Wild Jasmine (83 page)

“There is no
us
, my lord,” Jasmine said furiously.

“
I will not lose you again
,” the Earl of Glenkirk said, and reaching out, he took her into his arms, and kissed her with all the pent-up passion in his soul.

Jasmine pulled from his embrace and slapped him as hard as she was able to do. “Do not ever approach me again, Lord Leslie,” she told him icily, tears of outrage prickling her eyes. “Your presumption goes beyond the bounds of decency and certainly beyond those of good taste! I will mourn Henry Stuart until the day I die, my lord!” Then turning, she walked angrily away from him.

James Leslie cursed softly under his breath. A less determined man might have lost heart, but he was only annoyed that he had perhaps misjudged the depth of her feelings for the prince. Of course she had loved Henry Stuart. She was not the sort of woman who gave herself to a man for gain. She was an honorable woman, and for her, love was paramount. He remembered their brief encounter of almost six years prior. She had been relatively newly widowed, and he was still hurting from his wife and children’s untimely deaths. Together they had comforted each other, but it had been more for him. He had always believed that it had been more for her as well.

Jasmine pushed her way through the crowds of courtiers who made up the wedding guests. Her cheeks felt hot, and her Mughal temper was as close to out of hand as it had ever been since her arrival in England seven years ago.
What was she doing here?
She knew virtually no one, and frankly, there was no one she cared to know. Who was to know if she left? It was a breach of etiquette to be certain, but in this mob, who would even miss her? She would go back to Greenwood, and she would stay there until her appointment with the king next week.

Then a page was at her elbow. “Are you the dowager Marchioness of Westleigh, madame?” he asked her.

“I am,” she said “What is it you want of me?”

“Her majesty requests your presence, my lady,” the young boy said. “If you would be so kind as to follow me.”

God’s boots, Jasmine thought irritably, and just when I was about to make my escape from this madhouse. But she followed the page to the queen, curtseying low before Anne of Denmark.

“A stool for Lady Lindley,” the queen said, and then, “Come and sit next to me, my dear. Are you enjoying the wedding?”

Jasmine seated herself, spreading her black velvet skirts prettily around her. “The princess is a most beautiful bride, Your Majesty,” she said.

“But court is not quite the same without him, is it?” the queen answered, nodding her head. “Like me, Lady Lindley, you hide what is in your heart, and put on a good face. What a pity you could not have been his wife, but tell me, how is Charles Frederick Stuart?”

“He thrives, madame. I became unable to nurse him when—” Her voice shook a moment, and the queen put a comforting hand on her hand.

“I understand,” she said low, her gaze sympathetic.

“I have an excellent wet nurse for my son,” Jasmine continued bravely. “He grows more beautiful every day, and he has two tiny teeth already. His brother is very protective of him, and his sisters adore him. He has the best nature, madame, even when he first awakens.”

“I can see how much you love your children, my dear,” Queen Anne said. “That is good. I, too, came from a large and loving family. There were five of us. I have two sisters and two brothers. We were a very happy family, perhaps even spoiled. Do you know that I was carried everywhere until I was nine? I never walked until then. I think I may have even learned to dance before I learned to walk,” she said with a small chuckle. “Henry, of course, told you how different life for him was in Scotland.”

Jasmine almost winced at the sound of his name.

“Ahh, how little I knew of the Scots when I married my Jamie,” the queen continued on. “They took my son from me right after he was born. I was not allowed to nurse him, and I was not allowed to care for him. That pleasure and privilege went to the Earl and dowager Countess of Marr. They are the hereditary guardians of Scotland’s heir, but I did not know that
before I gave birth to my son. I was not allowed to even see him except by making an application in advance to Marr and his old mother.

“ ’Twas they who felt my Henry’s little gums for his first teeth. ’Twas they he greeted with his first smile. They who saw his first steps. I have never forgiven them for it, and now I never will! They took time from me that should have been mine, and they had no sympathy for my feelings in the matter. They were arrogant and stiff-necked about their position as the heir’s guardians,” the queen said.

Then she leaned even nearer to Jasmine. “Do not let
anyone
take Charles Frederick Stuart from you, my dear. He will be safer with his mother, and ’tis far better for him to grow up in a warm, loving family with his sisters and brother. Then, too, your family is a very large one, isn’t it? Are your grandparents still alive?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, they are. My grandmother and I are best friends. I do not like being parted from her.”

