JAMES. My pilgrimage, my holy pilgrimage, bishop, to the shrine at Amiens, for which I require sixty thousand pounds…

SANDY (cutting over him). Aw, come on, James, no one’s that holy…

JAMES stares him down for a moment, then he gets up and exits.

JOHN. Your Majesty…

LORD. Where’s he going?

Uproar again, lines shouted over each other.

COCHRANE. There’s the answer you deserve.

LORD ONE. He’s not your dog, you know! Don’t you try keeping him on a lead!

LORD TWO. You are breaking your covenant with the Estates!

SANDY. Oh, get back here, you arse!

In the sudden silence one LORD’s shout rings out clear.

LORD THREE. Sandy, what are you going to do about this? What are you going to do? Because I’m ready!

A few cries of assent. SANDY is just shaking his head. Not engaging with this.

JOHN. Quiet!

Parliament is adjourned until this afternoon at the King’s pleasure!

A bell sounds. They all exit.

The Garden

ROSS and JAMIE are play-fighting. PHEMY seems to be doing her nails. ANNABELLA seems to be sunbathing. MARGARET sits with a sleeping baby in her lap. JAMES collapses next to her, exaggerated exhaustion.

JAMES. God, I loathe parliament.

MARGARET. I like it.

JAMES. You would.

She looks down at her sleeping son. JAMES watches her. She looks up and sees him watching. She smiles.

MARGARET. What?

JAMES. Just…

He doesn’t know how to finish the sentence.

MARGARET. What?

JAMES. You surprise me. You do.

MARGARET. Yes?

JAMES. Let’s go inside.

MARGARET. James… I’ve just got him off to sleep.

JAMES. Leave him on the grass, he’ll sleep fine on the grass.

(Indicating ANNABELLA.) She’ll watch him.

(To ANNABELLA.) You’ll watch him, won’t you, Aunt Annabella?

ANNABELLA looks up and stares at him but says nothing.

JAMES pulls at MARGARET.

Come on.

MARGARET. Family time!

JAMES. What?

MARGARET. You promised me family time.

We can find each other later.

JAMES. I might not want to later. Who knows?

(As she reacts.) Oh, don’t look like that! I’m being honest. I said I was being honest. You said you wanted me to be honest!

MARGARET. And now I don’t want you at all.

JAMES. Yes, you do.

MARGARET. Someone should say no to you, James. Someone should start. You’ll thank them in the end.

JAMES. Do you think? Doesn’t seem likely.

Leave the baby. Come on. It’s a baby. It’s not going to run off anywhere, is it?

MARGARET. Jamie has a present for you.

Jamie?

JAMIE stops fighting with ROSS, reluctant.

JAMIE. I didn’t bring it.

MARGARET. Yes, you did. It’s in your bag, go and find it to show your father.

JAMIE exits. ROSS trails after him.

JAMES. Did you know that the skin there, between your breasts, has tiny tiny hairs on it, like the bloom on a pink rose…