MARY QUEEN OF SCOTLAND AND THE ISLES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Margaret George | 880 pages | 26 Nov 1993 | Pan MacMillan | 9780330327909 | English | London, United Kingdom Mary Queen of Scotland and The Isles: A Novel by Margaret George, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® Strange, how difficult it was to speak. Where earlier he had been reticent, now it was his body holding back, even when his mind wished to communicate. The throat would not work. The devil take it! Adieu, farewell! The Stewarts came with a lass, and they shall pass with a lass," he murmured. Those were the last words he spoke, although, as the physician saw that he was sinking, he exhorted him, "Give her your blessing! Give your daughter your blessing, for God's own sweet sake! Do not pass away without that charity and safeguard to your heir! But the King just gave a little laugh and smile, kissed his hand and offered it to all his lords round about him; soon thereafter he turned his head away from his attendants, toward the wall, and died. Mary Queen of Scots. His widow, the Queen Dowager, struggled to regain her strength after childbirth as quickly as possible. Not for her the lingering recovery of days abed, receiving visitors and gifts and, as her reward for their well-wishes, presenting the infant for their inspection, all swathed in white lace and taffeta and wrapped in yards of softest velvet in the gilded royal crib. No, Marie de Guise, the relict — quaint phrase, that, she thought — of His Majesty James V of Scotland must right herself and be poised to defend her infant, like any wolf-mother in a harsh winter. And it was a very harsh winter, not only in terms of the flying snow and icy roads, but for Scotland itself. She could almost fancy that, in the ruddy flames of the fires she kept continually burning, the teeth of the nobles looked more like animal fangs than human dog-teeth. One by one they made their way to Linlithgow Palace, the golden palace lying on a long, thin loch just west of Edinburgh, to offer their respects to the infant — their new Queen. They came clad in heavy furs, their feet booted and wrapped round with animal skins, and it was hard to tell their ice-streaked beards from the furs surrounding their faces. They would kneel and murmur something about their loyalty, but their eyes were preternaturally bright. There were all the clans who came to make sure that they would not be barred from power by any other clan. For this was the greatest of all opportunities, the equivalent of a stag-kill that attracted all the carrion-eaters of the forest. An infant was their monarch, a helpless infant, with no one but a foreign mother to protect her: a Frenchwoman who was ignorant of their ways here and far from home. The Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, was there; had not this baby been born, he would now be king. He smiled benevolently at the infant. The Earl of Lennox, Matthew Stuart, who claimed to be the true heir rather than Arran, came shortly and stood looking longingly down at the baby. The red-faced, stout northern Earl of Huntly strutted past the cradle and bowed. Why even think of them now? You tie your well-wishes to something sinister. I pray you, amend your words. Once spoken, they have flown into another realm. Very well: let her enemies be confounded and come to confusion. Only a no-thing has no enemies. After the lords had departed, Marie de Guise sat by the cradle and rocked it gently. The baby was sleeping. The firelight painted the side of her face rosy, and the infant curled and uncurled her fat, dimpled little fingers. My first daughter, thought Marie, and she does look different. Is it my imagination? No, I think she's truly feminine. The Scots would say a lass is always different from a lad, even from the beginning. This daughter has skin like almond-milk. And her hair — she gently pushed back the baby's cap — of what colour will it be, to go with that skin? It is too early to tell; the fuzz is the same colour as that of all babes. I have named her after myself, and also after the Virgin; after all, she was born on the Virgin's day, the Immaculate Conception, and perhaps the Virgin will protect her, guard over her as a special charge. The King my lord and husband died, and that is how my daughter came to be Queen before her time. I should feel tearing grief. I should be mourning the King, lamenting my fate, instead of gazing in wonder at my daughter, a baby queen. The child will be fair, she thought, studying her features. Mary was accompanied by her own court including two illegitimate half-brothers, and the "four Marys" four girls her