Mary, Queen of Scots (59 page)

This was the ultimate betrayal: the loss of Edinburgh Castle was a disaster for Mary and Bothwell, for whoever held the castle held the city. In the circumstances, Bothwell decided that it would be best for them to leave Edinburgh for Borthwick Castle, which lay twelve miles to the south and was owned by the Catholic Lord Borthwick; here they could wait in readiness for their levies to assemble at Melrose, and Bothwell could hopefully rally further support in the Borders.

On 7 June, the Queen and Bothwell left Edinburgh “with artillery and men of war” for Borthwick Castle.
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In order to raise money for her troops, Mary had had Elizabeth’s gold christening font and some of her own plate melted down.
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Borthwick Castle, which commanded a valley two miles west of Crichton, was a splendid fortress that had been built around 1420–30. It had a massive U-shaped keep with walls 12–14 feet thick, and was surrounded by a curtain wall with twin corner towers 110 feet high. Inside, there was a lofty vaulted hall with a minstrels’ gallery, bedchambers, a chapel and service quarters.
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Mary and Bothwell arrived here on 7 June, probably aware that the Lords meant to march on them very soon. Leaving the castle well garrisoned, Bothwell departed immediately with his remaining men for Melrose.
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It is often stated that he went to Melrose to meet with the lieges who had been summoned on 28 May, yet found the place deserted, but the lieges were not due to assemble there until 15 June. It is more likely that Bothwell made an abortive raid on Home’s forces from Melrose;
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he states in his memoirs that, “when I reached the frontier, I found the enemy in such strength that I could achieve nothing, and returned at once to Borthwick in order to collect a greater force.”
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Mary, meanwhile, had summoned her levies to meet at Muirshead Abbey on 12 June, instead of at Melrose on the 15th, but this “proclamation was not so well obeyed, and so many as came had no hearts to fight in that quarrel.”
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Mary probably sent Casket Letter VIII to Bothwell when he was at Melrose. Written in what appears to be her style, it reads:

My Lord, since my letter written, your brother-in-law that was came to me very sad, and hath asked me my counsel what he should do after tomorrow, because there be many folks here, and among others the Earl of Sutherland, who would rather die, considering the good they have so lately received of me, than suffer me to be carried away, they conducting me; and that he feared there should be some trouble happen of it, of the other side, that it should be said that he were unthankful to have betrayed me. I told him that he should have resolved with you upon all that, and that he should avoid, if he could, those that were most mistrusted. He hath resolved to write thereof to you of my opinion, for he hath abashed me to see him so unresolved at the need. I assure myself he will play the part of an honest man; but I have thought good to advertise you of the fear he hath that he should be charged and accused of treason, to the end that, without mistrusting him, you may be the more circumspect, and that you may have the more power; for we had yesterday more than 300 horse of his and of Livingston. For the honour of God, be accompanied rather with more than less, for that is the principal of my care. I go to write my dispatch, and pray God to send us a happy interview shortly. I write in haste to the end you may be advised in time.

This letter makes better sense placed in this context, rather than during Mary’s sojourn at Stirling before her abuction and Bothwell’s divorce. Huntly is known to have been in Edinburgh on 7 June and 10 June, and he was in Edinburgh Castle on the 11th; it is not inconceivable that, on 9 June, the day before the Lords planned to attack Borthwick—which Huntly must have known about—he visited Mary at Borthwick, which was easily accessible from Edinburgh. His visit, and her letter, may be dated to the 9th on the basis of his request to Mary for advice as to what he should do “after tomorrow.” The fact that his men arrived with those of Lord Livingston suggests that he had sent them covertly. It is not surprising that he was terrified, in view of Mary’s recent accusations of treason, that he would be arrested and charged with it. Relieved that he had come, yet aware that he was still having doubts that he had done the right thing, it would have been natural for Mary to warn Bothwell to treat him with circumspection.

When Mary referred to Sutherland and many other folks being “here,” she meant nearby or in the vicinity, which could even mean in Edinburgh. Both Sutherland and Huntly had reason to be grateful to Mary, for she had restored their lands in the recent Parliament. The tone of this hasty letter is dutiful, but in no way loving or passionate; however, Mary must now have known for certain that she was pregnant, and for this reason she had no choice but to fight or fall with Bothwell.

