Michael Jecks - The Templar, the Queen and Her Lover

Arnaud had been in a second chamber at the rear of the inn, and now he was walking out. He crossed the room with scarcely a glance to right or left, viewing all the butchers there with contempt, as though their work was but a pale reflection of his own, but Jean also saw that one or two of the men, perhaps those less drunk than the others, crossed themselves and withdrew from him as he passed them.

No one liked the executioner.

Baldwin felt as though the earth had trembled and fallen from its mount. His legs were suddenly weak, his heart pounding as though he had run a great race, and he felt physically sick. It was one thing to be an escaped Templar at home, back in England, where no one truly cared about such matters any more, but something quite different to be accused of such an offence here, in France — in Paris — where the foul lies had first been invented and bruited abroad, used to destroy that holy, honourable and godly Order of men. It was obscene that the Order had been condemned on the basis of malicious lies. And now suddenly he felt his vulnerability. Because they had been invented here, by the French king. This was the heartland of his enemies.

‘I am sorry, Sir Baldwin. It will be no consolation, I know, but the man responsible was, I am sure, Despenser. It shows you whom you can and cannot trust, I fear. He sees you as a useful means of ruining the Queen. Whether he knows or thinks you may once have been a Templar doesn’t matter to him so much as the benefit that can accrue to him by damaging you.’

‘I see,’ Baldwin said. He was almost lightheaded in the face of this shock, although it should not have been a surprise. The Despenser was an especially ruthless and cruel foe, and he viewed all as his enemies unless he had a specific use for them. ‘I am grateful to you for your warning. I cannot imagine why he should think to accuse me, but I can understand that it could benefit him to harm the Queen. Do you know who has been told of this allegation about me? Is it held within the English court?’

‘No, I don’t think so. So far as I am aware, no one in England has been told. No, the rumour has been spread over here. King Charles knows it, my friend.’

Baldwin shoved his sword into its sheath and wiped a hand over his brow. This was worse than he could have imagined. He could be arrested for this, no matter that he had a safe conduct. Even with a letter giving him diplomatic status, the Church could arrest him. There was no safety from an inquisition based upon the concept of heresy. A Templar who had not submitted to the Church’s authority was to be arrested no matter where he was found.

If the French king was aware of Baldwin’s past, he was doomed.

Janin was in their room and practising a new tune when the two men found him, and he looked up with a faintly suspicious lifting of his eyebrows.

Philip said nothing, but went to stand leaning against the wall by the door. It was left to Adam to speak, and he looked at Philip as though searching for some support before beginning.

‘Janin, it’s that man Jack. I think we have to be rid of him. If he’s the man with the peacock, we know he’s been involved with the man who killed the glover and his wife in London, and he probably had poor Peter killed too, just so he could join us. And why? So he can spy on the Queen, is what we have heard, but what if he’s here for something else? Eh? He might be looking to do something much worse. Perhaps hurt her? Kill her, even? What could we do if he was to hurt her, and we got the blame?’

‘It’d save us having to keep looking for new rooms to play in,’ Janin said lightly.

‘Be serious, Janin! How can we keep on with him here? At the least we ought to tell someone, so that if he is a bad ’un, at least we’re covered.’

Janin laughed at that. ‘How long ago did he join us, Adam? Back in England, wasn’t it? And we’ve been quiet all this time, just waiting to see whether he’s going to do something to hurt her, is that what you want us to say? That we’ve been hanging around all this time, but now we can see he’s done nothing so far we want him taken away. Why, because we’re disappointed to see he’s done nothing? Or should we say that it’s because we didn’t think he was so much of a risk before, but now we’ve learned he is the man we are supposed to report to while spying on the Queen we aren’t so happy about him? How well do you think it’d go down, the Queen hearing that we were intending to spy on her?’

‘We don’t have to tell anybody anything,’ Philip said.

Janin glanced over at him. ‘Philip, what are you on about?’

‘We could just slide a knife into him and drop his body into the Seine. It’s been done before.’

‘Well not bloody by me, it hasn’t!’ Janin spat with a wince. ‘Christ’s nuts, do you think it’s that easy to kill a man? And we’re in France. You know the different ways they have of executing people for murder over here? You can be broken on a wheel, burned alive, hanged on the King’s gibbet … you want me to carry on?’

‘Are you with us or not?’Adam demanded. ‘We can’t carry on like this, Janin. He’s a dangerous man, and he’s threatening all of us. We have to get rid of him.’

‘You do it if you want to, but I’ll have no part in it,’ Janin said coldly. ‘You put your own heads into a noose by all means, but don’t expect me to as well. You do it on your own. And I am not sure I won’t warn Jack that you’ll try it. Murder! Since when did murder solve anything?’

He picked up his instrument and strode to the door, but as he reached it, Philip put a hand out and held it closed.

‘Don’t go talking to anyone else about this, Janin.’

‘What, are you threatening me now, Philip? After all we’ve done as a team, now you threaten me in case I do something to help another man? Is that it?’

‘If we do decide to kill him, I don’t want to have to kill you as well. That’s all. If you go talking about this to anyone, we’ll have to see to you as well, won’t we? Neither of us wants that. So just keep quiet.’

‘Leave the door alone, Philip. Let me out. You, friend, can go mad in your own way, but don’t presume to take me with you,’ Janin said quickly, opening the door.

Philip smiled, but as Janin stepped forward to leave the room he felt the prick of a knife’s point at his groin. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I’m serious, Janin. Keep it quiet — all right?’

Janin met his gaze resolutely, and then stepped around Philip’s hand and left.

Baldwin was walking like a man who had been struck about the head, and Simon kept an anxious eye on him as they made theirway back towards the castle.

‘Are you sure you’re all right, Baldwin? You don’t look it.’

‘I am fine.’ Baldwin sighed. ‘Dear God, how could I have been so foolish as to think that the Despenser wouldn’t take advantageof my position here? I must have been lunatic.’

‘How could you tell he would spread word of this sort?’

‘Because I should have realised what sort of man he is! He saw my sword when we were in London. Remember?’

Simon did. Earlier in the year, when they had been to London with Bishop Stapledon of Exeter, they had been invited to a mealwith the Despenser, and he had seen Baldwin’s sword. On one side, Baldwin had caused a Templar cross to be cut into the blade.It proved nothing, of course. A cross was a cross, and there were only a few tiny indications that showed a cross was Templarand not any other, but that little symbol was enough to damn Baldwin. If his sword was seen by the French king, Baldwin waslost.

‘Perhaps Mortimer overplayed the story? It’s possible that Despenser doesn’t intend to blacken your name.’