The Heather Moon (49 page)

Tamsin shouldered her way to the edge of the crowd. Baptiste followed, his fingers still wrapped around her elbow in a possessive way. She edged nearer the dais, stopping to peer between two women, elegantly gowned and perfumed, who glanced at her and immediately turned their backs to ignore her. In her simple brown kirtle over a chemise, and with her hair loose and wild, she knew they took her for one of the gypsies.

She drew herself tall, standing between them. Their haughty glances made her want to insist to them that she was, indeed, one of the gypsies.

She leaned forward to look toward the dais. The queen dowager, Marie of Guise, must be the woman holding the child, she thought. The woman was tall and slender, splendidly gowned and coifed in black silk and black velvet trimmed in silver and pearls. She smiled and tapped a foot to the music.

The little queen stood on her lap, a lively, pink-cheeked infant in a long, voluminous gown of creamy damask, with a little lace cap over her reddish gold hair. The child was so excited by the music and the crowds that she squealed, waved her arms, and bounced, standing, on her mother's knee while the queen dowager circled her small torso with long, tapered fingers.

Tamsin smiled, watching Queen Mary Stewart, and seeing Marie of Guise's warm pride as she kissed the child's cheek. She thought of Katharine, who often refused to sit, preferring to bounce on straight, stubborn legs in just that way while someone held her. Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge to find William, to be with him and to help him protect this royal child, just as she wanted to help him keep his own daughter safe.

She glanced past the dais, still searching the crowds for William, but she could not find him in the vast room. The men Baptiste had described did not seem to be about either. Nudging Baptiste's arm, she pulled him with her.

"I must speak with my grandfather," she said over the blare and beat of the music. "And you must show me these foolish men!"

He nodded and craned his head to look over the people; he was not a tall man, but taller than she. "Come," he said, and put his arms around her shoulders, leading her beside him and shoving through the crowd in a confident manner. They wended through the assembly until they approached John and Nona Faw. Baptiste tapped John Faw on the shoulder, who turned.

"She has come back to be with us," Baptiste said. "To be with me! I knew she could not stay away." He sounded proud.

"Tchalai!" Her grandfather took her into his arms, jostling Nona, who turned and uttered a glad cry. Tamsin went into her embrace next, and then stood back. Smiling, she held her right palm up to delay their rapid questions about how, and why, she came to be at the royal palace.

"I will explain," she said in Romany. "But first there is a much more important matter to tell you about. We must find some men who are disguised as Romany." She turned to Baptiste. "They are bad
gadjo,
you know," she said, taking a chance.

He frowned, mustache twitching. "They are stupid to pay silver to wear women's garments. But bad? I am not aware of this. If they are bad
gadjo,
we must keep away from them."

"No, we must find them. Listen," she said. Baptiste and her grandparents leaned toward her, and she explained, in rapid Romany and simple terms, what she knew. "They are men from England, come here to steal the baby queen," she said. "They disguise themselves as gypsies. I think they will try to sneak the royal child out with the Romany when our people leave here. They mean to blame the crime on the Romany."

Nona gasped, and John Faw scowled at Baptiste. "Did you know any of this?" he asked.

"No, no," Baptiste said. "I would not allow them to harm a child! We must find them. I will kill them with my bare hands!"

"That is not needed," Tamsin said. "We must keep them away from the queen and urge the royal guards to capture them. Come. Show these men to us, Baptiste Lallo."

"I will," he said firmly. She heard his anger, and felt the sincerity of his hand at her elbow. Suddenly she liked Baptiste very much, for his simple pride in himself and his people. Her grandfather, she realized, would never have asked her to marry a man she could not like.

She looked back, and saw that her grandfather followed them, while Nona stayed with the Romany. Baptiste guided them closer to the dais, where Marie of Guise stood, now, to hand the infant queen to another woman, who Tamsin assumed was the child's nurse. Mary Stewart seemed temperamental, fussing a little, cramming a fist in her mouth as her nurse murmured to her.

The women glided off the dais in the company of a man in a green velvet coat and brocaded doublet. The crowd parted, and the royal party disappeared through an arched doorway.

Although the music had stopped for their departure, the Romany performers began again, this time with young male acrobats and jugglers, and the music resumed for the crowd that remained. Tamsin looked at Baptiste, who still searched the throng.

"Ah," he said. "There they are! This way!" He pulled on Tamsin's right hand and half dragged her toward the exit that the queen and her party had taken.

Four men, in bright head wrappings and striped cloaks, shouldered toward that doorway as well. The men murmured to the guard at the door and were allowed to leave. Tamsin and the others approached the guard.

"All 'Gyptians must go down to the courtyard," he told them. "No roaming about the palace." He held the door open. "And we want ye out o' here by dark, ye know that."

Tamsin stopped. "Do you know William Scott, the laird of Rookhope? Has he come by here?"

The guard looked surprised. "Aye," he said. "He came into the hall earlier with Madame the Queen Dowager and Her Grace, but left with Sir Perris Maxwell. Why would ye be looking for Sir William?" He grinned and leaned forward. "A wee tryst, hey? Well, he has that repute. If I see him, shall I say that a bonny gypsy is seeking him?"

"Tell him," she said, "that his bonny wife is seeking him." She flashed the guard a brilliant smile, and saw astonishment flicker in his face. She shook her hair back over her shoulders and glided past him like a queen, head high.