If the letter does date from this time, as seems probable, then it could not have been among the documents in the casket that was discovered by the Lords in Edinburgh on 20 June, for Bothwell never returned to Edinburgh after leaving it on 7 June. In that case, it must have been planted in the casket by the Lords, who later alleged, in order to incriminate the Queen, that it had been written in an entirely different context. This is almost certainly further proof that the evidence against Mary was manipulated.

Bothwell returned to Borthwick on 9 or 10 June, then sent urgent messages to Balfour, Huntly and Archbishop Hamilton to hasten to him with more men. That night, as they had planned, Home, Morton and Mar,
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with their individual forces, met up at Liberton Kirk, four miles south of Edinburgh, and marched together on Borthwick at the head of 7–800 mounted men armed with muskets.
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With them were Atholl, Glencairn, Lindsay, Sempill, Ruthven, Tullibardine, Grange, Ker of Cessford and Ker of Fawdonside.
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At, or before, their approach, Bothwell, knowing that capture would mean certain death, made his escape through a postern gate, leaving Mary to deal with the Lords, presumably relying on them not to make war on a lone woman who was also their sovereign.

The Lords massed their forces before the castle, “discharged several volleys of musketry” and called for Bothwell to come out and take up their challenge.

“Traitor! Murderer! Butcher!” they cried, when he did not appear.
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Then Mary appeared on the wall to tell them he had gone, and they asked her to return with them to Edinburgh and assist them against her husband’s murderers. Knowing they meant Bothwell, she refused. Realising that it was futile to press her further, and knowing that they could not lay siege to the castle since they had no artillery, the Lords shouted a few insults at her, “too evil and unseemly to be told, which the poor Princess did with her speech defend,”
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then withdrew north to Dalkeith. The Lords later insisted that they had used all courtesy towards the Queen, and had withdrawn as soon as they discovered that Bothwell had left the castle.
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As soon as the Lords had arrived, Mary dispatched two messengers to Huntly in Edinburgh, urging him to come to her with armed men, but Morton’s men captured them. Later, in the early hours of the morning, they released them before marching off, whereupon the messengers promptly galloped off to the city. Huntly, aided by Archbishop Hamilton, did his best to rouse the citizens against the Lords, but in vain.

At 8 a.m. or earlier, the Confederate Lords entered Edinburgh, to great acclaim, and without any hindrance from Balfour’s garrison at the castle.
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As Bothwell wrote, “the city and castle of Edinburgh had abandoned us and gone over to them.”
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At the Mercat Cross, the Lords told the crowds who had come out to greet them that they had taken up arms only “to pursue their revenge for the murder of the King.”
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Shortly afterwards, they issued a proclamation summoning the citizens to aid them in delivering the Queen from Bothwell.

Huntly and Archbishop Hamilton “took to arming as soon as they saw this change of heart” on the part of the citizens, “in order to defend themselves against the troublemakers, and to save the city. But they were unable to do anything, being greatly inferior in numbers.”
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Huntly was received into Edinburgh Castle on the 11th,
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but was allowed to leave soon afterwards. Immediately, he fled north to raise troops for the Queen, while Archbishop Hamilton left to rouse support in the south-west.

At midnight on the 11th, Mary, who had no mind to wait until the Lords returned with superior forces, escaped from Borthwick Castle, “dressed in men’s clothes, booted and spurred.”
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Tradition says she was lowered to the ground by a rope from a window in the great hall,
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and thence hastened away through the postern gate. She was met by Bothwell’s servants a mile from Borthwick,
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and joined him at either Hailes Castle or at the fifteenthcentury tower known as Black Castle at Cakemuir on nearby Fala Moor, which was the property of the Wauchope family, who were friends of Bothwell.

