The de Montfort Histories - The Dove and the Devil (23 page)

Pons was astounded. Feeling under the collar of his jerkin, he pulled
out the small wooden carving of the dove that Maurina had insisted he take
along with him on his journey. “Only this, my Lord. My sister’s real father
carved it for her when she was a baby. She insisted I bring it with me; she
said it would remind me of home.” Pons was dismayed to feel tears stinging
behind his eyelids as he recalled the words of his little sister. He hastily
brushed them aside, hoping they had escaped Raymond’s notice.

“Your affection for your family does you credit, my son. Never fear to
shed tears for those you love and who love you. Many tears have already been
spent in this affair and there will be many more before the year is over. Now,
to business!”
 
The Count’s tone
changed so rapidly it took Pons by surprise. “You must be wondering why you are
here.” Pons nodded his head.

“You have been recommended to us by Bertrand Arsen and Arnaud,” the
Count continued. “Arnaud has known you a great many years and has had the
opportunity to watch you grow and develop into a thoughtful young man who has
principles and ideals and holds fast to them. He was impressed by the manner in
which you presented your case to your parents for joining us here in Toulouse.”
Pons was surprised and curious how Arnaud had come by this information.

“As a matter of fact, Arnaud had a long conversation with your parents
and your little sister Maurina. She is your biggest advocate and clearly adores
you. Your meeting with Arnaud and Bertrand in Lavaur was not altogether
accidental, but before we could enlighten you as to our plans, we needed to see
how you would react once the idea of coming to Toulouse was broached.”

It was then that Pons realised the idea of coming to serve the Count had
not been wholly his. He smiled to himself. How easily he had been manipulated.
He had fallen for the plan hook, line and sinker! “Were my parents involved in
this?”

“I am afraid they were, my son, and it does them immense credit that
they were able to let you come to us, especially knowing what we had in mind
for you to do.”

“With respect, my Lord, isn’t it about time I was told why I am here?
Everyone who matters to me seems to know, but I am still in the dark.”

“You are right,” replied the Count. “I await the arrival of my oldest
son so that we can make our plans together. You and he will have an important
role to play in the foreseeable future.” He broke off as the sound of heavy
running feet reverberated up the stone steps of the tower.

“Excuse my lateness Papa. There was urgent business in the town that
couldn’t wait.”

“We will talk of that later. My son, this is Pons, about whom I have
already spoken to you. It was he you met in the courtyard the other day, the
one I told you to watch out for. He brought with him the letter from Lavaur
that I was waiting for. The news is becoming dire and we must form our plans
now while it is relatively peaceful.” He gestured for the two young men to seat
themselves at the table.
 

“I am going to disclose facts which you may never discuss outside of
this room. You know that I have had to do penance for the death of the Pope’s
Legate in order to lift the interdiction the Holy Father had laid upon
Toulouse. For myself, my excommunication meant nothing, but I did not wish to see
the many Catholic souls in my domain suffer. Therefore, I did what was required
of me. You also know that I have publicly joined the Crusaders so that no one
in my lands can be attacked. This is not a treacherous act that will hurt my
Cathar subjects, for I will never raise a hand to hurt any one of them. I have
sought to protect as many as I can in my county—Catholics, Jews, Moslems
and Cathar alike. Your own mother, Alain, was a Cathar believer and I have many
in my service. Holy Mother Church now believes I am a repentant son, and I will
remain so as long as that devil de Montfort stays away from my domains.”

In spite of the many questions that sprang to their minds, both youths
had remained silent while Raymond spoke.

“Why are you both here?” Raymond continued. “I see you are still waiting
for me to tell you. The simple answer is that you are to be spies; you, my son,
will be mounted and armed while you, Pons, will go about the countryside,
dressed as you are in the garb of an ordinary working man. Your job will be to
gather intelligence about de Montfort’s plans, his ordinance, his strength,
where he will strike next. You, Alain, will report back to me as speedily as
possible while Pons will report to the
perfecti
at Fanjeaux and then to the Lady Esclarmonde at Pamiers. You will be given
messages to carry from the
perfecti
to Esclarmonde and you will carry back her reply should there be one.

“Nothing must be committed to parchment unless absolutely necessary, and
no names must ever be divulged. Your mark of credibility for the message you
carry will be the dove you wear about your neck. When the people you seek see
the dove, you will gain their trust immediately. If the response you receive
shows no recognition of the symbol, make yourself scarce as soon as possible
without arousing suspicion.
 
Guard
the dove well, my boy. It could mean the difference between life and death,
and, if misused, might cause innocents to suffer.”

The two young men stared at each other. “Are we to travel together,
Papa?’

“No. You will each go your separate ways. You, Alain, must insinuate
yourself into groups of soldiers and even
routiers
.
That would be no place for Pons; he must go amongst priests and clerics and
some of the richer townsfolk who may have information that he can glean.” He
touched Pons’ head. “It may become necessary to pretend to be something you are
not. I am sure your God will forgive a little subterfuge if by chance you
should need to enter a church or a Cathedral.”

Pons looked at him, wide-eyed. “What would my parents say? What about
the
perfecti
? What about Arnaud and
Bertrand Arsen? What will they say?”

“Peace, peace!” The Count hushed him. “You may take my word that all is
arranged and permission has been given. You have been especially chosen, my
boy. And make no mistake—your task, should it succeed, will save many of
your brethren’s lives, and yours.” He turned to his son. “Many seigneurs
defending their fortresses will be depending on the intelligence you manage to
collect, too.”

The two young men gazed at each other, each preoccupied with his own
thoughts. Finally, Pons broke the silence. “When shall we go? Where shall we
go?”

