Part 33 (1/2)
Arnault nodded his head and smiled again. ”My thought, precisely. Tomorrow is plenty of time.
Meanwhile, the Stone itself will serve as some protection to us-and in any case, I expect that we've exhausted Comyn's resources, for the time being.”
”So one would hope,” Gaspar said, joining them. ”You're sure Dunkeld Cathedral will be a safe resting place?”
”As safe as any, at least until Bruce is in a position to lay claim to its powers,” Arnault replied. ”Abbot Henry has already made the arrangements. Bishop Crambeth is a friend and supporter of Bruce, as well as a patriot and a devotee of Saint Columba. Dunkeld is also reasonably convenient to Scone. That will be important, when the time comes.”
”How soon might that be?” Gaspar asked.
Arnault frowned slightly. ”That depends on how much time it takes Bruce to prepare the ground. Before being crowned on the Stone, he must first prove his worthiness by claiming back at least some of the castles and fortresses now under Edward's command. For such a campaign to succeed, he must gather allies and forces, and be ready to strike when the opportunity arises.”
”And if Comyn attempts to seize the Stone in the meantime?” Torquil asked.
”The Stone exists in both a physical sense and in its essence, which bridges the world of the Seen and Unseen-which is why it is intended as the cornerstone of the Fifth Temple,” Arnault said. ”Now that it is reempowered, its own virtues will keep it hidden from the kinds of sorcerous searching Comyn might employ-so he would have to try to find it in a physical sense. Scotland is a big place. And I somehow suspect that, in the next months, Edward of England will be demanding a great deal of his va.s.sals in Scotland, as he begins consolidating the kingdom he thinks he has won. That will affect Bruce, as well; but he has us working for him. Comyn will have to s.h.i.+ft for himself.”
Gaspar glowered, folding his arms across his chest. ”It would save a great deal of worry if we could do something about Comyn now, while his powers are in disarray.”
Arnault shook his head. ”Not yet, I think. However heinous Comyn's crimes may be, on a spiritual level, we dare not bring any of that into the open. He is still head of one of the most powerful families in Scotland, whose support any King of Scots will need, and we are still the Temple. We cannot be seen to take sides.
”I now know precisely where the seat of his power lies- the most dangerous part of his power-and eventually, we will need to deal with that. But now that we have the means to properly enthrone a true King of Scots, Robert Bruce must become the focus of our efforts. And it is Bruce who must determine how best to deal with the very real political power that Comyn wields.”
Chapter Thirty-four.
IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED, THE STONE OF DESTINY WAS secretly and safely moved to a new hiding place in a crypt chapel beneath Dunkeld Cathedral. Bishop Matthew Crambeth, a staunch patriot and a contemporary of Abbot Henry, willingly took charge of the Stone on behalf of the kingdom, and allowed Brother Ninian to become a temporary part of his household, to maintain a fitting watch on the treasure he guarded.
While Arnault was busy arranging for the safe disposition of the Stone, Torquil rode south to Annandale to carry word of these events to Robert Bruce. Luc and Flannan returned to Balantrodoch, Abbot Fingon returned to Iona, and Gaspar and the others of le Cercle took the Breastplate back to Paris, where threats to the entire Templar Order were achieving ever sharper focus.
By early September, Arnault had rejoined Torquil with Bruce in Annandale. The next six months were marked by feverish if clandestine activity as Bruce and a growing coterie of intimates set about laying the groundwork for a new rebellion against Edward of England. Returned to Bruce's side, Arnault and Torquil functioned as unofficial aides-de-camp and military advisors, again working in civilian attire, carrying confidential dispatches back and forth between Bruce and key members of the Scottish n.o.bility.
Then in February of the following year, with plans still in a state of flux, Bruce surprised his Templar allies by declaring an intention to meet face-to-face with the Lord of Badenoch, in an attempt to win John Comyn over to their common aspiration against England.
”I mean to treat with him in Dumfries,” Bruce told Arnault, before sending him and Torquil to make arrangements. ”Neither of us, without the other's support, can take and hold the crown. He and I must find out where we stand. Go and do what must be done.”
He had chosen Dumfries because it lay only a short distance to the east of the adjoining territories of Carrick and Galloway, held respectively by the Bruces and the Comyns. As such, the town was a natural meeting place for the heads of the two rival families.
Even so, Arnault remained uneasy as he prowled the grounds of the Franciscan church, which occupied a prominent position in the town's southern quarter. It was the tenth of February 1306. He had serious reservations about the wisdom of a direct confrontation with Comyn, for he had yet to convince Bruce of the extent of the danger involved-or to reveal the full circ.u.mstances of that danger.
His doubts were shared by Bruce's princ.i.p.al co-conspirator, Bishop William Lamberton, who was currently in residence at Berwick, presiding over the English council delegated by Edward to rule Scotland-and doing all he could to allay King Edward's suspicions. But Bruce had overruled Lamberton's objections as well as Arnault's.
