“It seems to me, my lord, that anything capable of reducing such a grotesque gesture to insignificance must, in itself, have been earth shaking.”
“It was,” came Wishart’s reply. “It was indeed, although the effects of what occurred that day have not yet come to pass.”
Damnation, I thought. He is determined to make me ask. “I see. What took place, then? What was this earth-shaking occurrence?”
“Another charter from King John, but more significant by far than the temporary awarding of the title of some lands to a visiting potentate. This charter has great substance … or it has the potential to acquire great substance. On July fifth, His Grace the King appointed a delegation of senior representatives of both the Church and the laity of the realm to travel to France with plenary authority there to negotiate a formal alliance with the French Crown. The terms of the alliance, as drafted by King John, will set both realms, shoulder to shoulder, against any aggression against either party by the Crown of England. The chosen delegates were William Fraser, Bishop of St. Andrews, Matthew de Crambeth, Bishop of Dunkeld, Sir John de Soulis, and Sir Ingram de Umfraville. They left for France within two days and have since arrived in Paris, where they are currently in negotiations with King Philip and his advisers.” He paused. “How significant is that development, think you, as opposed to the granting of the Douglas lands to Bek?”
I nodded slowly. “It places an entire new meaning on the word,” I said. “And I can see, too, what you meant by saying that the earthshaking effects of it have not yet been felt. Does England have any inkling of what’s afoot?”
“Not yet. But they will, soon enough. Events of such magnitude cannot be easily concealed, especially in a place like France, where Philip keeps a court filled with foreigners and has been at war with England for years. Edward will have spies aplenty there, safeguarding his interests in the war over Gascony, and it will not take long for word of what is happening to reach him in England. When it does, then I have no doubt the earth will start to tremble.”
“How will he react, think you, my lord?”
“Noisily, I suspect, but not violently. Not yet, before he has taken time to assess the situation.”
“And what of King John? What does he hope to gain by this?”
“Time. Time and a strong ally. The approach to the French King is to work hand in hand with the other development that occurred in that same week. The following day, in fact.”
Canon Lamberton must have seen my confusion, for he dropped his hands into his lap and bent forward to speak to me directly. “The delegates to France were formally appointed in Stirling early on the morning of July the fifth, Father James. They left that same day for St. Andrews and sailed thence to France on the seventh, while on the sixth, King John’s seventh parliament opened in Stirling. My lord Bishop?” He shifted his gaze to Wishart, but the Bishop merely waggled his fingers at him in a signal to proceed.
“It is no secret that King John has had increasing troubles with King Edward since his assumption of the throne. The Plantagenet clearly believes that having made it possible for John to claim the crown, he now retains the right to dictate how the new King should wear it, and he has made it more than evident that he believes himself entitled to impose his will upon the entire realm of Scotland. Witness his continuing insistence that he be granted occupancy of all our castles. He wants them all, to garrison at his leisure and to his own purposes. And what could such purposes entail other than domination and suppression of this land? He seeks to cloak it all under the guise of diplomatic words: that he is entitled to be recognized as overlord of Scotland because most of our Scots magnates owe him some form of allegiance. That most, if not all, of Scotland disagrees with him matters naught to this man. He sees no impediment to imposing his regal will on all of us. But we will not permit that. Scotland will not permit it.”
I shifted my eyes sideways to Will and found him listening closely, his eyes narrowed to slits as he concentrated upon every word being spoken, and as I looked, he spoke up.
“How will Scotland not permit it? Who is this ‘we’ you speak of, and what do they intend to do, to change anything?”
It was the Bishop who responded this time. “We are the community of the realm. The description is new—”
“I’ve heard of it,” Will said.
“Aye, you have, for the idea is not new. It has been around for years, being talked about by everyone. Recently, though, it has begun taking hard form, in the persons of those most involved.”