Chapter 65
Half an hour later, in a private little drawing room, the Queen of Scots met the Secretary of State, whom she had entrusted with the important task of governing Scotland in full during her absence.
The couple looked really... utterly disheveled.
All four Marys were quite good-looking. Beaton, the prettiest of all, was undoubtedly the most beautiful. Livingston and Seton were also pretty girls, one quiet and the other charming. As for Fleming, she was an eloquent and slender beauty, like a lark.
Maitland, a pampered nobleman, maintained an elegant demeanor from the moment Mary met him.
The couple, who had just filled their stomachs, were still wearing tattered clothes belonging to commoners, and were quite dirty, emaciated, and with their hair disheveled, were almost unrecognizable to the Queen of Scots.
The Queen of Scots pulled Fleming, who was bowing to her, to her feet and gave him a hug.
“This is truly… I must say, your appearance is more haggard than I expected,” Mary said.
“As long as it’s for Your Majesty, no matter how hard it is, it’s our duty. Just seeing your noble face makes all the suffering my wife and I have endured these past few days vanish like clouds,” Maitland said from the side.
Although his words were flattering, his attitude was so passionate and sincere that it was impossible not to believe him.
As the Queen of Scots looked up and down at her long-lost lady-in-waiting, Fleming also took a close look at his mistress, whom he had not seen for a long time, and was equally surprised.
“You too, Your Majesty, you look much thinner,” Fleming said.
After more than half a year of exhausting travel and painstaking efforts, Queen Elizabeth II of Scotland was naturally unable to maintain her former radiance. Not only had she lost a lot of weight, but Fleming also noticed two faint lines between her eyebrows when they were hugging closely, as if they were caused by long-term frowning.
After a brief reminiscing, Mary began to inquire about the changes that had taken place in Edinburgh, Scotland, over the past few months.
The couple exchanged a glance, Maitland cleared his throat, and decided to start the story himself.
“Your Majesty, I have failed in my trust. When the Earl of Morrie, with the support of the English army, besieged the city, I failed to defend Edinburgh and Holyrood Palace. I am very sorry, please forgive my sins,” Maitland said with a look of shame.
His first words were an apology.
Although the Queen of Scots would not punish him for this, he still had to make a gesture. For example, when he and his wife left Edinburgh, they deliberately endured not changing out of their dirty commoner clothes and went hungry for two meals, in order to imply to the Queen of Scots how difficult their lives had been.
These things may seem insignificant, but in the future, they will all become the small foundations for his rise in the Scottish court.
Oh no, perhaps it's no longer just a Scottish court.
Judging from the current trend, his mistress is about to unify the British Isles.
By then, having earned the Queen's deep trust and serving as Minister of State, he would become an indispensable figure in Europe.
As expected, Queen of Scots waved her hand and forgave Maitland for her dereliction of duty. She even comforted the couple, saying that it was already a great achievement for them to regain Edinburgh.
Maitland agreed inwardly, but outwardly remained modest for a few moments before beginning to recount the events of the past few months.
...
Frankly, when the Earl of Maurice gained British support and successfully obtained the Scottish throne, and the Queen of Scots had already fled to Europe, Maitland, unlike her wife who planned to secretly rebel, even briefly considered siding with the Earl of Maurice to save herself.
This was a desperate measure; he simply wanted to save his own life.
He actually hoped that the Queen of Scots would be his master, but the timing, location, and popular support were all against her. With the support of the British army, even if Her Majesty the Queen could learn of the news immediately and rush back to Scotland, the time lost would be enough for everything to settle down.
However, the Earl of Maurice's actions shattered his illusions. The subtle resistance from the Scots led him to throw all those close to the Queen of Scots into the dungeon, regardless of their character, even though this would incur countless resentments and paralyze normal government operations. He resolutely carried out this order.
Maitland, who was deeply trusted by the Queen of Scots and even had the power of regent, tried his best to defend himself and even offered a lot of bribes, but he could not escape the fate of being thrown into prison like his wife.
