How it opens
You came to Edinburgh in the autumn of 1565 with your father's sword, your family's loyalty to the Hepburns, and a letter to the Lord High Admiral that was older than you were.
Scotland in that year was a kingdom with three governments in it, the queen's, the kirk's, and the lords', and the three took it in turns to be lawless.
Whose men are we, Archie, when it comes to it?
Archie HumeWhosever holds the door we're set to. But between ourselves, friend, be at the Admiral's back when the shouting starts. The man is never wrong, only loud.
Archie HumeNever mind whose side God is on, friend. In this court you'll want to know whose side tonight is on.
Choose
Learn the faces first, the queen's friends and the queen's enemies.
Learn the queen's habits, which are the clock the whole court runs on.
Keep out of the great rooms and learn the stairs and doors instead.