Bond of Passion (44 page)

“She’s the queen!” Matthew burst out.

“Mary Stuart is dethroned. Finished! It is my opinion that she will never again sit on Scotland’s throne. The people loved her for her beauty, her kindness, her daring, her love for Scotland. But it was nae enough when she disappointed them wi’ one bad marriage after another. I believe her innocent of Darnley’s murder, but her association wi’ James Hepburn tainted her purity, for Bothwell hae many detractors only too glad to defame them both. I believe that even if she hae converted from the old Church to this new Protestant faith, Knox and his ilk would hae hated her. Mary Stuart is an intelligent and educated woman. Those who advised her had a difficult time wi’ that.”

“England’s queen rules supreme,” Matthew said. “Why is Mary Stuart so different?”

“England’s queen hae nae husband,” the earl said.

“There is the Dudley scandal,” Matthew countered.

“Suspected, but nae proven,” Angus retorted. “Mary Stuart, on the other hand, hae publicly paraded her marriages and love affair. They will nae take her back. And for this ye hae endangered us all. Worse, however, ye lied to me, Matthew.”

“I dinna!” he exclaimed.

“Ye dinna tell me the entire truth of yer involvement wi’ these misguided men,” Angus said. “My whole life I hae loved ye. I hae done my best by ye because of that love, and because of the love our father held for ye, but ye hae betrayed Duin. Ye show nae remorse for this. I dinna know what hae happened to ye, Matthew, but ye are nae the brother that I knew.”

“How stiff-necked ye’ve become,” Matthew said bitterly. “All ye can see is Duin, nothing more. They hae driven our queen away. Our beautiful queen wi’ her good heart, who generously gave freedom of faith to us all, old kirk or new kirk. They imprisoned her and stole her bairn. Why can ye nae see the wrong in it, Angus? Why?”

“I see the wrong. But ’tis a wrong that canna be righted. Much of Mary Stuart’s fate was of her own making. She was advised strongly not to wed Darnley, but she did. She was advised even more strongly nae to wed Bothwell. She did. Now she must live wi’ her decisions as ye must live wi’ yers. Ye will leave Duin on the morrow. I am banishing ye from my lands. Where ye go or what ye do is yer own choice. But ye will nae longer make decisions for Duin that ye hae nae right to make and put at risk all here.”

“No!” Agnes cried out, and then she flung herself at Angus’s feet. “Please, my lord, I beg ye. Dinna send Matthew away! Hae mercy!”

“Get up, Aggie!” Matthew Ferguson took his wife by the arm and yanked her roughly to her feet. “I need nae mercy of him. We’ll go to the Hamiltons. They are yer mam’s kin, and will surely take us in for our faithful service to the queen.”

Annabella had listened to it all, never speaking once. This was a tragedy. Now she spoke. “Angus, my lord and my love,” she began, putting a restraining hand on his arm, “surely if Matthew will repent of his errors in judgment, ye can forgie him.”

“I dinna need yer intercession, madam,” Matthew said angrily.

“Aye, ye do,” Annabella replied sharply.

“I dinna want it, then! Ever since ye came to Duin my brother hae changed. That is yer doing. He might hae wed a woman whose beauty matched his own. A fair lass wi’ a large dower. Instead he wed ye for a bit of land he could hae eventually bought. Ye hae turned him from Ferguson ways and now he takes sides wi’ murderers and usurpers instead of our true anointed queen. I hae committed nae sins from which I must repent, madam, but yer husband hae. When the queen is restored I will be given a title that I may pass on to my son, and he to his son one day.”

“Oh, Matthew, I dinna know what I hae done to gain yer enmity, but however I hae offended ye, I beg yer pardon for it. I want things to be as they were when I first came to Duin. I want ye and Angus once again to be loving brothers. I hae nae changed Angus. He hae done what he had to in order that we all might survive these changing times.”

