Lymond reading notes 3 – Game of Kings – The Play for Jonathan Crouch

In a chess context, blindfold play is literally playing without sight of the board. One or both players can be blindfold. If both players are playing blindfold then they sit facing away from each other and a third person plays their announced moves on a board and watches for any illegal moves.

You have to visualise the position in your head and keep track of what has been moved. Players who are very good at this can even play multiple games at once – known as blindfold simultaneous. The world record is playing 48 opponents simultaneously. In my youth I once managed 4 at once. It’s challenging and fun but very taxing.

First meeting – in misleading circumstances

We’ve been introduced to Christian on the battlements of Boghall with Richard and Wat Scott, but the second time we meet her is after Lymond and Richard have met and Lymond has placed the doubt in Richard’s mind that sends him correctly to face Wharton and Lennox and deter them from completing the pincer movement that could have led to the defeat of the whole country.

We now get a complete change of pace – something that we’ll see many times in Dorothy’s writing.

Simon Bogle discovers a body unconscious in the bog and takes him back to Christian, who is in charge at Boghall Castle now that Lord Fleming is dead and Jenny is with the royal party at Stirling. But of course we don’t know that it’s Lymond at this point – it could easily be Will Scott, who also appears to have been knocked out in the same skirmish when Erskine rescues Richard.

An interesting little ploy of Dorothy’s – we are in Christian’s viewpoint and she is blind, so we are effectively blind as well, until the subtle clues are gradually presented. In fact the following scenes are presented through sounds, spoken words or Christian’s thoughts and very little is described. Once you realise how she’s doing it, it’s a cunning and delightful technique.

Christian’s first action is to use her sense of touch to learn as much as she can about the unconscious figure, and it tells her a great deal – that he’s young, and very well dressed (apart from the English cloak). Dorothy uses the phrase – “the shape of an unconscious boy”, which is a fleeting and easily missed hint about Lymond’s age – something we probably haven’t considered yet.

Then there’s an interesting little slice of dialogue:

“If I were married or promised to that young gentleman I’d sell the lead off the roof to ransom him back. Unless he’s a Spaniard, do you think?”
“Not with that hair, m’lady.”

Now Sym doesn’t actually say he’s blond, or indeed red-headed, and the reader may jump to either conclusion depending on how they’ve interpreted matters so far – cunning indeed by our author. If we’ve thought about it – either now or later – we’re also left to guess whether he says it off-scene.

If Christian does know he’s blond then would that be enough to raise the idea in her mind of his real identity? It’s only later that we are introduced to the idea that with her heightened sense of hearing and auditory memory she might know Lymond’s voice from years before. But at this point she hasn’t yet heard it, and we are probably much too busy to think about her life in the world of sound and what that implies.

An intriguing speculation is whether she and Lymond knew each other as children – which seems quite likely – and if they did whether Lymond ever allowed her to feel his face with her fingers and would she have enough of a sense of him to recognise him from that years later?

The discussion with Sym also gives us some little hints at Christian’s sharp intelligence, sense of humour, and ability with words:

“Hugh’s bad temper takes practical forms,” said Christian thoughtfully. “Ransom or no ransom, your gentleman will find himself in multiple array on the wall spikes if Hugh sets eyes on him.”

Sym devoted some thought to this. “Of course, we can’t write for ransom anyway until he wakes up and says who he is.”

“And by that time, Hugh might be feeling more like himself.”

“I find the resemblance to himself at the present moment quite startling,” said Christian. “But never mind. Go on.”

I rather think I fell in love with Christian with that line! It has a rhythm that seems very Scottish and a sense of wry humour that is the same.

We’ll soon get much more of this as she verbally crosses swords with the amnesiac Lymond, albeit gently.

Once Sym has him put to bed, with fire and food prepared for when he wakes up, we get a lovely little description from Christian’s blind perspective.

Flurried movements of the big fire, to her left. Silk, pricking her right hand as the bed curtains stirred in an eddy. A rustle from Sym’s feet in the rushes. A voice far below in the courtyard, crying something she could not quite catch. A creak from the bed. Another. A languid stir of the bedclothes.

