‘In the chill light of dawn, Henri saw that I was beside him naked in his bed, and he knew that what he had done had been no drunken dream. He cursed me and threw me out of his chamber, shouting that I was the Devil’s whore, and then he went straight to Thibault that very morning and confessed to his crime.
‘I thought Thibault would kill him – and I think he would have liked to have done so, but his roaring at Henri and the blows that he struck roused the whole castle. The Seigneur, torn from his bed in the great chamber, only just managed to separate his two sons and prevent a murder. Henri was banished, packed off to Paris and a life in the Church that same day – and I never set eyes on him again.’
I heard a sob, and despite the lady’s instructions, I turned my head towards her and saw that she was weeping. I had the strongest urge to enfold her in my arms, but I knew that to be seen in public in the arms of another man would not be helpful to her already much besmirched honour. Then, shockingly, across on the other side of the cathedral, I caught sight of a tall, familiar shape, the face partially hidden by a deep hood, but, I could tell, a face dark as a Moor’s: it was the watcher I had seen from the night at the Cock. For a moment, I thought that I recognized him from somewhere, but my mind, awhirl after Adèle’s lustful revelations, could not grasp that eel-slippery memory. The crowds of pilgrims grew thick on that side of the cathedral and when they cleared the figure was no longer visible. Was I imagining this fellow; was my fear giving me visions? Or was he another assassin awaiting his chance? Either way, as I scanned the faces of the passing pilgrims, I could see his dark face no more.
I had to wrench my attention back to Adèle: she had composed herself and was continuing with her tragic story.
‘And so, you see, Alan, when you came to us and told us that you believed that we had abandoned Henri because of some silly accusation of pilfering, I had to tell you that you were wrong. After he was expelled from the Church, Thibault would not have Henri in the castle – because of me, because of my passion for him. He did not trust me with your father. It has nothing to do with some petty crime. I wanted you to understand this, so that in understanding, you might forgive us.’
I was moved by her story, but it was clear to me that, while I had been blaming the rough-tongued Seigneur for my father’s exile, the true blame lay with this woman, or rather with her passionate younger self. It was she who had ruined my father – she was as much to blame as anybody for his sad life and miserable end. Yet I could not hate her. The Church teaches us that women are weak and lustful; they are the daughters of Eve and it is in their nature to seduce men from the path of righteousness.
‘I must think on this matter,’ I said, rising to my feet.
‘Please, Sir Alan, I beg you to forgive me. It was not easy for me to tell you this. And I know that I have done you and your father a terrible wrong. But I was young and foolish and in love – have you never made a mistake in these circumstances? Many people have. I would like us to be re-united as a family again; d’Alle and Dale, English and French together. Please, look deep into your heart, seek and find the compassion to forgive us!’
Her words struck a chord: I was young and foolish and in love – have you never made a mistake in these circumstances? Yes, I thought. I have made mistakes in love: poor mutilated Nur sprang into my mind; and a lovely Jewish girl who was killed in York a few years ago. Yes, I had made mistakes in love, who has not?
Adèle’s exquisite tear-stained face and beguiling bright green eyes were beseeching me – and I knew that I would not be able to refuse her request of forgiveness if I stayed under such a powerful enchantment for long. But she had destroyed my father – her shameless lust, her selfish urges, her wanton actions had spurred him towards his untimely death. And so I merely muttered, ‘I must go, my lady; I have an appointment to dine with a Templar: I will think long and hard on what you have told me. God be with you.’
And I turned my back and hurried away before her green eyes and bewitching beauty could break my resolve.
The dinner with Sir Aymeric de St Maur was a private affair: just we two knights at the board, and served by half a dozen silent servants – but, as the Templar had promised, the food was lavish and the wine excellent. I had been shown to his guest hall in the north of the Paris Temple compound shortly before noon, and Hanno and Thomas had been led away to the servants’ quarters to be fed separately – which gave me a moment’s pause – but Sir Aymeric’s affability reassured me, and there were several trustworthy people in Paris who knew that I was being entertained by this Poor Fellow-Soldier, and so I felt reasonably secure. I gave my sword to Thomas for safekeeping – but I kept my misericorde at my waist, and I had a stout eating knife at my belt, too. But, in truth, I did not seriously fear that I would be murdered over the many different, and quite astoundingly delicious, dishes that the English Templar had ordered to be served.
