The Lion and the Leopards

About the Book

It is 1288. Scotland’s King Alexander died two years ago without an heir—and parliament cannot decide who should succeed him. Nine years later the succession is unresolved, but war with England is certain. Scotland’s nobles, all of whom have sworn allegiance to KING EDWARD I of England, talk about what they should do—while Edward leads his army across the border. Sir Roger de Mournay, the only Scottish noble to have openly contested the English king’s claims, takes the field against him only to have his forces annihilated in an unequal battle.

In an attempt to cow the Scots, Edward has the nearby town of Berwick razed and every man, woman and child slaughtered. This ‘slaughter of innocents’ stands as a portent to the rebels of the likely cost of a fight with the powerful and ruthless English king.

During the battle, Sir Roger—LADY ELIZABETH de MOURNAY’s father—is surprisingly saved from certain death at the hand of SIR CECIL d’ALLENCOR (a Norman-Scot and ally of King Edward) by SIR ROBERT de BRECHIN, another Scottish nobleman and friend of Edward. The king wants the de Mournay rebels dead, and has charged d’Allencor and BISHOP HUNTINGTON with the task. Huntington’s man murders Sir Roger the day after the battle, but Lady Elizabeth is convinced she saw de Brechin wield the sword, when, in fact, he risked his life a second time in a vain attempt to save him.

Although Lady Elizabeth struggles to deny it, she has fallen in love with de Brechin, as he has with her. But de Brechin’s pursuit of Lady Elizabeth is doomed while she believes him to be the instrument of her father’s death. This misunderstanding fires the conflict between them through the first third of the story. When she does learn the truth from ANGUS, her family’s loyal and crusty old retainer who witnessed the murder, she moves without hesitation to join de Brechin, openly and passionately, in the fight for Scotland’s freedom. (Lady Elizabeth is beautiful, but it’s more her self-assurance, fiery personality and sharp wit that gain a place for her at the male-dominated centers of power.)

Sir Robert de Brechin is a typical late thirteenth century Norman-Scot nobleman, born and resident in Scotland, but with lands in England too. He is typical because he fights at the side of his peers, under the Leopards of England, against the Scottish rebels. But after the Battle of Berwick and Edward’s barbarous assault of the town, he throws King Edward’s Leopards in the dust and raises Scotland’s Lion Rampant flag at the de Mournays’ side.

Sir Cecil d’Allencor and Bishop Huntington are partners of convenience only. They despise one another, but d’Allencor would be king of Scotland, and Huntington craves a cardinal’s hat. Each sees the other as an ally in his quest for power. Their unholy alliance continues to the end, though the futility of their quest becomes clear to everyone else. For d’Allencor has bet his future on a king’s whimsy and the priest outrages everyone whose life he touches with his carnal lusts and devotion to personal aggrandizement.

Before Edward returns to England he instructs one of his commanders to take the rebellious Lady Elizabeth to exile there, and another to lead the army north to capture or kill ALEXANDER MacWRATH, a commoner who has waged guerrilla warfare against the English. But MacWrath, shunned by the Scottish nobility except for Sir Roger, rallies the people, hoists the Lion Rampant and bloodies the English army that marches against him. The defeat enrages King Edward who is thereafter bent on revenge—at any cost.

As punishment for what he considers her father’s betrayal, King Edward has Lady Elizabeth brought to England and confined at Seaforth Manor, the home of Lord Randolph Seaforth. It is during her ‘imprisonment’ in England that she meets LORD ALBERT SEAFORTH, Lord Randolph’s thirteen-year-old son. Lord Albert immediately falls in lust with Lady Elizabeth. But she quickly puts the relationship on a more enduring footing

About the Author

William Thomson was born in Scotland and graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1961. He lives with his wife, Melody, in Mount Airy, North Carolina. “The Lion and the Leopards” is his first novel.