It’s such an evocative little section, putting us in touch with her senses of touch and hearing. And intriguingly she’s then described as “gripped with laughter”, which raises interesting questions.

Later, he awakens:

“God: my skull’s split.”

It was a cultured voice, with no inflection which would have seemed out of place at any point north of the Tyne. Like the jewelled aiglettes it announced consequence, character and money.

So still no clue – Lymond or Will?

As regards his accent and what clues it could give, it may be that Dorothy is fudging things a little here. The accent in Newcastle, which sits near the mouth of the Tyne, is very different than say an Edinburgh accent. Of course the richer and more cultured you are the more similar the accent may be, and Lymond speaks French, German, and Latin, and that may also tend to flatten any differences.

He ate, and much intrigued, Christian waited.

On first read we can’t tell if this is a very subtle hint that she already knows who he is, but on later reads…. maybe.

And she uses her incisive mind to good effect immediately:

At the end, he spoke again. “I was not, I hope, wearing a nightshirt when discovered?”
An artless gentleman.

Christian followed the lead. “Your clothes are drying, sir. Your weapons were impounded when we found you were English.”

and finds an interesting response:

“English! Lucifer, Lord of Hell!” (Here was passion.) “Do I look like an Englishman?”

So she then follows up with her little-used trump card:

“I,” said Christian with wicked simplicity, “am blind. How should I know?”

But his response is simple and perfectly phrased to avoid pity or embarrassment:

“Oh, are you? I’m sorry. You hide it extremely well. Then what,” he asked anxiously, “made your friends think I was English?”

At this point on my first read I was already pretty sure that this was Lymond – I felt that Will would have had more of a sustained emotional reaction after the brief outburst. Even when not quite fully in his senses this suggests Lymond’s control, which we’ve already had hints of.

The next section has him venturing into poetic areas, which Christian falls in with effortlessly. Then Sym asks his name and we, and Christian, realise that he’s feeling confused and somewhat woozy, and then that he has no memory of who he is. Sensitively, she allows him to rest, but Dorothy keeps us on our toes by putting Will’s words into his mouth:

“This officer, but doubt, is callit Deid. . .”

Before falling asleep he produces the following:

“O lady: nor later. Deceit deceiveth and shall be deceived. It’s no good and I can’t prove it’s no good: I shall be as much use to you as the Nibelunglied. For I can recall nothing . . . nothing . . . not the remotest damned shred of my identity.”

The Nibelunglied is a German epic poem from the 13th century that basically ends with everyone killing everyone else. It inspired, amongst other things, Wagner’s famous Ring Cycle. Dorothy was a fan of Wagner so this is a fascinating little item of her experience dropped in.

On the question of whether he could be faking his amnesia, I never felt it likely – largely because of the way he reacts when his memory returns and the circumstances surrounding it. Also he acts in a more innocent way during the episode – as if the many cares and concerns he carries have been removed.

I was asked during the discussion about why I trusted Lymond not to be faking it. You can see part of my answer to that in a blog post called Love at First Sight, or not, https://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-discussion/love-at-first-sight-or-not.php
which fortunately has no real spoilers so is safe for first-time readers.

Second discussion

The following day Christian visits her mysterious guest again, discovering that he is up and feeling better, but still suffering from amnesia. Noticeably he immediately suggests she may want to return later as Sym isn’t there, so as to protect her from any suggestion of impropriety, but she dismisses it.

He has been talking to Simon and has learned a great deal.

They discuss the risks of her staying at Boghall before turning to his identity and what will happen if his memory doesn’t return before she goes to Stirling.

They lapse into poetry and she matches one of his quotes to his delight. Their conversation is relaxed but still shrewd, showing their respective intelligence and awareness of undercurrents.

He remarks that “Most of the heroes and all the poets appear to have been there before me.” as regards his loss of memory, and drops into French, which translates as:

“The nightingale is my father, who sings on the branch, in the highest grove. The siren, she is my mother, who sings in the dirty sea, on the highest shore.”

