Part 22 (1/2)

”The same wind blows in the Channel as on the Solway,” she said. ”No fleet will put out in this weather..

Gideon interposed briefly. ”The Protector is asking for action quickly against the Douglases, Lady Lennox..

”And that he shall have,” said the woman serenely. ”If you will allow me to make a suggestion.” She looked up at four, noncommittal faces and smiled. ”There was a time when I was a Douglas, and then I became more Tudor than Douglas. Now I am more Stewart than both. Listen..

And she outlined a plan which was bold, practical and, unintentionally, quite formidable in its ultimate effect. In which she showed herself to be, after all, more Tudor and Douglas than Stewart.

* * *With Will Scott at his side, Lymond met John Maxwell briefly by appointment in a bothy of mud and thatch in the hills near Thornhill.

Sitting watching by the bright, whining fire, Scott saw that Maxwell was now handling the other man carefully. He made one flattering reference to the conduct of December's cattle raid, but did not repeat the mistake. He referred also to his meeting with Agnes Herries.

”That goes very well. You were right about the letters. She had already created the mould, and I stepped into it. Not a bad thing. I shall try not to disappoint her..

”What did you make of her?” Lymond asked.

”Your reading was perfectly accurate. She will make an excellent wife-if that were the main issue. And if her marriage were a matter of free choice, I should be Lord Hermes tomorrow. But of course, it's not. I'm afraid it will take more than one cattle raid to shake off Arran. He's determined to have her for his son, and he has a promise on paper.~~”The Queen Dowager is not unsympathetic,” remarked Lymond.

”But Arran is Governor..

”And as such is accountable to the French for the fervent persecution of the enemy..

”Arran won't attack: he has neither the stomach nor the power..

”He won't attack; but he'll have to defend, shortly. There's another combined attack from Carlisle and Berwick coming next month..

The pupils in the golden eyes narrowed and expanded. ”How do you know that?.

”Spies. I have no direct contact with Carlisle,” said Lymond laconically. ”If you want my opinion to reinforce your own, then that's your bargain. Throw the Maxwells openly this time against Wharton, and you have the Dowager on your side. She likes the glrl, and she's being pushed for results by her relatives in France as well as by the French Amba.s.sador. Let her persuade Arran for you..

There was a long silence. Then the Master of Maxwell said, ”The real deterrent lies with my hostages at Carlisle. If I turn, they may hang. But, as you no doubt will tell me, life is cbeap..

Lymond raised fair brows. ”It is another disease that grieveth me.

What I will say is that sentimentality is expensive. Let them hang:it is still a good bargain..

Maxwell said, ”I am not so ruthless..

”We might differ about that. . . . But save the Carlisle chickens, and you let the Stirling stables burn..

”Some might feel one hen of a sort was worth twenty horses,” said Maxwell.

”And yet you won't get far without horses, be your poultry never so prolific..

Lymond was clearly mocking, and the other switched subjects curtly. ”Do you wish to continue the letters to Agnes Herries? We agreed that you should have this channel for messages..

Lymond said, ”Let it lapse. I can find other means now, if need be.” He rose. ”I am grateful for your co-operation. We may still meet, of course. Next month, for example. In spite of your fondness for the chicken ~Maxwell also got up. He hesitated, stooping a little under the low roof, his half-armour fogged with condensation. ”There is one piece of news you might find of interest,” he said. ”It's not the kind I should pa.s.s on to Edinburgh, as the woman is, I suppose, a niece by marriage. .

Lymond's face and ~voice were his first weapons, and he used them consciously with the same control that in his brother kept expression away.

But this time, something new filled the blue eyes; and Scott, sitting forgotten, saw it, and his breathing stopped. Then it was over, and Maxwell, un.o.bserving, was still talking.

”Lennox and Wharton are trying a new gambit this time. The Countess of Lennox is being sent north to Drumlanrig to try and splint together all these burst Douglas loyalties before the army invades..

Lymond said in his accustomed voice, ”The Lady Margaret Douglas? Angus's daughter? When is she coming?.

Maxwell shook his head and took up his hat. ”I have no other details. But I expect she'll arrive shortly before they march, and wait for her husband. I thought you might be interested..

