Gemini - Dorothy Dunnett [225]
Because, perhaps, it was thought unsafe to leave him outside, Nicholas was with that first small party which entered the Castle, and which, as time went on, was augmented by other arrivals as messengers reached those whom the King trusted: his Burgundian councillor, Lord Cortachy; his Chancellor, Avandale; his efficient master of defence, Tam Cochrane. The outlying members of the Archers were called back to duty, among them Henry de St Pol of Kilmirren, whose grandfather also returned, to occupy his Edinburgh house. Gelis van Borselen and her son returned, at a more moderate pace, in the suite of Bishop Spens, talking occasionally of what they had been told, but most often silent, while behind them, marring the snow, lay the churned mud and smoking embers which were all that remained of the hard work and goodwill of the previous night.
While still confined to the Castle, Nicholas went to Dr Andreas’s small room, sat down and said, ‘Tell me.’
And Andreas, pulling off and flinging aside his red robe, said, ‘I can’t predict what he’ll do. It’s what we all feared. It’s worse.’
‘How is he?’ Nicholas said.
‘Drugged. Before that, he never stopped shouting and talking. He had pains like an old man in his joints, or his stomach doubled him up. The attacks have always been much the same, but now they’re more frequent, and worse. Will and Whitelaw are concerned because the French envoy is almost due. He mustn’t learn that the Prince is under duress, or that the King was in danger. At the same time, we can’t let the lad loose. You know why. You’ve found out, I hear, about the Princess Margaret. Mar knows about it as well.’
‘It would certainly cheer up the French if Mar told them,’ said Nicholas. ‘No English marriage for Meg.’
‘It wouldn’t cheer the English as much,’ Andreas said, ‘when the French accidentally told them exactly why Margaret can’t marry. So Lord Mar has to be kept out of sight, but under medical care, and near enough to be monitored. Blackness is for criminals. Lord Cortachy could keep him at Linlithgow. Or there is Roslin, or Craigmillar. Dundas? Haining? Torphichen?’
‘You’re not happy,’ said Nicholas.
‘It is not my unhappiness that matters,’ Andreas said. ‘As I told you, I don’t know what this poor fellow will do. And no one knows whether his siblings are tainted.’
There was a silence. Nicholas said, ‘I got to know Sandy quite well. He’s not especially bright, and that in itself makes him short-tempered: princes don’t like to seem slow. But that said, what he does isn’t senseless. Even the killing of Scougal came from a long-standing quarrel, and frustration over everything else. And there are no physical symptoms that I know of, so far.’ He waited, then spoke directly again. ‘About the King, I don’t know, but his physicians must. If you or the others suspect anything, you will have to tell someone. I don’t think they hang doctors nowadays.’
‘Avandale and the rest know all we can tell them,’ Andreas said. ‘Scheves has seen similar cases. So has your Dr Tobie. Like Albany, the King can’t stand being thwarted, but that’s understandable. There are times when he can’t keep his hands off women, but then his Queen is in Stirling, preparing to bear him a child, and he is alone. Also, at other times, she isn’t generous with her favours. We should be grateful there isn’t a stable of mistresses. Lastly, and this is what worries his Councillors, he does retreat from affairs very often to sink into lethargy. He needs to be amused when at leisure. A competitive game, some versifying, some banter, does more good than a powder.’
‘I thought you looked exhausted,’ Nicholas said. ‘What can I do?’
‘For the King, nothing,’ Andreas said. ‘You went to France: he’s not convinced of your loyalty. But, for the same reason, the time may come when you could help me with Mar. You saved his life in that tavern.’
‘If he remembers. He also connects me with Argyll and the rest. But of course, if you want me, I’ll come.’
They