“Your French is excellent, of course,” said Christian. “And you disliked being called English.”

“Thank you.”

“Implying Scottish rather than English affinities-“

“I hoped you’d notice that.”

“-In which case,” said Christian reasonably, “do you not owe it to yourself to appear in public? Someone here might even recognize you.”

“A shrewd move, decidedly,” said the prisoner with interest. “If I disagree, I am undoubtedly lying about my loss of memory. On the other hand, it might be genuine, and my belief that I am Scots might be unfounded; in which case your friend Hugh, according to Sym, will be apt to give free play to his prejudices, and your hopes of a ransom will vanish.”

and later

She smiled, and threw his own quotation back at him. “Deceit deceiveth and shall be deceived. You have an incorruptible voice and a lawyer’s tongue. One thing I commend in you: you refused to add to the sins of the poets. A false pedigree is always worse than none at all.”

“Avoiding your traps, O virtuous lady, O mixt and subtle Christian. But, as you see, I am honest and good, and not ane word could lie.”

“a lawyer’s tongue” is an interesting choice of phrase – is that a compliment or the opposite?

Shortly after this Dorothy uses an interesting word:

Betrayed into archness, Christian caught her temper and said evenly, “I can’t, of course, answer for what will happen to you if I leave before your memory comes back. But meanwhile, until it does, you may have grace to stay anonymous, if you wish.”

Archness – the quality of being deliberately or affectedly playful and teasing. Some definitions suggest it verges on rudeness. Is Christian annoyed at herself for being rude, or perhaps for being a little flirtatious? On first read we probably don’t suspect that she knows who he is, but on second and later reads we may suspect that she does – is she toying with him, or is she perhaps attracted to him?

Memory’s a fickle thing

We get a short description of the strain on all of the inhabitants of Biggar due to the news filtering in from Pinkie and its aftermath, which neatly gives us the strategic situation in the Lothians, and the dangers if Wharton’s army on the West should match the advances of Grey in the East.

In the afternoon Christian returns to the room to find Lymond giving Sym a fencing lesson! Dispatching the lad with admonitions, which she also applies to Lymond, they exit into her secluded private garden and we get a lovely description of the scents of the flowers in language taken from a musical setting – neatly combining Christian’s two chief senses and paving the way for Lymond to introduce his own main passion, which matches hers.

Nothing moved but great rumours of perfume swelling and fading, sforzando and diminuendo; an orchestration of woodwind in the warm air. Silence, broken by three golden notes of a lute: her own, she remembered, left on the bottom step. She said, “If you play, please go on. Music’s my joy and my obsession.”

(We’ll get used to the wonderful quality of Dorothy’s descriptions but this one is a lovely early example – quite simple but deliciously apt.)

He starts to play, and then to sing, and moves through a variety of styles and composers, delighting Christian. Their shared love of music relaxes them and brings laughter as they discourse in song and melody and musical ideas. It is perhaps our first glimpse of Lymond being innocently happy.

However she remembers she has a trick to try to prompt his memory and asks about Jonathan Crouch – who Lymond has mentioned in his sleep. He starts to answer then realises he’s remembered more than he knew. He’s shaken but not annoyed, but it doesn’t immediately trigger any further memories.

He starts to play The Frogge would a wooing ride… and in the second section stops suddenly as the lyrics blast apart his amnesia by reminding him of his teasing of Richard. (This was the point at which I decided on that first read that I needed to intensify my concentration on this fascinating and devious author, lest I miss other connections that she might be laying.)

Immediately he confesses to Christian that he has persuaded Sym to show him how to escape, but throws himself on her mercy by saying that he’ll only use it with her permission. Finishing with an Italian couplet

‘Se’l ser un si, scrivero’n rima;
Se’l ser un no, amici come prima.’

which translates as:

If it’s a yes, I’ll write a rhyme;
If it’s a no, we’ll be friends as before.

