her hand, and pulled her companion towards the commotion.

  “Come, Janet, we will not be cowed like this.”

  Darnley, in full visibility, was practically nose-to-nose with Sir Thomas, who himself was being held back by Sir William and Argyle.

  “See, you have no courage to strike your King – I am the better of all of you, and I will not be treated as I have been. You will all pay for it.”

  “No, we won’t, Darnley. And this time, I refuse to even be angry with you.”

  The calm, steady tone of Mary’s voice brought them all to attention.

  The anger, confusion and even fear of just a few minutes before had vanished. Slowly and carefully, she approached the small party in the centre of the courtyard, thankful that the Castle was closed for the day. At least they could have their dispute in peace and private.

  “You were nothing but trouble my entire life,” Mary went on, “and you continued to trouble me in death. But enough is enough. This visit, I have helped my father come out of his shell, seen two of my closest friends take tentative steps towards happiness, and, I hope, finally resolved the issue of the Covenanters. Last year was a good year. A positive year. And so I refuse to let you and your childishness ruin any single aspect of it.”

  She was now directly in front of Darnley, her companions standing around her, staring in awe. This was the Queen Mary that Sir William remembered: strong, determined, confident in her own skin, and in her own thoughts. No panic, no fear; all the previous nerves and anxiety gone. This was the Queen Mary he had come to have nothing but respect for, regardless of his brief wavering from the path.

  William risked a glance at Darnley, and saw, for the first time in years, a hint of uncertainty cross his face. Darnley was used to a Mary fuelled with anger, and even terror of seeing him, wondering what he might do. But a calm, controlled Mary? This was something Darnley hadn’t had to deal with before. Even during the encounter at Holyrood, he had seen the momentary waver in her eyes. That wasn’t there now.

  “So, Henry,” Mary continued, using his Christian name for the first time in years, stripping him of any glory and title, “I am fed up with this childish behaviour. And I shall not tolerate it any longer. My aim for this coming year is to make it as positive as the last, and to that end, I have decided that I want you out of the city. I don’t care where you go, either in this country or elsewhere, but I want you gone, and away from my sight. I never want to hear of you in any house, town or city I visit. I never want to hear of you causing trouble, or even mentioning my name. Do you understand me?”

  Her former husband, the father of her only child, was silent.

  “I am not moving from this spot, and neither are you, until you tell me that you understand me, and that you will be gone from Edinburgh before the end of the day. There is nobody for you to say goodbye to, you can just go. So, I ask you again. Do you understand me?”

  Power exuded from every inch of Mary, now the ultimate royal, the only true Queen Regnant Scotland had ever had before the union of the crowns, and the first lady of its capital.

  Darnley blinked. The sign of weakness was enough to show Mary that he was starting to crack. Her speech had hit its target, and she pressed on.

  “A blink, Henry, is that all you can muster? I will want more confirmation than that.”

  “I understand,” Darnley mumbled.

  His former wife feigned deafness, even at her close proximity. “I’m sorry. I think we would all like to hear your response.”

  “I understand!” This time, it was a shout.

  If he was trying to shock Mary, or make her retreat, he had underestimated her. She didn’t flinch, but tilted her head and smiled at him.

  “Very good, Henry. I am glad we are in agreement. I shall bid you farewell then, and wish you good luck, but I do want to see you again. Ever. Goodbye.”

  With nothing further to say, Mary spun on her heel, and made her way out of the courtyard, her point made, and the tone for the new year well and truly set.

  Behind her, the men also walked away from Darnley, leaving him, watched only by an outer circle of guards, as he reeled from the confrontation.

  Returning to her small room in the Royal Palace, Mary was fizzing with emotion. If it had still been working, her heart would have been leaping out of her chest, and adrenalin rushing through her veins. Her eyes were bright, and she seemed almost drunk by the time Janet caught up with her.

  “Your Grace! That was incredible! You were magnificent!”

  “I really was, wasn’t I? Do you know, I’m rather proud of myself,” she replied, taking
Janet’s hands, before pulling her into an embrace. “Do you think it will do the trick?”