At 3 a.m. on 12 June, Mary and Bothwell arrived at Dunbar, where they were met by Lords Seton, Yester and Borthwick, and six lairds.
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Mary had left her wardrobe and personal belongings behind at Borthwick, and had to borrow clothes from a countrywoman: “a red petticoat” that barely covered her knees, “sleeves tied with bows, a velvet hat and a muffler.”
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There was no time to lose, and Bothwell immediately left for the Borders to raise men. At the same time, “a messenger was sent to hasten the coming of the Hamiltons and Huntly, who did not arrive until it was too late.”
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That day, both Mary and the Confederate Lords summoned the lieges to their banners.
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Bothwell was to have some success in raising a force of his loyal Borderers, but otherwise comparatively few supporters rallied to the Queen. In their summons, the Lords declared their intention of executing justice on “the murderer of the King and the ravisher of the Queen”; “also, sundry libels were set out in both rhyme and prose, to move the hearts of the whole subjects to assist and take part in so good a cause.”
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These astute measures, combined with the vigorous exhortations of the Protestant clergy, inspired many to join their already formidable army.

Balfour now committed the ultimate treachery. On 13 June, he sent a message to the Queen, advising her to take the open field and to march direct to Edinburgh, so as to meet the insurgents on the road. He assured her that they would not keep their ground for a moment, especially when they knew that he had declared against them and would open fire upon their troops. If she did not do so, he would be compelled, he said, to come to terms with them. But he had been won over by the rebels to give this counsel.
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This message came before Mary and Bothwell had had a chance to raise sufficient men, but on the strength of it, the Queen decided that the time was ripe for taking possession of the capital,
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and sent a message to that effect to Bothwell.

The next day, Maitland had an interview lasting three hours with Balfour in Edinburgh Castle,
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which resulted in Balfour undertaking to surrender the castle to the Confederate Lords and assist them in rescuing the Queen from Bothwell; in return, Maitland promised to support Balfour’s claim to retain command of the castle. By now, the Lords had an army of 4,000 men.
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On 14 June, Mary left Dunbar with 600 horse and three cannon, and rode to Haddington, where she met up with Bothwell, who had returned from the Borders with a force of 1,600.
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On the way, the Queen was dismayed to see that “the people did not join as expected.”
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From Haddington, the royal army marched to Gladsmuir, where they proclaimed that “a number of conspirators, under pretext of preserving the Prince, were really trying to dethrone the Queen, that they might rule all things at their pleasure,” and that “very necessity compelled her to take up arms, and her hope was in the help of all faithful subjects, who would be rewarded with [the] lands and possessions of [the] rebels.”
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Then they rode to Seton, where, while their soldiers camped at Prestonpans, the Queen and her husband spent what would turn out to be their last night together.
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They had decided to march on Edinburgh the next day.

On the 15th, Bedford reported to Leicester that the Lords had assured him that they would move against Bothwell alone, but that swift action was necessary because “the Queen is with child.”
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They perhaps feared that, once Mary’s pregnancy became evident, the people might not be so willing to rise against her or her husband.

The two armies finally came face to face on 15 June at Carberry Hill, overlooking the River Esk, seven miles east of Edinburgh.
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The Queen’s forces were drawn up on the hillside beneath pennants bearing the Lion Rampant of Scotland and the Saltire of St. Andrew. The Lords were positioned at the foot of the hill, under an emotive white banner portraying the infant James praying before his father’s murdered corpse, and bearing the legend, “Judge and avenge my cause, O Lord.”
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Both sides were reluctant to fight, so the day was spent in fruitless parleying under a hot sun. Glencairn sent the Queen a message stating that the Lords’ quarrel was not with the Crown, and if she would abandon Bothwell, they would restore her to her former authority as their natural sovereign; but she angrily refused, saying, “The Lords must yield or try their chances in battle,”
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adding, with some justice, “It was by them that Bothwell had been promoted.”
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Bothwell notes that the Lords sent a herald to him “with a written statement of their reasons for taking to the field. These were, firstly, to set the Queen free from the captivity in which I was holding her, and also to avenge the death of the King, of which I had been accused.” He replied, somewhat untruthfully, that he “was not holding the Queen in any captivity, but that I loved and honoured her in all humanity as she deserved”; nor had there ever “been any question of my participating in, or consenting to, the murder of His Majesty,” but although he had been completely cleared of that charge, he was happy to defend his honour in the field there and then, against any comer.