The Beauty of the Mist

by May McGoldrick

  The woman smiled and laid a kindly hand on Maria’s arm. “It is no problem, m’lady. You will have a beautiful dress by this evening.”

  Maria paused, thinking of what she might say to make these three understand, when the door to the bedchamber opened and Janet Maule followed the serving girl into the room.

  Maria opened her arms and smiled at her friend. “I am so glad you are here, Janet. Perhaps you can help me communicate my wishes...” The young queen stopped mid-sentence. The full curtsy that Janet gave her made her throat tighten. When the young woman stood up again, Janet remained where she was, silent and her head bowed respectfully.

  “Leave us,” she ordered the others without taking her eyes off her visitor. “Leave us now.”

  The note of authority in Maria’s voice left no room for debate. It took only a moment for the room to clear. Once the door closed quietly behind the departing women, Maria moved to Janet and took her trembling hands in her own. The young Scots noblewoman still would not lift her eyes.

  Maria knew what was wrong before she even questioned her friend. But she still had to ask. “Tell me what’s happened, Janet?”

  Janet’s eyes lifted only briefly to her face. “My stepmother Caroline. She has your ring.”

  “My ring!” Maria repeated. “I couldn’t find it before we left the Great Michael. I assumed it was lost.”

  “She knows who you are.”

  The two women stood in silence

  Maria looked into Janet’s face, searching for some indication of the young woman’s feelings toward her. For anger. But Janet had not come to vent her hostility for Maria’s actions. She had come to warn her. She had come as a friend.

  “I should have expected as much!” She whirled and crossed the room to the window. Below, the Groenplaats was bustling with vendors and townspeople. Maria considered the ring itself, with its intricate insignia. The combined coats of arms of her family and her husband’s family had been used on several portraits and decoratively throughout the Palace. What a fool she had been to think she could stay in the same city and avoid being caught. A company of helmeted soldiers, their long spears flashing in the sun, marched across the center of the square. “Do I have any time, Janet?”

  “Not much, Your Majesty. I...”

  “Oh, please don’t call me that, Janet,” Maria cried, turning a coming back to the young woman. She took her by the hand. “I am Maria to my friends. I will always be Maria to you.” Janet nodded tentatively, and the young queen smiled. “Now, tell me everything so that we can decide what must be done.”

  Leading her to a cushioned bench, Maria drew her friend down beside her.

  “Tell me what you know, Janet.”

  “I...I was hiding in my chamber. In truth, your maj...Maria, I had followed Lady Caroline to spy on her.” Janet smiled shyly and received a nod from Maria. “Well, I could hear everything. She knew from the ring that you are the Emperor’s sister. Indeed, a minister came when she sent for him.”

  “Which minister?”

  “Count Diego de Guevara. I recognized him from our arrival at the Palace last night. When her came to her chamber, Caroline demanded to meet with the Emperor immediately. They argued, but when she produced the ring, he agreed to her wishes.”

  “She’s seen the Emperor?” Maria leaped up in alarm and went to the window. “They could be on their way! I’ll be taken...”

  “Nay,” Janet cried out, following her. “It was impossible to see the Emperor. In fact, I don’t see how he could know anything about it, yet. He left the Palace in the middle of the night!”

  “Left?” Puzzled, Maria turned around to face Janet. “Why?”

  “Count Diego said that Queen Isabella gave birth to a child, late yesterday.” Janet continued. “He told her that the earliest she could possibly see the Emperor would be tonight after the welcoming feast.”

  “A child!” Maria couldn’t keep the pang of worry out of her voice. “Isabella was not due for nearly a month. And have you heard of any news of them? Did she fare well with the delivery?” Maria had her differences with Charles, but she had always admired and respected his wife, Isabella of Portugal.

  “From what I could gather, it sounded as if the mother and daughter are both fine.”

  Maria sent off a quick prayer of thanks for this news.

  “Count Diego said they’ve named the child Maria...for you...though I don’t think Caroline was overjoyed about any of it.”

