Mary, Queen of Scots [antikvár]

CHAPTER 1They were playing truant. They crept along passageways and down staircases, dodging into dark corners to avoid the sleepy guards coming off duty at dawn. They came out of the chateau at a side door and crossed the lawns near the cages of the hunting leopards, expecting every minute to be challenged.The dew in the water meadow soaked their feet and ankles as they ran hand in hand, laughing so much at their own daring that their lungs nearly burst. By the river they were hidden from view. They wandered happily along the bank until they came upon a boat with the oars left in it."Come on," she said.He smiled up at her and tugged her hand to pull her away.She read his thoughts and said, "You can do anything if you want to.""Can I?" he said hesitantly.She laughed out loud at his anxious face. She embraced him. She had to bend a little to do this because she was very tall. She kissed him gently on each cheek and whispered in his ear, "There's nothing you cannot do. Come."They got into the boat and it rocked. With some difficulty they pushed off from the bank. He found that he could row a boat and was delighted."We must do this every day," he said solemnly.She smiled with the happiness and surprise of it all and said, "You have only to order it and it will happen."He stopped rowing and the boat drifted with the water lapping against the bow."I am afraid of my mother. She would prevent it."A fat, expressionless woman walked slowly and purposefully toward the royal apartments in the chateau.7