"The most high and mighty sovereign Elizabeth, by the grace of God queen of England." "Mary." "Randolph." "Look alive, milord, are you glued to the floor?" "Get up!" "Get up!" " Has something upset Your Majesty?" " Throckmorton, tell them." "Milords Mary Stuart has sailed from France for Scotland." "What are we to do?" "Did Your Majesty grant her England's safe conduct at sea?" "No!" "She defied my ambassador, defied me refused to acknowledge that I am the rightful queen of England." " 'Tis true, milord." " Now she shows her true colors." "Suppose she lands what then?" " Her presence in Scotland will endanger Your Majesty's throne, naturally." "But she is the legitimate heir of Henry Vll and her claims to succeed Your Majesty must be acknowledged." "Not by me." "Never." "I should fail in my duty to Your Majesty if I did not state facts." "We must face the fact that, in the eyes of Europe you are a pretender to the throne of England." "Because the marriage of your father, Henry Vlll to your mother, Anne Boleyn is deemed invalid." "They call me "illegitimate. " Go on." "That being faced Mary Stuart must not be allowed to land in Scotland." "She will use that throne as a stepping stone to yours." "She must be seized at sea." "By English ships, Your Majesty?" "But that would offend France, offend all Europe." "Have I no captain who can raise a black flag on occasion?" "They do it often enough when I forbid it." " What happened, Randolph?" " Hawkins." "Drake." "What did she say?" "Oh, Heavenly Father I give thee thanks for the security of this voyage which has brought us safely to my native land." "Counsel my heart." "Guide my steps in this land of my birth that I may rule with piety and wisdom." "The queen is coming!" "Prepare yourselves!" "The queen is coming!" "The queen is coming!" " Quiet!" " No!" "I've had enough..." "Calm down!" " Milord." " Yes?" "Your sister Mary, Queen of Scots, she's on her way to Edinburgh." "You're daft, man!" "But I've seen her." "She landed at Leith." "She'll be here most any moment." "Your regency's over, Moray!" " You'll step down now." " Aye." "No longer you'll rule Scotland!" "Milords." "We'd better go down and meet her." "No." "You'll wait here." "You've gathered here to welcome her." "Understand?" "And another thing:" "Remember, you lords are the real power of Scotland." "You can afford to hold your tongues." "I warn you, leave all speech to Lexington, especially you, Ruthven and Morton." "Your Majesty." "James." "James Stuart." "I would have known you anywhere." "And I you, my dear sister." "Welcome home." "Welcome to Scotland, Mary." "Thank you, James." "Frankly, I was worried." " Thank heaven you crossed the sea safely." " Oh, none too safely, James." "We were pursued, nearly taken." "They did capture the ship that carried our horses." "That's why I had to come on that ridiculous horse." "A fine way to travel for a triumphant homecoming." "Pursued at sea?" " By freebooters?" " A freebooter with a skirt, I dare say." "The lords of Scotland are waiting to greet you." "They're in the Great Hall." "Will you...?" "Will you see them now?" "Oh, I'm a sight, and I did so want to look my best after all these years." "Remember the old days at Inchmahome, James?" "I was a spoiled little girl, and you seemed such a man." "You'll never know how I admired and looked up to you in those days." "You haven't changed at all, James." "I wish to thank you for the welcome you have given me, milords." "I have been 13 years away." "It was not of my own choice that I went away but it is of my own choice that I have returned." "You will find me young, perhaps, inexperienced but with the support of all of you and with the Earl of Moray at my side, I shall rule fairly and justly." "We thank Your Gracious Majesty." "The name of Stuart, of your father, is loved and honored in Scotland..." "One moment, Lexington." "Can't we welcome Her Majesty without the presence of foreigners?" "No, David." "Rizzio is my secretary." "He will remain." "Continue, Lexington." "No affront is intended, Your Majesty." "I understand." "On behalf of these lords and nobles of your kingdom I wish to assure you of our unwavering loyalty." "Differences we may have, aye but they shall not divide us." "Differences?" "What differences?" "Nothing that cannot be resolved, Your Majesty." "What differences, milords?" "Lexington meant nothing of any importance, my dear sister." "Exactly what did he mean, James?" "He was mindful of your religion." "You call that "nothing of importance"?" "It's your religion, too, James." "Please try to understand conditions are changing." "The old faith is passing." "This is John Knox's day in Scotland." "And you've gone over to his side?" "I've only followed my conscience." "I hope you have one, James." "I had your own interest at stake." "I was regent." "It was my duty to protect your throne." " By attacking what I hold most dear?" " By making friends with Knox." "Do you realize the power he holds over the people?" "If you want the people behind you, do as Moray has done." "Aye, there's Elizabeth." "Where is Elizabeth?" "Born in the old faith like yourself, milady." "But she gets off a ship when it sinks." "I don't like your tone, Ruthven." "My religion is no garment to be put on and off with the weather." "You had better know that, all of you!" "I shall worship as I please and hope for all men to worship as they please in Scotland." "Good for you, lassie!" "You're from the north, Huntly." " Are you a turncoat?" " No, no." "And I'll defend to the death your right to worship as you wish." "Thank you, Huntly." "And now, let that be an end of this unimportant matter." "Is there anything else on your minds, milords?" " We're to speak about your marriage." " Ruthven!" "Aye!" "Go on, Lexington!" "We have hesitated to mention this, Your Majesty but now, you have returned." " Why mince words, Lexington?" "The King of France died when I was 18." "Naturally, I'm free to marry again if I choose to." "We realize the matter is delicate, Your Majesty." "I'm glad you realize that." "But the matter is of the gravest importance." "These are troubled times." "If you made a foreign alliance, what would happen here?" "Until you are safely married to a loyal Scot whom we can trust, Scotland will be unsettled." "All we wish is to see you safe on your throne." "It's true, my dear sister." "Until men know what alliance you will make the clans will sleep with their swords in their hands." " I suppose you've decided on my husband?" " Aye." " One of you?" " No, we wouldn't stand for that." "We've considered only your welfare in choosing." " Choosing whom?" " Lord Darnley." "He is a Stuart, next heir after yourself to the throne of England." "You yourself said that you would