There followed a pause, during which Christian came to the annoyed conclusion that she had once more been outmanoeuvred. Possessing the key, he had flung himself on her mercy. Why? It occurred to her that when referring to the enslavement of Sym, he had refrained with the utmost tact from drawing a parallel. He had left her to do that. To betray him now would suggest the vindictiveness of a disappointed woman, and she might well, in his opinion, shrink from that.
‘Amici come prima, indeed!’ repeated Christian viciously to herself, …

 “a disappointed woman”. Again it seems to hint at a slightly romantic edge to her feelings. It seems, that even without his memory, and without her being able to see his handsome beauty, that he retains that magnetism that follows him through his life. I’m not suggesting that she’s in love with him but she does seem to be entranced by his honesty and his manner.

There is another possibility – if she already knows who he is then ‘Amici come prima, indeed!’ could take on a deeper meaning if they were friends when younger.

Dorothy drops another little hint at potential feelings at the end as Tom Erskine arrives, and having sent Lymond off with Sym we get:

Christian Stewart lifted her skirts and began climbing the stairs thoughtfully.
“Damn the man!” said she, as she went; and it was not at all clear which man she meant.

Talking to Tom, she, and us, get an update on what’s happening. He and Richard have confronted and attacked Wharton who has retreated back into England.

“Overconfidence, we think. They spread a rumour they meant to march north, and got a shock when Culter assumed the opposite and charged in. Made a mess of poor old Annan, but nothing to what Clydesdale missed, thank God. Although I don’t mind saying,” he added frankly, “that Culter took a chance I wouldn’t have touched with a billhook.”

Seen in the light of Lymond’s taunting of Richard and telling him the Protector’s forces are in Stirling we get a clue to his real character. Lymond’s misdirection and false information has worked and Richard, disbelieving him and assuming that he was trying to trick him, has changed his mind and done the right thing for the wrong reason, and saved Scotland from disaster. A strong hint that Lymond is on Scotland’s side.

Later, Christian goes with Sym to the cave where Lymond has already been found by Johnnie Bullo, and she offers to find out about Jonathan Crouch. He gallantly declines but she plans to try anyway. His use of Shahrazad’s name in respect of her is another little hint that she picks up on irritably. Does it perhaps suggest that he feels she may be maintaining their relationship by trying to be useful to him, and he, knowing the dangers in his situation, is trying to deter her in order to protect her?

This chapter’s notes are partly based on part of my blog post at
https://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-discussion/close-encounters.php
which also includes some material from the following chapter.

Information on Boghall, including some engravings and sketches of what it looked like can be found at https://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/visits-south.php

Lymond reading notes 2 – Game of Kings – The Play for Jonathan Crouch

1. The English Opening

“en passant” is a chess term which simply means “in passing”. In chess it applies to situations like that shown in the diagram

A white pawn is on the 5^th rank, and the black f-pawn moves forward 2 squares. White has the option, on the next move only, of capturing that pawn as if it had only moved forward 1 square.

The English Opening is a standard opening system characterised by the first move being to play the White c-pawn forward 2 squares. Both phrases are being used to refer to the action using chess terms.

Battle of Pinkie

This takes place on 10th Sept 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, quite close to Edinburgh. The ground on the East coast is pretty easy and the English were supported by a large fleet offshore, so were able to advance well into Scotland with little opposition. They had better artillery and heavier cavalry while the Scots were largely composed of pikemen, and their cavalry were badly depleted in an early skirmish. The result was a disastrous defeat for the Scots.

One interesting historical item is that during the battle Lord Grey was wounded in the throat/mouth by a pike. This will be featured later in the book.

Characters Introduced

Johnnie Bullo and Turkey Mat.

Johnnie is a gypsy, and we’ll discover that he is a “king” of gypsies. Mat is an experienced mercenary and leads the group when Lymond is absent. They exchange news of the invasion and of encountering Bannister, the English messenger. Johnnie infers that Lymond may throw in his lot with the English. Then Lymond arrives with a prisoner, who it turns out is attempting to join them.

Lymond doesn’t like being discussed and he and Johnnie have a short interaction

“nor am I overfond of being discussed, my Johnnie.”

“You’ve quick ears, Lymond.”

