The smile she gave him was radiant, and he was slightly taken aback. "Jesu, mother! If that is the way ye smile at all the men who please ye, I am surprised ye hae not been ravished at least a hundred times!"
She laughed happily. "A thousand, my impudent young lord! Now be off wi ye, Jemmie! I hae a wedding to plan." He turned to go. "Jemmie." He looked and she held his eyes while she rose in a gesture of respect. "I am most grateful to ye, my lord, most grateful. Ye'll make a fine earl. I am so verra sorry I canna be here to watch ye govern."
Young James Leslie bowed quickly to his mother and then was gone.
Chapter 39
JAMES Leslie's fiancée, Isabelle Gordon, was a younger daughter of George and Henriette Gordon, the Earl and Countess of Huntley. As Huntley House had been burned to the ground two years before by a group of fanatic dissenters, she was to be married at Glenkirk. Some said the Gordons had been singled out not because they were Roman Catholic-half of Scotland still was-but because they had openly sheltered the Earl of Bothwell several years ago.
Now, however, the king had given his blessing to the marriage, and was even coming to the wedding, which would be celebrated on December 20. The young couple would then keep the Christmas through Twelfth Night holidays there before going to Edinburgh for the winter season.
As soon as the wedding date was set, young Isabelle came to Glenkirk. Cat insisted, "She must learn how to run this castle if she is to be its chatelaine."
"But, madame," protested the future Countess of Glenkirk, who was pretty and sweet-natured though inclined to be lazy, "surely ye will always be here to help me."
"Nay, my dear Belle, I will nae be making Glenkirk my home. The king has suggested I return to court. I will be making my home in my townhouse in Edinburgh. Jemmie's grandmother, however, will be in the dower house should ye need advice on running the household. 'Tis really she ye should go to anyhow. Meg knows Glenkirk better than any of us."
George Gordon looked across the cozy family hall at Cat. "Bella, my dear," he said smoothly, "will ye run to the nursery and see that old Nanny has settled the littlest bairns for the night?"
"Yes, papa." Isabelle dutifully rose and did as she was bid. Yet she wondered what they wanted to talk about that she was not allowed to hear.
"Do ye need help, Cat?" asked Huntley when his daughter had gone. "Dinna tell me that Jamie has dared to pursue ye again."
"He has, George. I am allowed six months to mourn Patrick, and then I must present myself at court for the king's pleasure."
"The bastard!" swore Lord Gordon.
"Dinna fret, George. I will follow my heart."
The Earl of Huntley looked at the widowed Countess of Glenkirk, and a slow smile spread over his face. "Jesu! What a vixen ye are!" Then more seriously, "He'll nae take his vengeance on Jemmie and Belle, will he?"
"Nay, George. What reason could he offer in public for attacking two innocent and loyal young subjects? They know nothing of the matter."
"Is this why ye asked to have the wedding date set now?"
"His majesty suggested it, George. He felt the Glenkirk succession should be protected as soon as possible."
Gordon chuckled. "More likely he felt ye should be In his bed as soon as possible."
Cat laughed out loud. "Poor Jamie would be very upset to know how transparent his motives are."
"Why shouldn't they be to us, Cat? Hell! The Stewarts have fucked every noble family in Scotland. We're all cousins!"
Henriette Gordon leaned forward in her chair and asked softly, "What will ye do, Cat?"
"Dinna ask me questions I canna answer, Riette."
"But, Cat-"
"Hush yer pretty mouth, woman," said her husband.
So while she openly went about the business of preparing a lavish wedding for her eldest son, Cat Leslie secretly prepared for her escape to Italy. In this endeavor the Kiras, the Leslies' bankers and business associates for many years, willingly helped.
Over the next few months Cat's vast fortune would be transferred to the Kiras' Rome bank, by way of Paris. Though the King of France might have to cooperate with Scotland, the pope in Rome did not- especially when the matter involved a noble Catholic widow fighting to preserve her virtue against the chief Protestant heretic in Europe.
It was decided that Cat would sail down the North Sea, into the English Channel, and across into France. From there she would go overland to Italy, as the sea route was much too dangerous. The Mediterranean teemed with Turkish pirates. She would have her own coach, driver, footmen, and outriders. The only other person at Glenkirk aware of Cat's plans was Con all More-Leslie, Glenkirk's assistant captain-at-arms. Cat wanted only Glenkirk people in her entourage, and Conall was the man to arrange it.
