Worry flickered in her gaze. “Whathave you done?”
“Swear it.”
She hesitated. “I swear I will say naught.”
“I am a Knight Templar. Or was.”
Her lips parted on a soft gasp. “But a Knight Templar canna marry, or…” Gwendolyn’s face paled. “’Tis because of the arrests in France last fall, is it not?”
Heartache balled in Aiden’s chest as he faced the water sliding beneath the fading rays of light, the shimmers like golden tears. “King Philip’s betrayal destroyed an honorable way of life for the Brotherhood. Devout warriors who had sworn to do naught but protect.”
“I am so sorry,” she breathed. “When I heard news of the charges, and given King Philip’s craving for power, I refused tobelieve them.”
Gray eyes held his for a long moment, the sadness, the grief within touching his soul.
“But,” she continued, “the French king’s perfidy does not explain why you are in Scotland.”
He gestured toward a large moss-covered stone.“Sit, please.”
After a slight hesitation, she complied.
He settled at her side, angled his body to face hers. Against the gurgle of the stream and the sway of leaves, he explained how, after the Grand Master had received warning of King Philip’s intention to charge the Templars with heresy, Jacques de Molay had set into motion a plan to secretly dissolve the order, an arrangement crafted many years before in the event ofsuch a threat.
“’Tis understandable that the Grand Master had devised such a scheme, but it does not explain why you are in Scotland.” Gwendolyn’s hand trembled as she withdrew a leaf caught within a snarl of ivy, released it into the soft breeze.
The aged brown sheath floated in an awkward tumble, landed within the current, and then turned in helpless disarray down the slow-moving stream.
Lines marred her brow as she met his gaze. “You are not here alone, are you?”
“Nay. Before the arrests began, beneath the cover of darkness, the Templar fleet fled La Rochelle to preserve the treasures held within the Paris temple. Several ships sailed to Scotland, the remainder to Portugal.”
“Thank God you and so many others were able to escape. With the Brotherhood warned of King Philip’s intent, why couldna all of the Templars leave?”
Aiden fought against the despair at those who’d suffered, the overwhelming grief that’d haunted him since thatfateful night.
“I, along with others who were chosen to flee,” he rasped, “were sickened that we couldna forewarn men we had fought alongside over the years.” He swallowed hard. “The Grand Master explained to those loyal to King Philip, the Brotherhood’s daily routine must appear unchanged. Any slip, any hint that we had discovered the sovereign’s plan could cost not only the loss of many more Templar lives but the sacred treasures we swore to protect.”
“I am so sorry.” She lay her trembling hand upon his. “I canna imagine the hurt you and yourmen suffered.”
For a long moment he stared at her fingers, moved by her act of compassion. How long had he held in his grief, never sharing the hurt or daring to release the sorrow he had been convinced once unleased wouldoverwhelm him?
Yet, for the first time since King Philip’s betrayal, he found himself needing to share, or mayhap he had found someone important enough in his life to whom he could expose his sorrow.
Foolish thoughts. Theirs was a union based on lies. Though she offered sympathy, ’twas due to her gentle heart. Still, Aiden coveted her kindness, and a part of him wished they could indeed have forever.
“We still grieve,” he admitted, “a fact that I doubt will ever change.”
“Understandably.” After a gentle squeeze, she withdrew her hand.
Aiden yearned to entwine his fingers with hers, to forge a permanent bond. In the end, he remained silent, stowing his dangerous thoughts. Once Latharn Castle was seized, he’d vowed to Gwendolyn he would be gonefrom her life.
“There isna a Templar seaport in Scotland, so why were any ships sent here?”
“King Robert’s religious exclusion and the Scottish clergy’s refusal to acknowledge his excommunication allowed the Bruce to offer all within the Brotherhood entry into his realmwith impunity.”
She tossed another dried leaf into the current, watched as it drifted in an awkward path to follow the last. She turned. “Did the Bruce know your ships wereon their way?”
“Nay. When we arrived at Urquhart Castle, Stephan MacQuistan, the Templar in charge, presented the king a writ from theGrand Master.”