  Maria couldn’t help the smile that brightened her features. That devil, Charles. He would try to soften her like this. But that thought quickly passed as she thought of Caroline and Count Diego.

  “Then Count Diego knows I’m here.” Her brother’s minister was an efficient man. He would come for her, himself. She involuntarily glanced out the window again.

  “Do you think Caroline knows where I am?”

  “I’m certain she does,” Janet answered. “Everyone in the delegation knew Sir John was staying at Hart Haus.”

  “Then the minister knows where I am, as well!”

  “I don’t think so,” Janet said slowly. “Caroline refused to say where you were. And she didn’t say anything about your...relationship with Sir John. She is determined to deal with your brother in person. But she assured the minister that you would be going nowhere, and I think he believed her.”

  Thank you, Holy Mother, for that, Maria prayed. Count Diego was a good man, but if he thought for an instant that Maria would slip through his fingers, he would have Caroline tortured on the rack without a moment’s hesitation. Well, whatever happens to Caroline Maule, she has brought on herself.

  “That might work to our favor,” she said, thinking aloud. “Perhaps, then, there is time to find Isabel, time to leave on the next ship.”

  Looking at Janet, Maria saw the look of alarm in her expression. “What else, Janet? You are not telling me everything, are you?”

  The young woman paused, struggling with what she wanted to say. “You know that Caroline is after Sir John.”

  Maria stared at her young friend. “She wants him for herself, you mean.”

  Janet looked steadily at Maria. “She will destroy him if she can’t have him. I know that.”

  “And you think she plans to disgrace him.”

  “Aye, Maria. At the very least. You don’t know her the way I’ve come to know her. She is evil. Just from what I heard this morning, I am certain she will accuse him of wrongdoing. Although she chose my father, I know that she will never be happy with him. And I know that he already hurts inside because of her. And I also know that she will not stop, will not rest, until he is found guilty of some crime. You are to be the wife of King James. You are to be Scotland’s queen. I don’t know what the laws are here, but in Scotland...Sir John’s betrayed his vow. By helping you to escape, by spending... time with you, his life is forfeit, to be sure. That’s why I think she insists on meeting with your brother face to face.”

  Maria shook her head. “But it can’t be. He is innocent of these things. I never told him who I was, or that I was trying to escape an ill-gotten marriage to your king. He doesn’t know the truth even now. As far as he knows, I am no one.”

  “But she has your ring.” Janet pressed. “All that she needs is proof that you were aboard the Great Michael. But even if she didn’t have the ring, everyone aboard that ship saw you with him. Perhaps Sir John’s men will keep silent, but the rest–the nobles who were aboard–they’d gladly prefer to have his head displayed on a pike over Edinburgh Castle rather than their own. And when the delegation returns without you, the Earl of Angus will be looking for someone to blame. John Macpherson is not of the Douglas clan. With Caroline’s encouragement, they’ll stab him in the back without a moment of remorse.”

  The laws of the Holy Roman Empire were not so different from those of Scotland. Though Charles would never harm one of his own blood, John Macpherson was another matter. If the marriage contract were to be abrogated, the Emperor would tr
eat John Macpherson’s actions as a capital offense. And he would punish him brutally. John would never have to worry about what would happen to him in Scotland. Maria began to pace back and forth in the room, her mind awhirl with what she could do next. This was all her fault. John’s life was about to be cut painfully short, and she alone was to blame.

  Maria stopped before the window and leaned heavily on the casing. She would not sit back and let Caroline destroy John. That would not happen; not so long as she lived. And then Maria knew that she could no longer leave Antwerp. The price of freedom was simply too high. The price was John Macpherson’s life.

  “How did you get here, Janet? How did you know where I was?”

  “I sent a message to David. He couldn’t come–the people from the Palace were expected aboard the Great Michael, but he sent several of his sailors to accompany me here.”

  “Aye, it’s Count Diego who is with Sir John right now.” Maria considered for a moment. “Janet, do you think Caroline might know that you’ve come to me with her plans? Or that you even know anything of her vile little plot?”

