The Templars' Last Days (6 page)

Two butlers supporting a large silver tray each, on which were an array of goblets, faced each other as if to form an invisible doorway to the table. William was most impressed when both the King and Foulques took a goblet off a tray without hesitation or a break in their stride, for he had to stop and make a decision as to which drink he preferred.

They were to be joined for lunch by the Queen and some of her maids-in-waiting, and protocol demanded that the King, Foulques and William remained standing until the Queen and her entourage joined them. William was thankful that the Queen was fashionably late, as he was enjoying the opportunity to stand and stretch his legs. Anyway, on a day as important as this was, every moment was to be savoured and enjoyed.

It was not too long before the Queen's party joined them at the table. Philip had deliberately seated the Queen between himself and Foulques, whilst William was to be seated at the far end of the table.

William was pleased to notice that most of the table and chairs had been set out in such a way as to benefit from the shadow of a large tree which stood by the bank of the lake, for the sun was only just past its maximum height of ascent in the sky and it was approaching the hottest part of the day.

He, for one, welcomed the natural shade offered by the tree, and the light breeze off the lake provided him with some much welcome relief from the heat; however, the rest of the party seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the day. The food and refreshments were served to the table by a large number of waiters, who had the appearance of a small army of ants carrying large silver trays from the kitchen and across the lush green lawn. Their numbers seemingly endless as they conveyed the trays to the serving tables, placed them down, turned and returned to the kitchen in an equally straight line as they had approached.

The food was then brought from these serving tables to the main dining table and was served by the King’s butlers, who also ensured that the goblets of wine were kept full.

It was the sound of casual conversation and polite laughter that broke the tranquil silence of the day, and which itself fought to be heard over the music that was coming from the court musicians who were positioned far enough from those dining as not to have the sound of their music overwhelm the conversation, yet close enough to be heard without straining the ear.

Even William began to enjoy the relaxed ambience of the meal as the genius of the King’s plan began to unfold in his mind. It was clear that the results of his mission with the Pope had been anticipated by Philip, who had taken the initiative and was now once more on the offensive to achieve his ambition.

Crusade, what Crusade! Philip had only one motive on his mind: to secure the Knight Templar wealth; and Foulques was about to become his co-conspirator, though as yet he did not know it.

I awoke early next morning and, accompanied by Guy and Matthew, we joined our Holy Father in the Chapel for morning prayers. Our Holy Father's white robe of office was in sharp contrast to the brown habits worn by the rest of the Monks which made up the congregation, for the Monks of the preceptory had taken this unique opportunity of joining his Holiness on this his first visit to this particular Templar enclave.

Protocol dictated that our Holy Father led the morning service and when prayers were finished that he would also lead the procession from the Chapel. Guy and Matthew were next in order of seniority, followed by myself and then the other monks. As we paraded slowly out of the Chapel, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a warm sense of calm and for the first time in many months a feeling of sureness of purpose swept over me; today was going to be a good day, for which I gave one last thanks to God and followed the Holy Father down the aisle and out of the Chapel.

Day was just breaking as prayers ended, and the preceptory Monks would, as always, now tend to their allotments and chores before eating. This meant that there would be about three hours before breakfast, time which I could not afford to waste. So, I made my apology to Guy and Matthew for having to take leave of them; however, I also knew that their time would be spent just as constructively in seeing to the needs of our Papal Father.

I was feeling extremely refreshed and good within myself this morning, and I strode down the corridor which led to the Avignon Master’s quarters, in high spirits, although before I reached his door I managed to remind myself of the evil of pride and to bring my emotions back into line. I knocked on the door and awaited my admittance.

Frederick opened the door with his usual warm smile, which was most welcome and I moved into the room. It reminded me somewhat of my Master’s room back in Paris, although everything seemed a little smaller. The wall above the large fireplace rightly bore the coat of arms of the preceptory Master, Walter du Menils. The desk seemed to be far smaller, though in here it was positioned beneath the two large windows, which were just beginning to let in the first rays of the day’s light to illuminate the room. Three chairs had been placed into the centre of the room, awaiting the arrival of their occupants. Jon was already there, and not long after I had arrived, we were joined by our Master, Giles de Villiers.

Giles had been delayed for he had needed to collect a sealed scroll that had arrived from Paris last night by a special courier and had been kept by Walter du Menils in his bedchamber for security. Like the vast majority of the Templar Knights, our Grand Master and the Masters of both the preceptories were illiterate. They considered their role to be that of fighters not bookkeepers, a profession which they considered to be well below their status and standing in life.

The role of bookkeeping, finance, organisation, the interpretation of Papal law, indeed anything and everything that was not concerned with war, was left to us within the clergy of the Holy Order. This arrangement had worked extremely well over the last two hundred years, as it meant neither party interfered with the other’s functions. Likewise, each party was dependent upon the other for survival, thus creating a symbiotic relationship of mutual trust and dependency that has made the Holy Order of the Knight Templars such a successful and powerful force both at times of war and in peace.

Upon entering the room Giles handed the scroll over to me, and we all settled into our chairs to hear what our Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, had written. Frederick took his leave so that the meeting could start. As usual I checked the seal to ensure its origin, for each Master had his own seal bearing the mark of the Knight Templar and his name. The seal looked genuine, and I proceeded to break it and open the scroll.

Every seal of the Knight Templar was a horse mounted by two knights. To the warrior knights this represented, and reminded them of, their pledge to poverty and to help others. However, to myself and the other Templar Priests, it reinforced the truth that behind the public face of the Templar knights, it was in fact our Order of Templar Priests in whom the real power was held. For it was those who sat behind the Knight who controlled and directed all that went on in the known world.