Sir Aymeric and I sat close together and, after an interminably long prayer of thanksgiving, we ate from the same bowls, my host serving me with the choicer cuts of venison and beef, and urging me to try the sauces that his cooks had prepared to accompany the roasted meats. If the food was good, and I could not deny that it was, the wine was truly exceptional, pale yellow, tart and refreshing, coming Sir Aymeric told me from vineyards that the Order cultivated in the region of Champagne. Once again I was impressed with the reach and power of this organization, and reminded of its wealth. We spoke of inconsequential things, platitudes and gossip, for the first part of the meal. I praised the food and the wine, and my host told me how impressed he was with my growing reputation as a knight. Harmless stuff. I mentioned how thunderstruck I had been by the cathedral of Notre-Dame, its beauty, the majestic scale of the project, and my host concurred. But then he said: ‘Do you think, Sir Alan, that God wants us to expend so much treasure and time on these great edifices? Surely they serve to aggrandize Man and not Our Lord – surely the whole world is God’s masterpiece and anything Man builds can only be a pale, imperfect imitation of the wonders of Nature that Almighty God has already made.’
I choked on a large piece of peppery roast beef. I had never thought of it that way before. But how could building churches be wrong? And this was coming from a Templar, a warrior dedicated to the service of Christ.
Sir Aymeric took a frugal sip of wine and continued: ‘Consider a tall tree in a wood; see how glorious it is, soaring, magnificent and yet alive, providing shade for mankind and a place of shelter for all God’s creatures – birds, squirrels, spiders and tiny insects. Can one of de Sully’s big stone columns, most cleverly carved in the image of a tree, whose purpose is merely to prevent an absurdly high roof from falling on our heads, ever truly compete with a mighty hundred-year-old oak? And de Sully is, in fact, felling trees by the thousand on his lands to use in building his cathedral. Is de Sully not destroying something truly beautiful, which reminds us of the perfection of God, to create something artificial that is but a monument to Mankind’s ambition – and a rich source of revenue for the Church from the swarms of pilgrims who come to gawp at it?’
For an instant, Robin leapt into my mind: he too preferred trees to churches, the clean wildwood to the venal priest-ridden city. And then I remembered the Templar clerks exchanging my three pounds in hard silver for a piece of parchment worth only two, and I said: ‘And does Notre-Dame truly bring in rich revenues for the Church?’
‘Ah, you have me there,’ said Sir Aymeric, chuckling. ‘I see some of the disputative air of the University of Paris has sharpened your wits. I must confess that no, it does not: Notre-Dame’s pilgrims bring in a small amount, and in future years they will undoubtedly bring in more, but the costs of building the cathedral must be almost beyond computation. Indeed, many people wonder how Bishop de Sully can afford such a vast expenditure of treasure. No one knows how he manages it – except the good Bishop himself! And God, of course.’ The Templar laughed to show that he did not mean his words to be taken seriously.
A
suckling pig was brought into the room, carried high by two servants, with a baked apple stuffed under its crisp snout. The Templar carved into it with his own knife and helped me to a portion of its unctuous melting flesh and a piece of the glossy brown skin. It was astonishingly good. Then Sir Aymeric said, in an altogether more serious tone: ‘Sir Alan, I imagine you are wondering why I have invited you to dine with me – particularly after the unpleasantness last year with’ – he paused, swallowed with some difficulty as if the words were choking him – ‘the inquisition of my lord the Earl of Locksley.’
‘I did ponder it a little,’ I said drily.
