Jamie, the Leslie heir, was now fifteen and on short leave from the university. He stood as tall as his father, and from the saucy looks the servant girls gave him, Cat knew that her eldest son was already being instructed in the arts of love. The thought disturbed her a little, for she was only thirty-one. As she hugged him he touched the unfamiliar short gold curls.

"What happened to yer hair, mother?"

"I gave it to the king," she answered.

"Jesu! Ye defied him?"

"Aye."

He saw the pain in her eyes, and saw as well that she tried to hide it. Putting his arms about her he said softly, "Dinna grieve, mother. We love ye too, and are very glad to hae ye home again."

Colin and Robbie were home from Rothes. They swarmed over her like young puppies. In great contrast, Cat's two youngest daughters, Amanda, six, and Morag, five, were quite shy with the beautiful, sad woman whom Grandmother Meg said was their mother. Within a few days, however, Cat had won the two little girls over. Only Bess remained aloof.

"She is jealous of ye," said Meg with amusement. "Soon she will be grown, and she's been feeling her own femininity lately. Then ye come home-and lord, Catriona! Yer over thirty, and absolutely beautiful! 'Tis very hard on poor Bess. She adores Patrick, and up until now has had a great deal of his attention. Now he spends most of his time wi ye."

The matter came to a head when it appeared that Patrick's nightly efforts had borne fruit, and Cat began to swell with another child. The unhappy Countess of Glenkirk overheard her eldest daughter discussing the matter with her oldest brother.

"I think it is disgusting," raged the girl, "at her age. And especially after what she's done to our father by whoring wi Lord Bothwell!"

There was the sound of a slap, and Bess shrieked, "Ye hit me, Jamie. Ye hit me!"

"Aye," Jamie replied. "And, Mistress Jealousy, I'll smack ye again if ye ever speak of mother like that. We know naught of what happened between mother and father, but I do know that mother loves Francis Hepburn. She has come back because she loves us too, and would nae allow the king to destroy us."

"How do ye know that?" sneered Bess.

"Because John Leslie, the Rothes heir, is at University wi me, and he overheard his father telling his uncle that Glenkirk only got his wife back because the king threatened to destroy our whole family unless she left Bothwell."

"Good for the king!" gloated Bess. "He is a godly man."

Jamie laughed cruelly. "Yer a fool, little sister. Nay, perhaps just a foolish little virgin. The king lusts after mother, and when she refused him he forced her to leave Bothwell by threatening us."

"Then why does she hae father's child if she doesna love him?"

"To make peace between them, I would think, little sister. She is a brave and bonnie lady, our mother, and if ye are not civil to her in future I'll beat ye myself!"

Cat was amazed at how much her son knew and how wise he was at his age. She could also see that she would have to keep an eye on Bess. The child was growing quickly, and understood enough half-truths to be confused. Cat knew that her daughter's angry opinions were not her own, but were echoes of an adult voice. Suspecting the offender's identity, Cat took steps to remedy the situation.

When Cat had fled to Lord Bothwell, her faithful tiring woman had not known the reason for her mistress' behavior. Returned to Glenkirk, Ellen had taken care of Bess from the busy Sally and Lucy Kerr. As the months went by with no word from Cat, Ellen's confusion turned to anger. She unwisely expressed her anger to young and impressionable Bess. And now, with her lady's return, Ellen deserted Bess and resumed her duties with Cat, thus adding to poor Bess' bitterness.

Cat could see that Bess missed Ellen, and though Ellen had always been valuable to her, her over-solicitous attention had begun to get on Cat's nerves. Ellen seemed to think that Cat had done a terrible thing, and was fortunate that Patrick forgave her. Rather than scold her old servant, Cat took her aside and spoke to her confidentially. "Ellie, I am going to need yer help wi Bess. She is getting to the age where she needs an experienced hand to guide her. Ye looked after her while I was away. Would ye mind taking charge of her again? She is so fond of ye."

"I will do whatever ye wish, but who will take care of ye, my chick? Especially in yer condition."

"Ellie! Ye've become a foolish old woman.’Tis not my first bairn. I canna replace ye, but I think yer niece, Susan, would do nicely."

"Aye," said Ellen thoughtfully, thinking of her plain and sensible niece. "Susan is nae a flibbertigibbety girl. She would do her job well, and I will guide her. But could she not be Mistress Bess' woman rather than me?"

