Love in the Abbey

“Is he dead?”
James Stuart, 1st Earl of Moray of Scotland, stood up when Lethington entered the room.
“Yes, David Rizzio is dead,” Lethington said.
“And Mary, Queen of Scots?”
“She is alive, but her husband, Lord Darnley, has placed her under house arrest.”
“And the baby?”
“The baby lives. Kerr, the ruthless pirate, held a pistol to Mary’s pregnant belly, but was too squeamish to pull the trigger.”
“Ah, the Queen’s beauty and charming manner no doubt swayed the young Kerr from killing her. She has always had that effect on men. My half-sister’s beauty is legendary and she has brought several lovers to their death. We must not underestimate her feminine wiles.”
The room suddenly turned dark. Thunder crashed outside and the rain splashed through the open window and onto the floor.
Moray quickly relit the torches from the fireplace and then rushed to close the window. He slowly adjusted the curtains and fetched a towel to dry the floor, keeping his back toward Lethington to hide his rage because Mary and the child still lived.
His face flushed bloodred, and he clenched his fists. Why had life handed him such a cruel position? Born an illegitimate son of King James V and his mistress Margaret Erskine, his illegitimacy disqualified him as a successor to the Scottish throne. Mary, Queen of Scots was the rightful successor and the present queen of Scotland. Her only weakness was she was a female. Moray grunted. There were many ways of usurping authority from a woman. Moray planned to use them all.
Lethington cleared his voice, gaining Moray’s attention. “You are right about Mary’s influence over men. Lord Morton scolded Darnley scaring him into obedience to the Protestant lord’s plans to kill Rizzio. He was terrified by seeing the actual murder of Rizzio, he ran to Mary begging for mercy. She has pretended to be supportive of him, and he is falling for it. He cannot be trusted to remain loyal to our cause.”
Lethington waited for Moray’s answer. Was Moray hurt by the fact that Lethington had become Mary’s chief advisor, literally taking Moray’s positon? He had Rizzio killed because he wielded too much influence over Mary. Even though Lethington was part of Mary’s Privy Council, he had joined the Protestant lord’s agenda to promote Protestantism as the main religion of Scotland, and run the Catholics out of the land. He wanted nothing more than to see Scotland and England united under Queen Elizabeth the First as their sovereign.
“It’s true, Lord Darnley cannot be trusted. But I compliment you on how you have handled the situation.”
“Thank you, my lord. I dropped a word to Lord Darnley that Queen Mary was having an affair with Secretary Rizzio, and Lord Darnley lost all perspective. And with the other lord’s help, they made fun of him, calling him a cuckold, making jokes, and humiliating him until he agreed to participate in murdering Rizzio. We promised him the crown matrimonial if he would obey our instructions.”
Moray grimaced. “The only consequence of that tactic is that Lord Darnley might think that the child Mary is carrying is Rizzio’s instead of his. And if he denies being the father of her child, then the child would be considered illegitimate and unfit for the throne. Mary cannot antagonize him until he publicly declares the child as his.”
“We can’t touch Darnley until after the baby’s christening?” Lethington asked.
“Correct,” Moray said.
“Darnley is holding Mary captive and has taken over the government. He has sided with the Catholic faction, promising them if they will support him as king, he will establish Catholicism as the main religion of Scotland. Since we have outlawed Catholicism and the mass, Protestantism has flourished, and we must not let Queen Mary or Darnley establish Catholicism again or change our way of life,” Lethington said.
“Do not worry. Murdering that Italian dog Rizzio was only the first step to putting the government into the hands of the Protestant lords,” Moray said.
“And making you regent over Scotland,” Lethington added.
“Yes. And making me regent over Scotland.” Moray smiled.
Moray continued, “If she turns to Darnley, we will dispose of him as we did Rizzio. After the baby’s christening, we will take action against Darnley. Mary won’t be able to tolerate Darnley and his deviate behavior for too long, especially now that she knows he consented to the attack on Secretary Rizzio. I’m sure she realized that she was meant to be killed too, along with her child.”
“The bill of attainder issued by Rizzio against us is due to be presented in parliament in two days. You must return to Scotland. You have been in exile for too long. Mary has promised to pardon all the exiled Protestant lords who took part in the attack. And she will restore their property holdings as well,” Lethington said.
“Darnley also promised a pardon,” Moray said.
“The queen is scared that Darnley may make another attempt on her life. She needs your protection. She sent me to bring you home.”
“Tell the queen, I will be at my home in Fife if she needs me,” Moray said.
After Lethington departed, Moray sat at his desk and wrote a letter to Cecil, Moray’s co-conspirator to Rizzio’s demise and Queen Elizabeth’s senior advisor. Cecil must know that their joint plan to get rid of Rizzio was successful. He placed a wax seal on the letter and placed it into his doublet. Cecil and Queen Elizabeth will be pleased.
Moray considered the call to Scotland. If Rizzio hadn’t issued a bill of attainder against him, Rizzio might still be alive. No one defied the Earl of Moray if they valued their life.
Even though his methods were cold, calculating, and treacherous, he saw himself as the champion of the Scottish people and a man of principle who guarded Scotland’s best interest.