Quest of the Highlander (Crowns & Kilts #5) - Cynthia Wright Page 0,29

of Finnart had fallen out of favor and been executed only a few months ago, and now the monarch was missing someone to join him in a game of chess or tennis. Lennox had become his new comrade, and one did not refuse the king.

“Do ye Highlanders hunt on the Isle of Skye, young MacLeod? I don’t recall seeing a forest there, let alone a proper deer park,” James said, toying with the pomander that hung from a chain round his neck. “The queen and I like to hunt fallow deer in spring. I am also in the process of bringing boar from France. My gamekeeper is building a special fold for them.”

Lennox tried to appear interested. “I am at your service, Your Majesty, if ye should desire to hunt with me.”

Suddenly, the moody young monarch got to his feet and looked around for the lackey who waited nearby. “I am thirsty. I shall return to the castle now.”

Lennox wore a bemused smile as he watched him go. How convenient to be the king and be able to simply walk away from a game ye cannot win. After a moment, he rose. He had brought a roll of paper and case of tinted chalks to the orchard, hoping he might have an opportunity to sketch, and now he took them up. On his way back to the castle, Lennox passed by a long open gallery that adjoined the royal apartments.

“Monsieur!” a female voice called softly.

He looked over, shocked to see the queen herself sitting on a bench under the sheltering half-roof. In her arms, she held a swaddled infant. Only one of her ladies was with her, a young French girl who gazed shyly at Lennox.

“Your Majesty,” Lennox said, approaching the edge of the gallery. He bowed to her. “I am surprised to see you…and this very handsome young prince.”

She gazed down at the tiny baby as if he were a treasure. “They like to keep my son from me, swaddled so tightly, in a darkened room,” confided the queen. “But my cousin has brought him to me, and we are stealing these moments together.” After a pause, she tilted her head to one side, observing him. “How do you find Falkland Palace, m’sieur? Your brother-in-law, Christophe, was instrumental in making it so beautiful.”

Lennox smiled, relaxing. “I think the palace is splendid, Your Majesty, but I am more taken with the sight of ye holding your new son. I must be bold and ask, would it be possible for me to make a sketch of ye two together?”

She blinked in surprise. “You are bold indeed, m’sieur. Others would be shocked that you are speaking to me at a time when I am supposed to still be hidden from the world.”

He noticed that she hadn’t refused. “Shall I leave you?”

Queen Mary laughed softly. “Au contraire! Please, do make the sketch, but with all possible speed. If your tante should appear, we would both receive a scolding.”

And so, Lennox stood at the edge of the gallery, using the stone ledge as his table. Filled with a familiar sense of pleasure, he opened his wooden case of charcoals. His fingers moved quickly. Perhaps, he thought, if she liked the sketch, she would invite him to paint them.

When he had finished, he handed the paper to the queen, who stared at it in wonder. “Mon Dieu, you have captured our likenesses perfectly in so short a time.”

Lennox leaned against a pillar and smiled. He had centered the drawing of mother and child on the paper, but the baby’s face was so sweet that he had also made a sketch of Prince Arthur’s tiny face in one corner.

“I am very happy that ye are pleased,” he told the queen.

“How can I thank you, m’sieur?”

Lennox took a breath. Of course he was not expected to actually request anything in return, yet had he not waited more than a fortnight for just such an opportunity? “Your Majesty, I traveled to Falkland Palace to have an important conversation with my aunt, Lady Tess Lindsay, wife of Sir Stephen MacFarlane. Circumstances have made that impossible…”

“Ah, I see! Oui, I shall gladly intervene.” Marie de Guise beamed. “Someone will bring you word of a time and place where you can meet with my dear lady. But now you must go, before anyone else sees you. I am not supposed to be outdoors, especially with my tiny babe—let alone in the company of a man! But should not a queen be