Who told him to be the Queen's Minister of State and to marry one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting?
Back then, Maitland harbored resentment towards Count Morrie, but now, looking back, he's only grateful that he was thrown into the dungeon, so he wouldn't have made such a foolish decision.
This disabled man, who now walks with a limp, has lost the heroic and valiant spirit that once inspired a group of followers after years of unpleasant life. On the contrary, he is now sensitive, irritable, easily angered, and suspicious. He can fly into a rage anytime, anywhere, and then take it out on everyone. The change is so drastic that Maitland almost didn't recognize this nobleman who had once fought against him.
On the very first day of his occupation of Edinburgh and Holyrood Palace, he ordered the destruction of all traces of the Queen of Scots' existence, posted notices everywhere, and gave loud speeches to commoners and nobles, claiming that he, who inherited the noble bloodline of the previous king, was the only legitimate king.
Naturally, Scotland did not accept such a king's rule, and small-scale rebellions broke out one after another. The remaining people expressed their resistance and dissatisfaction by remaining silent. Then, under such circumstances, he began to arrest people who were close to the queen throughout Scotland, spreading the storm from the court to Edinburgh and the surrounding suburbs.
The only one, the orthodox... Maitland almost laughed at the thought.
This is utterly absurd. Not every illegitimate child can become King of England like William the Conqueror. Such an example might not occur even once in a thousand years. The only legitimate Queen of Scots recognized by all of Europe is Mary Stuart, a fact that no one can change.
Illegitimate children have no right to inherit; only offspring born from a legal marriage, such as Her Majesty the Queen, have the right to inherit legally. This is God's will.
The shrewd Maitland later escaped from the dungeon and asked the sheriff what decrees the Earl of Morrie had issued these days. He could tell that the Earl of Morrie was trying his best to show contempt for the Queen of Scots and composure in controlling the whole of Scotland, but in reality, the poor fool was terrified of the Queen of Scots.
He was terrified of his half-sister and harbored a deep-seated fear and hatred for the Queen of Scots.
"At first we were just imprisoned, but after you led the Italian mercenaries onto British soil and were victorious all the way to London, the air in all of Scotland seemed to change in an instant. The Earl of Maurice was filled with fear, while we Scots who were loyal to you were filled with joyful expectations."
Maitland's joy was short-lived, as she hadn't anticipated that Count Mori, unable to withstand the pressure, would begin indiscriminately killing people.
"Your Majesty, you can't imagine how terrifying that scene was. Even hell couldn't compare. The once empty dungeons were now crammed with people. We couldn't even sit down; we had to stand on tiptoe..." Maitland shuddered as she recalled the scene and sighed, "...nobles and commoners, servants and government officials, were all crammed together without regard to status. I even saw Old Lady Anna's niece, a relative who was falsely accused of being a witch. She was also a seamstress. You had given her relatives some money before, and for that reason, that family was also arrested."
"Me too. I was locked in the dungeon waiting to die. There wasn't a single light there; it was pitch black everywhere. Sometimes the prisoners would panic in despair, filling the dungeon with noisy commotion, and other times they would be silent and blank, with only sobbing cries of despair. Every time footsteps echoed in the corridor above, it meant the executioner was coming. People trembled with fear because the executioner would drag one or two commoners out of the dungeon every day and take them to the square to behead them as a signal. Count Morley wanted to use this method to tell everyone that if they continued to be loyal to him, they would face certain death... Thank God, he still had a shred of reason at that time and dared not lay a hand on the nobles. My wife and I were lucky enough to survive, and we supported and comforted each other."
Upon hearing this, the Queen of Scots showed a trace of sorrow on her face.
Maitland, observing this, wisely skipped over that part and began to describe how she used her wits to escape the dungeon, then rushed to Edinburgh, where she used her authority as Secretary of State to obtain the Sheriff's order to gather the people to resist the rule of the false king.
Maitland's first help came from the servants at Holyrood Palace.