“But yours, like Midas whispering in the hole, are closer to the ground.”

This is a reference to a legend around King Midas that his ears were turned into ass’s ears by the god Apollo, and the secret of that was whispered into a hole in the ground from which grew rushes that repeated the secret in their rustling.

Lymond questions his prisoner at length, with a fast-moving sequence of questions to find out why he wants to joins them, what his experience and abilities are, and what his moral standpoints are.

At one point Lymond asks him for some verse and he replies in Latin:

“Volavit volucer sine plumis
Sedit in arbore sine foliis
Venit homo absque manibus …”

This translates as – A bird flew without feathers, sat in a tree without leaves, a man came without hands.

Lymond tops this by replying in German. It is one of the famous Medieval Latin riddles for children known as the “Featherless Bird-Riddle” (one of the Enigmata Risibilia), which explains Lymond’s comment that he appeared to have left his studies at a tender age.

Eventually the newcomer is so exasperated that he follows Lymond’s suggestion to shoot an arrow at one of Lymond’s men, Oyster Charlie next to the cooking pot. This results in Lymond’s memorable line:

“Oyster is not dead; merely lightly boiled in the shell.”

We’ve seen that the newcomer is well educated, but it’s clear that Lymond is much more educated, and capable of using it very effectively.

Appearing to reject him Lymond says:

“We all have our religion. With Johnnie, it’s Paracelsus. Mat here follows Lydgate; and your father and Ascham fit very well together.”

Paracelsus, born Theophrastus von Hohenheim, was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He was a pioneer in several aspects of the medical revolution of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom.

John Lydgate of Bury was an English monk and poet, born in Lidgate, near Haverhill, Suffolk, England. Lydgate’s poetic output is prodigious.

Roger Ascham (c. 1515 – 30 December 1568) was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, his promotion of the vernacular, and his theories of education. He served in the administrations of Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, having earlier acted as Elizabeth’s tutor in Greek and Latin between 1548 and 1550.
We’ll meet him in book 5.

2. Pins and Counterpins

Annan

Lymond takes Will with him to Annan, which is on the West side of Southern Scotland, which has been occupied and burned by the English forces. He is going there to find Jonathan Crouch and question him. They are disguised in English cloaks as messengers. Lymond calls himself Sheriff and asks Will what he will be called – “This officer but doubt is callit Deid.” Here deid means death rather than dead.

He harasses the gate guards with a mixture of natural command and sarcasm, then speaks to the captain. He learns Crouch has been captured, and we have the first mention that Crouch talks incessantly.

Bannister has not arrived and the captain wants them to see Wharton. Eventually Lymond agrees as the captain is getting suspicious, but clearly this was not in his plans. He had hoped to see Crouch and then get out.

At Lymond’s suggestion they meet Harry Wharton, and subdue him in a dark alley, forcing him to take them to Lord Wharton, and Lennox. Will meanwhile throws a knife at the returning captain and he collapses.

By this point Lymond is having to improvise. He will need a distraction to give them time to get away, and having Wharton’s son at knifepoint gives him leverage.

We get a brief description of Wharton and slightly more, laced with politics, of Lennox, including that he is married to Margaret Douglas (who as niece of Henry VIII has strong claims to both the English and Scottish thrones). Lennox recognises Lymond when he enters and is clearly upset.

They discuss Bannister and Lennox accuses him of selling him to the Scots, but Lymond responds:

“Not at all. What a reputation to have! Not all of us have your lordship’s gift for trusteeship.”

It is then explained that Lennox once appropriated French gold meant for Scotland and then defected to England with it.

Lennox tries to insult him and the hint appears that Lymond was once a galley slave. But Lymond’s response is more telling still –

“But then I was brought up in bad company. From oar to oar, you might say.”

Swiftly followed by

“And how,” pursued the Master suavely, “is the Pearl of Pearls?”

From which we can deduce that Lymond has some previous experience of Margaret! This enrages Lennox who draws his sword before Wharton stops him.