own age, all named Mary , who were the daughters of some of the noblest families in Scotland: Beaton , Seton , Fleming , and Livingston. Vivacious, beautiful, and clever according to contemporary accounts , Mary had a promising childhood. Portraits of Mary show that she had a small, oval-shaped head, a long, graceful neck, bright auburn hair, hazel-brown eyes, under heavy lowered eyelids and finely arched brows, smooth pale skin, a high forehead, and regular, firm features. She was considered a pretty child and later, as a woman, strikingly attractive. Mary was eloquent, and especially tall by sixteenth-century standards she attained an adult height of 5 feet 11 inches or 1. Henry commented: "from the very first day they met, my son and she got on as well together as if they had known each other for a long time". Yet, in the eyes of many Catholics, Elizabeth was illegitimate and Mary Stuart was the rightful queen of England, as the senior surviving legitimate descendant of Henry VII through her grandmother, Margaret Tudor. In France the royal arms of England were quartered with those of Francis and Mary. When Henry II died on 10 July , from injuries sustained in a joust , fifteen-year- old Francis and sixteen-year-old Mary became king and queen of France. In Scotland, the power of the Protestant Lords of the Congregation was rising at the expense of Mary's mother, who maintained effective control only through the use of French troops. A Huguenot uprising in France, the Tumult of Amboise , made it impossible for the French to send further support. Under the terms of the Treaty of Edinburgh , signed by Mary's representatives on 6 July , France and England undertook to withdraw troops from Scotland. France recognised Elizabeth's right to rule England, but the seventeen-year-old Mary, still in France and grieving for her mother, refused to ratify the treaty. King Francis II died on 5 December , of a middle ear infection that led to an abscess in his brain. Mary was grief-stricken. Mary's illegitimate half-brother, the Earl of Moray , was a leader of the Protestants. She later charged him with treason but he was acquitted and released. To the surprise and dismay of the Catholic party, Mary tolerated the newly established Protestant ascendancy, [66] and kept her half-brother Moray as her chief advisor. The council was dominated by the Protestant leaders from the reformation crisis of — the Earls of Argyll , Glencairn , and Moray. Even the one significant later addition to the council, Lord Ruthven in December , was another Protestant whom Mary personally disliked. She joined with Moray in the destruction of Scotland's leading Catholic magnate, Lord Huntly, in , after he led a rebellion against her in the Highlands. Mary sent William Maitland of Lethington as an ambassador to the English court to put the case for Mary as the heir presumptive to the English throne. Elizabeth refused to name a potential heir, fearing that would invite conspiracy to displace her with the nominated successor. Mary then turned her attention to finding a new husband from the royalty of Europe. When her uncle, the Cardinal of Lorraine , began negotiations with Archduke Charles of Austria without her consent, she angrily objected and the negotiations foundered. Dudley was Sir Henry Sidney's brother-in-law and the English queen's own favourite , whom Elizabeth trusted and thought she could control. Mary was horrified and banished him from Scotland. He ignored the edict. Two days later, he forced his way into her chamber as she was about to disrobe. She reacted with fury and fear. When Moray rushed into the room after hearing her cries for help, she shouted, "Thrust your dagger into the villain! Chastelard was tried for treason and beheaded. Darnley's parents, the Earl and Countess of Lennox , were Scottish aristocrats as well as English landowners. They sent him to France ostensibly to extend their condolences, while hoping for a potential match between their son and Mary. English statesmen William Cecil and the Earl of Leicester had worked to obtain Darnley's licence to travel to Scotland from his home in England. Mary's marriage to a leading Catholic precipitated Mary's half-brother, the Earl of Moray , to join with other Protestant lords, including Lords Argyll and Glencairn , in open rebellion. On the 30th, Moray entered Edinburgh but left soon afterward, having failed to take the castle. Mary returned to Edinburgh the following month to raise more troops. Mary's numbers were boosted by the release and restoration to favour of Lord Huntly's son and the return of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell , from exile in France.