The Templars' Last Days (14 page)

The movement of the Royal family from one palace to another was never a quick, easy or straightforward operation. King Philip seemed to be enjoying himself, for knowing that he now had in his hands the key to the entire Knight Templar wealth, he wanted to savour every second of his inevitable victory. William, on the other hand, forever the strategist and tactician, favoured a quick and decisive final blow to be delivered at the earliest possible opportunity. He consoled himself in the knowledge that he had done all that he could; now he had to contain his frustrations and carry out these final stages in such a way that would not raise any suspicions of the Knight Templars as to the King's true motives.

Finally after what seemed to William like two weeks, not the two days that had actually passed, the Royal entourage were almost ready to leave. The travel trunks of the King and Queen had been loaded onto several carriages and had set off some hours ahead of the Royal coach, for it would appear to King Philip as unsightly and undignified to have such things seen in his immediate presence.

The magnificent state coach was ornately decorated in gold, and required a team of four stout horses to pull it, each horse being pure white and wearing a dark blue caparison onto which was embroidered the King's coat of arms; they also had a large plume of white swan feathers attached to their headgear. From each side of the driver’s bench rose a long pole each bearing the royal standard.

Both the vanguard and the rearguard for the royal coach consisted of 12 outriders, each in the apparel of the royal household, each carrying a lance from which hung the royal banner. Behind them travelled William, in a slightly less ostentatious carriage and he was followed by two carriages carrying the King and Queen’s personal butlers, hand maids and scribes.

Finally, all was ready, everybody was on board; arrangements made regarding stops at midday and suitable overnight accommodation had been secured. In the late morning the journey to Poitiers and a new future got underway. William clung onto the despatch bag at his side which contained not only the confessions that would condemn the Knight Templars, but also the Pope's proclamation and the communiqués to the Monarchs of the Christian states. He had no intention of this bag leaving his side and for the duration of this trip he could only now sit quietly and be patient.

In Poitiers a despatch rider rode hard out of the city walls heading west.

There was a lot to do to ensure that the Holy relics were stored safely, which required my full attention and supervision, so it was not until this task had been successfully completed, before I could retire that night. For the journey and mental pressure I was under had made me feel physically tired and mentally exhausted. Sleep seemed to evade me that evening, my mind reliving every detail of the day’s events. I somehow felt that I had not really slept; however, I arose renewed and refreshed at daybreak. For no apparent or logical reason I always felt at my most comfortable when joining my brother priests in my chapel for morning prayers. Although it was nothing out of the ordinary, this chapel had always been where I seemed to find the most tranquility and felt closest to God. I knew that over the next few days and weeks, I would need His strength and guidance more than ever.

After morning prayers, my brother Monks returned to their various duties, whilst I made my way to my office to catch up on the work that would have accumulated during my absence of the last week. The sight I was met with pleased me greatly, for the top of my desk was lost under the weight of the number of the ledgers that had been returned to me as had been requested. I lost no time in taking out my master index of preceptories and, by marking off the names of returned ledgers, I was able to calculate exactly which preceptories were ready for the second phase of the plan, and exactly how much monies were ready to be transported.

It took me until the mid afternoon to arrive at the final count, and I made my way directly to see Giles and the Grand Master to convey the information. As I entered the office, I could tell from the look on their faces that they were anxious for news. Templar Knights are not good when it comes to matters that require patience or delay, much preferring action and the smell of battle; however, they both realised that this battle would be different and bloodless, and as such required them to learn new disciplines.

The Grand Master beckoned me to sit in the vacant chair, from where I shared the good news that all but three of our preceptories had now replied which meant we were well prepared to move to the next phase, and to move quickly when commanded to do so. It was agreed to send a despatch immediately to the three preceptories that were lagging behind.

Our Grand Master then handed to me a sealed scroll, which from the seal appeared to be from Admiral Thibaud. I broke the seal, and read aloud the important news that Jon had sailed, and that the Admiral had sent instructions to ensure that the whole fleet would be moored within the Templar network of ports by the end of September.

Admiral Thibaud had chosen to end his communication with the words, 'not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory', and signed it Beau-Seant, which brought a broad grin of approval from both the Grand Master and Giles. Clearly this said more to them than it did to me, but I felt that there was little advantage to me in asking its meaning for it was clearly a Knight Templar thing, and nothing to do with a mere priest.

So, finally, it would appear that all our preparations were now in place and there was nothing else we could do, but to now wait on the King to trigger the start of the next phase. Pleased with the progress we had made, and within the timetable it had been achieved, I invited the Grand Master and Giles to accompany me to the Chapel to give thanks and prayer to God for His continued guidance. We prayed together and individually in reflective silence, and I for one felt much more tranquil as we left the Chapel and headed back to Giles's office than I had on entering.

Through the gates of our preceptory galloped an unknown despatch rider who, as he got to the steps of the doors of the main Temple entrance, seemed to dismount, bound up the steps and into the Temple in one movement.

The heavy knock on the Master's office door transmitted a sense of urgency but neither the Grand Master, Giles nor myself were expecting any news at this hour. Who or what was it?

Chapter 10

William had always enjoyed staying in the town of Poitiers, and he stood looking out of his bedroom window, admiring the view of the free flowing and meandering river Claine, which over the centuries had carved its own path through the pastoral countryside on its journey south. Unusually, the September skies were today full of grey foreboding clouds which gave more than a threat of rain, marking the clear change in the seasons.

It had been a long hot summer, and as the year was slowly turning to welcome in autumn, no doubt the fields and crops would appreciate a much needed soaking. William turned back into his room and, as he dressed he mused on the significance of today’s meeting taking place here in this historic town, which over the centuries had been the host to many famous events and battles, but none more so than that which was going to happen on this day.

