On her return to Scotland from France, Mary Queen of Scots ruled successfully for five years, holding the ring between Catholics and Protestants. Her troubles began when she married. Lord Darnley her second husband was a vainglorious figure, who was easily persuaded by Protestant intriguers that Mary's relationship with her Italian secretary, Rizzio or Riccio, was adulterous. Darnley, with others, murdered Rizzio in the Queen's own presence.