"Alas! my lord," cried she, "all is madness to me that
would plunge you into danger. Think of your own safety; of my innocent
twins now in their cradle, should you fall. Think of our brother's
feeling when you send his only son to join one he, perhaps, would call
a rebel!"
"If Earl Bothwell considered himself a vassal of Edward's he would not
now be with Lord Loch-awe. From the moment that gallant Highlander
retired to Argyleshire, the King of England regarded his adherents with
suspicion. Bothwell's present visit to Loch-awe, you see, is
sufficient to sanction the plunder of this castle by the peaceful
government you approve. You saw the opening of those proceedings! And
had they come to their dreadful issue, where, my dear Joanna, would now
be your home, your husband, your children? It was the arm of the brave
chief of Ellerslie which saved them from destruction.
Lady Mar shuddered. "I admit the truth of what you say. But oh! is it
not hard to put my all to the hazard; to see the bloody field on one
side of my beloved Donald, and the mortal scaffold on the other?"
"Hush!" cried the earl, "it is justice that beckons me, and victory
will receive me to her arms.
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