Tamsin, Baptiste, and John Faw hurried along a narrow gallery, its windows open to the music and laughter in the courtyard. The sun had set long since, and the shadows had grown deep. Baptiste took her arm again.

"Wife?" he asked. "Wife to this William Scott? The
rya?"

"Yes," she said in Romany. "He is here in the palace. I must find him and tell him about these disguised men."

"But you said you broke the jug with him!"

"I did. He did not like that much. Nor did I," she added. "We have decided to stay wed."

Baptiste stopped. "But I thought you came back to wed me." The keen disappointment in his voice caused Tamsin to stop too. John, who walked more slowly, caught up to them.

"I am sorry, Baptiste," she said. "If I were free, I might be happy to wed you." Her grandfather gaped at her.

"I truly wanted to be your husband," Baptiste said.

"Be my friend," she said earnestly. "I would like that."

He sighed. "A beautiful woman is like a beautiful horse. Many men are eager to own her, but only one can."

"No one owns me, Baptiste," she said. "This marriage is my wish."

"Beautiful, and strong-willed too." He sighed again. "I suppose I must be your friend." He looked long-suffering.

She smiled, pleased by his support, and pleased too that he considered her beautiful. That feeling, first sparked in her by William, was still new and wonderful.

"Where are we going?" John Faw asked, glancing around.

"William asked me to meet him in that tower over there." She pointed through the window. "We must cross the courtyard."

"This way," Baptiste said. "There are halls that connect. I was up here earlier, walking with a pretty
gadjo
lady."

"Baptiste!" Tamsin said, half laughing.

He grinned. "Did I say I would be a faithful husband? I am far too pleasing to the ladies."

"Then you will have no trouble replacing me," she said.

"True," he said simply, and took her arm to tug her along.

They passed through another wing of the palace, hastening down an open gallery and around a stair into the north wing, running through large, deserted, connected chambers. Each room was decorated with painted ceilings, floor tiles, tapestries, and fine furniture. Their rapid footsteps echoed, and Tamsin glanced around in awe.

"Fine things they have. We should not be here," John muttered. "They will accuse us of being light-fingered."

"All will be well," Tamsin assured him. "But where have those men gone? We did not see the direction they took!"

"If they want to steal the little one, they will go this way," Baptiste said. "The royal chambers are at the end here. My lady friend told me that," he said.

They entered a large, empty chamber, its two tall windows spilling evening light. Torches glowed in sconces, revealing sumptuous decor, and a dais and throne. At the other end, a small alcove housed a locked door. Around a corner were stairs, and a narrow corridor ending in a niche, with a tall window and a cushioned seat in its recess.

"This is where I am to meet William!" Tamsin said. John and Baptiste went down the stairs to look, and Baptiste came back a few moments later.

"We just saw the disguised men through a window in the stair," he said. "They are out in the courtyard, where our people are gathering up their goods to leave this place. Stay here and wait for your man, and tell him the danger." He paused. "Tchalai—he is a lucky man, your
rya."
He grinned, then turned and ran down the turning stairs after her grandfather.

Tamsin smiled, thankful to have found an unexpected friend in a man she had misjudged. She went into the window recess and sat on one of the cushioned seats to wait for William.

The tall window was cut so high that she could not see over its sill, but beside her seat was a tiny window. She peered out over the peaceful loch behind the palace, watching as swans glided over the water, and birds skimmed overhead, and the last of the light faded from the sky.

Chapter 29

"Above all, we must have a care of the little lass your Queen."

—Giovanni Ferrerio, about Mary, Queen of Scots, 1548

"There you are," William said, a little while later. Tamsin turned with a sense of relief at his voice. He came down the corridor, and she moved toward him.

He reached out to take her hand, and then handed her a little cake and a small silver cup with cool wine. "I am glad you found this place," he said while she ate. "I didna see you earlier, and I began to worry. I have been in the queen dowager's apartments. She tells me that she is glad for the entertainment, but didna invite the gypsies herself. One of the guards said the wanderers claim to have been invited and paid."

"Arthur Musgrave paid coin to Baptiste Lallo to bring the gypsies here. But we can trust Baptiste," she added. "I was wrong about him—he is a good man. I am sure he can be trusted."

"Ah," he said. "That makes sense. Your grandfather would surely try to choose a husband whom you could love."

"I couldna love any man as I love you," she murmured, tipping her face up. He leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. "Though I like him. He thinks I am beautiful." She gave him a teasing smile. "William, he knows the men who want to steal the little queen," she said urgently.

"Tell me," he murmured, and drew her toward a corner of the little hall. He leaned a shoulder against the wall beside her, while she explained in a half whisper what she knew about the men Baptiste had seen.

"My grandfather and Baptiste have gone off to find them," she finished. "The men should be easy to recognize in the crowds. They are wearing headcloths and cloaks, like women, though they think themselves very fine."

He smiled. "Excellent," he murmured. "I have just been in the queen dowager's apartments. She will want to know this, but I canna go back to tell her now. These men must be found and stopped."

"We'll go to the courtyard. We can summon the guards to search the palace." She stepped forward.

"Not we," he murmured, putting out an arm, hand flat against stone, to block her passage. He looked down at her. "I want you safely out of this."