The Loveless Marriage Page 12

  There was a note of excitement in her voice and Fyna smiled.

  “Then I am sure we need not worry about anything,” she said.

  At the same time she could hear the harshness and violence in Hamish’s voice.

  She knew that he was planning something, but what it could be she had no idea.

  Chapter Seven

  It was a relief to find on the Sunday that the King had decided to have a quiet day.

  The local people had hoped he would attend the Kirk, but he refused.

  Prayers for his Divine protection were offered in all the Churches in Edinburgh, also in all the Parishes of Scotland that had received news of his safe arrival. .

  Breakfast was eaten late and after it the King announced that he was going riding in the Park.

  For the first time since leaving home, Fyna was at a loss.

  She had never thought to bring her riding habit with her.

  If she had done, she knew that hers would not have been smart enough for such a special occasion.

  The King, however, had specially asked the Earl to ride with him.

  She watched them and two other of His Majesty’s entourage ride away under the trees.

  The rest of the party had already announced that they wanted to go sightseeing.

  It was arranged for carriages to take them to Rosslyn Castle, which a long time ago had been the centre of a great forest filled with deer.

  There were other places they wished to see in Edinburgh, but the crowds that were still wandering about would make it a slow process.

  Fyna thought that this was a good opportunity for her to look at the books in the library and it was certainly a very impressive collection and she thought that it would take anyone at least one hundred years to read them all.

  She searched for one book about Edinburgh that she felt would be especially interesting.

  As she did so, a servant came in carrying a bouquet of white heather.

  When he brought it to her, she looked at it in surprise.

  “Is this for me?” she enquired.

  “It were left for you, my Lady,” the servant replied, “by a gentleman at the door.”

  Because he said ‘gentleman’, Fyna was immediately aware of who it was.

  ‘But why,’ she asked herself, ‘why should Hamish do anything so strange as to bring me a bouquet, which he had never done before? Unless, of course, he had some other reason for coming to Dalkeith Palace.’

  “Did you take the bouquet from the gentleman?” she asked the servant.

  He shook his head.

  “No, my Lady. ’Twas one of the young women.”

  Fyna stared at him for a moment and then she said,

  “I wonder if I could speak to her. I see that there is no card with the bouquet, so I have to guess who I have to thank for it.”

  It seemed a plausible explanation and the servant replied,

  “I’ll tell the young woman to come and speak to you, my Lady.”

  When he had gone, Fyna looked at the bouquet carefully.

  She told herself again that it could be from no one but Hamish.

  She had not made friends with anybody in Edinburgh and had been with the house party most of the time she was there.

  She could not help feeling that Hamish was up to something and it could only be nasty

  After the way he had abused the King, she was very certain at the back of her mind that he intended mischief of some sort.

  And if he was caught, it would react most unfavourably on the Clan.

  She could imagine only too well what the McBraras would say.

  And it would destroy all the goodwill that she and the Earl had tried to create by being married.

  Desperately Fyna wondered just how she could manage to prevent him from causing any harm and somehow she had to make an effort.

  It was a quarter of an hour before the servant who had brought her the bouquet returned and with him was one of the chambermaids.

  She was a young woman, not unattractive, in a mob cap and a gingham gown.

  She made a low curtsey to Fyna and the manservant withdrew, leaving them alone in the library.

  “I understand,” Fyna said, “that this pretty bouquet was given to you by someone at the door. As whoever sent it to me omitted to put in a card, I thought perhaps you could help me guess who it was.”

  “’Twas a dark gentleman, my Lady,” the chambermaid replied.

  “Was he wearing a tartan?” Fyna enquired.

  The chambermaid nodded.

  “Aye, my Lady, and it were mostly yellow.”

  Fyna drew in her breath.

  The bringer of the bouquet, as she had expected, was undoubtedly Hamish.

  “Perhaps you could remember what he said,” she suggested.

  “He says, my Lady, ‘will you give this to the Countess of Braradale? I says I’d do that, and he says. ‘take it to her yourself, she canna be far away’.”

  “I says to him, I says, ‘I canna do that unless her Ladyship be in her bedroom.’

  “‘Where is that?’ he asks.

  “‘Up on the second floor,’ I replies, ‘but now her’ll be downstairs and the footman must carry it to her’.”

  She paused for a moment to catch her breath and then resumed her tale,

  “‘So she is up in the top of The Palace,’ the gentleman says, ‘I thought as how she’d be near to ’Is Majesty the King’.”

  “What did you say to that?” Fyna asked.

  “’I shakes me head,” the chambermaid replied, ‘and says, ‘no, ’Is Majesty be in the State Rooms on the first floor as be proper for ’im to be’.”

  Fyna drew in her breath.

  She felt certain that this conversation had taken place because Hamish wanted to know where the King slept.

  “Did the gentleman say anything more?” she asked.

  “He thanks me, gives me a coin for me trouble and then walks off,” the chambermaid replied.

  He had gone, Fyna thought, because he had found out what he had come for.