never give up your claim to the succession." "Marry Darnley and strengthen it." "Of course I can't give myself out to be a virgin queen like our cousin, Elizabeth." "But suppose I don't choose to marry at all." "Then you'll do as you please, and I'm behind you, lassie." "Thank you, Huntly." "I see I have one friend here." "Where is the other Bothwell?" "Is he here?" " Why do you laugh, Morton?" " No offense, dear Majesty..." "It concerns the Earl of Bothwell?" "Something he said about Your Majesty, yes." "And what did he say?" "Bothwell said, "You and Elizabeth rolled together wouldn't make an honest woman. "" "And do milords allow my name to be slandered?" "Aye, Your Majesty, you're mistaken." "There's no love lost between us and Bothwell." " Take no account of such speech." " I shall take account of it." "I shall take account of all the veiled insults which have been flung at me tonight under the guise of welcome." " Lassie..." " I realize now what kind of support I may expect from all of you, even from my own half-brother." " My dear sister..." " I know where you stand now." "I know where I stand." "Go ahead, form your council, do as you wish." "I'll have no hand in it." "Up until now, I have never done anything of my own wish." "The ambition of other men carried me to France when I was a child." "The ambition of other men married me to a dying boy who became King of France." "I wasn't asked." "But I am through." "I'm going to live my own life, do as I say." "I refuse to marry." "I love no one, and I shall marry no one." "I'm going to begin to be myself Mary Stuart." "She sits on that throne only so long as we maintain her there." " Softly." "Softly." " Why?" "Do you curry favor with her?" "She'll find out we'll stand for only so much!" "She'll sit on the throne only as long as we keep her there!" "She is our queen, and she'll remain our queen!" " I'll back you in that, Huntly." " I'll go with you." "Softly." "Softly." "There'll be no throne nor Scotland, if we fall out." " Who's going to keep her in hand?" " I will." "She'll accept the council I propose." "Have you already picked yourself to be prime minister, Moray?" "Aye." "And with Lexington the secretary of state, what have you to fear?" "I'll serve her faithfully, Moray, I promise you that." "Aye, as long as it serves your own purposes." "But who's to look after the rest of us?" "I will." "I promise you." "Madonna." "We hail from the burnside The hills and the glen" "When the pipes O' the queen Sound the call" "And glad are the hearts O' her loyal highland men" "Whether victory or death may befall" "Tho' the road be long and drear When the pibroch's ringing clear" "With the skirl of Stuarts off to war" "We will fight for our queen She's the fairest ever seen" "So the Scots may be free as of yore" "For chains shall not bind us No English yokes shall drop" "Let us free Scotland forevermore" "And a while ago, I..." "I wanted to run away, it all seemed so hateful." "But now I'll find a way to win." "Tho' the road be long and drear When the pibroch's ringing clear" "With the skirl of Stuarts off to war" "Scotia land, fresh and fair" "Pine and heather fill the air" "Bonnie land" "That our forefathers bore" "Our queen, we'll defend" "Stuart's cause will never end" "Till we free Scotland" "Forevermore" "We will fight for our queen She's the fairest ever seen" "So the Scots may be free as of yore" "For chains shall not bind us No English yokes shall drop" "Singing, dancing, drinking and all the vile and evil uses of the flesh." "They run before this jezebel of France like a foul air!" "Aye, she's a Stuart on her father's side but who was her mother?" "Who was her mother?" "French Mary of Guise." "She was regent when George Wishart was burned alive for heresy." "And what was his heresy?" "Preaching the reformed religion teaching me, John Knox, the wisdom and the glory of God." "Aye, and the flames that consumed my teacher ripped deep into this heart." "Did Mary Stuart come to Scotia while she sat on the golden throne of France?" "No!" "No!" "She was lost in luxury and the sinful joys of the flesh." "And now, now when fate has cast her down from that throne of sin she remembers another gem in her crown the gem she was born with, Scotland!" "The time has come for all men to choose between the kilt of Scotland and this Jezebel of France!" "Master Knox." "Aye." "We Scots know who fought for the mother." "Aye, and we Scots remember who fought against her." "Mock me as you will." "You can never silence me tongue." "I'm no such fool, Master Knox." "You can't silence 10,000 trumpets." "But I can match you with a better tune and from a better bag of wind." " I shall say what I have come to say." "And neither rank nor station shall avail mine enemies." "Follow, my people!" "Have we not had enough of the Guises and their followers?" "Aye!" "Let them stick to their warmer climates!" "And may they come to a hundred plagues before ever they should have another standard here." "Back!" "Back, I say!" "Stop!" "Stop, I say!" "Stop, or I shall bring down the curse of God upon you!" "Stop, or I shall bring down the curse of God upon you!" "Stop!" "Your Majesty, may I rid your presence of this old goat?" "I wish to speak to this gentleman." "Won't you come inside, Master Knox?" "Is there anything to fear?" "Look at me, Master Knox." "Can you believe in your heart that I'm as wicked as you say?" "Do you not bring back the old faith that we've cast out of Scotland as the work of Satan?" "Is it a crime to be steadfast in the faith of our fathers?" "There is only one true faith, and that I preach." "Preach your faith, Master Knox." "Preach it." "Let me practice mine." " Can I forget whose daughter...?" " It's true I'm the daughter of Mary of Guise." "It is true I keep my mother's religion." "Still, I'll respect your own and will give you as much freedom as I'll demand for myself." " Aye, they told me you spoke fairly." " Can't you also?" "Can't you be tolerant?" "I want to be loved by my people." "I need their support." "Your support, your friendship." "You heard my words out there in the courtyard?" "I heard words that another sovereign would call treason words another sovereign would punish as my mother punished treason." "I called ye "Jezebel of France" out there and I'll call it ye again." "I believe in your sincerity, Master Knox." "I only ask you to believe in mine." "Can't we be friends?" " I have said what I came to say." " But you no longer mean it." "You're..." "Well, blast his insolence." "The old ram, he ought to be hung." " It will take more than love to rule this land." " I haven't asked your opinion." "Good." "Good, you've got a temper." "But don't curb it, Your Majesty." " Force your crown and fear your scepter." " You