Lymond then feeds them false information about another victory in Linlithgow and taunts them with the prospect of a total English victory, which might see Lennox appointed king consort to rule Scotland, then, lifting his helmet from the fire where he had earlier thrown it, he threatens to drop it on Harry’s head. They negotiate about money and Will collects it and wraps it up.

Then he does indeed drop the now somewhat cooler but still hot helmet – it seems rather cruel but it is the only way he can create a distraction that will be long enough to make their escape feasible. And there are also some readers who suggest that it is a just revenge for the burning of Annan.

They escape successfully, to be met by their two of their own men.

“Friend Bannister has got himself ambushed and now, my frivol Fortune, the ambushers are walking into the net. I’ll trip upon trenchers; I’ll dance upon dishes-it is now perfect day.”

It is almost as if he expected this to happen and planned for it…

3. Capture of a King’s Pawn

It is Richard who has captured Bannister and is attempting to get him to talk. He has a dire choice to make – retreat to Stirling, or stay where he is to try to oppose Wharton if he advances up the West side in support of the English army now near Edinburgh. Unable to get Bannister to talk he is about to choose the former when his force is then surrounded by Turkey Mat’s men.

They release Bannister and are about to ride away when Lymond arrives. In a scene heavy with undercurrents, He taunts Richard, then enquiries about the family and whether Richard yet has a son.

Richard asks:

“Your services are at present with Wharton, I take it?”

Lymond’s voice was absent. “Well, he’s certainly paying me. Once our friend Bannister reaches Annan, the road north is going to be a little crowded, what’s more.”

This puts doubt in Richard’s mind about Bannister’s message, and he asks if the Protector is in Stirling, to which Lymond replies yes, and then amplifies that by asking about the Queens and women also being in Stirling and speculates if the Protector insists on “merchetis, and his princely free access to the bedchamber”.

Richard has to decide whether Lymond is telling the truth or not – Lymond is playing on that.

Finally, as Erskine’s force arrives and Lymond’s men scatter, Richard declares Lymond will suffer and the reply is

“All right: a challenge, Richard! I’ll meet you at the Popinjay in the next Stirling Wapenshaw, and we’ll try then who’s Master!”

That is the last thing Will Scott remembers.

– – –

A suggestion
In trying to understand what is going on, when inevitably we have only sparse information at this early stage, it may be useful to wonder why Lymond is in Scotland at all. He will be executed as a traitor if caught, so why not stay in Europe as a mercenary? Why make himself known to his family and their neighbours at Midculter? Why is he looking for Jonathan Crouch? What does he hope to achieve? And the question those lead to – is he guilty or innocent of the things he is reputed to have done?

Lymond reading notes – Game of Kings – Opening Gambit

Thoughts about how Dorothy sets up the story and the cast, and a basic summary of the story.

I won’t be detailing every single quote and reference in the book – that would take forever and wouldn’t achieve what I’m setting out to do, which is to allow new readers to grasp the essentials of the story and the plot in a way that makes them less likely to give up in confusion before they get an understanding of the nature of the book, and helps them enjoy and appreciate the wonderful multi-layered storytelling that will enrich their lives as it has mine and many others.

I don’t in any case believe it’s a good idea to spoon-feed everything, as much of the enjoyment comes in exploring the references when you are ready, and discovering the connections for yourself. A much more satisfying and educational approach; which Dorothy herself was very aware of.

Introductory paragraphs

This story will prove to be extremely complex and the characters many and multi-faceted, (and many of them will have multiple names), so for an author, how you start will be crucial in taking the readers with you. We have some subtle hints immediately after the opening “Lymond is back”.

“Only sometimes a woman’s voice would say it with a different note, and then laugh a little.”

already suggests Lymond has attractions for women.

“Lymond’s own men had known he was coming. Waiting for him, in Edinburgh they wondered briefly, without concern, how he proposed to penetrate a walled city to reach them.”

Again this already suggests brains and resourcefulness. By the 4th short paragraph we already have an initial mental image forming of Lymond’s attributes.

Rich Language

She knows that her rich use of language and description may be a challenge for some readers – it has to be introduced so they get used to it.