  Now she knew that she had to tell the Earl what had happened and why she thought that Hamish was so dangerous.

  She had been very careful since she had been married not to let him know about Hamish.

  She thought it unlikely that anyone else would tell him that there was one member of the MacSteel Clan who had caused so much trouble.

  She was determined not to make the MacSteels out to be worse than they were or to let him know that the fighting, the murders and the stealing of the cattle were almost entirely due to Hamish.

  Apart from the fact that he was a MacSteel, he was also a distant cousin, which made the whole position even worse.

  Yet she could hardly stand by and let Hamish try in some mad way of his own to insult or perhaps injure the King.

  Therefore the Earl would now have to know about him.

  There was, however, no chance of talking to her husband alone before luncheon.

  It was a long-drawn-out affair, as a number of distinguished visitors had joined the house party.

  The King made it clear that he wanted the Earl with him during the afternoon.

  There was also a great discussion, which took a long time, about what was to happen the next day.

  The King was going into the City immediately after luncheon and so he decided, on the advice of his guests, that he should wear the uniform of a Field Marshal.

  He had one with him, he said, with blue pantaloons edged with gold.

  It was already arranged that members of the household and several important Peers, were to wait outside Holyrood House to greet him on his arrival.

  Fyna could not help feeling rather sorry for the King.

  She learned that when he finally reached the Entrée Room it was to receive numerable addresses from the Churches of both denominations, then the Highland Society of Scotland and from members of the Scottish Universities besides others.

  She felt that the King was just
ified in finding all this this extremely boring.

  But he apparently knew that it was his duty and that it was an essential part of his visit to Scotland.

  There was a lot of talk about and it was nearly teatime before she had at last a chance of being alone with the Earl.

  Then it was only for a few minutes while the party moved from one room to another.

  “I need to tell you something urgently,” she said in a whisper.

  The Earl smiled at her.

  He went to the side of one of the Equerries.

  “I want to take my wife into the garden,” the Earl said. “If His Majesty wants me, you will know where to find me.”

  The Equerry understood and, putting his hand under Fyna’s arm, the Earl then moved her swiftly away from the rest of the party and down the stairs.

  There was a door into the garden that she had not noticed before and it led them onto a terrace.

  Then, without speaking, they descended some steps onto one of the green lawns.

  The flowers, that had been specially tended for the King’s visit, were a splash of colour.

  The Earl moved away from them until they were under the trees.

  He found a comfortable wooden seat from where they could view Dalkeith Palace.

  Yet it would be difficult for anyone in Dalkeith Palace to see them.

  They sat down and the Earl enquired,

  “Now, what is worrying you? I realised at luncheon that there was something wrong, but we did not have a chance to talk to each other when everyone else had so much to say.”

  Fyna gave a little laugh.

  “Too much. And I am sorry for His Majesty if he is continually surrounded by such very voluble subjects.”

  “It is what I think he really prefers,” the Earl said. “But now we are talking about you.”

  “There is something worrying me” Fyna confessed, “but I don’t know quite how to tell you about it.”

  The Earl put his hand over hers.

  “You are not still frightened of me?” he asked.

  She felt a little quiver go through her because he was touching her.

  Then she said quickly,

  “Not of you – but of what you might – think of what I – tell you.”

  “I can answer that only after I have heard what you have to say,” the Earl said. “But I think, Fyna, it would be a mistake for us to have secrets from each other. It makes it difficult for me if I have to read your thoughts as I am doing now.”

  “What do – you think I am – going to tell – you?” Fyna asked.

  “I believe it is something that concerns the Clan,” the Earl replied.

  Fyna made an eloquent little gesture with her hands.

  “I cannot argue about that. Yes, it does concern the Clan.”

  “Then tell me.”

  She was not looking at him but staring with unseeing eyes at the flowers.

  At last she started,

  “The trouble – between our Clans was – stirred up and made – active by one – particular person.”

  “I suppose,” the Earl said, “you are referring to a young man called ‘Hamish’.”

  “You – know about – him?” Fyna asked in surprise.

  “My Elders have never stopped telling me that he is at the bottom of all the trouble,” the Earl answered. “And your father mentioned him somewhat indirectly.”

  “You must – realise that it is very – uncomfortable for – Papa and for – me to be – aware of the – trouble that Hamish has caused.”

  “There is a black sheep in every family,” the Earl said. “And if there is any trouble in the future, I will deal with him.”

  “I hope – you will,” Fyna said, “because he is here in – Edinburgh.”

  “How do you know that?” the Earl asked almost sharply.

  “I ran into him in the street yesterday when I had bought some materials from a shop that was only a short way from where we were watching the procession.”

  “What did he say to you?” the Earl enquired.

  “He said some very – unpleasant things about – His Majesty,” Fyna answered, “and then – this morning, when you were – out riding, he left – a bouquet for me – at Dalkeith Palace.”

  There was silence for a few moments and then the Earl asked,

  “Are you telling me that perhaps in his own way he is fond of you?”

