"Katherine Kurtz - Knights Templar 01 - Temple and the Stone" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

affect the future wellbeing of the Order, or undermine its less obvious long-range objectives. Arnault
could only hope that others would be found to carry on the hidden work that the founders of the Order
had begun. Most of those who joined the Order did so out of admiration for the worldly renown the
Templars had won through valor at arms-or perhaps seeking the spiritual purification that might come of
accepting the rigors and sacrifice of the battlefield, in Christ's name. Though the pursuit of holy war had
its virtues, only the rare individual evinced the potential to be more than a brave fighting man and perhaps
a martyr.

Just such a rarity like Arnault himself, was Torquil Lennox, whose deeper qualities of heart, mind, and
soul had commended him to Arnault's notice from the moment of their first meeting-or at least from the
time when his confrтАЪre at Balantrodoch, Luc de Brabant, had pointed him out. Then very junior among
the Scottish knights, Torquil had been among those present when Arnault and Brian de Jay reported the
death of the little Maid of Norway, at the first chapter meeting following their return to the Scottish
preceptory. Arnault himself had been preoccupied at the time, with the darker aspects of that mystery,
but before he left to travel on to Paris, Luc had made a point of introducing the younger man.

Very shortly, their superiors had arranged to have the Scottish knight assigned to Arnault's direct
supervision, the better to observe and encourage the qualities FrтАЪre Luc had noted-little though Torquil
himself realized that he was being groomed for anything out of the ordinary. The events surrounding the
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little Maid's death now seemed hazy and remote, the shadowy aspects yet unaccounted for, in light of all
that had happened since; but Torquil's presence continued to remind Arnault that not all the Temple's
wars were to be fought on the battlefield.

He was given further reminder of that hidden mission when the two of them emerged from the Grand
Master's quarters. Waiting for them in the shade of an adjoining cloister walk was a Templar priest whom
Arnault had not expected to see here in Nicosia.

Father Bertrand de Cavaillon was normally resident at the Paris Temple. He rose as they approached: a
clean-shaven man perhaps a decade older than Arnault, with a sensitively molded face and smooth fair
hair forming a dense fringe around his tonsure, only slightly above middle height. After a cordial exchange
of greetings that included Torquil, he turned to Arnault with a more somber expression.

"I know you've a hard journey behind you, my friend, but if you can bear the thought of another
conference, FrтАЪre Gaspar would be grateful if you could join us in the south tower."

Arnault raised an eyebrow, but there was no question of ignoring the summons, even phrased as a
request.

"Of course," he said, as they began heading in that direction. "I hadn't expected that he would still be
here. Have you any idea what might be on his mind?"

"Oh, more than an idea," Bertrand replied, with an apparently casual glance at Torquil. "As you will have
gathered from the fact that Brother Gaspar hasn't yet left and that I am here, preparations are still being
made to ship a substantial portion of the treasury on to Paris. During your absence, we were ordered to
prepare a new inventory of all books, relics, and other objects of value which were previously held by