On that day, to lower the Earl of Morley's guard, the kitchen servants brought out the finest wines, all rare and precious, some from Italy, some from the south of France, and some from Spain. The shipping alone cost over a thousand pounds. In the past, these wines were only opened at rare banquets, and even nobles could not drink them freely.
The steward of the palace spoke highly of the Earl of Morley that day, saying that his great undertaking was almost complete, having thoroughly eradicated the cancerous growth left by the Queen of Scots in the country, leaving them only to wait to die in the dungeons, so it was time for him to relax.
To lure him in, the chief steward of the palace even went so far as to find a famous courtesan in Edinburgh and have her serve their esteemed King.
The usually tense Earl Morley drank heartily that day, getting completely drunk. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the steward found a chance to go to the dungeon and use his authority to order the servants to release Maitland and several other important figures.
At this point, Fleming interjected, "Your Majesty, the steward's loyalty truly deserves a generous reward."
“I will, and then what?” the Queen of Scots asked.
Opening the dungeon was only the first step. Their ability to evade the Earl of Morley and the British eyes and ears and quietly leave Holyrood Palace depended entirely on a secret passage.
Apart from the king and a few of his close associates, few people knew that there was a hidden passage in a basement of Holyrood Palace leading to an underground crypt in the royal cemetery not far from the palace.
This secret passage was secretly built by craftsmen under the orders of Mary's grandfather during the renovation of Holyrood Palace, in order to provide the King of Scotland with an escape route in case of a coup.
James V, the father of Queen Elizabeth II of Scotland, told this little secret to his wife, Queen Mother Guise, before he fell ill and died. Later, Queen Mother Guise secretly told this little secret to her daughter.
Mary remembered that she had used this secret passage in her past life.
That was the first time she faced a coup. David Leechow died, and she was imprisoned and placed under house arrest by those unruly nobles.
At that time, she was more than four months pregnant. After claiming to be frightened and uncomfortable, she finally gained some freedom. Then, one night, she secretly left Holyrood Palace through the secret passage and headed to Lord Seton's fiefdom, where she finally launched a successful counterattack.
I never imagined that this secret passage would still come in handy in my lifetime.
Fleming also knew of the existence of this secret passage, which became their only hope after escaping the dungeon.
Maitland and Fleming's subsequent experiences bore a striking resemblance to those of the Queen of Scots in her previous life.
With the help of the palace steward, the couple changed into servants' clothes and then, under the pretense of carrying wine for the king, went to the basement. They then left Holyrood Palace and the dungeon of certain death through a secret passage that was stuffy, damp, cold, and infested with scorpions and centipedes.
Even now, when Fleming recalls that scene, he trembles with fear, repeatedly making the sign of the cross and silently reciting the names of God and all the angels and saints.
The entrance was already terrifying, but the exit was even more terrifying! My God, this secret passage was actually built inside the cemetery's burial chamber!
She and her husband finally emerged from the secret passage, but before they could even rejoice, they were tripped over by a pile of white bones. The empty eye sockets on those skulls looked like the work of evil spirits. In that instant, in the dim light of the fire, Fleming felt as if he had entered hell. It was only thanks to Maitland supporting her body with her hands that she had the courage to continue.
Thank God, after going through this ordeal, they finally received God's blessing.
Maitland, Boswell, Arthur Erskine, and others secretly rode away on several old horses, and then, according to their respective positions, carried out different acts of resistance.
Boswell went to gather the army, Arthur Erskine went to contact and find lords in various places, and he and his wife rushed to Edinburgh, knocked on the doors of the sheriff and herald, and as the Secretary of State, ordered them to gather the people in the square and then rebel against the Earl of Morley's reactionary rule over the past few months!
...
When dawn broke, Count Morley had just sobered up and found that the situation was very different from the night before. He was now facing a resistance army spontaneously organized by the people!
Those were ordinary people; how absurd is this?
If it had been half a month or a month ago, things might have turned around.
At that time, the English army was still following Elizabeth I's orders to guard the Earl of Morley and support him as King of Scotland. However, due to the unfavorable situation of the war on the British mainland, those troops were transferred back to guard Elizabeth early on.
