cheered James Stewart until they were hoarse. Here and there one of the border bonnet lairds would step forward to shout out his fealty as the king rode by.
At Melrose Abbey James Stewart met up with his cousin Murdoch, Duke of Albany, who had come with his sons, Robert, Alexander, James, and the other Walter Stewart. With them were as many of Scotland's noble families as could reach Melrose in time for the king's coming. Here the English departed, leaving James Stewart safely on his own territory for the first time in eighteen years.
Duke Murdoch came forward and knelt before the king, who sat upon his horse. 'Let me be the first to swear ye fealty, cousin,' he said.
The king looked down. His amber eyes were unreadable. 'Ye are tardy with yer allegiance,
Rebuked, the Duke of Albany flushed, then pulled himself to his feet. 'I am happy to see ye home, my liege,' he said, knowing even as he spoke that he and his family would hot find favor with this king.
James Stewart turned away from his cousin. He would never forgive the dukes of Albany for the irreparable harm they had done his branch of the family, and he could not forget that they had let him languish in England for almost twenty years while they usurped his authority.
'I have brought home my own executioner,' the Duke of Albany said quietly.
' 'Tis bad, I will admit,' his father-in-law, the Earl of Lennox, said, 'but yer family. He has much to do. His anger will surely cool. In the meantime, be as much help to him as ye can be.'
Duke Murdoch nodded, watching the king, who had not bothered to wait to be introduced to his four sons, moving on instead to the others who had come to greet him. Some were impressed by James Stewart's air of strength and determination. Others were not at all pleased, especially when he said, 'If God grant me life, though it be but the life of a dog, there shall be no place in my realm where the key shall not keep the castle, and the bracken bush the cow through all Scotland.' In that short sentence he told the Scots nobility that he intended reigning as a king should reign.
As the king moved among the nobility, his eyes suddenly met those of Angus Gordon. A wide smile split James Stewart's face, and he pushed aside those bodies separating him from the laird of Loch Brae. 'Angus! Angus Gordon!' He embraced his old friend warmly. ' 'Tis good to see you again, and come down from your beloved Brae to greet me.'
Angus knelt and kissed the king's hand, only to be pulled to his feet again by his liege lord. 'I am flattered that you remembered me, my lord,' he said modestly. 'It has been many years since we last saw each other, but no one could keep me from coming to greet you. Home at last, thank God!'
'You will stay in Perth with me,' the king said. 'I will need one man near me who is truthful.'
The laird flushed slightly. 'I have brought my mistress with me, my lord,' he said low.
'She is welcome, too,' the king replied. 'Both Ramsey and Ben Duff brought theirs to keep them company in England. Grey even wed his lady just before I married my Joan. Is your lass with you?'
Angus drew Fiona forward, and she curtsied low to James Stewart. 'This is Mistress Fiona Hay, chieftain of the Hays of the Ben, my neighbors, sire.'
'Mistress Hay, I greet you,' the king said, raising Fiona to her feet.
'And I you, my liege lord,' Fiona said quietly, her heart hammering with excitement. 'I hope you will allow me to pledge you my loyalty.'
'And that of your clan, too, I hope,' the king replied.
Fiona chuckled. 'I fear, my liege, that I have few clansmen.'
'How many?' His amber eyes were amused.
'There are but five of us, my liege. Myself, my two little sisters, and our two servants,' Fiona told him.
'Five loyal Scots is as good a start as any king can have,' James Stewart said gravely, and then he bowed gallantly to her.
'You have pleased him,' Angus Gordon told her when the king had left them to greet the others.
The royal party moved on past Edinburgh to the capital, Perth. The young queen was charmed by the raw beauty of the land. As they moved farther north, the terrain became more mountainous. They crossed many swift- running streams and traveled by and around a number of lakes.
They came to the town of Perth on the twentieth of April. The king and his queen would stay at Scone Palace on the grounds of the abbey.
'I love ye, my liege,' Angus Gordon said when the king asked him to join his court, 'but I canna do so, for there are matters at Loch Brae to which I must attend.'
'Stay with us for the coronation, Black Angus,' the king said, 'and afterward I will ask ye to but bide with me a little while. In the autumn ye will go home, and I will come with ye to hunt the red deer.'
It was a request, but it was also a command. The laird of Loch Brae bowed his head in submission to the king's will.
' 'Tis not for very long,' Fiona comforted her lover that evening as they lay abed. She stroked his dark head resting upon her naked breasts. ' 'Twill be verra exciting to see a king crowned, Angus. We're not likely to have such an opportunity again.'
'Ye’ll need a new gown.'
'Nay,' she said, 'the gowns I have are barely worn, and my surcoats are in good condition.'
'A white undergown,' he said, 'and the gold-and-white brocade surcoat must be trimmed in white fur.'
'As you wish, but I will not wear one of those silly headdresses,' Fiona said. 'Imagine putting horns upon a woman's head. It makes a female look like a cow with a veil.' She sighed as he began to caress her.
'I can understand yer aversion to cattle these days, lassie,' he teased her, raising his head just enough so he might kiss her now plump breasts. 'Why, ye've become almost respectable.'
She gave the dark hair a severe yank, and he swore softly, half laughing. 'Yer a villain, Black Angus,' she said, 'despite yer close association to our king. Will I never be free of this debt to ye?'
'Never!' he said fiercely, pulling her into his arms and kissing her hard. 'I will not let ye go, Fiona Hay. Ye are mine!'
Hamish Stewart and his wife, Janet, came down from the hills to attend the king's coronation. They brought with them young James Gordon and Jean Hay. The sisters embraced warmly; then Fiona stepped back to look at Jeannie, who was now twelve. Her sister had grown taller and had the beginnings of breasts, but in one thing she had not changed. She was still determined to marry James Gordon.
'Why, Jeannie lass, ye've grown quite fair,' the laird complimented the girl. 'Ye’ll soon be a woman, I can see.'
'Then match me with my Jamie-boy,' Jean Hay said boldly.
The object of her affections groaned and rolled his eyes, driving the others to laughter.
'It would be a good match for ye both,' Angus Gordon said. 'I have always thought it, brother. Perhaps the time has come to arrange it before some other swain sweeps Jeannie off her feet and takes her away from ye.' He smiled.
'She's too young to bed,' James Gordon grumbled. 'I want a wife I can bed. Besides, she has no lands of her own, and I want a wife with property, Angus. Surely ye can understand that.'
Janet Gordon Stewart looked to her elder brother but was uncharacteristically silent.
' 'I'll give ye some of the lands in the glen,' the laird said.
'They were her grandfather's lands, Jamie-boy,' the laird replied. ' 'Tis only right she have some of them as a dower portion.'
'She's still too young to bed,' James Gordon said.
'She will not be in two years, brother,' Angus Gordon said. 'Ye can wait that long, for yer but a lad yerself. Where else will ye get such a good offer? Yer the youngest son, and have little to offer a lass of greater property
