Requiem: The Fall of the Templars (10 page)

No . . . m-more!” He was panting harshly.

Edward leaned in. “Then tell me what I want to hear. Did you get word to Balliol? Does he know of my plans?”

“No,” breathed the man. There was silence for a long moment. Slowly, the man raised his head. “But it does not matter. He will still be ready for you.”

“There, you see,” Edward murmured.

“My people will slaughter you, you false-hearted bastard.” The man clenched his eyes shut and threw back his head. “Long live King John!”

the fall of the templars

49

“Kill him.”

One of the guards stepped forward, his sword rasping in his scabbard as he unsheathed it. He plunged it into the man’s belly, ripping through muscle and bowel with one cruel twist.

“These people came to me for help,” said Edward, as the man buckled over the sword and began to grunt. “They came to me after the death of their king and his only heir, and begged for my help. At great expense to myself, I set up a trial to determine the rightful claimant to their throne.” He turned to Hugues. “Once John Balliol was chosen and enthroned, order was restored to their kingdom. I believed they would be grateful. I was mistaken.” The prisoner sagged forward as the sword was withdrawn, in a rush of blood and fl uid.

Edward moved to the door, which was opened for him by the other guard. “I need the Temple’s assistance. You must persuade Jacques to give me the men to put down Balliol’s rebellion.”

Tearing his gaze from the dying man, Hugues followed Edward into the passageway. “That may be difficult, my lord. Jacques is set on his Crusade. I doubt he will want any resources diverted from that cause.” Hugues squinted against the growing light as they headed up to a windswept courtyard, dominated by a huge shed that housed the royal menagerie.

Edward turned abruptly, stopping Hugues at the top step. “He might, if all talk of merging the Temple with the Knights of St. John was silenced.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I know Bertrand de Got. He may appear a feeble pedant, but he does have the ear of the pope. He could persuade Boniface from this proposition, given the right encouragement from me. We have always had good relations in the past, you and I. You have given me aid when I have asked for it before. Do not fail me now.”

“What of your pledge to me, my lord? With Acre lost, the Temple needs a secure base. The Hospitallers are established on Cyprus and the Teutonic Knights now have a firm hold on Prussia. We must follow their example and seek an empire of our own, safe from the interference of secular authorities and the whim of the Church. We have always relied on our reputation to generate support: funds and potential recruits from the nobility, special privileges from kings. Now our standing is diminished, we must look to things of greater permanence to ensure the continuation of our order. Foremost of our needs is land.”

“And I will be in a much better position to help you secure this when the 50 robyn

young

Scottish rebels are put down. Perhaps Scotland could even provide a useful base for your order? You already have preceptories there. I’m sure we could come to some arrangement.”

Hugues was quiet. “I will do what I can,” he said finally. “I will try to persuade Jacques to aid you. But in return, all talk of us being merged with the Hospital must stop. The whereabouts of our new base can be decided in due course.”

Edward moved out into the yard, allowing Hugues to step into the daylight. The braying of an animal in pain sounded from the shed. “What of Campbell? He is your head and more of Everard’s stock. I doubt he will agree to this. He is Scottish, after all.”

“Campbell may be head of the Brethren, but I am visitor. He will yield to my authority.”

5

New Temple, London

january 8, 1296 ad

As Will entered the Chapter House with the other knights, he scanned the chamber. Hugues was at the front with Jacques. Seating himself on one of the benches near the dais, Will tried to catch the visitor’s eye.

Following yesterday’s assembly, he had called an urgent meeting of the Brethren, but only Robert and Thomas, their English brother, had attended.

Will had been distracted, by both Edward’s demands and Hugues’s troubling absence, and their discussion ended unsatisfactorily with nothing decided. Afterward, he looked for Hugues in the Great Hall at supper, but there was no sign of him and he went to his dormitory after Compline, plagued by concerns. He had lain awake long into the night, the knife that remained beneath his pallet a tangible presence in the gloom.