“You are very fortunate,” the queen said.

Shortly afterward Jasmine was obliged to join the women of the court in preparing the bride for her marital bed. Elizabeth Stuart was all rosy with anticipation, for she loved her handsome young husband. The only sour note to these final wedding day festivities came from the king who told the young couple he would expect proof come the morrow that they had done their duty, and done it well.

Jasmine returned to Greenwood. She did not take part in any further celebrations, but rather waited the time until she was to see the king.

Her appointment was set for the early morning a few days later.

“With luck,” she told Toramalli, “we can be on the road back to Queen’s Malvern by noon. I cannot wait to get home. It seems as if we have been parted from the children for months instead of just weeks.”

Toramalli dressed her mistress carefully for her meeting with the king, choosing an elegant gown of deep violet velvet with a large collar of fine lace which extended low on her shoulders. The sleeves, which were long, had small slashes through which puffs of deeper violet silk showed. Jasmine wore a heavy gold chain about her neck, to which was attached an oval brooch edged in pearls. In the center of the brooch was a small clear crystal through which could be seen a small lock of
hair. It was Henry Stuart’s hair. She wore no head covering, her hair affixed in its usual chignon, but the hood of her violet velvet cloak, which was trimmed in ermine, could be pulled up in inclement or cold weather.

To her great surprise, Jasmine was brought into the king’s privy chamber. Both the queen and the Earl of Glenkirk were in the room, but no one else. Jasmine curtsied to their majesties, and ignored James Leslie.

“Come and sit by the fire, lassie,” the king said. “ ’Tis a raw day, though I think springtime will eventually come.”

Jasmine loosened her cloak and laid it over the arm of the chair. Then she sat, her hands resting nervously in her lap. It was not her place to speak until the king had spoken his piece to her, but although she understood the presence of Queen Anne, she was confused by that of the Earl of Glenkirk. He had but nodded politely when she entered. The queen smiled at her encouragingly.

James Stuart sat himself opposite his guest. “How is my wee grandson, madame?” he asked her.

“He is well, Your Majesty. He has two teeth, and is of a most sunny disposition,” Jasmine told the king.

The king nodded. “But for an accident of fate,” he said, “that child might be England’s next king.” Then catching himself, he looked directly at Jasmine. “You are remaining at Queen’s Malvern, madame? Not Cadby?”

“Aye, Your Majesty. I prefer being with my grandparents, and although I promised Rowan that his children would be raised at Cadby, our circumstances have changed since I made that promise. I believe it best we remain at Queen’s Malvern. We will visit Cadby each year, and starting when Henry is six he must live there three months of the year for his tenants’ sake.”

“Is Queen’s Malvern a safe house, madame?”

“Safe, sire? I do not think I understand you,” Jasmine said.

“Safe from attack, madame?” the king replied.

“
Attack?
” She looked astounded. “Who would attack Queen’s Malvern, and why, my lord?”

“Madame, you are the mother of a royal Stuart,” the king told her with utmost seriousness.

“Sire, this is England. Queen’s Malvern is in a quiet little valley which encompasses the whole estate. I do not believe there has been an attack of
any
kind there since before the
days of William Norman, when the Welsh used to raid, or so my grandfather says.”

“It is the custom of the royal Stuarts, madame, to assign a guardian to each of its children,” the king told her.

“Sire, my son is not an heir to your throne,” Jasmine said. “There is no need for him to have a guardian. I, as his mother, am more vigilant than any guardian could be. Besides, Charles Frederick Stuart is quite safe in the bosom of his family. My family is a large one.”

The king ignored her as if she had not even spoken, and he continued on. “My grandson must be educated, madame.”

“I agree, sire,” Jasmine said.

“But what can you know of the education of a prince?” the king demanded.

Jasmine bit back the sharp retort that came to mind, and drawing a long, slow breath, said patiently, “I am a princess born, sire, and my father was a man who believed strongly in education for women, as well as for men. I am fluent in several languages including Portuguese, Latin, and French, and some languages you have never even heard of, my lord. I have been taught mathematics, and can keep my own estate and household accounts. I have learned philosophy, and history, and can tell you about the creeds of many religions, each of which thinks it is the best and only faith. I read, and I can write in a legible, fine hand in all the languages that I am capable of speaking. Are these not the things my son, indeed all of my children, should learn?”