“You will not report to me directly. You will be contacted soon. In the
meantime, you will remain here in the chateau doing what you have been
accustomed to doing. But on no account mention this meeting. If you are asked
why you were called to my quarters, you may say I was asking after Bertrand
Arsen and Arnaud. Everyone here knows in what esteem I hold them. As for you,
my son, you will mount up and ride from here. I will not expect your return
until you have important news to impart. Do not trust anyone, even those you
think you can trust.” He pulled his son towards him and gave him a hug. “Go
now, and may God go with you.”

Turning to Pons, he said. “Remain here for the time being so that prying
eyes don’t see the two of you leaving together.”

The room seemed eerily empty after Alain had left. Although he was not
by any means a big man, his physical presence and the energy he exuded had
filled the room. By contrast, his father had seemed to shrink. He had learned
several harsh lessons in the past months, one of which was to not court danger
but rather fight fire with fire, the fire in this case being the political
machinations that the Church had used against him.

“Your first task will be to go to Fanjeaux where Bertrand Arsen will
undoubtedly have some information for Esclarmonde. You’ll take this information
to her in Pamiers where she is staying with her brother, de Foix. She is in
residence there most of the time, especially now, so near to Christ’s mass. You
will also carry a letter from me to deliver to the
perfecti
. It is better if you know nothing of its contents. As soon
as it is delivered, you may bring me back a response.”

“How will I gain entry into the chateau in Pamiers? Why should they
allow me in? “

“Never fear. All these details have already been arranged. Be sure to
guard your little dove well, for as I have said, it is the signal that will
ease your passage wherever you go!”

Pons was still not satisfied. “But what shall I say to the others? My
friends who have joined you know that I am here.”

“Do not concern yourself with that. I shall have it rumoured that you
were discontent and wished some time to think on your decision to come here.
Now, go and prepare yourself. Get food and water and a good pair of boots. And
take warm clothes; you will need them!”

Both young men left the chateau the following week, one amidst great
fanfare with trumpets and ceremony, the other slipping out quietly just before
the gates were closed for the night. Alain de Toulouse was ostensibly offering
his services, and that of some of his father’s men, to de Montfort in an effort
to seal the lifting of his father’s excommunication from the church. His would
be a dangerous game of treachery that he would be lucky to survive.

Before leaving, he had had a final meeting alone with his father, for
disturbing rumours about a mysterious piece of linen with supposed miraculous
powers had begun to circulate in the area. The Count was inclined to dismiss
the rumours out of hand, but nevertheless cautioned his son to keep his eyes
and ears open in case there should be some truth in what he had heard from
other spies.

As it grew dark, with almost furtive stealth, Pons let himself outside
the gates of the city, where he turned south. There were few people about at
that hour and he found himself wishing he could retrace the footsteps that had
brought him to Toulouse such a short time ago. He missed his family more than
he had ever thought possible. Tucked inside his sleeve, he carried the letter
he would deliver to Bertrand Arsen. In his imagination it burnt his arm like a
fiery brand, but he dare not remove it for fear of discovery.

What occurred on the second day of his journey he would not soon forget.
He had planned to walk along with ordinary people going about their day-to-day
business and perhaps melt into the company of wandering clerics, but this was
not to be. He had been warned by Toulouse that he might encounter soldiers en
route, but never in all his life had he imagined so many! The noise of their
baggage trains and the immensity of the siege equipment only served to terrify
the young man, who was ever conscious of the letter he carried with him. Surely
it must have been obvious to anyone who cared to look that he was doing
something clandestine!

His terror was complete when he discovered that the army was also bound
for Fanjeaux. However, he need not have worried. The soldiers were too busy
moving their equipment and seeing to their armour to bother with what seemed
like simply a solitary traveller. He was able to strike up conversations with
some of the younger soldiers, who told him that their Commander was at the
front of the immense cavalcade. When he was given this piece of information,
Pons could hardly conceal a shudder. He had heard the tales of de Montfort’s
forays into the countryside and had no wish to encounter the man who was
clearly the living embodiment of evil.

The soldiers told him they had come from Preixan where de Montfort had
set out to fight Esclarmonde’s brother, the Count of Foix, a man Pons knew well
if only by reputation. About the countryside Foix was known as the “Red Count”
because of the colour of his hair. He was a man of the mountains, a violent man
who took his earthly pleasures very seriously. His prodigious appetite for
women and food was well known throughout Occitania. Although he was a professed
Catholic, his whole of the rest of his family was heretic. His sister Esclarmonde
was a
perfecta
and his wife was the
director of a house of
Bonnes Dames
,
as
perfectae
were otherwise known.
Both women devoted their lives to doing good and charitable work.

Foix had taken it upon himself to kill the Abbot of St. Antonin, who had
unwisely decided to hound the count’s elderly aunt out of Pamiers. In
retribution for the foolish abbot’s behaviour, the hot-headed Foix had not only
murdered the unfortunate abbot and displayed his body sacrilegiously on the
altar of his church but also pillaged all the monasteries on his own estates.
Simon had arrived to quell the uprising and, fortunately for Foix, was willing
to accept the Red Count’s reaffirmation of his Catholicism and his so-called
‘desire for peace’. Foix had decided that discretion was the better part of
valour and had taken to heart Raymond-Roger’s early demise the previous month.
He had no desire to leave the world in a similar fashion.

Hardly had this affair been settled when another vexatious matter arose
to trouble de Montfort. Affronted by the murder of his uncle and dissatisfied
with de Montfort’s response to it, Giraud of Pepieux, who had originally joined
the cause of the Crusaders, took it upon himself to deal with the matter.
Enflamed with rage, he revolted against Simon and joined the cause of the
Occitanians. Making a surprise attack on the chateau of Puisserguier—one
that Simon had previously taken and left garrisoned by only two knights and a
small company of men—Giraud swiftly overcame the chateau and took the two
noblemen prisoner.