"I think that Bess would be happier wi ye, Ellie, and ye were so good wi me at that age. However, I will leave the decision to ye."

Ellen decided-as Cat knew she would-that Bess would be a better mistress. It was easy to boss a young and unsure girl, and she no longer understood her lady Catriona. Feeling important once again, Ellen took charge of Bess and spoke well of Cat to her daughter.

Cat made certain to spend time with her three daughters. Amanda and Morag had lost their shyness of their mother, which gave Cat joy. Bess, though she remained wary, was friendlier than she had been, and even joined in games Cat played with the little ones.

Eight months after her return to Patrick Leslie, Cat Leslie went into labor. "‘Tis too soon," worried the earl to his mother. "I'm surprised she's lasted this long," observed Meg. "Dinna look so worried, my son. By nightfall there will be at least two more Leslies in this house. Cat is carrying twins, and multiple births always deliver early. I know because my mother's last children were twins. They run in our family."

The dowager countess was correct. Cat easily and quickly delivered a son and a daughter before the sun set on May 1 of 1594. The boy was baptized Ian, the girl Jane. Patrick was delighted that his wife had so thoughtfully named their children after his paternal grandparents. Cat cradled each child before she slept, and then quietly announced that she would not be nursing these children. Wet nurses were quickly found for the twins.

In mid-June Patrick Leslie was visited by Benjamin Kira, and the result was a journey to London. Thinking she would enjoy the trip, he asked Cat to go with him. She refused.

"I'll be gone from late summer till next spring, sweetheart. Please come wi me. We've been back together such a short time."

"No, Patrick. Ye promised him that before he left Scotland we might see each other. If I am in England wi ye when he calls me, I will never see him again. Dinna ask me to go away wi ye again."

He did not, though it pained him to admit that he was saddened by her refusal. He had hoped the birth of their twins would help her to forget the border lord. On August 15, Patrick Leslie left Glenkirk bound for London.

On September 15 the Countess of Glenkirk received an invitation from George Gordon, the powerful Earl of Huntley, to visit him and his wife at Huntley Castle. Gossip had it that Bothwell was in the north. If he was, then Cat knew he would be with the Gordons. On September 17 the Countess of Glenkirk left her castle for Huntley.

Chapter 35

THE truce between James Stewart and Francis Stewart-Hepburn had not worked out. Though the king had signed an agreement on August 14, 1593, to pardon his noble cousin and his equally noble supporters, and to restore all their estates, titles, and honors, he was soon tempted to go back on his word. On September 8, a convention of parliament was held at Stirling, and James attempted to modify the promises he had made in August. On September 22, the king forbade his cousin and his supporters to come within ten miles of him unless summoned by James himself. Should they disobey, the charge against them would be high treason. Maitland's power had not waned.

The royal gauntlet thrown down, it was picked up by Bothwell and armed friends. They assembled outside Linlithgow in early October while the king was in residence. On October 22, Bothwell was called before the high council to answer to the charge of high treason. Refusing to attend the proceedings, he was denounced.

All was quiet for several months, and then in the spring of 1594 James called twice for a levy of forces to bring his cousin to the king's justice. Suddenly Bothwell appeared with a powerful force outside of Leith. He had come, he said, to fight the Spaniards, whose imminent landing was rumored. His real purpose was to make a show of strength, in hope of bringing his royal cousin to terms.


James advanced towards Leith from Edinburgh while Bothwell retreated in leisure towards Dalkeith, as though he were not being pursued at all. James was forced to go back to Edinburgh, having lost yet another encounter with his cousin. The border lord then slipped over the border into England, where he remained, quietly, until Queen Elizabeth was forced to acknowledge his presence and eject him.

Francis Hepburn now had two choices. He could deliver himself up to James, or he could join with the northern earls. Sensing that exile was near, he went north so he could see Cat before leaving his homeland. There was no one else left he cared to see. Hercules had been caught and hanged in the previous bitter February. Margaret Douglas and his children behaved as if he did not exist. Only Cat Leslie remained. Would she see him?

No one had told Cat so, but she knew intuitively that he waited at Huntley for her. Gathering her daughters about her, she told them she would be gone for a while. "But I'll be back, my little loves," she promised, "and then I'll nae leave ye again."