The atmosphere in the room had noticeably changed, for we each knew that the fate of each of us, and indeed that of the whole Knight Templar organisation, could well lie in the contents of this scroll. I rolled open the scroll and without reading its contents gave out an involuntary gasp. Giles and Jon sat forward. For I had instantly recognised the scroll as the one I had written before leaving Paris and had left with the Grand Master. It contained but three words, which I quietly and unconsciously repeated aloud, "he has gone".

“He has gone? He has gone?” repeated Giles and Jon. “Who has gone where? What does it mean?”

It took a few moments for me to recover my thoughts and begin to explain to them what this message meant and its implications for each of us.

Giles and Jon sat in silence whilst the news was being inwardly digested by them
.

The noise of the bell for breakfast began to echo through the building, and turned from a faint hint to what seemed a deafening tone as my ears became more aware of its call. It was time to leave our thoughts in the room, and join our fellow Templars and important guests in the dining hall. Although it was not said, we each recognised the need to act as normal as possible whilst in the company of others. Giles was the first to stand and was still clearly trying to understand the implications of what he had just heard whilst he made his way to the door. Jon and I followed just behind, and we all headed towards the increasing noise of conversation that was coming from the dining hall.

As we arrived in the dining room it was clear that we were nearly the last to arrive. At the head of the table our Holy Father was stood chatting to Walter and his head priest; Guy and Matthew appeared to be engrossed in listening to one of the many Templar tales being recounted by a Knight near the windows. Giles and I made our way to join the Pope, whilst Jon acknowledged the presence of an old companion in arms with a warm smile and an embrace. The dining room now quickly filled, and when all were present, the Pope delivered the Lord’s prayer and we all sat to eat.

The room seemed to be filled with happiness this morning, with what seemed to me more conversation than was usually experienced in a preceptory; anyway, breakfast was soon finished, the Pope returned thanks for our food this morning and the room emptied as quickly as it had filled with both the Knights and the Monks of the preceptory heading silently off to complete their daily chores.

Only Walter and his important visitors were now remaining in the dining room, and he gestured for us to follow him to the common room which he had prepared for our meeting. After much deliberation, Walter had felt that this room should prove ideal for our needs, being located at the end of a small corridor on the second floor. Walter had arranged for the whole floor to be sealed off and had posted two Knights at the door that led into the adjacent corridor.

As we climbed the narrow staircase I think everybody shared my feeling of trepidation at what was about to be discussed and the ramifications of the decision that we would have to make today. The Pope and Giles followed behind Walter, who was acting as our guide; they were followed by Matthew and Jon, with Guy and myself bringing up the rear of the group. We nervously exchanged looks at each other. The silence of the party was deafening, and becoming more intense with each step towards our final destination. Thankfully we quickly reached the two Templar Knights who were already on guard at their post.

Once past the guards and in the corridor, the Templar Knights closed the door behind us, whilst Walter had moved ahead to open the door leading into the Common room. As the party entered, I was able to take in the surroundings in which this moment in history would be struck. The room was quite large and well lit from the large windows to two of its walls. A large round table had been brought in for our convenience, around which were six chairs. Ensuring all was in order, Walter gave a polite bow before he made his exit and closed the door behind him. We all waited for what seemed to be forever, before we heard the second door shut, which meant we were now completely isolated, safe from any unwelcome ears and which acted as a cue for us all to sit.

The next few hours would change everybody’s lives; nothing would ever be the same again.

For William, lunch seemed to go on for a long time. The King and Queen were an engaging couple, well-versed in the protocol of entertaining conversation. The Queen especially was very charming, and it was quite obvious that several of her hand maids had caught the eye of the dashing young Foulques du Villaret and he seemed very much at ease in their company. The King observed with a certain satisfaction that with the day going so well there was no need to rush the ambience of the lunch, whilst William was more and more intrigued to see the King’s next move.

Eventually, the King announced that he would like to continue their conversations whilst riding in the extensive grounds, f
or he felt it was too nice a day to go back into the confines of the dusty library. So he invited Foulques and William to accompany him, who naturally and readily agreed. The King sent off one of the butlers to arrange for three horses to be brought from the stables; he darted off as fast as court protocol would allow him. The Queen and her maids in waiting were in no real rush to make their leave, for they too had enjoyed the lunch, the conversation and the company; however, the arrival of the horses meant they could not delay any longer.

A magnificent white stallion, all of 18 hands high, carried the King and bore the colours of the royal household. Foulques had a large black horse which befitted his stature and status as head of a Holy Order, whilst the stable had sent William’s favourite grey mare which he regularly used for hunting.

The King led the trio off into the woods, with Foulques on his left shoulder and William, as always, remained a polite distance behind. This part of the woods was lightly populated with trees, which allowed the sun to penetrate their canopy, sending sharp rays of sunlight dancing on the forest floor. Philip followed a well trodden path that he used at the start of all his hunting days. The irony of such a choice by the King was not lost on William. Once the King felt he was deep enough in his forest so as not to be overheard other than by those in his company, Philip recommenced his baiting of Foulques as if the interlude of lunch had never happened. The silence of the ride so far was now broken when he asked Foulques if he was aware of the fact that the Grand Master of the Knight Templars, Jacques de Molay, had finally agreed to allow him to become the head of not only the next Crusade but also of the Knight Templars?

William was stunned into confused silence by this comment, for he was under the impression that the Knight Templar Grand Master would rather suffer death than hand his beloved Order of Knight Templars over to the King! William quickly closed the gap between him and the King just to make sure he had not misheard what had just been said.