The Secret Of The Cathars (2011) (14 page)

“
Did you know him?” asked Philip.

“
No! I - oh, dear.”

He seemed about to collapse and Philip stepped forward to support him by the elbow. Jackie hurried to his other side.

“
Are you all right, Bertrand?”

“
Oh, my goodness,” he gasped. “Oh dear, oh dear.”

“
Come out of the sun, Bertrand,” she said. “Is there somewhere you can sit down for a few minutes?”

He took a deep breath. “The hut’s just behind that wall.”

They helped him round the corner to a modest wooden structure. The door stood open and there were a couple of simple chairs and a desk inside, plus a set of shelves on the end wall carrying trays of finds. They sat him down and Jackie fussed round him.

“
Will you have something to drink?”

“
Yes.” He gestured to the canvas bag in the corner. “There’s some water.”

Jackie delved into the bag and came up with a large plastic bottle of Vichy water. She poured some into a cup which was standing on the desk and handed it to him.

He gulped it down and took a breath. “Thank you, my dear.”

“
Are you sure you’re all right? You seem to have had a nasty turn.”

“
Yes, thank you.” He took another drink and looked up at them with frightened eyes. “This assistant of yours - what exactly happened to him?”

“
We don’t really know yet. All we know is that yesterday morning his body was found on some rocks at the foot of the highest cliff. Nobody seems to know why he went up there or how he came to fall. The police are still investigating. We hope to find out more tomorrow.”

He shook his head. “Oh, dear. What an awful thing to happen.” He swallowed another mouthful of water. “What are you going to do now, my dear? Does it mean you’ll have to close down the excavation?”

“
There’s no chance of that, Bertrand. My agent has been in touch with TV France and they’re insisting that we carry on. You know what these television companies are like. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with the screening of the series. My contract won’t allow me to back out once I’ve started. In fact some of the top names in Paris have got involved. That’s why I’ve come to see you.”

“
Oh, I couldn’t get involved, Jacqueline. I wouldn’t be any good for you. Besides, I must continue with my work here.”

“
No. That’s not what I meant. The big boys in Paris say that they’ve found me a replacement. He’s a chap called Lerenard. Apparently he gave your name as a reference. I thought I’d take the opportunity of the fact that we were only fifty kilometres from Prouille to have a brief chat with you about him. I want to find out if you think he’s up to the job.”

Dugard was regarding her with wide, horrified eyes. “Oh dear,” he said, “I was afraid this was going to happen.”

“
What do you mean?” asked Philip.

“
Is the fellow a waste of time?” said Jackie. “I was wondering if it was a bit too convenient - him being available just like that.”

“
No.” The Abbe shook his head. “The man is a good assistant as far as I can tell. I only had him here for a few weeks but he’s very dedicated and very hard-working. I was very impressed with him. And he promised…” He paused. “I’m sure he will look after you very well.”

“
What’s his background? Where did he train?”

“
Oh, er…” He shook his head again. “I’m afraid I don’t know. I never thought to ask.”

She frowned. “That’s not like you, Bertrand. You’re usually so thorough about these things.”

“
Yes. Well, you see…” He seemed to be struggling to explain himself. “He came to me very highly recommended. I had no reason to question him about his earlier experience.”

“
Really? Who recommended him to you?”

“
It was - let me see - the recommendation came from the Bishop’s Palace in Narbonne. They obviously thought very highly of him.”

“
I see.” She regarded him quizzically.

“
Please don’t ask any more, my dear. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can really add to what I’ve already told you. The only thing that I’m quite sure about is that you’ll be perfectly safe if you do decide to take him on.”

Jackie was quiet for some time before she said, “Well, that’s something anyway. Thank you, Bertrand.”

The old boy gave her a weak smile and nodded.

Philip noticed that she suddenly changed the subject, to the Abbe’s obvious relief. For the next half an hour they discussed his progress on the site. She showed a lot of interest in his work and, after a few minutes, Bertrand began to respond. He seemed to have recovered sufficiently from his nasty turn to take them to the latest group grave which he was excavating so that he could explain the interesting aspects of the original Dominican funeral rites.

By the time they left the site, after they had offered him tea in a local bar in Fanjeaux and he had refused, he seemed once more to be the relaxed and friendly old man they had first seen. He reminded Philip of a kind of favourite uncle.

When they were back in the car Jackie asked, “What did you think of that?”

“
I wouldn’t touch this bloke Lerenard with a barge-pole based on the Abbe’s recommendation. It seems somebody has leaned heavily on Bertrand Dugard to make him support the man’s application. The problem for them is that the old boy’s a useless dissembler. He wouldn’t know how to lie if his life depended on it.”

She nodded, a slight smile curving her lips. “You’ve put your finger on it as usual.”

“
The question is - who is pressuring the good Abbe? Do you know anything about the bishop’s palace in Narbonne?”

“
Nothing special. I presume it’s the seat of Catholic authority in this area.”

“
So why would they be interested in the excavations you are carrying out at le Bezu?”

“
Well, I know they would like to forget all about the Cathars, but they’re almost a local industry. So there’s nothing they can do about that.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why on earth they should have a special interest in le Bezu. As far as I’m aware they’ve never shown any interest in us before.”

Philip thought for a few minutes. “Maybe it isn’t le Bezu. Perhaps they’re interested in the television series. Are they worried about what you’ll turn up regarding their role in the Albigensian Crusade and the way they treated the Cathars?”

“
I suppose they could be. The Catholic Church didn’t behave very well at the time, but why would they still be worried about something like that nearly eight hundred years later?”

“
Well, I don’t know,” he said. “And I guess you’re not going to find out without speaking to Lerenard.” He smiled weakly. “I’m afraid I’m not much help to you on this one.”