He turned in the doorway, one hand on the lintel. ”Good day to you both. I fancy these meetings will not be to our loss..

”I fancy not,” said Lymond dryly; and Maxwell, mounted, leaned down. ”You have a nice touch with the Latin tag, but I found theFrench a little indelicate, here and there.” And, one of his infrequent smiles lighting the solemn face, the Master of Maxwell rode off.

Scott, straightening from dousing the fire, found Lymond waiting with both horses at the door, his expression angelical. ”O rubicund blossom and star of humility! O famous bud, full of benignity! O beautiful Master of Maxwell!.

Scott came out and took his horse. ”What's happened, sir?.

”Ce n'est rien: c'est une femme qui se noie,” said Lymond, and laughed. ”Love Mr. Maxwell, my cherub: he has brought your old age with him today. We require a hostage to exchange for Samuel Harvey. And behold, we have a hostage. My brilliant devil, my imitation queen; my past, my future, my hope of heaven and my knowledge of h.e.l.l . . . Margaret, Countess of Lennox..

PART THREE.

The Play for Samuel Harvey.

Why had he imagined the company to be perpetual? It had been created at Lymond's whim, and was being disbanded by the same lordly hand. . . . Scott took to watching for the return of the weekly messenger to the Ostrich, and he knew before anyone when the word finally came summoning Lymond to the Castle of Wark on the second of June for his portentous meeting with Samuel Harvey.

The Master announced the disbandment the same day in the hall, over the uproar of sixty furious employees. The Long Cleg had the loudest voice. ”We dinna want to go. There's no need. We're doing fine. We want to go on..

”By all means. But without me..

”No! You're to stay!.

”And who will make me?.

The thunder increased. ”We're sixty to one!” And Turkey had turned from his comfortable seat in the front. ”Two, man: two. And I'm the only other one that kens where your pay is..

Lymond s.n.a.t.c.hed the ensuing decrescendo in which to be heard. ”If you want to be paid, I'm afraid you must accept it. And even if you don't, you really can't make me stay, can you?.

And, of course, they couldn't. Sardonic to the last, he had surveyed them. ”All right. Get out. Think for yourselves for a change. You've been pedlars: go and be merchants. You've been mercenaries: go and find something of your own to defend. You've finished teething and there's the world: crack it open if you can. It's a d.a.m.ned sight p.r.i.c.klier than I am. In any case, whatever you do, keep well clear of me. . .

They were paid, and took their leave, clattering out in twos and threes: Oyster Charlie, the Long Cleg, ~Dandy-puff, Jess's Joe. Turkey and he were last, as Scott knew they would be, because they had special claims. The money for them was in French gold and was in Scott's own custody. But not in the tower.

Dreadjng a homily, Scott was relieved to find that Lymond himself, travelling light, was packing quickly for his journey to Wark and made no effort to see him alone. When the matter of the gold cropped up, the boy said nothing about a convent. He said casually, ”The store's on your road, as a matter of fact. If you like, I'll take a pack horse and ride with you so far..

Lymond had been indifferent, but Turkey was not. He thought bluntly that a fellow fetching a double salary of gold ought to have company on the way back as well. He attached himself firmly toScott, who attempted to argue and only succeeded in making him obstinate.

Thus in the long run, Turkey Mat as well as Scott took the Wark road along with the Master. The golden dales of Crawfordmuir fell behind them, broken, gouged and abandoned, and whether the four rivers they left were of h.e.l.l, or the Pischon, Dichon, Chiddikel and Perath of Paradise might have been hard for any one of them to say.

That was this morning. The question now was how far the tiger would enter the cage.

Lymond was riding very fast, taking no risks, although he had plenty of time to reach the north of England by next day, when Harvey's convoy would pa.s.s through Wark. Turkey Mat, knee to knee with him, was talking more than usual, and it was a little time before either realized that Scott had halted.

Waiting, the boy saw the Master turn, and then bring his chestnut in a fine arc back to him; saw Lymond's eyes flicker to the splintered, obelisk elms on his left and then alter. When he came abreast, however, he merely inspected Scott's green face and groaned. ”Oh G.o.d: sermons and symbolism; I can't stand it. Don't bother to tell me. You've put the gold in the convent..