Chapter 1

David was bored. He was a young man of nobility, and he had other ideas of spending his day than to go no farther from the court of the English king than to this garden through which he was passing. And that did not satisfy him. It seemed like wasted time to him, and he was annoyed by that. If he were honest, he had more freedom of movement on most days, but he wasn't at an age where he would give that a thought. He didn't want to be fair, he wanted to get on his horse and go hunting with other young men. Or at least he wanted to be on his horse and not on his own two legs.

"Dabíd", he heard his friend Donald call from somewhere behind him. He turned around and noted without difficulty that the other was obviously in quite a hurry to reach him. He even gave the impression of having run through the garden. This was quite uncharacteristic of the older one, who was otherwise always careful not to be seen doing anything that made him exert himself.

When the other arrived, however, David didn't ask him what was going on - although he was quite curious - because he had to get something else off his chest first. Something that was very important to him on a personal level.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Donald, my name is David. David, not Dabíd. When are you going to remember that?" The other man was almost ten years older than himself, but that didn't particularly faze the younger man at that moment. At least not enough to prevent him from showing his annoyance to the other. However, this was also because the young man had a good idea of his importance as the younger brother of the Scottish king. This did not exactly made him a reserved personality.

The older man tried to give the impression that he would not mind his younger friend's outburst of temper, but this was really quite difficult for him. In fact, he could only manage it because he remembered - yet again - who he had for a friend. And although he absolutely didn't like being belittled by Dabíd ... no ... David, he considered him his friend in spite of everything, because he definitely had his good sides, too. Donald just couldn't understand why he was so insistent on using the Norman form of his name. Why was that so important to him? His brother Máel Coluim was quite content with the Gaelic one, and he was the king, after all.

"It's fine", he answered him, also using the Norman French spoken at the court of the English king. "I'll keep it in mind. Promise."

David nodded. After getting rid of what was bothering him, he had immediately grown much calmer. And now he was even sorry for having been so harsh with his friend.

"I'm sorry for getting so angry. But we are surrounded by Normans here and we can't afford not to be taken seriously by them. It's difficult enough for me because of my age. And how am I supposed to be helpful to my brother if people here don't take me seriously?"

Donald - who had always thought of himself as Domnall before he accompanied David to the English king's court - didn't himself believe that anyone here would take David seriously enough for him to be any kind of support for his brother just because he was trying to look Norman, but maybe he was just being too pessimistic. Or maybe he just thought a young man should be concerned with things other than politics. And in that respect, he still considered himself a young man, too.

"Do you know what happened, David?" In his excitement he had lapsed back into the Gaelic of his homeland. "More guests have arrived from Normandy. And with them are quite a number of young ladies. You must have seen that."

The younger man allowed himself to be infected by Donald's enthusiasm, yet he knew he had to slow his friend down a bit. Most of all, he had to remind him once again not to use the language of their mutual homeland.

"Speak French, Donald. Please."

"Try to remember that", the older man switched back to the Norman language, in which, however, he could not express himself as well as he would like to.

"Won't you come with me? See who has arrived?" he tried to distract David from the serious matters he had been talking about just a moment ago.

The younger man laughed. He knew his friend's fondness for the female sex, but he also knew well enough that it had gotten him into trouble many a time. In fact, on the last occasion, to such an extent that he had been only too happy to come south with him.

"All right then", he conceded to him. "I'll come along. It must be pretty spectacular if you even ran through the garden to get here. I should be grateful that you want to share your discovery with me."

"Take care, David", retorted the other. "You shouldn't joke about women. This is serious." He laughed at his friend to show him he didn't resent his words.

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Of course, it was not possible for the two friends to meet the young ladies, who had just arrived, on the same day, as they were first to be given the opportunity to recover from the journey, including the crossing of the Channel. However, this did not bother David, as he was aware that he was sufficiently high-ranking to be introduced to the newly arrived guests, even though he was a hostage at the court of the English king.

It was also no problem for his friend Donald not to meet the new arrivals on the same day. He knew very well that his young friend would not even dream of not taking him along. The other would never have had the heart to do that.

The opportunity to become acquainted arose the very next day. David realized that his friend had not exaggerated, for there were indeed an astonishing number of young ladies among the newcomers. From what he found out later, he concluded that apparently some Norman families had decided at the same time to bring their unmarried daughters across the Channel to seek husbands for them in England. While they had not all arrived in England on the same ship, most of them had first stayed in Dover for a while and then continued together to the English king's court, feeling much safer in a larger group.

For this reason, David and Donald now felt a bit like they were in heaven when they laid eyes on the scores of young ladies. In this case, it didn't bother them that the young women were being watched and guarded very closely not only by their fathers, but also by a whole host of older female kin. What self-respecting young man would let such a matter stop him?