the captain of the guard?" "No, I only arrived tonight." "Then you'll leave again and not return until you've learned to hold your tongue." "I'm afraid that will be never, Your Majesty." "I see I've arrived too late." "Moray has already told you about me." "About you?" "You pride yourself." "Aye." "It's a way I have, Mary Stuart." " And who are you?" " You heard my pipers." " You don't remember my clan?" " Which clan?" "When you hear those pipes, you know the Bothwells are about." " So you are the Earl of Bothwell." " At Your Majesty's service." "Did you say that Elizabeth Tudor and I rolled together wouldn't make an honest woman?" "Oh, no, not at all." "What I really said was that the two of you together wouldn't make a proper woman." "But that was years ago when I saw you in France." "Just a skinny little girl." "I wouldn't say it now." "You're a very outspoken man, Milord Bothwell." "That's one privilege I've always retained." "Oh, come now, you don't want flattery." "I've confessed." "Forgive me." "Well, you did fight in defense of my mother." "I thank you for that." "Don't thank me." "It was a pleasure." "I have found many enemies here." "Have I also found a friend?" "You'll only find out who's your friend in Scotland by putting him to the test." "Tonight, I need loyal backing more than my mother did." "So I imagine." "And hearing Moray and the lords were here to welcome you, I rode over from the border." "To stand with them against me?" "Where are they?" "They are forming my council in the hall." " Bothwell, where have you been?" " Down to the border, Morton hanging a few of your clansmen." "Well, milords have you divided the spoils?" "We're forming Her Majesty's council." "You, Moray, as prime minister, I fancy." " Naturally." " You, Morton, as secretary of state." " Or is it Ruthven?" " No, Lexington." " Aye, Lexington." " Indeed." "Who is to be the queen's lieutenant general?" "That's for me!" "You're all wrong, gentlemen." "I've decided to take charge of Her Majesty's armed forces myself." " We'll not allow it, Bothwell!" " You're too late." " I've just accepted the appointment." " From whom?" "From Her Majesty, the queen." "Didn't you say that Randolph was expected to return from Scotland this morning?" "I did, Your Majesty." "I wonder what's keeping him." "Some pretty face, I dare say." "Are you growing jealous of Randolph, Leicester?" "Is it any fault of mine, Your Majesty?" "More and more now, you're giving your important commissions to Lord Randolph." " There was a time when I basked..." " Don't say "bask. "" "It reminds me of a fish." "Your Majesty, you know my feelings." "You must realize how they're torn when you avert your gaze." "Your Majesty I beg you on my knees." "Milord Randolph, ambassador to Scotland." "Get up!" "Did you convey my friendly greetings to Mary Stuart tell her how I rejoiced at her safe return from France?" "Most ardently, Your Majesty." "Ardently." "I begin to understand your dallying." "I've heard of her enchantment." "Tell me is she as pretty as they say?" "You may see for yourself." "She sent you this token of her love." "A girl." "Not a queen." "Tell me what's she like?" " Most charming, Your Majesty." "Already, she has many suitors chief among them is Lord Darnley." " Darnley?" "Another thorn in my crown." "Weakling." "Drunkard." "He stands next to my throne under her." "I'd be in double jeopardy if she married him." "In my opinion, Your Majesty, the Earl of Bothwell removes that danger." "He leads her troops like a hurricane." "He's restored more order in a month in the north than it's known for 10 years." "He's her mainstay now." "It's plain, he's in love with her." "You think I could sleep with Bothwell on the throne beside her?" "But, Your Majesty, she's a creature of love." "Believe me, your fears are unfounded." " She wins men to her side in gentle ways." " Aye and I see she has won our Randolph, among others." "You shall go north no more!" " Your Majesty..." " Throckmorton, you're a cold fish." "You shall be my ambassador to Scotland." " But, Your Majesty, I'm simply giving you..." " Leave us!" "Leave us!" "And take care or your heart will fall off your sleeve." "Darnley." "Bothwell..." "Am I never to have peace?" " She must be defeated." " How?" " Declare war." "Unite Scotland with England." " War is that all you men know?" "Unite Scotland against England, you mean." "Unite Scotland under Mary Stuart." "But how else is she to be defeated?" "You know what it is to be born illegitimate?" "To have royal blood in your veins and that one word standing between you and the throne?" "How it makes ambition burn?" "Who was it ruled Scotland before she returned?" "Who wants to rule again?" "The Earl of Moray." "You shall ride north tonight as my ambassador, Throckmorton and get in touch with Moray." "So, Lord Bothwell has put down the rebellion on the border." "Has he returned yet?" " Not yet, madam." " Why that tone?" "I no longer have your confidence." "That's not true." "You know you must secure your throne by marrying, yet every time I mention it..." " You don't like Bothwell?" " He has been a good lieutenant general." " His religion rules him out?" " He has no religion." " All he believes in is this." " I should be thankful." "It's done more for me than your music and your continual talk about marriage." " I'm sorry, David." " I try only to serve you faithfully." "Yes." "You're as fanatical in your way as John Knox is." "I often wonder which you love the most, myself or my religion." "I would never betray either." "You imply that I would?" "You are the sole defender of our faith on these isles." "What becomes of that if you marry a heretic?" "Meaning Bothwell?" "Even Lord Darnley is 100 times a better choice." "At least, he's of the faith." "Why must I marry at all?" "To have an heir, to be true to your blood to escape the tyranny of these lords who laugh in your face." "You're a worse tyrant in your loyalty than they are in their disloyalty, David." "I have never urged Your Majesty to marry a Scot." "Marry in Europe, where your destiny is." "My destiny is here in Scotland." "Whom would you have me marry, David?" "Tell me." "Look at these marriage proposals." "First and foremost, Don Carlos of Spain." "Onions." "The archduke of Austria is not so good a match, but he is eager to marry you." " No, no." "Beer, not women." " The king of Sweden?" "But his ears..." " Don't forget the king of Denmark." " Forget him?" "Impossible." "But would Scotland ever be quiet if I married him?" " I assure you, he's a very peaceable man." " But they say he snores." "The duke of Anjou." "The prince de Conde." "The duke of Ferrara." "The duke d'Orleans." "Oh, no!" "Oh, David." "David." "David." