Page 124 of The Crimson Throne
Moray and Argyll also leave at Mary’s command to assign more watches for the castle and examine the troops at hand. It won’t be enough, but at least they’re all taking the threat seriously.
When the men are gone, Mary meets my eyes and draws closer. “Not exactly the night I was expecting,” she says.
I laugh ruefully and turn to leave the chapel. All I want to do now is see Samson. I cannot get that pained look he gave me when he woke upfrom the spell out of my mind, the horror in his eyes as he traced the red line cut across my chest, inches above my bodice. I want to tell him—
And then I notice the smug twinkle in Mary’s eye, the way her lips twitch as if she has a secret and is simply dying to share it. Her aura flashes with that same satisfied strand again.
Even now, she somehow misses the gravity of the situation.
I sigh. “What?”
Mary’s eyes widen at my tone. “Well, now I’m not going to tell you.”
“We’re not children, Mary, and lives are at stake here. Your kingdom is at stake. What plan have you got up your sleeve?”
She sniffs imperiously. “I’m not an idiot,” she says. “And while you may not think so, I am perfectly capable of taking care of problems when they arise.”
Well, now she has my attention. “What did you do?”
She takes her time in answering me, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her necklace before she deigns to speak. “I had been planning on waiting until after Christmas,” she finally says.
“Waiting for what?” I ask.
“I have told you that I need Darnley taken care of. Divorce is out of the question. We’re not heathens like my cousin in England.”
“You’reactuallygoing to murder Darnley?” I ask. That smug grin on the queen’s face grows. “And that’s somehow less barbaric than divorce?” I shake my head. This is all petty nonsense compared to the real problem, and Mary seems determined to recenter everything on her.
“Well, considering that’s at least twice now my dear husband has attempted to injure me…” Mary’s jaw clenches. “Or at least didn’t care if I were murdered along the way to get to you… An eye for an eye seems apt.”
“Right, well…” I gape at her. I suppose it’s expedient at least.
“Bothwell helped me design the plan,” she continues.
Bothwell…who she dismissed with a significant look.
“Now?” I gasp. “You sent him to murder Darnley now?”
“He’s clearly not going to stop,” Mary says. “I had been planning for February or so, well away from Christ’s mass, but the attack tonight means I cannot delay. The Lord will forgive me.”
“How?” I choke out. “How are you going to kill him?”
“Well, now, that’s where you’re going to be happy,” she says, smiling. “No one will think it’s murder at all. It’ll look like an accident. But Bothwell assures me it will be very effective.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Tell me everything.”
“You can just trust me—”
“Every. Thing.”
“Darnley’s been exiled to Kirk o’ Field,” she starts.
I wave my hand, telling her to hurry. I already know the king consort is going to be spending the rest of the year at the estate near Edinburgh Castle.
“Bothwell has stored ample gunpowder in the house.”
I blink, unable to process this. It’s not enough to kill the arse; she intends to explode him.
There’s that smile—childlike glee painted all over the queen’s face. “Efficient, yes?”