As Hugues moved to sit beside Brian le Jay, his gaze fell on Will, but if he noticed the questioning look he showed no sign of it, his eyes flicking away as King Edward took his place.

the fall of the templars

51

Jacques looked weary, but his voice was resolute as he addressed the assembly. “I have spent many hours in discussion with my officials, but my conclusion remains the same. To unite our order with the Knights of St. John would do the ongoing struggle for the Holy Land more harm than good. I cannot agree to this,” he said, turning to Bertrand de Got.

The bishop, who appeared pale and drained, stood. “I too have had time to think upon this matter.” He hesitated. Will frowned, seeing him glance at Edward. “I have had time to think,” Bertrand repeated. “And I believe you are right.”

Murmurs of surprised approval greeted his words. Jacques silenced them.

“For now, Master Templar,” continued Bertrand, looking at the grand master with something like regret, “I will defer to your experience and shall return to Rome to pass my recommendation to His Holiness that the Temple and the Hospital remain as separate orders, each working individually toward a new Crusade.”

Will was as taken aback as the rest of the knights at this abrupt change of heart on the bishop’s part, but unlike the others he wasn’t glad. He felt uneasy. Something else, some other agenda, was playing out on the stage in front of him; he just didn’t know what it was. The answer wasn’t long in coming.

The grand master remained standing as Bertrand sat. “On the matter that was raised yesterday by Lord Edward, I also have a response.” The grand master nodded to the king. “The Temple will give you what you ask for. We will support your move against Scotland.”

Will jerked to his feet. A few of the men sitting beside him glanced at him, but he only had eyes for Edward, who appeared cool, composed and not at all surprised by the grand master’s decision.

“Master le Jay will work with you to this end, but only knights from English preceptories will form part of your force. I will not anger the Temple’s allies in France and elsewhere.”

Edward inclined his head to Jacques. “That is certainly understandable, although it would be advantageous for me to use your principal preceptory in Scotland as a base. I plan to have crossed the Tweed above Berwick by Easter.

Once the town has capitulated, the gateway to Scotland will be open and I will advance north. Balantrodoch will be a useful staging post in which to rest my troops and from where I could proceed directly into Edinburgh.”

“This can be arranged.”

“I presume the knights at Balantrodoch will agree to this, no matter any 52 robyn

young

partisan inclinations they may have?” As the king spoke, his eyes fell on Will, who was still standing.

“They will obey any order that comes from me,” responded Jacques. “In addition to fifty knights from this preceptory, we will send one hundred sergeants to augment your infantry. Master le Jay will agree the rest of the details with you. He will command our forces personally.”

“I welcome your commitment,” said Edward smoothly. “And, with your pledged assistance, I believe this battle is already won.”

The grand master added a few words about how he was looking forward to discussing his Crusade with the king, once the troubles in Scotland had been resolved, but Will wasn’t listening.

As the meeting drew to a close, Edward got up to speak to one of his advisors. “Summon the magnates. We meet at Newcastle on the first day of March.

From there we head north.”

Seeing Hugues walking down the aisle toward the doors, Will pushed past the men on the bench and followed him into the courtyard. “Hugues!”

Hugues turned angrily. “You will address me in the proper manner, Commander.”

“What happened? Why did Jacques agree to this?”

“Keep your voice down,” snapped Hugues, as knights filed out of the Chapter House behind them. He gestured to the officials’ building. “In there.”

When they entered Hugues’s chambers, Will went to speak, but the visitor beat him to it. “You need to stop this. Your behavior is starting to be noticed.

It’s been four years since Acre. It was devastating, yes, but it is time you ceased dwelling on it.”

“I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, Hugues, but I respect you and your position, which is why I initiated you into the Anima Templi. You have to talk to Jacques. You have to persuade him from this course of action.”

“I cannot do that.”

“Why not?” Will stared after him as he strode to the window.

Hugues looked down on the courtyard. Edward’s tall form was moving among the knights, the circlet on his head a halo of gold in the sunlight. “I tried to tell you in Paris, but you wouldn’t listen.” He turned. “The West is changing. Jacques is part of an old order, still looking to the East, still holding the Cross to Jerusalem. We cannot allow him to drag the Temple with him.”

“I agree. You and I, we will talk to him.”

