"What will ye call her?" he asked.
"I had not thought on it yet," she answered.
"Since she is probably the last child we will ever have, I should like to name her," he said.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "What would ye call her?" she asked hesitantly.
"Frances," he said quietly. "Frances Leslie is to be her name."
For the briefest moment she did not believe she had heard him correctly, but his eyes were warm suddenly, and he smiled at her. "I will nae ask yer forgiyeness, Cat, for what I did to ye cannot be erased, or forgotten. But I dinna want James Stewart to destroy us and our family as he destroyed Bothwell. I know ye'll never love me again, but can we nae begin afresh, and be friends? I have never stopped loving ye, sweetheart, and I doubt I ever will."
She drew a deep breath, and felt her heart swell until it ached. A hard lump rose in her throat and tears burned her eyelids. Reaching out, she took his free hand and pressed it to her cheek. Then she looked up at him, and her eyes were like emeralds. "Bothwell was right," she said softly. "He said we would be safe wi ye."
Glenkirk lay the sleeping child in her cradle and then, returning to his wife's side, took both her hands in his. "1 am a luckier man than he, sweetheart. I have been given a second chance." He smiled again at her, and she tremulously returned the smile.
She would make her peace with him for her daughter's sake, and because they would be safe with him. But no matter how long she lived she would not forget Francis Stewart-Hepburn, the great border lord, the uncrowned King of Scotland, and her beloved. He would always live fiercely in her secret heart.
BOOK II
PART V. FLIGHT TO LOVE
Chapter 38
CATRIONA Leslie sat quietly before her bedroom fire watching the dancing flames and trying to absorb the events of the past weeks. Her husband was dead, or so everyone assumed. She could not, however, imagine Patrick dead, nor did she feel he was. Still, she sighed, the facts seemed indisputable.
Eighteen months ago Patrick had sailed from Leith in a six-ship convoy aboard his flagship, the Gallant James. They were bound for the New World on a fur-buying expedition. It was a new venture in the Leslie interests, and the Earl of Glenkirk had gone along to be sure the new business would be successful.
In part Cat blamed herself for his departure. Though they had made their peace after Frances Anne's birth, and there was no enmity between them, neither was there anything else. To all outward appearances the Earl and Countess of Glenkirk were an ideal couple. But Cat pined every waking moment for her exiled lover, the Earl of Bothwell. She said nothing, but Patrick Leslie knew, and continuously cursed himself for the supreme act of stupidity that had cost
For close to a year now the earl had toyed with the idea of mounting an expedition to the New World. Furs had always been an important part of European fashion, and the quality of skins beginning to trickle in from the New World was quite superior. "Why," asked Patrick, "should our ships carry such valuable cargo for others when we can buy the furs ourselves and sell them in Europe ourselves?"
So it was decided that the first Leslie ships would leave in early spring of 1596, followed three months later by a second group, commanded by the earl's brother, Adam Leslie. In the hope that his absence would give her time to heal and perhaps begin thinking of him in a more loving fashion, the Earl of Glenkirk chose to lead the expedition himself. Cat had even gone to Leith in the company of all their children to bid him a safe journey.
"I will bring ye back enough beaver to make a whole cloak," he promised gaily. "Dark fur shows yer beauty to perfection." And he kissed her tenderly.
"Go safely, Patrick, and return soon," she answered him.
"Ye’ll be all right, Cat?"
She smiled up at him, and for a brief moment he saw her as she had been before life had hurt her so badly. "I'll be fine, Glenkirk!" And the leaf-green eyes twinkled mischievously at him. "I am quite capable of being on my own-if ye call being wi nine bairns being alone!"
And they had parted. She had had no premonition of disaster, no premonition that she would never see him again. But six weeks ago, in mid-July of 1597, the second convoy of Leslie ships had returned to Leith heavy with a cargo of rich furs, and bringing also the terrible news. Adam Leslie, not even waiting to oversee the unloading, had spurred his horse cruelly to reach Glenkirk with the announcement that Patrick Leslie and his six ships had never reached their destination in the New World.
The king had quickly learned of the tragedy, and without consulting the Leslies, he declared young James Leslie the fifth Earl of Glenkirk. Cat was furious, though Glenkirk needed its lord. Once again James Stewart was interfering in her life. He had written to her this week that her mourning was not to exceed six months. She was to be back at court by spring.
His motive, couched in kindly rhetoric, made her laugh and swear alternately. The young earl was ordered to marry quickly to ensure the Glenkirk succession. Thank God, thought Cat to herself, that Patrick and I had the wit to betroth Jemmie to Isabelle Gordon two years ago-else King Jamie would interfere in that as well!
The king's letter continued. Since Patrick's mother, Meg, still lived, Glenkirk had the unusual distinction of having two dowager countesses. As the elder resided in the dower house, the younger must come to court so the young people might have their marital privacy, and so the older woman would not be disturbed.
Cat snorted. Ye dinna fool me, Jamie! Wi Patrick gone and Bothwell exiled, ye think to hae yer way wi me. Come to court and gie my son and his bride their privacy! Pah! Come to court and gie ye my body. You bastard! Ye say nothing of my other bairns. What would ye say if I arrived wi them all?
She was in a very difficult position and could not ask her young son for protection against the king.
But the young earl knew most of the reasons for~ his parents estrangement. Now, with the king seeking to entrap his mother again, Jemmie sought and found what he believed was a solution to free Cat without openly offending the king.
As he burst into her apartments she looked up, startled. "My God! Ye look so like Patrick," she said with a catch in her voice.
He knelt by her side, saying softly, "I hae the answer to yer dilemma, mother! I know how we may thwart the king wi'out bringing his wrath down on the Leslies!’Tis foolproof!"
She put a hand on his shoulder, and he saw the sadness in her face. "Jemmie, my love, I thank ye, but I am trapped, and I would nae shame yer father's memory by destroying his family-our family. The king wants me as his mistress and there is simply no escape for me. I must obey him."
"Nay! Listen to me! The king is nae aware that I know of his duplicity. What if after Bella and I and Bess and Henry are married this winter, we all troup to court, leaving ye here to complete yer mourning period. We return to find ye gone. Only a note remains… telling us ye've gone to visit our Leslie cousins in France in hopes of overcoming yer depression."
"And," said Cat, excitedly catching his mood, "if as soon as ye leave Edinburgh to return home, workmen arrive at Glenkirk House to completely refurbish it, the king will nae suspect that I dinna intend to return." She chuckled. "I will secretly transfer the deed to Glenkirk House to Bella, and my lodge, A-Cuil, to Bess. That way, when Jamie discovers that the bird has flown, he canna confiscate them. Yer right, my son! If ye play the loyal and loving subject then Jamie dare not touch anything Leslie. His involvement has been wi Bothwell, yer father, and me. If he believes ye know nothing, he can nae punish you or our family. His pride will nae permit it, for he is very anxious the English hae a good report of him. The old queen has never officially declared him her heir, and she might name Arabella Stewart, his first cousin. But, Jamie. Ye must publicly denounce my wicked behavior. Not even Bella must know of our plot."