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean to make fun of you." "I know you're right." "I can't put it off any longer." " But I vow I'll not marry in Europe." " Marry Lord Darnley then." "There is no one else." "Marry him, madam." "I beg you." "Very well, David." "You're not serious." "Oh, yes, I am." "Now it's over." "Finished." "I knew it had to be, really." "Go, summon Darnley." "I'll tell him at once." "No." "No, David." "Lord Darnley." "The four pretty wenches." "Five, milord now that you're here." "I say, you call me pretty?" "Well, as I always say, my dears the fairest flower in Scotland grows on the highest bough." "Milord." "I've been waiting all day." "Am I never to see Her Majesty?" "You'll see her when she wants to see you, milord." "The four protective angels." "Hello, Darnley." "Still hanging around, eh?" "Where's Her Majesty?" "In her study, with the English ambassador." "And strict orders not to be disturbed." "Don't shake your finger at me, snub-nose." "I'll spank you where you belong." "I'm left out in the cold, too, Bothwell and these lassies have no time for plain Scotsmen." " How long am I to be kept waiting?" " Oh, listen to the man." "You'd think he owned the place." "If I did, there'd be no Lord Throckmorton around, I can tell you that." "Oh, I forgot, Darnley he's a friend of yours." "I hear he's promised to back your claim to England if you take yourself out of Scotland." "Jealous, Bothwell?" "On the contrary." "I think it's a first-rate idea." "I shall wait for Her Majesty below." " Don't go on my account." " I'm not going on your account, sir." "I suppose you laugh at me, too, behind my back." "Oh, no, it's not safe to laugh at a barbarian." "For two farthings, I'd put you over my knee." "Oh, milord." " Go tell Her Majesty I want to see her." " What to do with a man like that?" "He won't take no for an answer." "Someday you'll meet a man who won't take no for an answer." "And?" "And I'll be the godfather." " Now will you tell the queen?" " No, I won't." "Then here I stay." "For one hour, Lord Throckmorton, you've been talking in circles." "I still don't know what it is Elizabeth wants." " Do I fail to speak fluently?" " Too fluently." "You conceal your purpose." "Your Majesty..." "You tell me again and again of Elizabeth's friendship." "I, too, give her my friendship." "We're two rulers in two adjoining countries." "We're related by blood ties." "There's every reason for friendship based on understanding." "But how can there be understanding without frankness?" " Be frank." "What is it Elizabeth wants?" " Very well." "Marry the man she chooses and she'll recognize you as the next heir to the throne of England." "My succession was ordained by circumstances out of her control." "I don't need her acknowledgement." "My mistress only meant that if you marry the man of her choosing it would indicate no threat to her throne." " She has someone in mind, I suppose." " She..." " She did mention a name, Your Majesty." " Who?" "The Earl of Leicester." "She named him?" "She had the temerity to name the Earl of Leicester?" "No one stands higher in her esteem than Leicester." "Why, she's shown that." "She's flaunted him before all England." "Her favorite, her leavings and now she wants to cast him off on me make me a laughingstock before the world?" " Please..." " You told me what is in her mind." "Let me tell you the rest." "My cousin Elizabeth has never taken a single step that wasn't political." "She's afraid I will marry the one man who embodies everything she fears the man who is next heir after me to her throne, Lord Darnley." "That is sheer imagination." "It is not in my nature to play politics, but now I shall." "There is no other course I can follow and keep face with my faith and with the name I bear." "Now I know what I shall do." "Your Majesty, I beg of you not to be rash." "Leave me." "Go back to Elizabeth." "Tell her what I have said." "David go and find Lord Darnley." "Have you seen Lord Darnley?" " Why?" " Her Majesty wishes to see him." "Privately." "A room's a room, and a door's a door." "I've been waiting to see you for hours." "Are you a man or a storm not to be brought indoors?" " When my girl won't see me, I'm a storm." " Is that the way you speak of me?" "You expect me to bow and scrape and make pretty speeches?" " I'm a soldier." "I love you." " You wanna take everything by storm." " You know any better way?" " You forget I'm your queen." "Have I ever forgotten that?" "But I remember you're a woman." "Don't forget that." " I won't be talked to that way." " Yes, you will." "You're going to listen to me for once." "You know I love you." "You've known it from the first moment I met you." "I command you to leave me." "What's come over you, Mary?" "What's happened?" "You're frightened." " You say you're a queen, be one." " What else am I trying to do?" "Leave me, please." " While you go marry someone else?" " Yes." " Now, I'm in no mood for joking." " I'm going to marry Lord Darnley." " You're what?" " Marry Lord Darnley." " You're out of your mind." " Let me go." " No." "No, you can't do it." " Let me go." " I'll never let you go!" "I love you." " You have no right." "I have a right." "Let's not pretend you don't care." "I know days when you did, when you told me so." "Aye, with your eyes, with everything you did." "You can't lie to me, Mary." "I made up my mind." "I'm gonna marry Darnley." "Darnley." "Why didn't you pick a man?" "Tell me that you love him, Mary, and I'll let you go." "Aye, you can't do it." "I can." "I do." "Will you learn this isn't your kingdom, but mine?" " Yours for how long?" " You think I can't rule without you?" "Try it." " You can't leave Scotland." " You've seen the last of me, Mary." " I won't let you leave." " I don't need your leave nor leave-taking." "I'm just going." "Lord Darnley, Your Majesty." "Lord Darnley you have asked my hand in marriage." "I have decided to grant it." "Your Majesty!" "Oh, I've hardly hoped..." "I haven't dared..." "I'll love you, keep you, defend you." "We shall face troubled times." "This is some dream, a jest." "It can't be true." "And yet it is true." "I never dreamed I'm to hold you in my arms." "They say a kiss seals the bargain." "James, they're waiting for you to say it." "The fact is, my dear sister we're troubled by your apparent lack of confidence in this council." ""Apparent"?" "Why not say "obvious," and be frank?" "It's our rightful duty to shape your policies and for you to accept them." "Instead of which, you constantly take the advice of your secretary, Rizzio." "I begin to see." "You want me to get rid of David." "Aye, send him back where he belongs." "Well, I shan't." "You'd better think twice about that." "Are you giving me orders?" "No, no." "Ruthven only meant