"Well," he said dourly, "if it has to be marriage to Lord Bothwell or royal whoredom to Jamie Stewart, Bothwell is the lesser evil. I'll help ye, Mistress Cat, but gie me time to choose my men carefully. Catholics only. The Protestants would be too uncomfortable in Italy. Single, uninvolved men wi no one to come home to, so they'll stay wi us. No youngsters-too hotheaded.
But able men in their twenties or thirties. And I’ll nae talk to any till just before we go. Less chance of the word getting to one of Jamie's spies. Who will ye take to serve ye?"
"Susan, mayhap one other."
He nodded, not surprised that she already had it all worked out. She was like her great-grandmother, Janet Leslie, and never did anything without carefully thinking it out. Too many people had underestimated her intelligence and resourcefulness.
He chuckled, and she asked, "Why do ye laugh?"
Blue eyes crinkling with mirth contrasted with his weathered face. He replied, "Because I would gie a year's pay to see the look on Jamie Stewart's face when he finds out ye've escaped him again!"
"Oh, Conall," she admonished him, her own laughter bubbling up, "hae ye no respect for the crown?"
"The crown, aye! But Cousin Jamie? 'Tis either a foolish man or an overly stubborn one who pursues a woman who so obviously doesna want him. Are these qualities that make a good king? I dinna think so."
"But in his kingly duties he is a good king, Conall. 'Tis in his personal life he falters. He has never really been comfortable wi his fellow man, though he would desperately like to be." She turned to the windows facing out across the hills. "Ah, Conall! All I ever wanted to do was live my life quietly at Glenkirk."
"Pah!" snapped the older man. "Dinna delude yer-self. Ye've always been too restless. 'Twas nae Lord Patrick who yearned for court." Her stricken look stopped him. "Ah, lassie, dinna fret over it now! I'm a Leslie myself-albeit from the wrong side of the blanket-and I know 'tis the women in this family who hae always been the wild ones."
As the autumn deepened she took every opportunity to ride the Leslie lands, leaving the wedding plans in Meg's competent hands. But Meg had always understood Cat far better than anyone else, and one day the older dowager accompanied Cat on her ride.
" 'Tis much too lovely a day to be indoors," Meg announced loudly, for the benefit of the stableboys. "If I look out my window at those fields of Michaelmas daisies once more, I shall go mad." She pulled herself into the saddle and chuckled. "Lord! It must be two years since I last rode. Come along, Cat!" And she gently kicked the fat sides of her old brown mare.
Cat followed, wondering what had possessed Meg to come riding with her. They rode in silence for at least fifteen minutes, then Meg slowed her horse to a walk and moved up next to her companion. Cat turned to face her. "Well, Meg? What gets ye onto old Brownie? And dinna rhapsodize to me over Michaelmas daisies!"
Meg Leslie laughed. "I thought that was a rather nice touch, my dear, but ye are right of course. Michaelmas daisies dinna interest me. Now tell me, Cat, when do ye leave us?"
Cat was not startled, and answered quietly, "After Bess and Henry's wedding."
"Ye go to Francis?"
"Aye."
"Is it safe for the family?"
"I believe so with all
my heart, Meg. Since the king doesna know that Jemmie knows the situation between us, I dinna believe he will hold our young earl responsible for my defection. He will be angry, but Jemmie will be angrier, and will vehemently castigate me for the wretched manner in which I refused the wonderful honor offered me."
Meg laughed again. "Then Jemmie knows yer going."
"Knows? Why, bless me, Meg! He arranged it! I was all ready to gie up, and yield myself to James. But Jemmie feels his very innocence in the matter will save us. He feels that this is the only chance I will have to escape, and he is right. What reason could James possibly give for an undue display of vengeance on our family now? We are at peace, and the Leslies of Glenkirk hae always been loyal to the crown. This is the one time I may flee wi'out endangering our clan."
"And if Francis has found a new love, my dear? He was always a man for the lasses, and never particularly constant."
"He was to me, Meg," replied Cat quietly.
"Aye," said the older woman. "He was… but he is gone from ye almost three years, Cat."
