Unicorn Rampant (46 page)

John, in fact, could have done without this expression of royal goodwill, for it meant that he and Margaret were now stuck at this table until such time as the monarch might choose to remove himself, since none could leave before the King. And, once James started serious drinking, he could keep it up for hours.

However, Ludovick, recognising his son's lack of enthusiasm, not being a drinking man, presently had a word with James and then announced to all that he conceived that it was just possible that the bride and groom might be growing slightly impatient to proceed further with this auspicious day's, or night's purposes, and he suggested that, with His Majesty's permission, they should be allowed to get on with it. Whereupon, amidst the shouted rudery, James beat on the table with his goblet and declared that the vital, aye vital, matter of the bedding should not be longer delayed; and that it would be their pleasure and privilege to assist the happy couple to due fulfilment thereanent. Although, mind, he jaloused that this fine pair would require but little instruction and advice, being possibly already as expert at the business as any present! To loud cheering, all rose, eager to co-operate.

John had been afraid of something of the sort being envisaged, and had been ready to reject it in no uncertain fashion. But this of the King changed all; he could not flatly refuse a royal proposal. He had heard about these nuptial beddings, and wanted no part in one. But how could he avoid it, especially with Margaret showing no signs of alarm or reluctance?

"I thank you, Sire," he said, raising a hand. "But, since no guidance in the matter is required, as Your Majesty says, the lady and myself would prefer to take our departure in more private fashion. And not to disturb the feasting of you all. If you please
..."

"Nonsense!" the new Marquis of Buckingham declared loudly. "You misjudge your lady, so soon! Meg Hamilton is none so ill-humoured, I swear!"

"I misjudge nothing, my lord. Would you deny me my first exercise of a husband's authority?"

"Na, na, Johnnie," James intervened.
"You'll
no' deny us
oor
right in this fell important matter? You've been wed before these witnesses. Now you'll bed before the said witnesses, in the guid auld-fashioned way. So, nae mair havering. Let us dae oor duty by these twa, friends a'."

So, like it or not, bride and groom were grasped and propelled from that dining-hall in triumph, and all but carried along corridors and down stairs of the palace to the very modest bedchamber prepared for the happy couple, John set-faced but Margaret laughing amiably. With the King nowise backward in the proceedings, John came to the perhaps jaundiced conclusion that this was indeed why James had come to grace the occasion.

Beside the large bed, the party divided—on this occasion very unevenly. Practically all the men took Margaret and began to undress her; there being only the one other woman, however, Cousin Margaret, John would have had sole attention had not the King and Steenie come to assist her, whilst Ludovick stook back, looking sympathetic. Great was the hilarity on the other side of the bed, the bride being notably more co-operative than her groom. John, normally no prude, found it all distasteful to a degree. Strangely or otherwise, he resented Steenie's fumblings much more than
^v
the young woman's.

Margaret was stark-naked first and being vociferously acclaimed—as indeed she deserved to be, with a well-proportioned, full-breasted and satisfying figure, adequately endowed in all respects, which she made no feeble attempts at
covering, confidence in her own
physical attractions entirely obvious. John, of course, was less confident, the male partners in these trying occasions more often than not tending to worry about their masculinity demonstrating itself, as it were to order, desire in the circumstances apt to be at a lowish ebb, however vigorous it might have been had they been alone. This was the situation now, and loud and detailed were the comments and instructions of the onlookers.

At this stage there was usually some spirited argument, on the part of the bedders rather than the bedded, as to which should be placed where, and when. Now Steenie, undoubtedly intent on getting his own back for that memorable occasion in Edinburgh's Candlemaker's Row, took charge, declaring that there was no question but that the bridegroom must be deposited first, and on his back, if there was going to be any sport at all, since assuredly he was in dire need of assistance. As it happened, this announcement proved to be something of a kindness to the victim, however unintentionally, for, in a sudden burst of real anger, John twisted round, fists clenched, and would have struck the Marquis had not the King hastily put himself between them, flapping beringed hands and babbling admonitions; and the spasm of wrath had the effect of deflecting John's preoccupation with physical problems for the moment and contributing some useful spirit to the situation.

James beckoned to some of the bride's supporters for aid, and a little reluctantly two or three of these young men relinquished their grip on their delectable quarry and came round to assist the bridesmaid to hoist John on to the bed, and there to hold him down, on his back, Steenie now keeping warily out-of-range, whilst their colleagues on the other side picked up Margaret, squealing with laughter, and deposited her on top of her new spouse. And thus the pair were held in place by eager hands, while advice and urgings were showered upon them and even wagers shouted, complimentary and otherwise.

If this was John's first nuptial bedding, Margaret had undoubtedly attended numerous others and knew what was expected of her. She squirmed about on top of her partner, rotating her stomach in practised fashion, and hoisting herself sufficiently forward to brush her prominent breasts and nipples across John's face and lips, worked into a rhythm which gradually increased in tempo. And, despite himself, the man felt his manhood rising to the occasion—and the development was noted and exclaimed upon by all. Margaret, legs wide, slid backwards somewhat, to regularise the situation, to applause and hand-clapping.

The young woman continued her effective ministrations in less urgent motion.

Ludovick, who had stood back throughout, now asserted himself, raising his voice. "Enough!" he exclaimed. "We are all satisfied that this match is being properly consummated and looks apt to be fruitful. Our duty here is done. As father to the groom and good-father to this young woman, I declare this bedding adequately performed by all concerned. We shall now leave them to their own devices— with our blessing! Sire . . . ?"

"Devices, aye!" James said, leering. "As to fruitfulness— och, yon's no' hard to prognosticate! Mind, I couldna see much sign o' it, as yet—I could not!"

"Time enough, James. Now—let us return to the table
..."