to say..." "I know what Ruthven means to say." "He means to say that I'm a fool though he never dares put it quite that boldly." "Well, I have been a fool." "I lost Bothwell, who held you all in check." "I thought I was ruling Scotland, but it was only his strength behind me." "But I still have David." "You can't take Scotland for yourselves so long as he is by my side." " I shall never let him go." " He may be sorry if you don't." "Someday, Ruthven, you may be sorry for that tongue." "In spite of my mistakes, I've won my people to me." "You all know it and fear it." "Sit down, milords." "Sit down." "It's only your king." "Always holding council, eh, Moray?" "Always talking, talking." " You're late." " I don't take orders anymore." "I'm king now." "Even if someone doesn't seem to know it." "You never can count on a woman." "Marry one, and she turns to ice." "They're all alike, even a queen." "Can't stand the sight of you." "Say you're drunk when you need a kiss or two." "Would you believe it, Moray?" "They lock doors at night." "And all the while, they're thinking of someone else some fellow who's gone to France, perhaps!" "Mary!" "Where's the queen?" "Open that door!" "Open that door!" "Well, Moray?" "Will Your Majesty sign these papers now?" " Where's my wife?" " Alone with her ladies, sire." "But you have access to her, eh, Rizzio?" "Will you sign these papers now, Your Majesty?" "Later." "Later!" "Now you know." " Lf I thought..." " If, if, if!" "Open your eyes, man." " Who else is with her all the time?" " Day and night, alone." "Regain her favor." "Be king in fact as well as name." "Show her you don't lack courage." "Who said I lack courage?" "!" "How dare you address me..." "Eight to the clock, and all's well!" "The queen's guards." "All's well." "My life is in the north" "And my heart is in the south" "False I've pledged with my hand" "False I've kissed with my mouth" "With hand caught to hand" "And the rain driving blind" "As the new years have driven" "Old loves out of mind" "As the new years have driven" "Old loves out of mind" "What is that song, David?" "It's a song I made up." "He's always making up some nonsense about love." "Aren't you in love, Beaton?" "Just a soldier." "Not a penny to his name." "Why don't you marry him?" " And live on air?" " On anything." "What do you see in the fire, David?" "The sunshine of Italy?" "You want to go home, don't you?" "You're my only friend, and they're driving you away." "I want you to go, David for your own sake." "Though I don't know what we'll do without you." "Milady why don't you recall the Earl of Bothwell?" "Let's have no more talk of Bothwell." " You look surprised, my dear." " I wish to be alone." "Alone?" " Madonna!" " No!" "Ruthven, what are you doing here?" " Ask your husband." " Do you know?" "Madonna!" "Let me go!" "Get out!" "Get out, all of you!" "We intend no harm to anyone except that traitor." " Traitor?" "My only friend!" " Aye, too good a friend." " Your husband knows about that." " I know who the traitors in Scotland are." "Get out of my room!" "Lay one hand on Rizzio, I'll see you all destroyed!" "Quiet." "When Scotland finds out we've killed a rogue in your own bedroom..." "If David's done anything wrong, I'll deliver him up for fair trial, but not to assassins!" "After him!" "David!" "David!" "Oh, no!" "David!" "Milords." "Milords." "Justice." "Justice!" "Madonna..." "You've not only murdered poor David you've ruined me, ruined yourself thrown a doubt on the child I'm going to have, your child." "I only wanted my rights." "God forgive you." "I shall not forgive myself for marrying you." "Am I to follow David?" " There's no fear if you do as we say." " Do you hear that?" "So long as I'm their prisoner, and my husband backs them up I'm an unfaithful wife, and the people, my strength, will turn against me." "Enough." "Before we go further, you'll sign this a full pardon for all of us." " Never!" " Sign it!" " Ruthven!" "She's better off dead if she doesn't sign it." "Aye, we're better off." "If she got away without signing it, we'd be done for." "This proves our guilt." "Sign it!" "Sign it." "Ruthven, Bothwell's returned to Edinburgh." "He's marching here." " How many men has he got?" " Only a handful." " Let him come." " He'll raise the country against us." "He won't have a chance." "Open the gates." "Let him come in." "We'll post ourselves in the courtyard." "We'll deal a surprise." "No, wait." "I'll sign your pardon." "Aye, you'll sign it well enough with Bothwell in danger." "Darnley, you'll stay here." "Guards." "Don't you see what you've done?" "They'll kill Bothwell as they killed poor David." "You're only their shield." "How long will they tolerate you when I'm out of the way?" "Why did you do it?" " I wanted to win you back." " Oh, you're blind." "They had to have you in their scheme to prove their lie, that I dishonored you." "But once they've dragged me down before the people what use will they have for you then?" "How long will you keep your crown?" "You'll find yourself a prisoner, as I am now." "You'll only be king as long as I'm queen." "You still have a chance to save yourself, to save us both." " How?" " Help me escape before they kill Bothwell." " I can't." "They'd kill me." " Not if you're with me." "They'd run for their lives." "They'd leave Scotland, and you'd be safe." " With you, Mary?" " Yes, with me." " You'd forgive me?" "You wouldn't leave me?" " I swear, I'll never leave you." "Madam." "Her Majesty has retired to her bedroom." " Stand guard there." " Aye, milord." "Get Bothwell!" "Get her." "Aye, the queen." " Where's the queen?" " In her bedroom, milord." "Where's Darnley?" "With the queen, milord." "Will Huntly and his clan join them?" "Huntly?" "Aye, they'll have 10,000 at their backs before morning." " Aye, and they'll be after us." " I'm getting out of Scotland." " I'm with you." " We're done for, Ruthven." " Aye." " She's tricked us." "Never mind her." " But if ever I lay my hands on Darnley..." " It's every man for himself." "Get over the border while there's time." "No." "Mary Stuart has a son." "And I am only a barren stock." " Where's Moray?" " Vanished with the other lords who murdered David Rizzio." "I failed." "Failed." "No, I'm not letting you hold the baby." "Now, you're not to touch him." "Now, mind that you give him a bath..." "Careful, now." "Careful, milady." " Jamie, Jamie." " Keep your hand on his wee bit bottom." "Havers, but he's a load, that boy is." "But the best man in Scotland, if you ask me." "He's a bubblyjock, that's what he is." "He ought to be tucked up in bed, that's what he ought to be." "But being this is his birthday, he's got to see his mother first." "Of course." "If we don't spoil the bairn, it's a wonder." "He'll