‘Well, I must confess I have an ulterior motive for seeking your company. I meant what I said earlier about your prowess as a knight; it has been noticed in the highest circles that you are a warrior of unusual skill and courage. Did not King Richard himself dub you? And so I have asked you here to plant the seed of an idea in your head – but first I must ask you an important, nay, a vital question; a somewhat intrusive question, which springs partly from our unfortunate encounters last year. May I ask it?’
I nodded warily, saying nothing.
‘Are you truly a devout and humble Christian?’ said Sir Aymeric. ‘Do you reject the Devil and all his demons and love the Lord Our God and His only son Jesus Christ with all your heart and soul?’
He looked at me intently, his brown eyes burning with the passion of his faith. I answered him with full honesty.
‘I do believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and the Saviour of all Mankind. I cannot answer for my lord of Locksley, except to say to you again that he is no demon-worshipper, but I try to be as good a Christian as I may – though I am of course a sinner like any other man, and I pray that God will have mercy on my soul.’
Sir Aymeric was smiling broadly at me: ‘That is a good answer, Sir Alan. Then I will plant my idea, if I may. Have you ever considered joining the ranks of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon? A man of your talents on the battlefield, if he wished to take our oath and accept the discipline of the Order, would receive a warm welcome among the Brethren.’
I was stunned. Me, a Templar? I was flattered and outraged all at once: this brotherhood was made up of the best fighting men in the world, the very best, and to be asked if I would join them was an almost unbelievable honour, a compliment of the first rank; and I must confess that, in that moment, the idea of a life serving God with a humble heart, with a guarantee of a Heavenly reward was most appealing, too. But the Order had clashed several times with my liege lord, and while they had made peace earlier in the spring and were now officially reconciled, less than a year ago they were seeking to have him burned alive for what they described as his heretical beliefs. Did they really expect that I would abandon my master and go over to his enemies? Did they think I would join up with an Order that Robin described as ‘blood-thirsty, God-struck maniacs’? It was almost beyond belief …
Another thought crawled out from the back of my mind: could this be some sort of ruse to trap me, or a stratagem to ensnare Robin? Either way, I could not accept the offer. I was betrothed to Goody, for one thing; and Templars were celibate – which seemed to me then, as a lusty young man, a very high price to pay for a place in Heaven. But, a part of me was flattered, and it occurred to me that it might be wise not to turn them down with a curt refusal.
I said: ‘I am sensible of the great honour that you do me by making this proposal – and I believe that I could be a contented man as a member of the Order, but I must think about it deeply, and pray, of course. I am certain that God will show me the true path.’
‘Of course, of course, it is not a thing that a man can decide lightly over dinner. But may I tell you something that may influence your decision. I know that you fought, and fought with courage against the Saracens in Outremer during the Great Pilgrimage – but I suspect that you, like many of the men who survived it, feel that it was not a well-managed expedition, that too many Christian lives were sacrificed for naught.’
He had struck the target full on: I felt that the Great Pilgrimage, for all its good intentions and for all the valour of the men who took part, had achieved nothing but an ocean of spilled blood – Christian and heathen alike – but I did not generally trouble to express this unpopular opinion to my fellow men, unless they too had experienced the mindless carnage of that ill-fated campaign.
Sir Aymeric continued: ‘It is not generally known, but our new Grand Master, Sir Gilbert Horal, has set his heart on finding an acceptable permanent peace with the Saracens in the Holy Land. He is one of a new breed of Templars, which I must say includes myself, who feel that the years of useless slaughter in Outremer must come to an end, and if it is humanly possible we must learn to live with Saracens as our neighbours, and undertake to share the blessed land where our Lord Jesus Christ lived and died.’
I was moved by his speech: Robin was wrong – these men were not ‘blood-thirsty God-struck maniacs’ but good men trying to serve Christ and find a reasonable solution.
‘It would make my heart glad to become a Brother of the Order,’ I said quite truthfully. ‘I am deeply touched by your offer, and I thank you for it. But I must contemplate quietly on it and pray for guidance first.’
And there we left it.
The servants brought more wine, rich puddings and tarts, and fruit – golden oranges from the southern lands, sweet as nectar. And I asked Sir Aymeric the question that had been in the back of my mind for most of that fine meal.
