[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
hallows represented, and to misuse the threat of what lay hidden in the casket.
So the Templars elected to keep their secret intact, even at the cost of their own lives,
Peregrine finished. He sighed. Well, at least it wasn t for nothing. We managed to
uphold the charge they d been given. Maybe in time, Gerard will be able to face up to the
folly of what de Nogaret was trying to do, and find the courage to start over again.
We can only hope, Adam said. But in the meanwhile, gentlemen, we ve done a good
night s work - with some help from some extraordinary friends. Smiling wearily, he
pulled the cord of the Dundee Templar cross over his head, glancing wistfully at the glint
of red enamel, then reached into his pocket and drew out the Dundee ring, holding both
so that they reflected light from the instrument panel up front.
I intend to write a very complimentary article about the Templar connections of John
Grahame of Claverhouse, he said quietly. It s unfortunate that the whole story of his
contributions can t be told - though his name will certainly live on as one of Scotland s
great patriots.
With a jaunty flourish, he tossed the ring into the air and caught it in his fist, then slipped
it and the cross back into his pocket. The whole story of our contributions won t be told
either, McLeod observed drily. But that isn t why we got into this business anyway, is
it? And frankly, I ll be just as well pleased to be able to close the book on this particular
case without trailing too many loose ends behind me. There s nothing 1 hate worse than
having to invent explanations to satisfy official curiosity. Other than that break-in at
Rosslyn, which can be passed off as grave-robbing, there s no inconvenient evidence left
behind for us to cover up. True, Peregrine said with a sigh. All the same, it seems a
pity we never seem to end up with any physical proof that we ve accomplished anything.
I mean, after all our running around tonight, all we ve got to show for our pains is Mr.
Gerard - and we re going to be ditching him on the doorstep of the first convenient
hospital we come to!
This observation produced a sly backwards glance and a deep chuckle from
McLeod. Actually, laddie, that s not quite true, he said with a grin. As both Peregrine
and Adam stared at him blankly, the inspector bent over and reached down under the
front seat.
When he straightened up, his companions saw that he was clutching the hilts of a pair of
Templar swords.
I grabbed them before we started manhandling Gerard up the stairs, he explained to
Peregrine, obviously enjoying the fact that he had taken even Adam by surprise. You
obviously were preoccupied trying to keep him on his feet and get him out of there. At
the time, I was thinking we might return them to Rosslyn, where they came from, but it s
since occurred to me that there s no way we can do that without generating far more
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
paperwork than I care to deal with - not to mention creating a stir that s bound to bring
the newshounds sniffing around.
As Adam rolled his eyes heavenward, nodding in silent agreement, McLeod continued.
So it looks like we ve become custodians of a pair of Templar swords. It might be that
Templemor would be a good home for them, it being a Templar site and Adam having
been a Templar. 1 was thinking, too, Mr. Peregrine Lovat, that they might provide a
rather impressive sword arch at your wedding. Given your role in tonight s work, I don t
think the former owners would mind. And if you ask Adam very nicely, he might even let
you hold the wedding reception in the great hall at Templemor.
historical afterword
THE background on the suppression of the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem is
essentially accurate, barring the existence of the casket and the three hallows that guarded
it. Since the Templars were accused of worshipping a head, a crown/relic such as we
describe could have been the basis for such an accusation.
The background on Bonnie Dundee is historically accurate other than his association
with the Crown of Solomon. The neck cross he is said to have been wearing at his death
at Killiecrankie disappeared after David Grahame conveyed it to the French theologian
and historian Dom Calmet, but it easily could have ended up in the hands of cadet
Grahams as postulated, and might well have been used to invest Prince Charles Edward
Stuart at Holyrood Palace in 1745. A ring containing a lock of Dundee s hair is known to
have existed, but its present whereabouts is unknown.
James Seton, fourth Earl of Dunfermline, is a likely candidate to have cut the lock of
hair, since he was one of Dundee s most tried and trusted officers, a close personal friend,
and is known to have been present at his burial. He was the owner of Fyvie Castle at that
time, and came from a line of Setons whose antecedents included Knights Hospitallers -
and who possibly were secret Templars as well, after the suppression of the Order. The
names of Seton s two daughters are unknown, as is their fate, but they probably would
have been in their twenties at the time of Dundee s death. Seton s wife was named Jean,
as was an earlier Seton daughter, and the name Grizel also appears twice in earlier
generations of Seton women. James Seton died in exile in 1674, and the Dunfermline title
became extinct.
The references cited are genuine.
K.K.
Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
ABC Amber LIT Converter
http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]