A couple of weeks later we spent the day riding in the countryside because we needed a freaking break. The night before we had been introduced to Lord Châtellerault. It had been a difficult meeting. He was in his mid-thirties, and wore a thin mustache under a long, thin nose which made him seem to be always sneering. He wore the fashion of the time — a thick cloak with a high collar over a tight coat with a stiff ruff at the neck, but Châtellerault’s clothes looked like he had said to the tailor, “More, please! Heavier! Make it really uncomfortable!” On his bottom half he wore trunk hose and fancy shoes that made his feet look diminutive in comparison to his weighty upper half. He topped his look off with a heavy necklace, and a sword at his hip. He was so overburdened by his clothes that he seemed to be constantly irritated.
He was next in line for the throne and bore the heavy weight of it by being as somber and pompous as possible. And because his grasp on power was tenuous, it made him dangerous. He was suspicious of everyone and came across as having a mean streak a mile wide. We would need to be very cautious around him.
The meeting had been exhausting. He was curious about us because he was in a battle for control against Mary of Guise and we had dined with her the week before. Lady Fleming had connections to everyone, being all the right sort of people, even if no one really wanted to spend time with her.
So after a nerve-wracking dinner party, we woke up with nice weather and decided to go for a ride. Magnus had been riding every day, but I didn’t get out much. It was imperative I get some air and a chance to breathe. And Mary of Guise had given Magnus permission to ride and hunt in the parks around Holyroodhouse.
Magnus gave me a tour of the woods, pointing out the trees and the banks of the lochs, and somehow, watching him, it came to me, this man was so beautifully competent. I joked, “Dang it, Magnus, you beautiful highlander. Can we go somewhere so I can have at you?”
“Here in the woods? Haena we had enough of ‘have at ye’ in the woods?”
I laughed. “True! It’s just something about horses that gets me all hot.”
He joked, “Tis half the reason tae ride them.”
The ride did clear my head, the fresh air, the scents of pine and that deep dirt of a forest floor. Woodsy and fragrant I filled my lungs. And knowing we needed to solve this shit, a plan unfolded. I rhetorically asked, “How are they going to find us?”
Magnus was arched back watching a falcon soar on the wind. “I daena ken, they will need tae... I daena ken.”
“They don’t even know our date, right? Not even the year, right?”
“Nae, they will hae tae search for us.”
“I was thinking about how we are in Edinburgh, hanging out with royals, or at least their regents — we’re at court. That is amazing, we have to be able to get a message to Lady Mairead somehow. We have to. So what about this... Put your signature down.”
“What... write m’name? Where?”
“I don’t know, deeds and contracts, registries, family records. What about a contract with Lady Fleming? You could witness important documents, the kinds that will last through time.”
He turned his horse towards mine. “Och, tis a good idea.”
“I know, I’m quite proud of it actually.”
He turned back into the lead. “The best part of it is I will get tae use m’pens.”
“You still have them?”
He chuckled. “I hae so many pens. I dinna realize I had collected so many.”
“That’s hilarious, but also awesome. So when in doubt, if there’s a paper on the desk, offer to sign it.”
Fifty-three - Kaitlyn
In my journal I wrote: Fucking March.
“I want to kill her.”
Magnus got the front panel on my heavy gown open and pulled it off my arms. The whole heavy gown hit the floor with a thud. “I ken, mo reul-iuil. Everyone is gravely irritated by her.”
I sighed. “You sent my maid away — you really want to undress me?”
“Och aye, I will do it tonight. I hae been thinkin’ on it.” He began the work of untying the back of my kirtle.
I smiled, but then remembered I was irritated at Lady Fleming. “The moping, the