The King allowed himself to be led off, with backward glances—and none could refuse to follow the royal example, even though one or two parting kisses were deposited on Margaret's plump and busy white buttocks. At last the door closed behind the last of them.

"Lord, John," the young woman gurgled, "that was touch and go! I feared that you were not going to be able to do it! We would never have heard the end of that!"

Without a word, John suddenly and forcibly half-rose, rolled her over, to bestride her and assail her almost violently.

"That. . . is . . . better!" she gasped.

Somewhat to his surprise, John Stewart found his life remarkably little changed for being a married man. Whitehall Palace was not large and had long been crammed to overflowing by the court; the King had been able to provide no extra accommodation for the young couple, or at least had failed to do so. The bedroom they had occupied that first night thereafter was returned to its normal occupants. The ducal quarters were very restricted, like all else, consisting of only three rooms, Ludovick's own bedchamber, a small living apartment and a tiny closet in which John had slept, too small for two; besides, the Duke naturally did not want Margaret roosting in his rooms. So they returned to rambling St James's, where there was at least plenty of room of a sort. But, since the King seemed to require John's services ever more frequently thereafter, as a kind of confidential messenger, not only in connection with the paper-trade but on other errands, and expected him to be almost instantly available, he spent nearly as many nights in his old closet at Whitehall as at St James's. Margaret did not seem to mind.

The fact was that James was initiating a new policy of government, as part of his determination to bring down the power of the Howards and their aristocratic like, who had dominated public office for so long. His aim was now to insinuate almost complete nobodies into significant positions of influence, who would do what they were told, being entirely dependent upon the crown's support; but, whilst having no personal base of great wealth or inherited power, they must be able. And, so that they could be more easily got rid of, should any of them prove ineffective or a nuisance, they must all appear to be recruited by the Marquis of Buckingham rather than by himself; and so any blame for their conduct could be laid at Steenie's door. This was a carefully thought-out and far-reaching strategy, involving numerous departments of government, such as Chancery, the law courts, Customs and Excise, the Admiralty, the Mint, and, above all of course, the Treasury. In this key position, a comparatively new man, Lionel Cranfield, another city merchant, was installed, in place of the Howard Earl of Suffolk, and to him John was a constant courier with the King's secret orders and requirements. Others to whom John beat trails were George Calvert, the new joint Secretary of State, and Henry Yelverton the new Attorney-General. Also he went much to the Tower of London, to Sir Allen Apsley the Lieutenant-Governor, with instructions relative to the treatment and interrogation of the many Howards now in his charge. It was the jest of London that the said Howard faction should set up its own Privy Council in the Tower, since they had there a former Lord Treasurer, a former Lord Chamberlain, a former Secretary of State, a former Lord Admiral of England and a former Captain of Pensioners.

All this, as well as keeping John busy, meant that his initiation into married life was fairly gradual. There was one problem, however, which did come to cause some friction between them, and to concern him somewhat, and this was the matter of suitable employment for his wife. She declared, and he accepted it, that she could not sit all day at St James's twiddling her thumbs, however busy
he
might be; and, for his part, he recognised that, being Margaret, left idle she might well get herself involved in activities unsuitable for the Lady Stewart of Methven. So he besought the King to fulfil his promise, given at the time of the jewellery-extraction, that he would find Margaret some place at court to compensate for her loss in the Queen's service. James brushed this off at first, but, when John enlisted his father's aid, the King eventually came up with the rather extraordinary proposal that, once the Yuletide festivities were over, she should be attached to the establishment of the young Lady Katherine Manners, only child of the Earl of Rutland, and Baroness de Ros in her own right, the premier barony of England, who was to marry Steenie Villiers in the spring, when she reached her fifteenth birthday. Apparently this young person was somewhat odd—as allegedly was her father—had no experience of court or even city life, but was of all things already much interested in witchcraft, necromancy and the black arts. Clearly she must be taken in hand before she, and her great wealth, became the property of the Marquis of Buckingham. So she was to be brought to London and set up at Wallingford House, Westminster, in the care of Steenie's mother. But it was felt that a younger woman was required to be her companion and tutoress in the ways of court and society, and it seemed to the King that Meg Hamilton would suit, Steenie apparently agreeing.

John was doubtful about this. He did not like Buckingham and desired no closer association with him; and the heiress sounded a curiosity. On the other hand, it would solve a problem; and, if he refused agreement, James was unlikely to come up with any other appointment. Moreover, Margaret's down-to-earth outlook on life was unlikely to be affected by this girl's fantasies—as James, who was especially interested in witchcraft and allied subjects, pointed out. So he agreed to put it to his wife—and Margaret accepted the offer with alacrity.

So it was arranged. Margaret would move to Wallingford House, where a couple of rooms would be made available, to prepare all for the young Baroness's and the Countess of Buckingham's arrivals, John still less than easy about it, in his mind.

The Queen died at last, in March, and great was the stir occasioned, not least at Whitehall, where, the King learning that the end was approaching, took sundry steps. He ordered John and Margaret to go to Hampton Court, the moment his Anna breathed her last, to take charge of all valuables there in his name, until they saw what her will said. He ordained a spectacular funeral. And he departed for Theobalds to hunt, pointing out that he misliked funerals, deputing Prince Charles, Ludovick and Steenie to see to all.

So John had the unpleasant task of descending like some vulture on the Queen's possessions almost while her body was still warm, with authority now, but still with distaste. They found little in the way of jewellery, however; most had already gone. James would be displeased. John also was involved in making the funeral arrangements, this entailing much toing and froing to great houses all over London, and the soothing of ruffled feelings over precedence and the like, for in the end most of the arrangements were left to Ludovick, Charles being useless and Steenie bored.