  Janet wrapped her arms around her middle. “Nay, Maria. I don't think she does. But this morning, after Count Diego left, I remained hidden in my room, wracking my brain for a way that I could contact you.” Janet took an deep breath. “It was then that Caroline must have noticed the partially open door to my chamber.”

  “Did she discover you there?”

  “Aye. She yanked open the door and stormed into the chamber. She demanded to know how long I’d been there.”

  “And?” Maria asked uncomfortably.

  “I told her that I’d just arrived and was only there to get my cloak.”

  “Did she believe you?”

  Janet shook her head. “I don’t know, but why do you ask?”

  Maria walked over to the younger woman and gathered her hands into hers. “When I am finished with what I am about to do, Lady Caroline Maule may be vicious and vengeful than ever before. I just want to make sure that you, my friend, will not be the target of her malice.”

  Janet’s expression was one of worry as she looked at the young queen before her. “What are you planning to do?”

  Pushing aside feelings of the brief moments of happiness she’d felt in John’s arms, Maria gathered her strength. She’d sworn to herself she would never do it. Not for her brother. Not for the Holy Roman Empire. But she would do it for him. She had to.

  “I am going back to the Palace. To the Emperor,” she announced. Her face was a placid mask, hiding the emotional chaos within. “I will be Queen of Scotland.”

  Chapter 19

  The Queen’s cabin stood ready.

  As Count Diego de Guevara inspected the furnishings of the room, John stood with his back against the wall and thought of Maria.

  Never had he wanted anyone as fiercely as he wanted her. Each moment away from her dragged at his spirit, but the ache in his soul was only a reflection of the ache of desire that the Highlander was feeling for her right now. Glancing at the narrow door that led into the small cabin where she’d stayed, he envisioned her perfect body sleeping peacefully in the great, canopied bed at Hart Haus. He shook his head to dispel the image, but she was not simply an image, she was a real woman, and he had no desire to shake Maria from the place she had taken in his heart.

  When will this man be finished, John thought impatiently. He had been physically present in escorting Count Diego and the rest of the Palace delegation through their formal visit of the Great Michael, but not in mind. Thankfully, David had stepped in and led the tour, pointing out the improvements that had been made to the huge warship since John had taken over as Lord of the Navy. The young navigator, somehow realizing his commander’s attention was elsewhere, had been eager and quick to respond to the varied interests of the visitors. So John had not needed to dwell for very long on the few questions directed to him.

  John felt the difference in him. He was not unaware of the watchful and appraising looks with which Count Diego regarded him. But the minister’s estimation of him mattered so little. What had mattered so deeply a month ago did not seem so important today. Though he knew the Great Michael was impressive, it was almost humorous to think that he simply did not care if this delegation were impressed by his ship or not. On the other hand, as he had been striding down the quayside from Hart Haus, his mind had been fully occupied with hopes the Maria would be impressed by Benmore Castle, the Macpherson clan holding. He knew that his family would love Maria, but would she take to his home and his parents as his brother’s wives had done?

  John’s mind drifted back to the lovemaking that had kept them up for most of the night. His life had carried him all over the world, and into the arms of many women, but his experience in the courtly art of love paled in the light of her rich and joyous response. Indeed, there had been moments when he’d risen out of the love mist only to realize that he’d been reduced to little more than an eager lad. She made him feel sixteen again– wild, uncontrollable, and driven with the buoyant thrill of the first time–and proud of the ecstasy that he had wrought in her.

  But he would do better than that, he promised himself. After dinner, after they returned from the Palace, he would show her another side. He would make tonight a feast she would never forget. But then, once they were married, they would have many nights that they would never forget.

  As the tour continued on along one of the gun decks, John heard Count Diego remarking on the German cannons that sat in readiness behind the closed gunports. Something about the marriage of excellent firepower and superb seamanship vaguely registered in the Highlander’s brain.