”I am not unmindful of your warnings,” he had told Arnault earlier that day. ”Even if Comyn has secretly embraced the pagan past, he still commands one of the largest followings in Scotland. I dare not attempt to fight him and Longshanks at the same time. If there is even a chance we can persuade him to abandon his apostasy and join us, then we will have won a double victory.”
”You have no inkling what you are inviting,” Arnault had said darkly. ”There are some things from which I cannot protect you.”
”You look as nervous as I feel,” Torquil observed to Arnault, as they met under a st.u.r.dy maple tree, breath pluming in the cold, both of them restlessly scanning the area.
Today, to better blend with their surroundings, they had taken up the brown habits of Franciscan friars, hoods drawn up to obscure their beards and close-cropped hair, though they wore mail and swords beneath their robes.
”I wish he were not doing this,” Arnault said.
”You'll get no disagreement from me,” Torquil countered. ”But politically, he must make the attempt.”
”Politically, he must do many things. It isn't the politics that worry me today.”
Torquil snorted. ”You think it impossible then, that they might find a common ground?”
”I do,” Arnault replied. ”And if they did, that would make me nervous-because I do not think I could stand to have Bruce work with him, under any circ.u.mstances.”
He glanced over to where Bruce was conferring with a cl.u.s.ter of trusted companions, speaking earnestly with Sir Christopher Seton, perhaps his closest friend. An Englishman by birth, son of a Yorks.h.i.+re knight, Seton was married to Bruce's sister Christian, and fiercely loyal to his brother-in-law-as were his brothers, John and Humphrey, also in Bruce's immediate entourage. Bruce's own two brothers, Thomas and Neil, had carried the invitation to Comyn's castle at nearby Dalswinton, whence he now awaited their return, with or without Comyn. He had proposed to Comyn that they each bring along no more than a half a dozen of their closest adherents. In Bruce's case, these were all members of his immediate or extended family save a knight called Roger de Kirkpatrick and the Templars, the latter of whom he did not mean to count in his quota of guards and escorts.
The February day was bright and chilly. The still-bare trees cast spidery shadows across the short, frosty turf, and snow still lay mounded off the footpaths that ran beside the church and among its monastic buildings. Torquil turned at the sound of footsteps on gravel and bobbed his head politely in greeting to one of the friars who was pa.s.sing by on his way into the town. Most of the brothers were keeping discreetly out of the way, aware only that high-ranking visitors were to use their premises for a confidential meeting. Their abbot alone knew the ident.i.ty of those visitors.
A clatter of hooves on the cobbles outside the church gate drew the Templars' attention: Thomas Bruce, just pulling up to dismount. Flushed with excitement, the young knight ran to join his older brother, his report tumbling from his lips in an excited undertone. Robert Bruce responded with a nod and clapped Thomas approvingly on the shoulder.
Parting company with his kinsmen, he approached the two Templars and beckoned them aside, by the entrance to the cloister walk. He had left his sword on his saddle, and was armed with only a long Highland dirk set with a cairngorm in the pommel-which at least was better for fighting in close quarters, if he had to defend himself from Comyn treachery.
”Thomas tells me that the Comyn will be arriving with Neil very shortly,” he informed them. ”Comyn's uncle Robert will be with him, along with four of his cousins, in keeping with the terms of my invitation.
You'd best take up your positions.”
”I still advise against this,” Arnault said. ”Comyn's adherence to the old religion includes the practice of sorcery. Should he attempt to invoke the powers at his command, even the sanct.i.ty of this consecrated ground may afford you scant protection.”
”I have only your word for it that these tales of witchcraft and evil spirits are true,” Bruce said, with a hint of impatience.
”And I can only give you my word that I have told you nothing but the truth,” Arnault said. ”Do not wish for proof. That is something you do not wish to deal with.”
”Be that as it may,” Bruce replied, ”the Comyns and their friends are too significant a force in Scotland for me to call myself king without first enlisting their support-if that is possible. If it is not, best to have it out now, and know where we stand.”
”Then at very least, be on your guard,” Torquil urged. ”The hopes of Scotland rest upon you.”
”Would you have me avoid confronting the Comyns out of fear?” Bruce countered, with a faint, wry smile. ”Or would you prefer that I move against them without even giving them the chance to join me?
No, in spite of our past differences, John Comyn may yet care enough about this land to see the empty destructiveness of prolonging our rivalry.”
”Then, G.o.d grant that your tenacity may one day stand you in good stead,” Arnault said.
”And hope,” Torquil added, ”that Comyn won't risk doing anything that might attract Edward's attention.
We could hardly be much closer to the English border.”
”The king's justices are in session right here at Dumfries Castle,” Bruce pointed out ironically. ”I find that having the enemy in close proximity concentrates a man's mind most sharply on his duty.”
”Whatever happens, both our prayers and our swords are with you,” Arnault a.s.sured him.
”I value your support,” Bruce said, ”but I hope neither aspect of your vocation will be required this day.”
He rejoined his kinsmen and began chivying them toward the porch of the abbey church, casting a wary eye beyond the church gate in the direction his brother had come. With eyes narrowed, Torquil watched him go.