She was eager to go to him; but the old habit of love for home and its sweet associations and her returning affection for her father, now that he was kind to her, were strong cords entwining her tender heart, which she could not break suddenly even for the sake of the greater joy.
One day Dorothy received from John a letter telling her he would on the following morning start for the Scottish border with the purpose of meeting the queen of Scotland.

A plan had been formed among Mary's friends in Scotland to rescue her from Lochleven Castle, where she was a prisoner, and to bring her incognito to Rutland.

John had been chosen to escort her from the English border to his father's castle.

From thence, when the opportunity should arise, she was to escape to France, or make her peace with Elizabeth.

The adventure was full of peril both for her Scottish and English friends.