grow up into a great big man and take care of me when I'm an old woman." "She's not much older now than the wee man himself." "Happy birthday!" "Your Majesty." "Here's a present for him." "Howt, man." "What would he do with a claymore?" "Aye, wait till he grows up." "He'll need it." " It was your father's, Mary." " My father's?" "I brought it from Inverness." "Aye, he's a Stuart." "Aye." "I hope you won't need it, Jamie." "His Majesty, the king." "What a charming family scene." "We were just admiring your son." "Oh, were you, Bothwell?" "Yes, he's a year old today." "Of course, that's why you came back from Glasgow." "I'll put him to bed, sire." "Afraid my presence will contaminate him?" "You know that's not true." "Why have you come back?" " Has Ruthven returned to Scotland?" " He wouldn't dare." " I'd only like to find him if he has." " You'd like to have me out of the way too." "You'd have them all back." "You know what they'd do to me!" " You're not yourself." "You're worried." " Ruthven's in Scotland." " Morton too, secretly." " They're not." "Don't tell me." "You know all about it." " And you, too, Bothwell." " You're overwrought." "You need sleep." "Sleep?" " Not here." " What do you mean?" "I'll not tell you." "You won't trick me again." " I'm gonna leave Scotland." " You can't." "You forget who you are." "What do I care for an empty title?" "It's my life." "My life, I tell you." "They were my friends Moray and Ruthven." "You tricked me turned them against me." "You've never forgiven me, and never forgotten about Rizzio." " I kept my word." " You've never loved me." "I love your son." "Think of him." "You can't desert your own son." "I'll disown him." " I'll deny him his father." " Your Majesty!" "Try and make him king of Scotland and England then!" "He doesn't mean it." "He can't." "I've..." "I've kept my word with him." "I've endured every insult and every humiliation." "I've done everything but love him." "I've tried, but I..." "I can't." "I can't." "Mary." "All I ask is to serve you be at your side." "Talk to me about Inverness." "Talk to me about something." "I have to hear somebody talk." "Ten o'clock and all's well!" "All's well." "Begone, quickly." "Oh, my people a king of Scotland cries out from his grave for revenge against his murderer!" "And is the assassin's name not known?" "Those who have vanished have told me his name." "Aye, who was it that coveted the hand of the queen?" "Bothwell's his name!" "Bothwell!" "Hear, all ye people the prayer of that infant prince the child of him who was slain:" ""Judge and avenge my cause. "" "Oh, lord." "Aye, you're my prisoners, Huntly." " Shall I make a fight for it, lassie?" " I want no blood shed on my account." "Where are you taking us?" "Dunbar Castle, Your Majesty." "Well, Huntly?" "Man, man, do you think I'm blind?" " How so?" " This abduction, as you call it." " That's my way." " No, no. 'Tis hers." "If you cannot pull the wool over my eyes, how do you expect to fool all of Scotland?" "I'll take care of myself, Huntly, and of Mary." "Scotland can point no finger at her if I marry her this way, against her will." " Marry her?" " Aye, why not?" "You're mad." "You're both mad." "I'd rather be dead, lassie, than see this night ever come." "You're the Queen of Scotland, and you let the woman in you blind your senses." "Why, he's not even of our faith." "You've always stood by that until now." "If you go on with this make-believe, there's naught but disaster ahead of you." "She has nothing to do with it, I tell you." "If you feel that way, Huntly, draw your sword against me." "I'll not draw mine against any friend." "You'll have no friend." "Here, lassie, take this and turn it on yourself if what you speak is true." "There's honor in that escape." "You may go, if you wish, Huntly." "Go back to Edinburgh." "Join Moray and the rest." "Stir up the clans against me." "No, no, they'll do that themselves." "You'll put yourselves in Moray's power again." "Three of the clock, and all's well!" " Are you afraid, my Mary?" " No." " I'll send you back with Huntly." " Why?" "From the very beginning, I've always belonged to you." "I knew it." "How vast the night is." "How bright and wonderful." "I've never seen it like this." "Nor I." "Why, look there." " Make a wish." " I have." "They say there's a star for each of us." "I used to imagine that when I was born, God put a dark star in the sky a star nobody could ever see, not even me." "And then one night, I'd see a flash of light and I'd see my star, but it would be falling, and I'd be gone." "Aye, dark or bright I'll always follow your star, Mary." "It was dark because I..." "I didn't really exist at all." "I was a dream, and I was the one who was dreaming it too." "That's absurd, isn't it?" " Perhaps I didn't really exist until I met you." " Aye." "There was a memory of being a child in a country like this." "And then they told me that my father was dead and I cried." "When they told me that I was Queen of Scotland it didn't mean as much to me as my dolls." "And then I was very important not to myself, but to grown-up people." "And then, one day, I caught a glimpse of my star and they took me away, at night, on a ship." "It was all so strange." "The sea, vast, like this." "The world seemed enormous." "And then we came to another land, and they told me it was France." "Everything different." "People singing, laughing." "They were all happier." "I learned to love it all." "After a while, I began to think that I'd only dreamed Scotland that I'd go on forever playing in the garden learning French, studying, hearing music talking to four wise old men who were my uncles." "One of them was the cardinal of Lorraine." "I liked him best." "He was always telling me I'd marry the son of the King of France when I grew up." "That seemed silly." "He was just a boy." "We used to fight, and then I'd chase him, and he'd run away." "Aye, I was in France when you married him." "I've never forgotten, all the pomp and ceremony and the great crowd before the cathedral and the pages carrying your long train." "You weren't even old enough to be out of short dresses." "I was 16." "It was just an arrangement." "And then, one day his father was killed in a tournament." "And everyone made a great fuss over me." "And I was Queen of France." "But before I could realize it all he died, too, poor boy." "And then I was queen no longer." "And then I came back to my old dream to Scotland." "I was never in love." "You know that." "Amen." "So she summons old Scotland to take up arms for her?" "Will they come?" "Only a rabble of moss-troopers from the border where Bothwell's strength lies." "Mercenaries." "They won't stand up and fight." " Where's the child?" " Abducted by Moray." "They'll