‘Sir Aymeric, what do you know of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Our Lady and the Temple of Solomon? Their badge is a blue cross on a white field with a black border.’
‘The Knights of Our Lady? Ah, Sir Alan, now you are taking me back to my days as a novice. I have not seen that badge or heard that name for many, many years.’
‘But you do know of them?’ I persisted.
‘Oh yes, they were part of the Order once – and famous, too, for their deep faith and prowess in battle. It was our new Grand Master himself who formed the Knights of Our Lady, oh, a good thirty years ago in Spain. Sir Gilbert was a fiery young man back then, and very devoted to Mary, the Mother of God. He formed a company of knights – a hundred or so young, devout Templars, men of exceptional skill and dedication – who vowed that they would fight in the name of the Queen of Heaven to the last drop of their blood to clear the Moors from Spain. They compared themselves to the fabled knights of King Arthur – fearless warriors for Jesus Christ and his Blessed Mother Mary. Sir Gilbert was their first Master, of course, and he designed their badge, using his own family emblem, the blue cross on white – argent, a cross azure, as the heralds would have it. For ten years or so they had a powerful influence on the war against the Moors, pushing them back in several notably bloody engagements, if I recall rightly, and doing great deeds of valour. Sir Gilbert was a very different man then – full of passion and rage, with a burning desire to rid the world of all non-believers. He’s quite different now, of course, older and wiser – but I shall remind him of those days when I see him next. It will make him smile.’
‘Where are these knights now?’ I asked. ‘Who commands them today? Who is their present Master?’ I found I was holding my breath as I awaited the answer.
‘Oh, the Knights of Our Lady are no more. They were disbanded long ago – perhaps fifteen years ago, I think. The Grand Master of the time – Odo de St Amand – completely suppressed them; he felt, I believe, that there should only be one Order of Templars, that these chapters within the Brotherhood, dedicated to this saint or that, were bad for morale, caused unnecessary rivalry and diluted our sense of purpose – and he was quite right, of course. By the time they were suppressed, many of the Knights of Our Lady had perished in the Spanish wars, some were then absorbed back into the ordinary ranks of the Brotherhood, others left to join other Orders – the Hospitallers, mainly. Some retired to the cloister and became monks. It happens to all men; we lose the zeal tha
t we had as youngsters, and become shamefully fat and lazy.’ Sir Aymeric smiled and slapped at his belly, which had only the tiniest suggestion of a paunch; hardly shameful for a man in his late thirties.
‘So if I were to tell you that I saw a conroi of these knights outside Vendôme two months ago, and another knight bearing a shield with a blue cross two weeks ago in Paris, that would surprise you?’
‘I would be astonished!’
I stared hard at him. He did not look as if he were lying.
‘You do not believe me? I will swear it for you, by my faith, if you wish me to,’ said Sir Aymeric. He seemed hurt that I should doubt his word.
I waved away the suggestion: as far as I could tell, Sir Aymeric de St Maur was telling me the truth. The Knights of Our Lady, as this open-faced Templar had known them, were in their graves, or scattered to the winds; it would appear that the original fellowship that had fought the Moor so bravely in Spain had been dissolved fifteen years ago.
Chapter Sixteen
Three days after my dinner with Sir Aymeric, in the late afternoon, I was invited to Master Fulk’s home on the Petit-Pont. It was Luke who brought the invitation after his lessons had ended, and who offered to act as my guide to the narrow house on the bridge, where I was greeted with great affection by his huge, hairy and malodorous teacher. When Luke had departed, Fulk offered wine and sweet cakes and we sat in his cramped downstairs room, with the shutters flung wide on that warm September afternoon – for which I was grateful, given that it appeared that he had neither bathed nor changed his robe in the weeks since I first met him – and we watched the boat traffic gliding down the brown Seine, our conversation occasionally interrupted by the coarse oaths of the boatmen passing through the arches of the bridge beneath us.
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