David also had the advantage that all the older relatives considered him too young to be a risk to the honor - and the integrity - of their charges. Of course, the young man had no real intention of approaching any of these young ladies indecently, for he was far too well bred for that, though his self-control had never been seriously put to the test either.

His friend Donald was of course aware that he would never be left alone with any of the young ladies. Then again, he was older than David, so he focused on a different kind of game. He had noticed that among the older female kin there were some he found handsome. He was also experienced enough to know that he would have a much easier time getting to them. Moreover, he preferred women who had already gained their own experience, and it didn't bother him if they were a lot older than he was. At least not as long as they remained discreet. He himself, however, was not one of those men who flaunted their conquests. He rather enjoyed and kept silent to enjoy again at the perfect opportunity.

The younger brother of the Scottish king had already been introduced to almost everyone present, and had exchanged a few well-placed words with quite a few of the young ladies, when he found himself face to face with a young woman who was obviously uncomfortable in this company. She was standing near one of the exits to the garden and kept looking out longingly. Only when she was addressed by the older man, whom David assumed was her father - there was a certain resemblance between the two - did she turn in the direction of the remainder of the crowd. In one of these moments, the young man managed to catch a glimpse of her face and immediately a desire rose in him to meet her.

Without wasting time, he strolled over and bowed to her. Then he addressed her, not bothering with her father's scowl.

"My lady, I am David of Scotland. May I invite you to take a walk in the garden?"

The young woman blushed at being addressed so abruptly, but upon hearing his suggestion, her gaze went straight back out. Likewise, her father reacted to his words, for as soon as he heard the young man's name, the scowl vanished from his face.

"I am Baron Jacques de Mesniel", he introduced himself, only to turn to his daughter immediately afterwards. "I think this young man's suggestion is a good idea, Margaret, since you've been staring out all the time anyway. I'm sure you'll enjoy walking around the garden with this young man. I give you both my consent to do so."

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In the weeks that were to follow, David went on many more walks with Margaret and the two got to know each other more and more. The young man quickly realized that none of the other young women interested him, although some of them were downright forced by their families to seek his proximity after their fathers understood who he was.

Gradually, the two moved on to meeting in locations other than the royal gardens, or they rode out into the surrounding countryside. They had a willing helper for their ventures in her father. The young folks understood that this was only due to the fact that the baron wanted to find his youngest daughter a husband of high rank and now believed that he had found him in David. Nor did the elder seem to care that the Scottish noble was still far too young to marry.

Margaret and David unabashedly took advantage of the baron's attitude to be able to meet, for they had both quickly realized that they not only got along well, but were also fond of each other. In fact, the young Scot would not mind spending the rest of his life with this young woman, which amazed him as soon as he realized that. This kind of longing had been unknown to him until then, though this was due to the fact that he was nowhere near as experienced as he considered himself to be. In that respect, he was no different than many other young men. Nevertheless, he was very sure of his feelings toward Margaret, and the young woman felt the same about him. The two of them were very happy.

But this joy was also overshadowed by worry, at least on David's part. As devoted as he was to Margaret and as much as he would have liked to promise to marry her, he was aware that his brother would - in all likelihood - not agree to this match. At least not immediately. But he did not want to talk about that with the young lady. He kept silent not wanting to give her any grief. He was not aware that in this respect, too, his youth was having a detrimental effect. If he had been a little older and had been able to gain more experience about life, he would probably have learned not to withhold his misgivings from her, precisely because he was so fond of her. Then he would have realized that she could interpret his behavior as dishonesty.

Then came a day when their merry companionship was brought to a sudden end. The Scottish king - never blessed with particularly good health and pious to boot - died childless and was inherited by his brother William. David was suddenly the heir to the throne, and Henry II allowed him to return to Scotland.

The young man was given one more opportunity to meet with his love to say goodbye. This was very painful for both of them, because they assumed that they would never see each other again. As soon as Margaret learned that her beloved David was now the heir to his brother's throne, she knew he would never be allowed to marry her since she was only the younger daughter of a baron. David, too, had understood that there was virtually no chance for the two of them to marry. But that didn't change his love for Margaret.

They didn't have very much time to say their farewells, for her father had withdrawn his consent for them to meet. It had also become apparent to him that David was now no longer a suitable husband for his daughter. And since the young man had never behaved indecently toward Margaret, there was no way for the baron to put pressure on him or his family. Therefore, it was not in his interest to agree to further meetings between the two.

It was David's friend Donald who made it possible for the two to say goodbye to each other without being disturbed. And to assure one another that they would never forget the other one. For their peace of mind, it was good that they had no idea what misfortune would develop from their words in the future.