  “I believe so, I really do. He looked shocked to the core. And walking away that like, it was the perfect way to end the conversation. Just perfect.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  “Janet, have you seen Sir William this morning?” Queen Mary asked of Lady Glamis as they wandered down the Mile. The two of them were enjoying the quiet of a Sunday morning, halfway through January, before the day, and indeed year, had truly got going. She turned her face to hide her smile, as her companion flushed deep red. “Being dead does not stop colour rising, my dear friend; we all saw you at New Year.”

  “He, um, yes, he was at the Castle first thing, and I believe he is spending the morning with Argyle and Randolph. Are you requiring him? I’m sure I could get a message to him.”

  “Oh, I am sure you could, Janet, I am sure you could. And yes, I would like to see him later this evening, if you could arrange it? I want an update on Darnley. If Sir William believes he is definitely no longer a cause for concern, then I think it is time to set things in motion for my Progress. But I want to be sure Darnley definitely won’t be following me. I want a watch kept on him, wherever he goes, whatever he does, and I want to know that he definitely cannot come anywhere near us.” She laughed. “I’m sorry, I am rambling again. And do not fret, Janet, I want Sir William with us on Progress, but I need his help setting things up here for while we are away.”

  “I’ll get Robert to send a message to him. The room above the café, this afternoon, three o’clock?”

  “Excellent.”

  Dead on time, Sir William was waiting for the two women in their regular meeting room. He welcomed both with a deep bow, Queen Mary allowing Janet to take the credit for a bow far too low for a woman of her status.

  “Your Grace, you wanted a report on Darnley?” Without waiting for her instruction, Sir William continued. “Reports are that he has indeed left the city, as he promised, and has been sighted in Glasgow. Always was a stronghold for the family, I suppose. There is still a bravado to him, an arrogance, apparently, but he has somehow managed to stick to his word, and although he continues to declare he’ll be revenged on all of us nobles, as far as we can establish he has not mentioned you.”

  “You have soldiers following him?”

  “From the Glaswegian contingent, Your Grace. Some are still loyal to the Crown. And some of the lads here from over that way have been popping over every couple of days, to gather intelligence. I think the day out has been pleasant for them in many respects, catching the train and all that.”

  Mary smiled at the vision of the young soldiers, lining up politely at the platform along with commuters and tourists. “Very good, thank you, William. It is exactly what I had hoped to hear, and in truth, when we go on Progress, we will simply avoid that area. There is no point in antagonising him. So, in your opinion then, are we safe and sensible to go on the planned Progress?”

  “I think so, Your Grace, I don’t see any reason why it cannot go ahead.”

  “Just what I was hoping to hear, thank you.” She turned to Janet. “Very well then, we shall build on the plans we made during our time in Holyrood, and continue with our lists. I suppose it’s a shame we must travel largely without horses, but perhaps we might find a couple of headless horsemen to lend us their steeds once we get into the Highlands. What do you think?”

  Janet laughed. “It would be much appreciated, Your Grace, but I’m not sure we have that many headless horsemen in Scotland – we seem to prefer our variously-coloured ladies instead.”

  “There’s always the battlefields, Your Grace,” interjected Sir William. “Plenty of horses fell in battle – no reason why a few shouldn’t still be knocking around the place. We could fit in a couple of sites along the way, I’m sure?”

  “Not a bad idea, Sir William, and it’s not as though Scotland is lacking in battlefields. Very well then. We are halfway through January; I want to have plans in place for travel by the end of the month, and a list drawn up of who would wish to join me. Janet, can I task you with confirming the latter, whilst I confirm the route? It seems inconceivable that we haven’t done this properly before now.”

  Janet nodded and smiled. There had been excursions, of course, to various houses and castles nearby, but only ever on day trips, never a full-scale Progress. This was unchartered territory for the ghosts. Mentally, she started running through the list of who they would want with them. There would be guards, naturally, in case any of the hosts chosen along their route weren’t quite so keen on the idea of having Queen Mary and her court descend on them, and plenty of ladies-in-waiting, to ensure that the houses were well-kept before they arrived. The lower-born ladies could be sent on ahead with messengers, to let people know they were coming; warnings could be shorter, given that in their current state they required nothing in the way of food, and only limited space in terms of housing. Lost in her own thoughts, it took several moments for Janet to realise that her name was being called.