“friezelike on their ridge, towered the houses of Edinburgh”

A view I’ve known all my life and it does have a 2 dimensional quality on a dark night so “friezelike” is very appropriate.

“laying constellations on the water”

Is such a wonderful visual image without using the conventional descriptions.

“oriflamme”   – some people will be reaching for a dictionary at this point!

“I, am a narwhal looking for my virgin. I have sucked up the sea like Charybdis and failing other entertainment will spew it three times daily, for a fee.”

is a reference to both the origin of the Unicorn’s horn myth – the Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland along with the Lion – as well as his swim across the Nor Loch.

We’ve had a glimpse of our author’s erudition, so we have some idea of what to expect, but it’s been done with a light touch and visual expression.

Sense of humour of both author and character

We’ll come to realise that Lymond and his creator have a fascinating sense of humour, but that also has to be introduced…

The pig

“Mungo’s great sow, the badge of his house, the pet and idiotic pig’s apple of his eye”

“The sow approached her water dish, sniffed it with increasing favour, and inserted both her nose and her front trotters therein.”

“trotters smoking”

“squealing thickly in a liberated passion of ham-handed adoration”

All these present a ridiculously funny set of descriptions which switch the reader into a mode that can visualise a farce, while marvelling at the juxtaposition of words. The last two quotes particularly are never to be forgotten.

I’ve heard new readers ask “But why is the pig drunk?” The situation is created by Lymond in order to induce chaos in case he needs an escape route, but it also shows that there will be humour in amongst the complicated interplay and politics of this story.

Characters

Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch – a major landowner in the Borders (Buccleuch is pronounced buch-loo and legend has it that it comes from an incident where an ancestor saved the life of the king in a place called Buck Cleugh – ravine of the Stag.)

Tom Erskine – younger son of Lord Erskine and a trusted adviser of the Queen Dowager.

Mungo Tennant – a minor character who is a wealthy merchant but who is also a smuggler when the opportunity arises.

Two additional plot points:

• Had he not inadvertently sneezed it’s quite possible that Lymond would not have revealed himself but simply continued to listen to what the three men are discussing. Information is always crucial for him.
• The fact that Lymond doesn’t really steal the contraband wine from Mungo, but instead pours it into the Edinburgh wells for the citizens to enjoy, also gives a little echo of Robin Hood – another hint of Lymond’s true character to contrast with the Midculter section where he looks more of a villain.

The final quote of this section:

“There was a lady lov’d a hogge”

was a traditional nursery rhyme which forms a lovely matching finale to the scene. Lymond has a poem for every eventuality!

Midculter

Here we have some exposition, but it’s short and direct and tells us more than it seems without breaking the flow of the action.

We have the background and education of both brothers and the first mention of a dead sister and we also have Lymond’s status explained as the younger brother.

Since new readers who aren’t familiar with Scottish nobility naming conventions often get confused, it’s worth explaining the family names.

The family surname is Crawford. Their territorial name is Culter, so Richard is Richard Crawford, Third Baron Culter, and Lymond is the Master of Culter (the next in line of inheritance – unless/until Richard produces an heir).

However Lymond is also a territorial name as he owns lands of his own (we’ll discover 14 books later that he was left them by his grandmother – it’s complicated!). So he’s Francis Crawford of Lymond and also the Master of Culter.

We have a description that subtly demonstrates the wealth of the family – if you’ve toured many castles or rich homes dating from this period you’ll know how few rooms outwith royal mansions could comfortably hold 40 women and tables of food for them. The Great Hall is clearly a sizable one, and few houses of the time had sufficient tapestries and plush chairs to fill such a hall.

More new characters

Mariotta – Richard’s new wife – is introduced concisely as a beauty – “walked on air decorated with compliment and envy.”

Then we have the conversation between Sybilla, Lymond’s mother, and Janet, wife of Buccleuch, who is historical and is neatly described in a way that shows Dorothy’s research. Janet was indeed extremely clever. Anyone who wants to know more about her real life exploits may be interested in this link:

https://weavingthetapestry.tumblr.com/post/140715739540/a-woman-not-to-meddle-with-janet-beaton-lady-of/amp

Their conversation shows the depth of both their educations and touches on Janet’s stepson Will and also on Lymond – before Sybilla changes the subject.