“My God!” Angus Ferguson exclaimed, shocked by his younger brother’s words. “Is that how they turned ye? Is that the bauble they dangled before ye? A title? Jesu, Matthew! Mary Stuart will ne’er again sit on Scotland’s throne, and ye’re more likely to end up at the end of rope than gain a title. But I will nae allow ye to bring the rest of us down wi’ ye! Nor will ye blame my sweet good wife for imagined faults. I love this woman, Matthew. She hae no beauty that is visible. Her beauty is a different kind. It is one of the heart and of the soul. She is the best, the most perfect wife any man could hae, and she is mine. I am sorry ye canna understand that, brother.” He turned his gaze on Agnes, whose shocked face told him she had known nothing of the depth of her husband’s betrayals. “Aggie, ye may remain at Duin wi’ yer bairn. I’ll nae send ye into danger with this fool to whom ye’re wed.”

“I thank ye, my lord,” Agnes said with as much dignity as she could muster, “but I must go wi’ my husband. I will, however, ask sanctuary for our bairn until it is possible for us to establish another home.” When Matthew made to protest, Agnes said in soft but firm tones, “Nay, Matthew. I will follow ye into danger and the unknown, but I will nae expose our son to yer folly; nor should ye. Come now. We must pack if we are to leave on the morrow.”

“Wait!” the earl said. “I want to know how to get in touch wi’ the Hamiltons.”

“Why would I tell ye that? So ye can tell the King’s Men?”

“So I can release to them the messenger I have held imprisoned these past months. Lord Fleming sent a message that needs to go on. Since I hae already read it and found it harmless, I would let it pass on, for this is the last time Duin shall be used as a way stop.”

“Do whatever ye choose wi’ the courier,” Matthew said coldly. “I will carry the message myself to John Hamilton. It will help to ingratiate me wi’ him.”

“If the Queen’s Men should catch ye, brother, there will be nae doubt of yer treason. They will hang ye at the side of the road, and heaven help yer wife then,” the earl said quietly. “The messenger is paid to take the risk.”

“I’ll tell ye nothing,” Matthew said stubbornly. “Either ye gie me the message from Dumbarton, or it will nae be delivered, for ye’ll nae find the Hamiltons.”

“Angus, nay,” Annabella murmured low. “For my sister’s sake I beg ye to find another way. The countryside is so dangerous right now. Ye hae said it yerself.”

The Earl of Duin thought for a long moment. He was not of a mind to argue, and he wanted Matthew Ferguson gone. Though it broke his heart, he could no longer bear the sight of his younger brother. “Go to Brittany,” he said. “Yer mam still hae kinsmen in Mont de Devereaux. I will write a letter to Monsieur Claude. He could use a man of yer many skills. Go to Brittany, and avoid the Hamiltons for yer own sake, and that of yer family,” the earl advised.

“Go to hell!” Matthew said. “I will help to restore Scotland to the glory it lost when our beautiful queen was driven from this land.” Then he turned on his heel and left the hall, Agnes hurrying after him.

“Aggie!” Annabella cried.

Agnes turned to see her eldest sister with her arms outstretched. Unable to resist, she flew into Annabella’s embrace. “There is time for farewells, sister,” she said, and she kissed her sibling several times upon the cheeks. “Take good care of my wee Robbie.” Then she pressed her lips together to attempt to stave off the tears she felt near.

“Dinna go!” Annabella said. “It is too dangerous.” Her eyes were welling up.

“I am his wife,” Agnes said simply. “I go where he goes, no matter the danger.”

“Dinna stay wi’ the Hamiltons. They are at war, and their living will be rough. Their own women will be housed in hidden places to keep them and the bairns safe. The women in the encampment are whores and camp followers. They are nae fit company for ye. Go to our parents at Rath for shelter. Ye will be safe from the King’s Men there, Aggie.” She hugged her sister a final time, then released her.

“I’ll remember yer advice,” Agnes said, and then she was gone from the hall.

Annabella burst into tears when she had gone. The earl took his wife into his arms. He said nothing, allowing her to weep against his shirt. His eyes met those of his sister Jean, whose own eyes were filled with tears that now silently slipped down her pretty face.

“How hae this happened?” he asked her.

“His jealousy got the better of him, I fear,” Jean said, wiping her face with her apron. “It started when ye wed.”

