Checkmate - Dorothy Dunnett [350]
Seated before him in her small cap and her stiff, high-necked gown she was not at all pleased. ‘The two countries are the same, M. de Sevigny. It is we and our marriage who have made this possible. We do not understand why you have to leave. Is it to follow Mme la comtesse, who left us so abruptly?’
He did not reply to that. Instead, ‘What causes you to think, madame, that the two countries are one?’ Lymond said. ‘Does it seem so from here? It is not the common impression in Scotland.’
‘Among the heretics, perhaps not,’ Mary said. ‘But my people want union. They begged for it, at Haddington. They have accepted naturalization. They have agreed that my children should rule them. They have made Monseigneur my husband their King. Do the Three Estates count for nothing?’
‘They have agreed,’ Lymond said, ‘that the Dauphin should be King during your lifetime. But after your death, which please God will be long distant, there is no man in Scotland, of the established church or the new one, who would agree to the rule of a Frenchman.’
‘I do not believe it,’ said Mary. ‘Would the faithful suffer a king or a regent who professed heresy? Would they consent to be ruled by a heretic queen from over their borders? These are the alternatives, M. de Sevigny. I am surprised you do not see them.’
‘If a Brazilian dancer came to you in his paint,’ Lymond said, ‘and proved to you that he was a true Catholic, and appointed a judge in his country, would you allow him to condemn and burn your heretic brother?’
‘You are saying,’ Mary said, ‘that the ties of the blood are more important than the state of the soul?’
‘I am saying,’ Lymond said, ‘that the bond of race is a deep one, and of a dimension which gives it nobility. I am saying that the salvation of each man’s soul lies within himself, and is not a matter which concerns even his brother.’
‘So,’ said Mary, ‘you would condemn the human race to hell, for want of enlightenment?’
‘Why not?’ said Francis Crawford. ‘It has nothing to fear, surely, from hell.’
*
He saw that day many people in Paris, from Mary Fleming to Madame de Valentinois; from the King’s sister to Madame la Maréchale de St André. He saw Nicolas de Nicolay and, last of all, the Queen of France, who made him sit by her, the goitrous eyes smiling, and said, ‘You are to leave for Scotland? I hear a curious rumour, that a number of other Scottish gentlemen have also broken camp at Amiens for that purpose. I suppose now our sister of Scotland may expect many stout arms to help her in Edinburgh?’
The blue eyes of M. de Sevigny, turned upon her, were perfectly calm. ‘I return for family reasons,’ he said. ‘With peace now certain, I trust there will be no need for armies.’
‘And if there were?’ Catherine de Médicis said. ‘Perhaps we might tempt you back to France.’
Lymond smiled. ‘I have been told that might be unwise.’
‘By whom? By the King?’ said Queen Catherine. ‘You must not listen to the threats of underlings. I hear my Nostradamus healed you well.’
‘I was grateful,’ Lymond said, ‘for his services.’
‘I see, however, little value from them in other directions. He was unable to save your unlucky compatriots.’
‘There is a saying,’ Lymond said, ‘Mal sur mal ne font pas santé. There is no purpose served in having a few deaths followed by many. But the results of this blow will be felt in France and in Scotland. Sometimes, when there is good warning of the obstacle, the ship may be steered round it.’
‘You are more hopeful, M. de Sevigny, than I should be. I shall watch you,’ said the Queen. ‘You were well thought of by my late cousin … by both my cousins. The Marshal Strozzi in his will left me his library. I have set aside from it three manuscripts I wish you to take to Scotland. Perhaps, if you will not keep the guerdon of the Reine-Dauphine my daughter, you will accept a gift of simple goodwill from me?’
‘I am honoured,’ said Lymond.
‘It is no more than you deserve. We shall miss you. Now you may take your leave.