"He loves me yet, Meg, as I love him. I feel it."
"But," persisted Meg, "if he doesna, will ye return home?"
"Not as long as James pursues me, Meg. I simply cannot be the royal whore. I will settle in France if Bothwell doesna want me."
"He will, Cat," said Meg gently. "I simply wanted to be sure ye knew what ye were doing. There are many women in yer position who could be happy enough being the king's mistress."
"If I loved Jamie," said Cat, "I would be content But I hae never been a woman who could lie wi a man she disliked, and I dinna care for the king. I will nae forgie him for what he did to poor Patrick. It was the act of a cruel man, and I detest deliberate cruelty!"
Then Meg said something that brought tears to Cat's lovely eyes. "Ye go wi my blessing, my dear. Strange as it may seem I know that Patrick would approve yer course. He never forgave himself, ye know."
"But I forgave him, Meg. I could no longer love him as I once did, but I did forgie him." She smiled. "Jemmie knows nothing more than that I go before spring.’Tis better that way. Conall is coming wi me. Susan also, though I've said nought to her yet."
"What provision hae ye made for the children, Cat?"
"Colin and Robbie will remain wi the Earl of Rothes' household until they are each fourteen. Then they are to go to the University in Aberdeen as Jemmie did. Afterwards, their European tour, and then marriage. Jemmie and I hae just finished negotiating a marriage agreement wi my brother. Wi his only son dead, he is without an heir, and has four daughters to marry off. Colin will wed the eldest when he is twenty. As my brother's heir, he will be the next Master of Greyhaven. Robbie will wed wi the next daughter in the following year. I hae settled a good sum on Robbie, and bought him a fine house wi good lands near Greyhaven so he may always be quite independent of his older brother.
"Amanda I hae betrothed to Charles' heir. My daughter will be the next Countess of Sithean."
Meg raised her eyebrows. "I thought my daughter Janet aimed higher for her son."
Cat laughed. "Janet is not simply wed to a Leslie, she was born one. Her son may hae a title, but my daughter has an enormous dowry! And, by strange coincidence, Amanda is in possession of several hundred acres of pastureland needed by Sithean for their sheep.
"Little Morag will become Malcolm Gordon's wife. She's to hae a very large dowry, and a manor house of her own. Even younger Gordon sons come high!"
Meg's eyes sparkled. "Dear lord," she said breathlessly, "ye grow more like Mam as ye get older!" Then she became serious again. "The bairns? What of them? Ye canna leave yer little ones."
"Jemmie will send them to me when I am settled, Meg. Twould be dangerous for them to travel wi me, and they would slow me down. If the king sends his people after me, the bairns will make me vulnerable. Twill be only for a few months."
Meg nodded "I suppose 'tis best" They rode in silence for a while longer. Then Meg spoke again. "Cat, I know I hae no right to ask, but Ian and Jane-"
"Are Bothwell's also. Aye, Meg. Even he did not know until just before he went into exile. When we first parted I thought I should never see him again, and I wanted his child. Patrick, however, no sooner had me back then he was bedding me, and he kept on bedding me until 'twas quite obvious I was wi child. He assumed the twins were his, and for all our sakes I said nought."
"Ye were right, my dear. But, poor Francis, having to leave Scotland knowing that he was leaving not only ye, but his bairns also. Ah, my Cat, ye both deserve yer happiness."
"Thank ye, Meg. Ye hae always been a good friend to me."
The older woman leaned from her saddle and, reaching out gripped Cat's hand. "Yer more daughter to me than my own two. Be happy, Cat! Please be happy!"
Chapter 40
JAMES Stewart smiled sweetly at his wife. "No, no, Annie! 'Tis unthinkable. Ye canna possibly go to Glenkirk for young James Leslie's wedding." He patted her distended belly fondly. "Nay. We must nae endanger the bairn."
"But it is so close to Christmas!" wailed the ^queen, "I do not want to be without ye then."
"I will be back to spend Christmas wi ye, Annie."
"Ye cannot unless ye leave immediately after the wedding, and that would be most rude!"
"Then I will nae be back," said the king irritably. "What difference does it make? I will be here for New Year's and Twelfth Night."
"But in Denmark we always celebrate Christmas en famille!”