Annabella, hearing this, stopped crying and said, “But I did nothing to make him dislike me so verra much.”

“Ye didn’t hae to do anything,” Jean explained. “When Angus took a wife everything began to change, and it would hae changed even if ye were the most beautiful woman on earth. That is what Matthew never realized. But he expected that since ye were plain of face there would be nothing between yer husband and ye but enough coupling to produce bairns for Duin. Instead ye and Angus fell in love. Ye forged a strong bond. Matthew felt cut out. The incident of his birth, being bastard-born, suddenly began to affect him. And then he wed Agnes.

“His position rankled him even more, especially after she bore him a son. Matthew wanted more for his son than just the stone house he built on the bit of land our father deeded to him. The Hamiltons were clever. They knew just how to turn him, and especially after he hae seen Mary Stuart as she fled Moray. I doubt the woman said more than a word or two to Matthew, and yet he was enchanted wi’ her, as so many men before him have been. None of us hae done anything to Matthew. He hae done it himself.”

“Ye must tell yer mam,” the earl said.

“In the morning,” Jean told him. “’Tis night, and I’ll nae bring her bad news now that will keep her awake till dawn.”

“Go to yer man, then,” Annabella said. “I can undress myself.”

“Thank ye,” Jean replied, and, turning, departed the hall.

Annabella sighed, putting her head against her husband’s shoulder. “How will ye get the message from Dumbarton to the Hamiltons?” she asked him.

“The courier will find a way. I suspect he knows more than he is willing to admit. We’ll send him on his way on the morrow. Actually, he can follow along after Matthew. I’ll warn him to be careful of being caught by my brother.”

“Angus, I am so sorry,” Annabella said.

“As am I, my love,” he responded. “But Duin will be safe, and I must find a way to warn Moray that he is being stalked and marked for murder. I may go to Stirling myself before the weather gets too wintry.”

“I’ll ride wi’ ye!” she answered enthusiastically.

“Nay,” he said. “I need ye to remain at Duin. Wi’ no steward now, ye must manage it all for me while I am gone. The beasties need to come from one pasturage to another nearer the castle before being brought into the shelter of the courtyard should a storm come. There should be one more boat from the New World due before winter sets in, my love. I need ye here. Promise ye will not attempt to follow after me this time. I should nae be gone long.”

Annabella sighed again, but this time from the knowledge that he was right. With no Matthew to shepherd everything, she must become the shepherd. Callum wasn’t old enough yet, although he would come into his new position sooner than he ever anticipated. “Verra well,” she said. “I promise I will remain at Duin, my lord.”

A
ngus went off to speak again with the messenger. He would, she knew, bribe the man heavily so he would be true. Annabella went to find her younger sister, who she knew would now be packing her possessions, having made her peace with Matthew and her plans to go with him. She found Agnes, as she expected, in her own apartment.

Agnes looked up as she entered. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying. “He agrees that the Hamiltons’ lair is nae the place for me. He will take me to Rath.”

“Stay here!” Annabella said. “Ye are more comfortable here, and yer son is here.”

Agnes shook her head in the negative. “Nay, Annabella, I would be as close to him as I can. I will never forgie myself for quarreling wi’ him, leaving him. I should hae understood him better, but I behaved like a spoiled bairn.”

“Ye behaved like a sensible woman,” Annabella said sharply. “Matthew is wrong, Aggie. He endangered everyone here wi’ his foolish actions. Ye need hae no regrets.”

“What if he is killed?” Agnes asked her sister.

“He is apt to be if he persists in choosing sides,” Annabella said.

“Angus chose sides,” was the reply she received.

“Nay, not really. What Angus has done is accept the facts in this matter. Mary Stuart is gone from Scotland, and unlikely to ever return. James the Sixth, for all he is a wee lad, now sits upon the throne, while Moray stands behind it. Those are the facts. Angus neither lobbies for the king nor seeks to bring the queen back. He simply accepts what is.”

“Matthew hae explained it all to me now. Our poor queen was driven from her throne by wicked and ambitious men,” Agnes said.