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

step closer to redeeming the Kingdom of Outremer."

Not that the auguries were good for such an outcome. Only a few months before, the delicate balance in
Acre- most crucial of the Order's remaining holdings in the East- had nearly come unstuck when a band
of peasant levies newly arrived from Tuscany went on a rampage and massacred a number of Muslim
merchants in an unprovoked attack. The Mameluke Sultan Qalawun had been justifiably incensed by the
incident, and only some frantic last-minute negotiations on behalf of the Franks had averted an outbreak
of full-scale reprisals. A fragile truce was holding thus far, but the threat of war remained ever present.
The Order's military strategists hoped that if hostilities could be kept at bay long enough, the sovereign
powers of Christendom might be more readily persuaded to lend their aid to the defense and eventual
reclamation of the Frankish Kingdom.

"I suppose the marriage might pry loose some support from King Edward," Jay replied. His expression
turned speculative at the prospect of a new crusade. "He certainly knows the Holy Land from the pilgrim
campaigns of his youth. Given the part we have played in securing this Scottish alliance, perhaps he will
show his gratitude by returning to Acre at the head of another army. I'll wager the Mamelukes would find
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him a formidable opponent."

Arnault merely nodded his agreement. At his best, Edward Plantagenet was a strong leader, shrewd in
his judgments and farsighted in his aspirations. But he was also capable of being unconscionably
vindictive; and his appetite for power, once roused, was insatiable. Having set his sights on Scotland, he
would stop at nothing now to acquire it. If this marriage compact were to fail-for whatever reason-
Edward's next recourse might well be invasion.

The weather held, despite Jay's uneasiness. Princess Margaret, her female attendants, and the bishop and
his clerk were quartered beneath the stern castle, where partitioning had been installed to create cramped
shelter for sleeping. The princess's military escort, including the two Knights Templar, slept out on deck
with most of the crew, under the sheltering lee of the forward castle.

Some time after midnight during their second night out from Bergen, Arnault awoke to an awareness that
the ship's momentum had changed. Casting off his blanket, he rose quietly to investigate, bracing himself
against the rail. They had emerged from the shelter of the Norwegian coast shortly before sunset. The
stars had vanished behind a thick pall of cloud. Light from the ship's lanterns showed whitecaps building
on top of the waves. The captain was up on the forecastle in close consultation with the ship's
weatherman.

Making his way forward against the pitch and roll of the deck, Arnault clambered up the ship's ladder to
join them. When he inquired about the ship's status, the captain's response was blunt.

"I don't like the signs. There's a storm moving in from the northwest. The currents in these waters prohibit
trying to outrun it. We can only hold our course and hope to ride it out."

"How bad is it likely to get?" Arnault asked.

"I can't say," the weatherman replied. "The signs might be worse. But we will see rough winds and high