  Marriage! He would scarcely have believed it himself. The thought of it had been so remote a possibility for so long. He had reconciled himself to the bachelor’s life, and was not distraught at the prospect. But now...now a new life stretched out before him. One full of promise. He wondered briefly if he might coax Maria into marrying him at Benmore Castle right after they arrived. They could go to her people later– after the wedding. Aye, he would take her any place she wanted to go. They could swim in the blue seas off the coast of India! Lie in beds of silk in China! If she wanted, he would show her the wonders of the New World!

  The sun was warm on John’s face as they climbed into the bracing, fresh air of the forward deck. The Highlander looked up at the sails, tightly furled, and at the string of banners that flapped merrily in the spring breeze. The one that displayed the coat of arms of the Macphersons, with its rampant cat, claws outstretched. That same banner flew proudly over Benmore Castle.

  His oldest brother, Alec, and his wife, Fiona, had settled in comfortably at Benmore. Perhaps Maria would enjoy life in the Highlands. It was a rough and wild country, but he build her a new tower house of her own, with all the modern comforts. But, of course, she might just would she prefer to live at court, or in one of Europe’s fine cities–Paris or Rome perhaps. But bairns were best raised in the country, John thought. Interestingly, he’d always thoroughly enjoyed the time he’d spent with his nephews, but never had he ever thought of being a father himself. Until now, that is. He smiled to himself at the thought of a house full of daughters with Maria’s green eyes and her beautiful, ivory skin. But then, perhaps he should warn her of the other Macpherson bairns. Other than Ambrose’s darling daughter Jaime, there had been only sons born to the line.

  The Highlander sighed deeply, recalling how these very thoughts, voiced by other men, had sounded to trivial. So many times he’d looked on these things as weaknesses in those men. Frivolous, he’d once called these very same thoughts that now he eagerly embraced. What else matters more? he asked himself. What, indeed?

  John followed Count Diego down the gangplank and onto the quay. The steel helmeted soldiers came to attention. These were Spanish soldiers, and the ship’s commander knew them to be a formidable fighting force. Not that they had ever come up against an army of Highlanders.

  He wondered if that was how Mar
ia felt. There was so much that he was planning without ever speaking a word of to her. John cursed himself. He had to make sure that she didn’t feel bullied. The only thing that mattered was that she love him. Together they could plan the rest of their lives. Whatever she chose, whatever made her happy, he would be content with. So long as she remained by his side, his life would be perfect.

  Count Diego de Guevara turned and gazed contemplatively at the handsome ship, his hand smoothing his graying beard with one hand. The Palace men, despite their obvious efforts to restrain themselves, were clearly impressed. John caught a look from David that confirmed his observation. Then, with a word of approval–and one final glance at John–the minister mounted his black steed and led his party back into the city.

  Not moments after their departure, John was ready. Ready to go back to Hart Haus. To Maria. After giving his final instructions to David regarding the crew, he turned to leave, only to have his navigator stop him and mention the message he’d had from Janet Maule earlier–about wanting to reach Lady Maria.

  John shrugged off the incident. Most likely Mistress Janet was looking for more interesting company than the lot of boring gentry they’d brought along. John smiled, certain that the young woman had simply sought Maria’s company. He, for one, couldn’t blame her, and the friendship that had begun to blossom between Janet and Maria had been obvious.

  But as the Highlander strode through the crowded and winding streets of Antwerp, he hoped their visit had ended. They’d had a long enough talk, he decided magnanimously, and as he walked he prepared a cordial speech to start the young woman off for the Palace. But by the time John arrived at the Hart Haus, he wasn’t quite sure how civil he would be showing Mistress Janet to the door. He needed to see Maria. He needed to be alone with her. Climbing the stone steps, he thought his heart might burst if he couldn’t soon hold her in his arms, if he couldn’t look into her brilliant, emerald eyes and lose himself in them. The few, short hours he’d been away seemed like ages to him now. Marching into the front door of the house, John called out her name.