Going down to deal with the gypsies who’ve provided entertainment, Marriotta has an unexpected encounter:

“an alien and unknown yellow head rose from the serpentine depths, a nautilus from the shell.”

gives a perfect picture of a spiral staircase.

This meeting of Lymond and Mariotta is a melting pot of edginess and flirting. Lymond makes quite the impact despite being somewhat drunk. She asseses his appearance well.

“So this was Richard’s brother. Every line of him spoke, palimpsestwise, with two voices. The clothes, black and rich, were vaguely slovenly; the skin sun-glazed and cracked; the fine eyes slackly lidded; the mouth insolent and self-indulgent. He returned the scrutiny without rancour.”

Mariotta is by no means dumb, but Lymond runs rings around her.

“The poem I know at least,” exclaimed Mariotta, chafing her wrist. “Red wise; Brown trusty; Pale envious-“

“And Black lusty. What a quantity of traps you’ve dropped into today.”

We switch scene to the approach to Boghall Castle, home of the Flemings, where we meet Buccleuch again, and in his mind we get a concise exposition of the political and military issues between Scotland and England over the recent years.

Inside we are introduced to Christian Stewart, goddaughter of the Flemings and a favourite of Buccleuch’s. We also meet Richard Crawford for the first time, on the roof of the castle. They are both economically described in a way that doesn’t get in the way of the flow.

Christian – “Comely and tall, with hair of fine dark red and a decisive air to her, she was pleasant and positive to talk to, and it was impossible to tell that she was blind from birth.”

Richard – “A sober, thickset figure with brown hair and reliable grey eyes, Richard Crawford in his thirties was a man of wealth and tried power.”

We get a typical Buccleuch rant which deftly describes the messy situation with shifting loyalties of different families.

We then get that most rare of things in Dunnett – a mistake. One of geography and direction which I discussed many years ago in a blog post.  https://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/blog/book-discussion/dunnett-directional-discrepancies.php

But it’s inconsequential and past in a flash as Christian smells smoke – from Midculter.

There the first confrontation between Lymond and Sybilla is becoming difficult. Lymond’s men have collected up the ladies’ jewellery and the silverware in a display of bravado, but Sybilla seems to see through the “playacting” that she says is taking place.

Janet suddenly attacks Mat with a blancmange and then his own knife but Lymond throws his knife and she collapses with a wounded shoulder.

Then in leaving he sets fire to the castle. For some new readers those two acts weigh heavily in their assessment of his character.

Richard arrives from Boghall shortly after and clears the burning wood which was set against the castle walls. After hearing the story he then has to tell his family that he is being called away to fight – the English have invaded.

Background history

This is the latest in what is known as The “Rough Wooing” – England has been ravaging the South of Scotland for some time under the now dead Henry VIII. Apart from wanting to take over Scotland – which they’ve been trying to do since the time of Edward I – the English fear having to split their forces to face the French and Scots at opposite ends of their kingdom in a coordinated attack, should all out war occur. A reasonable strategic concern, although reticence on both sides of the Auld Alliance means it never happens. The plan was to gain control of the infant Mary Queen of Scots and marry her to Henry’s son Edward, forming a de facto alliance and snuffing out the Scotland – France alliance for the foreseeable future.

Chapter opening quotes

A small explanation about the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. They appear at first glance to be from William Caxton’s The Game and Playe of the Chesse, one of the earliest books to be printed in England, but there are some differences. They’re actually from a Scottish version of the same original source material which is a Latin manuscript by Jacobus de Cessolis. Caxton’s version was translated from French whereas the Scottish and other versions were directly from the original Latin. (Caxton was a better publicist so his version tends to be better known in English-speaking countries!)

Rather than being about how to play chess, although that is mentioned, it is actually an allegorical exploration of morality, ethics, and statecraft. This became a popular theme in other books of the period.