Lady Marsi Cargill is a royal ward. She is present at the death of Queen Annabelle. When the King sends for Hawk to take away his second son, James, Lady Marsi takes the chance to escape an unwanted marriage.
The Duke of Albany is evicted from the deathbed of his sister-in-law, his plans for James are thwarted when James disappears and then his plans for Lady Marsi go awry when she disappears.
Hawk has no idea that the additional nursemaid he takes away from the royal household is actually a royal ward. However, she keeps him hopping as he tries to take away His Royal Highness to protect him from the becoming a ward of the Duke of Albany. His plans go awry when James and a young man he has adopted disappear. First, Marsi declares their marriage. Then, they must follow the Jamie to his uncle's castle and then Albany's grasp. With the help of friends, Hawk will wrest Marsi and Jamie from the man who abducted them in accordance with Albany's plans.
Ms. Scott has a wonderful knack of writing stories that take place in Scottish history peopled with a combination of real and fictional characters. Having visited many of the sites she mentions and learned about this period in history, makes the reading that much more interesting. A highly enjoyable read with some surprising twists ans turns.
Perthshire, Scotland, December 1401
The dying Queenβs chamber at Scone Abbey was quiet but for
a murmur of conversation between her grace and her husband,
the King of Scots.
The couple had been conversing in low tones for some time.
Nearby, Walter Traill, Bishop of St. Andrews and thus
Primate of Scotland, knelt on a prayer cushion. His lips
moved in silent prayer for her graceβs soul, soon to take
flight.
The only other person there was the youngest of the Queenβs
ladies. Wearing a demure gray damask gown with a white caul
and veil to conceal her hair, she sat on a cushioned seat
in the window embrasure. Occasionally, she touched the
narrow gold ring on the middle finger of her left hand.
The door to the chamber opened to the sound of muttered
expostulation from the arcade outside. A terse butotherwise
unintelligible remark followed.
Silence fell when a tall, thin, dark-haired man entered the
chamber alone.
Bishop Traill crossed himself and got to his feet. With a
measuring look at the Queen, he said, "My lord duke, βtis
good of you to pay your respects. Recall, though, that her
graceβs doctors desire her to remain peaceful."
The Duke of Albany, at sixty-one, was the Kingβs younger
brother. He also stood third in line for the throneafter
his graceβs sonsβtwenty-three-year-old Davy Stewart, Duke
of Rothesay, and seven-year-old James Stewart, Earl of
Carrick.
Silver buttons and lacing leavened Albanyβs customary black
clothing. Silver also streaked his once glossy black hair.
His dark eyes glinted with intelligence and with the
calculating look that was habitual for him.
Queen Annabella visibly recoiled when he approached her
deathbed.
"Sister," he said, "I trust that you feel better today. I
come only to see if I might do aught to ease your way."
Annabella shut her eyes, then opened them and said, "Thank
you, sir. But I . . ."
When the pause lengthened and her eyes closed again, the
King said, "She has asked that we pray for her. Otherwise,
we can do nowt. She must rest now."
The firmness in his voice doubtless startled the others in
the chamber, for it was unusual. By nature, Robert IIIof
Scotland was gentle and scholarly.
Unimpressed, Albany said, "I mean only to assure her that
she need have no concern about her sons. Iβll lookafter
them and see that no harm befalls . . ."
Here, he paused, because the Queenβs agitation was plain to
all.
The young woman in the window embrasure behind the duke
stood abruptly. Her lips pressed tightly together,and she
hesitated, watching him.
Annabella tried to raise her head, but the King gently laid
a hand on her brow, saying, "Nay, my love." A wave of his
free hand warned his brother off.
Paying no heed, Albany gazed down at the Queen.The young
woman took a step nearer but stopped when the bishop moved
to Albanyβs side. "You do no good here, my son," Traill
said. "Her grace did ask that only her close kin attend
her. We must pray that Rothesay arrives before she departs."
"I, too, am close kin, Father. I will stay."
"You will go, because your presence upsets her grace when
she should stay calm. I have administered the lastrites. So
for you to disturb her further," he added on a sterner
note, "would be an ungodlyβin troth, a censurable act, my
son."
Albany seemed about to refuse again, but the bishopβs pale
blue gaze caught and held the dukeβs darker one.
Despite the sternness in Traillβs voice, his demeanor
remained serene.
Apparently, Albany saw something else, for with a nod, he
turned away.
As he did, he encountered the steady, accusatory gaze of
the Queenβs lady.
An approving spectator of his banishment, she stared calmly
at him without flinching, although the look hegave her
ought to have chilled her soul.
Despite his departure, Annabella remained agitated,
fiercely clutching her husbandβs arm. When he bent hishead
near, she muttered anxiously into his ear.
The King nodded and murmured back to her. The bishop
returned to his prayer cushion and his prayers.And the
Queenβs lady returned to her silent vigil.
Half an hour after Albany left, Davy Stewart, Dukeof
Rothesay and heir to the Scottish throne, entered the room.
He was just in time to bid his mother farewell.
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