The royal party had arrived in the mid-afternoon of the previous day and even though the luggage had arrived well ahead of the royal entourage, it had taken most of what remained of the afternoon to unpack the many trunks containing all the comforts that the King and Queen might desire. The royal couple and William were met by Guy d'Euse, whom the Pope had sent to welcome them on his behalf and to convey his apology for him not being there himself, for he was feeling unwell and had taken to his bed.

Guy had arranged for light refreshments of fruit and wine to be served on the terrace of the royal chateau, by way of a distraction from the late running of the royal household and to wash away any dust that might be the source of any personal discomfort to either of the royal couple. His foresight was well met and appreciated by the travelling party, who used this welcome opportunity of stretching their legs in the late afternoon sunshine and to enjoy the refreshing light breeze that swept in from the river.

William was somewhat curious as to why Matthew had not joined them this afternoon, for he was after all the Pope’s legate, instead of this upstart Guy who was at best nothing but a prodigy of the Holy Father. Upon inquiring as to Matthew’s whereabouts with Guy, William's concern was greatly enhanced on hearing that the Pope had sent him to Avignon on Papal business. William knew nothing about this, and Matthew's lack of communications and now this absence did not sit well with him.

The royal party ate a late, but hearty, supper. The King had been in a particularly happy mood throughout the whole journey and was determined to enjoy himself again tonight. After the supper, he and the Queen were entertained by the troop of troubadours who, having heard that the Royal couple were on their way to Poitiers, had made a beeline for the town and the rich payday that performing for the King and Queen always brought. The King and William drank late into the night, secure in the victory which the morrow would bring to them.

A loud and repeated knock on his bedroom door brought William back from his thoughts of yesterday, and he enquired as to the reason for this disturbance. It would appear that the King was nearly ready to receive him and had demanded William’s presence. By now he had finished dressing, and after making one final check that he had in the despatch bag all the relevant documents for today, made his way down to the main hall to join the King.

The King's quarters were on the opposite side of the chateau which took William several minutes to traverse. As he walked, he was unaware of the opulence that was all around him. For his head was slightly bowed, his steps short and deliberate, moving across the chateau looking neither to his left nor his right. His eyes were firmly fixed downwards, whilst his concentration was focused on going over every nuance of the plan, and just as the many times he had already pondered, queried, examined and looked from every possible situation, he could find neither a weakness nor a fault. Finally, he reassured himself that his planning was perfect and flawless. As he reached this conclusion, a smile returned, his gaze was now firmly in front of him, and his step seemed to have a bounce in it once more.

Pope Clement V had been deep in prayer in the Baptistère Saint-Jean since well before dawn. The Pontiff still bore this burden of decision heavily on both his shoulders and conscience, for even though he knew that his actions would secure the future of the Catholic Church, he was also aware that in saving his Church it meant the certain end of his beloved Holy Order of Knight Templars. For even at this late hour he continued in his search to find another solution to this dilemma, but as so many times before without any success.

So this morning it was with a very heavy heart that he bade Guy to open the door to his private rooms and to admit King Philip and William in for this meeting that the Pope could no longer put off. The King swept past Guy into the Pope’s opulent quarters without any acknowledgement of his presence, followed some steps behind by a more respectful William who gave Guy a polite nod of his head as he entered the room.

The King, dressed in all his finery of blue silk, greeted the Pontiff by kneeling and kissing his ring of office, then without waiting for any invitation sat down. The Holy Father waited patiently for William to make his greetings, and signalling to Guy to close the doors, he then took his seat in the chair next to the King. This was the cue for both William and Guy to now sit.

There was no attempt made on behalf of the King to follow the normal protocol of exchanging pleasantries; instead he urged William to get straight to the heart of the meeting. William stood as he related, in the most graphic of manner, the confessions of the two ex-Knight Templars, the contents of which described the most abhorrent and heretic behaviour that they alleged to be endemic and widely practised amongst all within the Holy Order of the Knight Templars.

The Pope immediately refused to believe both the nature and seriousness of the accusations of heresy made against the Holy Order of the Knight Templars as related by William. He went on to defend the righteousness of the Order in general and the Grand Master in particular. He reminded both the King and William of the sacrifices that this noble Order had made in the name of Christ over many centuries, and that he had no intention of believing the hearsay and gossip of two prisoners who may well hold a personal grudge against the Knight Templars.

The Holy Father continued his defence of the Order by enquiring of William as to what type of torture he had brought to bear on these two poor souls for them to commit such perjury – or what reward they had been offered in exchange for such lies.

The King was clearly furious with the Pope’s response; however, he remained seated and beckoned William to drive the point home further.

William agreed with the Pope about disregarding gossip and hearsay; however, one could not ignore an oath sworn on the Holy Bible which gave testimony to such heresy. Knowing full well that the Pope would have no option but to concede on that point, he reached into his despatch bag, producing the two sworn testimonies upon which the whole claim of the King stood.

After reading the confessions, the Pope passed them on to Guy for him to digest also. It appeared that in light of these sworn statements that the call of heresy could not be ignored and action needed to be taken, either to clear the reputation of the Knight Templars of these charges of heresy, or condemn them if proven.

On hearing this from the Pope, the King jumped to his feet, and demanded that the Pope issue a proclamation here and now, disbanding the Knight Templars and immediately passing all of their lands, estates and wealth to the King, whilst at the same time waving his right arm frantically at William to pass over the proclamation that he had prepared for the Pope to sign in order to enact such a move.