James was becoming annoyed. "Ye are nae in Denmark, Annie! Yer Queen of Scotland!" he roared, and the queen began to cry.
Dear heaven, thought the king, I canna hae her guessing why I dinna want her wi me.
"There, there, m'dear," he said convincingly. "I canna offend the Leslies of Glenkirk. I must go to the young earl's wedding, especially since 'tis my cousin of Huntley's wench he weds. The Gordons gie me trouble enough, and I will nae gie them an excuse to start more trouble by not going to their daughter's wedding. 'Tis winter, and the roads are bad. Be reasonable, sweetheart. Ye canna go junketing all over Scotland in yer present condition."
"The child," sniffed the queen. "That's all the good I am to ye, Jamie. A royal brood mare!"
"We can hae many bairns, Annie," said James, "but where would I get another like ye?"
The queen's lovely sky blue eyes filled to overflowing. "Oh, Jamie," she said in a choked little voice.
The king put an arm about his wife. "Now let us hear no more of this foolishness."
"Yes, Jamie," said the queen, sighing happily. But he barely heard her, so intent was he on thoughts of the lovely Cat Leslie, who would soon be his.
It was over four years since he had seen Cat, and their last meeting had not been everything a man hopes for from the woman he desires. But now, alone and unprotected, the widowed Countess of Glenkirk should prove more obedient to her royal master's wishes.
Awaiting his arrival, Cat knew what she might expect. She realized that she could not escape James' attentions even in her own house, and she steeled herself to be sweetly complacent so he might not suspect that she intended fleeing. She must not even speak openly with Jemmie.
With her son's marriage impending, Cat had removed her things from the apartments of the Earl and Countess of Glenkirk. It had not been easy leaving the rooms that had been hers all these years, but in a few weeks they would rightfully belong to young Belle. To camouflage her plans for escape, she went to the expense of redoing an entire suite of rooms for herself in the west-tower apartment, which had once belonged to her great-grandmother, Janet, before that lady built her own castle at Sithean. The tower had not been used since, and Cat fancied she could feel the other woman's presence.
"Well, Mam," she sighed aloud, "I am in another coil. Ye always warned us to stay clear of the Stewarts. My willfulness has cost us all, and now I must flee my home or submit to the king's lust. I wonder what ye would think of me if ye were here today."
She walked to the bedroom windows an
d gazed out across the Glenkirk hills to Sithean's loch, and to Greyhaven, her childhood home. Here she imagined her great-grandmother waiting for her lover, Colin Hay, the Master of Greyhaven. Well, if Mam could defy convention to be with her lover, thought Cat, then so can I!
She sighed. Ah, Bothwell! 'Tis almost three years since the terrible day I stood on Rattray Head and watched that damned ship take ye from me. And in all that time we hae nae dared to even correspond. I dinna doubt that there hae been many women in yer bed, but is there one who's love has made ye forget me? Dear God! Please! No!
And as she closed her eyes in an agony of doubt his face swam before her darkened eyelids. That dearly beloved rugged face. The deep sapphire eyes, the sensuous mouth, the marvelous auburn hair and elegant short tailored beard he always had.
As she leaned against the cold stone she imagined the velvet firmness of his broad shoulder, and his big hand gently stroking her long hair. Suddenly, for the first time in all these long months, Cat wept. She wept in great gulping sobs. She wept for Patrick Leslie, and the happy years they had had before James ruined their lives. She wept for their loss of innocence-both hers and Patrick's. But most of all she wept for the Earl of Bothwell, the man she loved, cruelly exiled and impoverished because of his cousin's jealousy. Francis -who so loved his castle, Hermitage, and his beloved borders-forced to wander Europe alone and friendless.
But soon, she vowed, soon she would seek him out across Europe, and when she found him… She stopped. What if he had remarried? After all, even Francis might have to compromise his honor in order to live. No! He had not remarried. But they would marry when she found him, and then Jemmie would send their bairns to them, and they would live to a peaceful old age, far from the intrigues of the court.
But first, she must contend with Cousin Jamie. He would come crawling into her bed when he arrived for the wedding. Well, and she laughed through her tears, he would find her eager. She, who was so used to regular lovemaking, had not had a man since her husband went off those long months ago. She despised James, but her body craved a man's touch. For once it would be she who used him!
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