To Lie with Lions - Dorothy Dunnett [71]
She said, ‘It is well, thank you. And here is my husband.’
Nicholas rose. ‘We know each other,’ he said. ‘I pushed him downstairs as well. I was hoping to see David, your colleague.’
‘Overseas, to his regret,’ Martin said. ‘But all that he told me of the good looks of your wife is quite true. And now you are a family man, with responsibilities. You must tell me if we push you too hard. It would never do if you, too, had a fall.’
That was all. He dropped behind, smiling, and they moved on. There was no one left to see now but Jamie Liddell, waiting alone. Nicholas said, ‘I am sorry. It took longer than I expected. The Duke will have left.’
‘He waited,’ said Liddell. ‘Come across. You may wish he hadn’t.’
Of course, she had been presented to Alexander of Albany before. She had been in the entourage of his sister, and remembered him when he was a child, living with her uncle in Bruges. She was familiar with the Stewart colouring: the pale freckled skin, the auburn hair; the lack of height; the uncertain temper that went with the pride. He greeted her with the correct words, but it was hard to tell what he recalled, and what he owed to Liddell’s reminding. She curtseyed to the required depth, her back straight, her neck bent, and then rose. The child, released, looked up at his father who said, ‘Mon bouton, this is a prince. You must bow.’
Mistress Clémence had taught him. Someone had required Mistress Clémence to teach him. The child dipped his head and lifted it, his shining gaze bestowed between the Duke and his father. The Duke smiled cursorily, his head turned already to Nicholas. ‘You traitor, you’ve taken the turban. Or whose money did you prefer to ours? England? Burgundy? Anjou? Cyprus?’ His eyes were very bright.
‘Berne, my lord,’ Nicholas said. ‘I thought of joining the Switzers. They live on draughty mountain-tops too, and don’t train their hawks properly, and drink too much ale, and never pay their debts on time. But they got tired of me.’
‘Or you of them?’ said the boy. Despite the damask, the jewels, and the marriage imposed on him by the state, he was only seventeen. He had spent half his childhood in Bruges, and was not interested in Gelis van Borselen or her son. He said, still to Nicholas, ‘What have you brought?’
‘All I promised,’ said Nicholas. ‘Let them unload it and fetch it to you. We’ll need draught oxen.’
The lad’s throat was faintly freckled and long, the jaw-blade as sharp as a spear. He said, ‘We can stay here while it is freighted ashore. Lamb’s house, or the Wark. Did you bring them? The engineers?’
‘They are here,’ Nicholas said. ‘Le Grant and Moriz of Augsberg. Do you really want to wait? It’s heavy stuff, and takes a long time to move.’
The Duke stared at him. ‘We have said so,’ he said. ‘No doubt the lady de Fleury will wish to proceed into town. The luggage can follow.’
‘If there are enough carts,’ Nicholas said. ‘When Duke Charles was aged one, so they say, his toys and dresses filled two travel-wagons. The household de Fleury does not stint itself either.’
‘You do not surprise me,’ said the Duke. He had begun to stroll back to the shore as he spoke. Nicholas turned and walked with him. Their voices floated back to where Gelis stood in silence. She heard Albany say, ‘The water is warm.’ He added, ‘I can of course swim.’
‘I should hope so,’ said the voice of her husband. He spoke without prefixes or titles. ‘Who taught you? If it was Whistle Willie, you’ll drown. They ululate from mountain to mountain in the Tyrol. Ululate, with two l’s. And they whistle in the Canaries. I’ll show you. You’ll hate it.’
‘He made a drum for you,’ said the boy. ‘And who taught you, my good sir? Is this how you address your ducal master in Burgundy?’
‘No, my lord,’ Nicholas said. His voice, even from the middle distance, held mild surprise, and some flatness.
She heard the Prince laugh, and saw him reach up and grip the sleeve nearest his arm like a bridle. ‘It’s, “No, Sandy,” ’ Albany said; and walked on like a king with Bellepheron tamed at his shoulder. His retinue followed, including