  “Lady Janet? Finally – I know I asked for your help, but it can wait until we separate, surely?” Queen Mary was watching her, her head tilted to one side in amusement. “Also, there begs the question of my father. No, don’t look at me like that. I don’t want all the good work we achieved last year going to waste. So, I thought that perhaps I could ask him to take my place, in charge of the Castle, during my absence? I mean, he may be offended, but it could do him some good, coax him even further out of his shell?”

  “If I may, Your Grace, I think it would be an excellent idea, if we were to bring in some of the men who served him in life, and see if they’ll stay behind whilst we travel. If he’s surrounded by people he knows, he might feel more comfortable taking charge?”

  Mary’s face cleared. “Yes, yes of course – you’re absolutely right. If you can identify some who might be suitable, let me know where I might find them, and if they’re not regulars in our group, I will seek them out. You never know, he may absolutely out-do me; I might not be needed on my return.”

  “Never, Your Grace, that could never happen,” said Janet, quickly, to soothe her mistress’ ego. For all she mocked Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary could be just as bad, when she thought she might be out-done in any way.

  “Well, if you are sure,” Mary mused. “No, you are right – he would never be bothered with all the reporting and the visiting, whereas I thrive on it. I think my position will be safe. Excellent!” She rose, clapping her hands together with delight. “Another plan formulated – I shall quite enjoy getting out and about again. Now, to the Tourist Information Centre, I think.”

  “Your Grace?” Sir William looked at her, inquisitively.

  “Well, I know where I want to go, but we might as well find out if any of those places have anything special happening over the next couple of weeks. Re-enactments, jousts, costumed-themed days and the like. They’re always good fun here, so why not whilst we’re out and about as well?”

  Sir William nodded. “An excellent suggestion, Your Grace. Might I accompany you, and discuss a couple of other points we should consider, for the journey?”

  “I should be delighted. Sorry for stealing your knight away, Janet, but we shall see you this evening in the great hall?” Since the time spent dancing to the maddening tune of the Nessie hats, a regular social gathering had taken to convening in the Hall, swapping tales of the day, and chattering far away from any unwelcome ears.

  As she had hoped, Sir William and Queen Mary’s visit to the TIC did indeed throw up a number of activities which she thought would be amusing for the court, as well as giving her some ideas for an imaginative haunting or two.

  “You see, Sir William, when I was last at Stirling, they were preparing things to be as they were in the time of my parents. Now, I know my mother is staying here with my father whilst we travel, but if I can get some information from her, now that it’s all done, I’m sure I can ‘be’ her for a couple o
f hauntings, see how it goes. If it’s just a swift flit across the corner of a room, or a reflection in a mirror, I doubt anyone apart from real history buffs will spot the difference; after all, we are only a generation apart.”

  “An excellent idea, Your Grace, I have to say I am looking forward to the trip – I’ve not really ventured far from Edinburgh since my death, and it’ll be good to get out and see the country again.”

  “Well, not long now. With Darnley out of the picture, I want to be out of here within a month. By the middle of February, we shall be on the road, and seeing what adventures we can find for ourselves.”

  “Will you be actively looking, Your Grace, or just letting them, shall we say, come to you?”

  “Oh, William, I cannot think what you mean,” said Mary, attempting to look coy at her loyal companion. “I shall not go looking for trouble, if that’s what you mean – but it does always seem to know where to find me, don’t you think? I’ll tell you one thing I want to sort out,” she continued, suddenly looking very determined. “There are a lot of houses which claim to house my ghost. True, I visited them in life, but I’ve definitely not been to them all in death, so there’s clearly something going on. A nice little piece of investigative work to keep us busy, don’t you think?”

  “Of course, Your Grace,” agreed Sir William, as they returned through the Castle’s walls, having sent chills down the spines of several tourists as they loitered, debating whether to go in or not. He avoided Queen Mary’s gaze as they walked up the main route of the Castle. Trouble did indeed know where to find her, and he was fairly sure she had never done anything to discourage it.

  As for the numerous ghosts of her, throughout the country, he was fairly sure she would manage to find a reason to go and haunt any women who happened to be pretending to be her, or even those inadvertently being mistaken for her.

  He suspected it was going to be an interesting trip.