not harm her son." "Moray's strength depends on making him king and ruling as regent till he comes of age." "The lords have won most of Scotland to their cause by convincing John Knox that Bothwell and the queen murdered Darnley to get him out of their way." "Knox thunders it into the people." "And after all what greater proof of their guilty love than this reckless marriage?" "And I believed I'd failed." "We shall soon know, Your Majesty." "The lords are marching on Edinburgh and they outnumber Bothwell's defenders five to one." "Open your gate for the hosts of the righteous!" "Oh, my people into what pit of abomination have you fallen?" "'Tis not the true banner of Scotland that you follow but the blood-red banner of murder and treason!" "Remember, a king of Scotland cries out from his grave to be avenged!" "And will you defend his murder, Bothwell?" "And will you defend a guilty queen?" "Open the gates for the host of the righteous!" "Open the gates!" "Are you afraid, Mary?" "Yes, terribly." "Terribly." "That's not my Mary." "I'm only afraid for you." "Then you're not afraid at all." "Flag of truce!" "Bowing comes with a bad grace from traitors." "We are not in arms against you, my sister only him." "Before you state your conditions, Moray I'll state mine." "We'll decide the issue by single combat between you and me." "Or anyone else you and the other traitors wish to appoint." "No, they'll find some way to trick you." "Hear Moray's conditions." "I beg you, madam." "I beg you, sir." "You owe it to the queen." "Go ahead." "What are they?" " First, that you leave Scotland forever." " No." "What else?" "That the queen bind herself to act only with our consent." " No more?" " No more." "Then here are my conditions!" "You've wanted my earldom." "Well, you may have it." "I'll leave Scotland if you'll pledge your word that the queen's to keep her throne and reign here as before." "But if you break your word or encroach one inch on her sovereignty you guard your gates, for I'll be back." "I'll see if your terms are acceptable to my lords." "Let me live or die at your side." "I'm your wife." " I love you." " I love you, my Mary." "What do I lose?" "Nothing." "You save your throne." "What's my throne?" "I'd put a torch to it for any one of the days I've had with you." " They've been so few." " Aye, but wonderful days, Mary." "Twenty wonderful days." " Better than a lifetime." " Take me with you." "No, no." "You're Queen of Scotland." "That's your destiny." "And I'll love you till the day I die." "That's mine." "Well, Moray?" "The lords of Scotland accept your terms." "Very well." "I wouldn't trust Ruthven's pledge or Morton's but after all, corrupt as you are, you're a Stuart, the son of a king." "I'll take your word as a Stuart." "But remember, Moray if you break your pledge if you ever raise your hand against her, I'll be back." "Donal!" "I'll say it to her milk-white face." "Pluck down the murderers!" "Pluck down this contaminator of men!" "If there's to be a council here, send out this raving maniac!" "Though you be a queen and have faith in thy gods and idols yet in this night of reckoning, they shall not avail thee." "Moray, I demand his removal." "Why don't you answer me?" "You shall have to leave your palace." " That's at my choice, not yours." " Not now." "I'm still your queen." "You gave your word that I should rule as before." "That's impossible now." "Now I see your treachery." "You not only betray your sovereign you betray yourselves, your own pledge." " We defend Scotland!" " Aye!" "You may remain here if you'll sign what we dictate." "And what do you dictate?" "Your abdication." "And you consent to have your son crowned king." "And appoint me regent till he comes of age." "I refuse." " We'll change your mind." " Remember Bothwell's warning." " He'll come back." " With his army disbanded?" "And the price of 1000 crowns on his head?" "So long as I live no power on earth shall take my throne away from me." "Come, lock me up." "I'll bide my time and wait for Bothwell." "Milord Throckmorton, ambassador to Scotland." "What news from Scotland?" " Bothwell has been defeated." " Was he taken?" "No, Your Majesty." "He escaped to Denmark where he hopes to raise arms and money for a final blow against Moray." "But I have more important news for you." "The son of Mary Stuart has been crowned king and Moray rules again as regent." " Then she's abdicated." " So Moray claims." " She's still in prison?" "At Lochleven." "I've seen her." "She asks for Your Majesty's support of her cause against the rebels and asks that you remember that if you favor rebellion in Scotland you may eventually see it in England." ""Rebellion. "" "How I hate that word." "Remember, Your Majesty your security depends upon her being behind bars." "But can I support rebellion so near to my own throne?" "Remember that." "Neither can I afford to take sides, so long as Bothwell lives." "If Moray's plans succeed he will be caged in Denmark for good, on some pretext or other." "Return to Scotland." "Tell Moray that in the eyes of the world, he is a rebel, a traitor!" " Therefore, I shall oppose him publicly..." " Your Majesty yet support him privately." "And Mary Stuart?" "Give her this ring as a token of my friendship and support." " But she will ask..." " I know what she will ask." "And we'll put her off." "Procrastinate." "Months." "Years." "There's security in that." "I won't say I wasn't frightened when you tapped at the door before daylight like a bird blown in off the sea." "Go and sit down, ma'am." "It's poor victuals for fine folks but it's all we've got, and you're welcome to it." "I have a little boy like you." "Does he sit in a highchair too?" "He wants to know if he sits in a highchair too." "Oh, yes in a very high chair." "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful." "Amen." "Thomas, who's that?" "Your Majesty." "You come from Elizabeth?" "Yes, Your Majesty." "I've come to conduct you to a place of security." "I thank Her Majesty." "I stand in need of her friendship now." "Thank you, my kind friend." "This will be your apartment, Your Majesty." "Sir Francis Knollys your host." "Thank you." "Thank you." "How wonderful to be free again." "Where is Elizabeth?" "Am I to see her now, at last?" "I want to thank her." "Where is she?" "I place this lady in your custody, sir." "Custody?" "What do you mean?" "England has no jurisdiction over me." "I asked Elizabeth for refuge." "She promised it." "Am I a prisoner?" "I demand an answer!" " It's only the storm, sir." " Listen, Donal." "It's my pipers." "They're coming, I tell you!" " Lie down, sir, please, you're sick." " No, Donal, they're marching up, man!" "We'll win yet!" "I thought I heard..." "Sir, lie down, please." "Open