“
On the contrary, you’ve been very helpful. Your comments have helped me to make up my mind.”

“
You’re not going to have anything to do with Monsieur Lerenard?”

“
Oh, yes I am.” Her eyes flashed as she looked at him. “I’m going to take the fellow on. I want to know why he’s so keen to come and work for me. I also want to know who’s put him up to it.”

“
Aren’t you taking an awful risk? You don’t know what sort of individual he is. He might be a killer.”

“
Maybe he is. But I don’t think he’s such a risk. Bertrand was careful to say that I would be safe if I took him on and I don’t think he would have allowed himself to be a party to this business if he hadn’t been certain about that.”

Philip turned and looked straight at her. “Nevertheless I don’t think either Abbe Dugard or you fully realise what is going on behind the scenes. You don’t understand the motives of the high-ups in places like the Bishop’s Palace in Narbonne. I think you need to be very careful if you take this guy on, Jackie.”

“
Oh, I shall be.” She smiled sweetly. “I intend to have my own special insurance policy.”

“
What do you mean?”

Her grin broadened. “I mean, Philip, that I’m going to take you on to the payroll as my special protector - if you agree, of course.”

“
A special protector? Do you mean a kind of weak bouncer? But you don’t know anything about me.”

“
I think I know everything I need to know for the moment. You can tell me the rest over the next few days.” Her eyes glinted. “Well? Do you accept my offer or are you going to abandon me unprotected to this man Lerenard?”

“
What’s the pay?”

“
Not a lot. But you’ll be able to put on your CV that you’ve worked close to one of the best known archaeologists in France.”

“
How can I refuse if you put it like that?”

They were both laughing as he started the car and began the journey back to Quillan.

- 15 -

Philip was in a quandary as they drove back to Quillan. The conversation between them was casual, even light-hearted. He admitted to himself that he was looking forward to the next few days in Jackie’s company. He wasn’t worried about being unpopular with Gaston and the other archaeologists who he knew would regard him as an outsider with no appropriate experience. That consideration was outweighed by the prospect of spending a lot of time with the beautiful and clever star.

Nevertheless he had the problem that he had been less than completely honest with her about his real reasons for coming to the Languedoc. The question was, should he take her into his confidence and tell her all about the journal of Phillipe de Saint Claire? Would that destroy his chances of carrying out the task set for him by his grandmother if it once got out about his purpose for being here? More importantly, would Jackie feel bound to pass the information on to her wealthy backers or to the authorities?

On the other hand, if he kept the whole story from her, would she be upset by his apparent decision to take advantage of her kindness in offering him a position in her team and using it to his own advantage? One thing he was sure about - sooner or later he would be found out and that would terminate the help he got from Jacqueline Blontard and probably wreck their private relationship at the same time.

He decided in the end that the sooner he took her into his confidence the better. He would have to ask her to keep the information to herself, at least for the present, and hope her reaction would be favourable. He reasoned that if it meant losing the Cathar treasure to the French government or some other organisation - well, he had always known that was a risk.

Therefore, as they approached the town of Limoux, he asked her, “Do you fancy stopping somewhere for a meal?”

She looked at him carefully before she smiled. “All right. Since you’re now in my employment, I’ll pay.”

“
No you won’t. My employment with you doesn’t start until Monday. My grandmother left me a substantial sum to finance my visit to le Bezu. So we’ll let her pay.”

“
I suppose I can’t argue with that.” But he was aware that she was watching him carefully.

They parked near the town centre and took a gentle stroll round the little town. Within half an hour they had found the perfect place for their meal - a hotel on the banks of the river with a covered balcony restaurant jutting out over the water. It was still quite early so they were the only couple sitting down to eat. However the chef seemed to decide that they were worth a special effort. He announced he would start up the kitchen for them and serve them himself.

They discussed and accepted his recommendations from the menu. It didn’t concern them that these were no doubt coloured by the ease with which he could prepare the food. Then he suggested the most suitable, and probably the most expensive, wine and left them to sample it with some cold canapes while he started to prepare their meal.

Philip and Jackie were seated opposite each other at a small table in the corner of the restaurant. Through the partly open window beside them they could hear the chuckle of the river below. The lowering sun lit up the spring-leafed trees on the other bank of the river and dappled the restaurant with a gentle warmth.

“
What a perfect setting,” enthused Jackie. “Thank you for suggesting this, Philip.”

“
Thank
you
for agreeing to come.”

His sense of justice wouldn’t allow him to take advantage of the situation until he had told her of his decision. He looked seriously into the beautiful eyes, just a couple of feet from his.

“
However I have to tell you that I have another reason for wanting to talk face to face with you.”

“
Oh dear. What’s that?” Suddenly her eyes were frosted with suspicion.

“
Well, as you surmised earlier, there
is
more to my presence in le Bezu than I have told you so far.”

“
Really? Does that mean you’re turning down my offer of employment?”

“
No. of course not. However, when you’ve heard what I have to tell you, you may decide that it wasn’t politic to offer me the job in the first place.” He forced himself to smile. “In that case, I shall understand if you decide you want to withdraw the offer.”

“
Goodness,” she exclaimed. “You make it sound as though you are in the pay of some foreign government.”

Philip shook his head. “It’s nothing like that, I promise you.”

“
Come on, then. Put me out of my misery.”

“
You say you want to know the real reason why I’m here.”

“
That’s right.”

“
Well, I’ve told you most of it. I said that it’s my grandmother who wanted me to come and find out about our ancestor. I feel guilty now that I didn’t spend more time with her when she was getting old. I just didn’t realise that she was so ill. Although she was over ninety, I sort of thought that she’d go on forever. I suppose I was too tied up with my own problems to think about her.”