“I’ve known him less than a month and I already see he will not be per-the fall of the templars

53

suaded from this course. Jacques is a military man, a general through and through. You’ve been on the road with him beating the drums of war for two years. If he could have been converted from this aim, you surely would have done so by now.” Hugues went on as Will faltered. “Listen to me. Jacques will go his own way if he has to take up his sword and march east alone. We cannot stop him, but we can safeguard the order. In this changing world, territory is everything. It is what Philippe and Edward are fi ghting so fi ercely for. With territory comes power and with power comes autonomy. We stood beyond the laws of kings and princes for almost two centuries because only the pope had control over us, but now the pope’s power is waning. God’s vicar on earth does not own enough of it to match the rising authority of these warrior kings. If we do not cut ourselves away from the papacy we may find our strength diminished. But with a secure base of our own we can continue to expand and grow. We can continue to be one of the most powerful and affl uent brotherhoods on this earth.” Hugues’s eyes were bright. “We can control kings, keep royal treasuries, hold sway on sea and land, whether selling our wool at the trade fairs or protecting merchant ships, just as we did at the height of our power. With the Crusades over, we no longer have purpose in the eyes of the world. We must make our own purpose, or someone else will decide it for us. It has already begun, with the pope’s desire to merge us with the Hospitallers.”

Will was shaking his head. “And what of the Anima Templi? What of its aims?”

“The Brethren have no real power or direction anymore.” Hugues continued. “You know that, Will, or else you would have started to rebuild us as soon as Acre fell. What have you done to restore us?” He raised a hand. “I’m not blaming you. Indeed, what could you have done? After the Holy Land was lost, how could the Anima Templi continue its aims?”

Will didn’t answer. Hugues’s words just echoed what he had been asking himself all this time: what now was the point in the Anima Templi? He remembered the seneschal, the man he had always thought would become Everard’s successor, charging him to continue their work in the West and to safeguard the Temple from all enemies, within and without. But the seneschal couldn’t have known what an impossible task this would be.
He sacrifi ced himself for this
, a small voice said, but Will forced it away.

Hugues was nodding at his silence, taking it for acceptance. “But with the Temple’s future secured, we can rebuild the Anima Templi, continue those aims. You’ve said it a thousand times: the Brethren cannot exist without the 54 robyn

young

Temple, without the money and resources it provides us, albeit unknowingly.

If we allow the order to be taken over by other forces, we will fi nd ourselves crushed within the fist of someone else’s ambition.” Hugues paused. “Edward can help us achieve what we want, Will. Indeed, he could be our greatest ally.”

Will felt something leaden go through him. “Dear God, Hugues. What have you done?”

“What I had to.”

“It wasn’t Jacques who agreed to aid Edward’s war. It was you. You persuaded the grand master to go along with it.”

Hugues thrust out his chest. “Yes.”

“Whatever Edward promised you is a lie. He’s using you.”

“He has already helped us. In return for military assistance in Scotland, he pledged to dissuade Bishop de Got from merging the orders. That has happened. When order is returned to Scotland, he will help us find a permanent base, a place from which we can decide our own future.”

“You said it yourself, Hugues: Edward wants territory for himself! Do you really believe he’ll create a state for a mighty, untouchable army, where it can grow even more powerful? Cruel deceiver and ambitious tyrant Edward may be, but fool he is not.”

“He will see the benefits of having an alliance with such a brotherhood,”

insisted Hugues.

“Yes, as a personal army he can call on at will. You’re playing right into his hands!” Will crossed to him. “Hugues, I swear this will be the end of us. You aren’t saving the Temple with this alliance, you’re destroying it!” He faltered.

“You remember Garin de Lyons?”

“How could I forget? He stole the Book of the Grail and almost exposed the Anima Templi. Robert told me all about him”

“What Robert doesn’t know, what
no one
else knows, is who he did it for.

At the fall of Acre, Garin confessed he had been working for Edward. The attack on the Templar party conveying the crown jewels to Paris: that was Edward. His plan to retake the jewels failed and when Garin told him about the Book, Edward used him to hunt it down. The king was planning to blackmail the Brethren to help him expand his kingdom. He knew we controlled the Temple, its wealth and power, and he was going to use our resources for himself. His attempts to capture the Book also failed and maybe that would have been the end of it only Everard misguidedly made him guardian of the Anima the fall of the templars