up here!" "Open up here!" "Open up!" "Still out of his mind, eh?" "These Scotsmen have the power of the devil in them." "Prison fever's a good match for the devil." "Open up here!" "Open up!" "Sir, you're not yourself." "Please lie down, sir." "Now, Donal, I'm getting out." "I'll get out tonight." "Tonight, I tell you!" "There it is again." "You hear?" "What, sir?" "The pipes, Donal." "Listen." "Donal, go to England." "Find her, tell her I'm out." "I'm free." "I'll free her too." "Tell her..." "Tell her she'll hear the pipes when I come to her." "Tell her to listen." "Tell her my pipers..." "My pipers..." "My pipers are coming." "Sir." "Sir." "Speak." "Speak to Donal, sir." "My laddie, my laddie." "What's wrong with him?" "You cannot hurt him now." "Aye he spoke true." "He's free." "Bring in the prisoner." "Am I to see Elizabeth at last?" "Her Majesty is present, symbolically." "The accused will be seated." "I prefer to stand symbolically." "Do you acknowledge the jurisdiction of this court?" "Not of this court, nor of Elizabeth." "There are no examples of sovereigns condemned by courts of law." "In Rome, the tetrarch Cajetanus was put to death by a trial." "There is another precedent." "Licinius, brother-in-law of the emperor Constantine." "Not to forget Joanna of Naples." "You go back 1500 years?" "Go back to Pontius Pilate, who condemned to the cross a sovereign greater than the world has ever known." "And remind Elizabeth what happened to the memory of Pontius Pilate." "Please remember that you are the accused." "Accused?" "Of what?" "Of attempting to take the life of our sovereign lady the Queen of England." "I have lain in prison ever since I came to this land." "Even had I wished it, how could I make such an attempt?" "By conspiring with certain English subjects of your religious persuasion to wit, Anthony Babington." "A true friend who sought only to release me from unjust imprisonment." "Where is he?" "Executed for treason." "And his friends?" "Executed for treason." "Poor, generous friends." "So the first step to prove me guilty is to murder those who would prove me innocent?" "The accused will confine herself to answering questions, not framing them." "I am the accuser here not the accused." "I accuse Elizabeth of treachery and plotting against my life not I against hers." "Do you deny secretly communicating with the aforesaid Anthony Babington?" "Do any of you deny that you would try to escape from unjust imprisonment?" "Do you know what it means to be shut up from everything you love from your husband your son, your own people confined like an animal until each day grows so long that it seems a lifetime?" "Yes, I smuggled out letters." "Isn't it true that you approved a plot against the life of our queen?" "As true as to say that you are honest men." "Isn't this written in your own handwriting?" "!" "The way you shout, milord, tells me even at this distance, that it is a forgery." "Will you confine yourself to answering questions?" "I have heard no questions only accusations phrased like questions." "But why prolong this mockery?" "Elizabeth, fearing there might be a real plot to take her life and put me on her throne has invented a false plot so that I may be condemned to death." "But, still, she fears to spring her trap because of Bothwell." "She knows he wins support for my cause abroad." "And when he returns this time he'll carry the field in Scotland, and I'll be queen again." "While he lives, I'll live." "Bring in the other prisoner." "Your Majesty." "Donal." "I tried my best to reach you, ma'am but I couldn't get past your jailer." "And I was taken." "Donal where is he?" "Where's Bothwell?" "No." "No." "He..." "He spoke of you at the last, ma'am." "He said..." "He said he'd be waiting for you with the bagpipes playing." "And all the time you knew." "Now I see." "Now I understand." "Condemn me." "Kill me." "I don't care." "Ten of the clock, and all's well!" "All's well." "All's well." "Strengthen me as thou alone can strengthen." "Comfort me in this, the hour of my agony and may thy will be done." "Elizabeth." "I've only seen a poor likeness." "But, yes you are Elizabeth." "At last." "Aye." "A Stuart." "I see now why men love you." "Even now standing where I am, my last night in this world I wouldn't change places with Elizabeth." "I might've known you'd come to gloat like this." "Stealthily under cover of night as you've done everything to destroy me." "And you've done nothing to destroy me?" " When was I your enemy?" " Always." " Always, your life was a threat to mine." " How?" "Why?" "You were born too close to my throne." "It was you or I." "A knife planted between my shoulders and my kingdom was yours." "I never wished it." "But you'd have taken it if it came." "Ah, yes." "You're not even a woman." "I'm a queen." "You've been a woman." "See where it's brought you." "It has brought me happiness you'll never know, Elizabeth." "I wouldn't give up the memory of one day with Bothwell for a century of your life." "What do you know of my life?" "You were born a queen." "Honors, thrones everything fell into your lap." "What do you know of the struggle for power?" "I started with nothing robbed even of a name, not acknowledged by my father." "My own mother, yes, Anne Boleyn was executed." "And I learned how a woman may be a queen one day and stand on the scaffold the next." "I was sent to the tower by my own sister." "I know what prisons are being threatened month after month with execution." "I died a thousand times." "But I fought my way upward inch by inch until I wore the crown." "I gave my love to no men but to my kingdom, to England." "And you prate to me of love." "What do you know of my life?" "I know it's been a failure, a magnificent failure." "It's you who failed, not I." "You threw away a kingdom for love." "For Bothwell." "Aye." "And I'd do it again a thousand times." "You were always afraid of me." "You're afraid of me still." "You know my blood will stain you." "You'll never wash it off." "And the pity of it is, Elizabeth that you and I we might have been friends." "Do you think I want your death?" " Mary Stuart, save yourself." " How?" "Renounce your Stuart claim to my throne." " Sign your name to it." " Still driven by fear." "Fear of me even dead." " So that's why you came here tonight." " Renounce your claim and live." "You've always loved power, cherished it fiercely." "I've loved as a woman loves, lost as a woman loses." "But, still, I win." "You have no heir." "My son will inherit your throne." "My son will rule England." "Still, still, I win!" "Your Majesty it is time." "Your Majesty it is time." "Even..." "Even as thine arms were spread upon the cross so receive me into the arms of mercy." "And forgive me my sins."