“I dinna hold wi so much learning for a woman,” the king replied infuriatingly. “The raising of a boy is a man’s province, madame. Can you teach him to ride, or use a weapon?”

“Aye, my lord, I can,” Jasmine replied with a smile. “I learned to ride at the age of three, when I began accompanying my father to the hunt. I can fire a gun accurately, and my aim with a spear was always deadly. As for the sword, sire, I can hire a good swordmaster for my sons, can I not?”

Behind the king’s chair the Earl of Glenkirk hid an amused smile. He had known James Stuart his entire life, and he knew that the king was about to lose his royal temper.

“Damn me, madame, if you are nae the most irritating woman I hae ever known,” James Stuart said. “A lad needs a man about him to learn things that a woman could nae possibly imagine.”

“
What?
” Jasmine demanded. “Besides, my lord, my sons
have my grandfather, and for all his age, he is an active gentleman. Then there is my uncle Conn; and my Aunt Deirdre’s husband, Lord Blackthorne; and a whole host of young male cousins living nearby. Neither of my sons will lack for male company, I assure you.”

“
Enough!
” the king roared. “I will nae be argued wi any further, madame. I hae made my decision. It is true that my grandson, Charles Frederick Stuart, will nae ever inherit England’s throne. That great responsibility will go to my son Charles, the bairn’s godfather. Nonetheless, no royal Stuart hae ever shirked his duty toward his own. I will nae be the first, and besides, I promised my Henry before he died that I would look after you and the bairn. I have this day affixed my royal seal to a document making James Leslie, the Earl of Glenkirk, guardian over my grandson, Charles Frederick Stuart, Viscount Lundy.”

“
No
!” Jasmine shouted, her own royal temper exhibiting itself. “You have no right! I will not allow you to snatch my child away from me, my lord! What can a man, particularly a man without a wife in his house, know about raising a tiny baby?”

“It is not as dreadful as you think, my dear.” The queen finally spoke up. “ ’Tis not at all as it was with me. My Jamie has had the most wonderful idea. But listen.”

Jasmine looked at the king, but her turquoise-blue eyes were angry.

“Nah, nah, madame, dinna fret yerself,” James Stuart said. “I am a man who learns from his errors, and times are changing. My Annie hae reminded me of all the fuss we had over Henry in his infancy and childhood when I gave him to Marr. I realize now that a woman should nae be separated from her bairn until the bairn is grown. A man wi’out a wife is indeed a poor choice to raise a bairn, but is nae a woman wi’out a husband his equal?

“I hae known Jemmie Leslie since he was a bairn. His father was my friend, God assoil his bonnie soul. Jemmie hae been a loyal and true friend to me my entire life. His sweet Isabelle, and their bairns, died an untimely death, but he hae been a widower for eleven years now. Your husband died an equally untimely death, madame, four years ago. ’Tis time ye were both remarried. The Leslies of Glenkirk hae petitioned me regularly to make their earl do so. Well, now I will. Pick the date, madame, for I am commanding you to marry the Earl
of Glenkirk as quickly as possible. Together you will raise my grandson. How is it I am told you put it, madame? The ‘not-so-royal Stuart’?” The king chuckled, pleased with himself and with his decision.

Across from him Jasmine sat in stunned silence.
Marry James Leslie?
It was absolute madness. It was ridiculous.
It was impossible!

“Is that not the most perfect solution to all of our problems, my dear?” the queen burbled, well pleased by her husband’s cleverness.

Jasmine could still find no words to express herself.

“I believe,” the Earl of Glenkirk said with great understatement, “that Lady Lindley has been taken by surprise by Your Majesties’ decision in this matter. When she recovers herself, I am certain she will desire to speak with you to voice her thanks, even as I give mine now to you both.” The earl came around the king’s chair. “With Your Majesties’ kind permission, I will escort Lady Lindley to her home at Queen’s Malvern. I believe that she had intended to leave London almost immediately following her audience with Your Majesties.” He clamped his hand hard beneath Jasmine’s elbow and gently forced her to her feet, “Allow me, madame,” the earl said softly.