  There was silence before Fyna managed to reply in a low voice,

  “He always – wanted to – marry me. In fact, although Papa – was not aware of – it, he tried to – carry me away from The Castle by climbing – into my bedroom.”

  “What did you do?” the Earl asked.

  “I was – saved because, as you know – I am fey,” Fyna answered. “I knew – although it seemed – extraordinary that I was – in danger. So I bolted – myself in the – room at the top of the Tower, the one that – was at one time a prison.”

  “That was very clever of you,” the Earl said, “but surely your father spoke to Hamish.”

  “You – don’t – understand,” Fyna said. “In all the bad things he does – he manages never – to be caught and so is never brought – to justice.”

  The Earl did not speak, but after a moment she explained,

  “He went from – room to room – in The Castle looking for me and making – a terrible mess. There was – nothing to prove that it was – him. Therefore there was – no point in Papa – being upset.”

  “And when he commits other crimes, like killing my shepherd,” the Earl answered, “he manages to escape.”

  “He disappears,” Fyna answered, “and you cannot – accuse a man of a – crime unless you have proof.”

  “I can see your point,” the Earl murmured. “But, of course, it is a situation that cannot be allowed to continue.”

  “If you had Hamish – arrested,” Fyna said, “I doubt if anyone in – the Clan would – give evidence against him. They would be far – too frightened that he would – avenge himself on them in some way.”

  The Earl was frowning and she knew that he was not so much angry as worried.

  She did not want to increase his anxiety, but there was something more that she had to say.

  In a low voice she went on,

  “When he brought the bouquet, he managed to – find out from – the servant girl to whom he – gave it that – the King is sleeping on the – first floor.”

  She paused and then went on,

  “It was what he might have expected, but she confirmed it and that there are, I believe, pictures in the City of the State Rooms in Dalkeith Palace.”

  The Earl knew exactly what Fyna was saying and his frown deepened.

  “It would be – terrible,” Fyna added quickly, “if we have to – tell the King that there is – someone from – my Clan who is trying to – kill him. At the same time – I think the soldiers should be on – guard.”

  “As they are already,” the Earl replied. “I have never seen the King have more armed guards and attendants than he has here. I think personally it was arranged by Sir Walter Scott to impress His Majesty rather than because he was afraid that in coming to Scotland the King would be in any particular danger.”

  “Then you must make – sure that – nothing happens to – spoil his visit or to make him – aware that a member of the – MacSteel Clan hates him.”

  There was now a frantic note in Fyna’s voice and the Earl said soothingly,

  “You are not to get so upset. I assure you that it would be an impossibility for anyone to injure or kill the King while he is in Dalkeith Palace.”

  Fyna did not speak and the Earl carried on,

  “Of course His Majesty could always be shot at while he is in the streets or speaking in an Assembly of people. In that case Hamish, or any other assailant, would be torn to pieces by the crowd and there would be no escape.”

  “It is very – unlikely that Hamish would ever risk – anything so obvious,” Fyna s
aid. “That is – why I was – frightened because he was – asking where the King slept. He climbed up the wall of – our Castle and he may well – climb up the outside of Dalkeith Palace.”

  “I am sure no one has thought of that,” the Earl replied. “But I will take care that there are guards below His Majesty’s window as well as outside his bedroom door.”

  “That is – what I want – you to do,” Fyna murmured. “But please – please do not say that it might be a – MacSteel who is – plotting such evil against him”

  “Leave it to me,” the Earl said. “I promise you I will be very tactful. But at the same time His Majesty will be safe.”

  “Thank you ­– thank you – that is what I wanted – you to say,” Fyna cried.

  “I hope you too are safe from this particular admirer,” the Earl said in a different tone of voice. “But you must promise that if he approaches you or makes any attempt to see you, you will call for me at once.”

  “I promise.”

  The Earl rose to his feet.

  “It is a bore,” he said, “but I do think we should go back. His Majesty made it very clear that he wanted me to be with him today. Therefore, although I would much rather be with you, I have to obey orders.”

  “Of course,” Fyna agreed. “And thank you for – being so understanding.”

  “I must say one thing to you, Fyna,” the Earl said with a touch of amusement in his voice. “Being married to you never ceases to be unusual and not what I expected at all.”

  “Are you – really asking for – quiet life?” Fyna retorted. “I cannot help – thinking it is something you have – never experienced before and you would – find it very boring.”

  The Earl laughed.

  “As things are, it is always the unexpected. When I came to Dalkeith Palace, I certainly did not expect, when there are so many people to guard the King, that I would have to do anything myself to ensure his safety.”

  “But it is – something you – will do,” Fyna begged, “because I think he is very charming and quite unlike the sort of King I thought him to be.”

  The Earl laughed again.

  “That is what we all think. Like you he invariably has a surprise up his sleeve.”

  They went back into Dalkeith Palace to find that the King and the rest of the party were just sitting down for tea.