All that was left for Count Morley were some disgraced old nobles and a few dozen knights.
Faced with this unfavorable situation, the Earl of Maurice did not choose to resist or suppress the riots, but instead chose to flee first and return to England to make future plans.
After letting him escape, Maitland was already satisfied and wanted to order the people to disperse, but once the people's anger was aroused, it was difficult to quell it.
"Avenge the dead civilians!"
"Long live the Queen! Burn this usurper! Burn this lowly bastard count!"
"Revenge! We need revenge!"
"The Queen is the rightful king!"
The Scottish Secretary of State could no longer issue any orders; all he could hear were furious shouts, and then he was swept along by the crowd, moving forward involuntarily.
As for Count Morrie, the more unrestrained he was before, venting his fear and anger on others at will, ordering those commoners to be hanged, the more panicked and pathetic he is now, only able to hide and run around like a rat.
Finally, in his desperate escape, he fell off a cliff on horseback. Even so, the angry crowd did not spare his body. They used wheat-cutting sickles to cut off Earl Morley's head, and then, as if displaying a supreme medal and honor, they carried the head around the main street of Edinburgh's city center, letting all the citizens see Earl Morley's fate.
Finally, the crowd laughed and threw his head into a fire.
Even Maitland hadn't expected things to end this way. When he rallied the people, he only wanted them to buy some time. The real victory over Earl Morrie would depend on the army that Boswell and Arthur Erskine were currently gathering.
...
Even now, Maitland feels both fear and deep respect when she thinks about that day.
His fear stemmed from the common people; he hadn't expected that a group of stupid, pig-like people gathered together could be so terrifying.
The respect was directed at the Queen of Scots; he had never imagined that she would command such prestige among the people.
After listening to the Maitland couple's story, a proverb she had heard in her past life suddenly popped into Mary's mind.
—The people do not fear death, so why threaten them with death?
This is entirely their own fault.
When Count Morrie recklessly hanged commoners, venting his anger on them, he probably never imagined that he would die in such an absurd way.
After carefully recounting these details to the Queen of Scots—for example, changing the story of the popular uprising to how, under his encouragement and command, they finally gained the courage to resist, and then killed the despicable Earl Morley—Maitland said, "As soon as the unrest in Scotland ended, my wife and I couldn't wait to come to you to report this good news. Only you are the backbone of Scotland, the only Queen, allowing us to offer you our loyalty from the depths of our souls."
The clothes they were wearing were still the same ones the male and female servants had worn that night—poor quality and filthy—but Maitland endured them without changing, just so the Queen would see them.
Fleming's eyes also reddened.
“Your Majesty, I almost didn’t get to see you…” Fleming said sadly, shaking his head.
As expected, the Queen of Scots stood up and comforted her and her husband, the high-ranking official, in a rather amiable manner. She then rang a bell to have the servants escort them downstairs to change and rest.
Mary could probably guess that, given their shrewdness, there would certainly be exaggerations and inaccuracies in their story, but most of it would definitely be true.
But she couldn't be bothered to expose it, because the news was just... fantastic.
Before leaving, Maitland met with Boswell and Arthur Erskine. The Secretary of State had a good eye for assessing the situation, so without consulting the Queen of Scotland, he ordered them to promptly deploy troops and come to London to help in the upcoming decisive battle.
This would give her a significant advantage in terms of both the army and generals.
The only potential threat lies with the Spanish navy.
It was through its navy that Spain was able to dominate Europe and amass immense wealth. Meanwhile, Elizabeth also firmly held the British navy in her grasp. In this respect, although she was forced to leave London, Elizabeth still held a significant advantage.
What other trump cards does she have up her sleeve in this regard?
After everyone had left, the empty little living room was shrouded in night. The Queen of Scots pondered, clutching the pure silver cross to her chest.
Perhaps it's time to announce the grand execution agreed upon with Pius V to the whole of Europe.
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