Sword and Scimitar

‘After I saw you leave our house, our home, my mind was filled with the most painful imaginings. Though Maria and I have been married these many years I have never asked her about her feelings for you. Despite her grief at losing you, and her child, she was strong enough to go on. In time she grew to accept what had happened and resolved to make a new life for herself.’ Oliver paused, and then sighed. ‘When she agreed to be my wife, I knew that I was a poor shadow of what she truly wanted but that was enough for me. Besides, we lived happily together, and she seemed content with what fate had left to her.’ He paused and the lightness of tone with which he had spoken his last words suddenly hardened. ‘That all changed the moment she saw you here. Maria said nothing when she returned to the house, but I knew at once. I had tried to keep her away from you, at our estate near Mdina, but from the moment the enemy fleet was sighted, I knew that Maria must take shelter in Birgu and there would come a time when she discovered you had returned. When I questioned her she told me what had happened.’ He glared at Thomas. ‘I ca

‘Me? How?’

‘I said I had information that I could use to have you arrested and condemned as a spy. You, and Richard . . . her son.’

The earlier sense of dread returned, colder and more dangerous. Thomas leaned across the table. ‘What information?’ he hissed.

Stokely did not flinch. He regarded Thomas with disdain. ‘Did you think I did not know about the locket? The instant I saw Richard I knew exactly who he was. What surprised me was that it quickly became evident that you did not. Of course, I suspected from the first that you answered the Grand Master’s summons for reasons beyond a mere desire to serve the Order. But Richard? The last news I had of him from my cousin was that he had left Cambridge to serve a patron in London, no less a person than Walsingham. It is clear why he is here. Young Richard has sold his soul to the devil and become one of Walsingham’s creatures. The theft of the document from Sir Peter de Launcey’s chest was final proof that he is a spy.’

‘You knew he was a spy?’

Stokely nodded. ‘I suppose I could have had him arrested as soon as I recognised him, but he was Maria’s son. If anything happened to him and she discovered my hand in it, she would never have forgiven me. Besides, I was determined to discover his purpose here. As soon as I heard that an attempt had been made to enter the archive I checked the chest and discovered that the locks had been broken and the will had gone.’

‘The will?’ Thomas tried to hide his surprise. At last the true nature of the document had been revealed. If he played his hand right, Stokely might reveal more. ‘So you know about that?’

‘I have known about it for years. Ever since Sir Peter brought it to Malta. He knew exactly how dangerous the will would be if it fell into the wrong hands. He suspected that he might have been followed from England so he entrusted me with its secret, in case anything happened to him. Alas, it was a simple accident that did for him. Afterwards I arranged for the will to be placed in the chest and stored in the archive where it would be quite safe, and from where it could be retrieved if there was ever a need to use it. When it was taken, I knew at once where I might find it. I searched Richard’s cell while the two of you were on duty. I have to say that I am not very impressed with his choice of hiding place, but then I knew exactly what I was looking for and the space required to hide it. The will is safe again. No one knows where it is but me. There it shall stay. One day it may be discovered but perhaps it is better that it is lost.’ Stokely paused. ‘I take it that Walsingham told you about the will before you left England.’

Thomas hesitated. ‘He discussed it.’

Stokely stared at Thomas. ‘You don’t know the contents of the will, do you?’

‘Walsingham said that it would cause great loss of life if it was misused.’

Stokely laughed bitterly. ‘He only said that? My poor Thomas, you have been little more than their tool.’ He glanced over Thomas’s shoulder at a figure approaching them. He smiled faintly. ‘Why don’t you join us, Richard?’

Thomas turned swiftly and saw the young man watching them with a cold, detached expression. He stood still for a moment before he picked up a stool and positioned it at the end of the table, between the two knights.

Stokely smiled thinly. ‘We were just discussing the will. It seems that you, and your superiors back in England, have not deigned to apprise Thomas of the full details. That hardly seems fair, given that he is soon to die because of it. So, why don’t you tell him, or shall I?’

Richard did not reply.

Stokely nodded. ‘Very well.’

He folded his hands together and collected his thoughts quickly before he began. ‘We were both young men, and you, Richard, were not even born, when King Henry dissolved the monasteries in England and sold, or gave away, their vast landholdings as well as their gold and silver. Many noblemen garnered great fortunes as a result of the dissolution. Another effect was to deepen the division between Catholics and the growing numbers of Protestants, a division that has led to the deaths of hundreds in England and tens of thousands across Europe. It seems that at the end of his life Henry recognised the damage that he had done and sought to return both himself and his kingdom to the Church of Rome. After the great hurt he had done to papal authority the Vatican decided that it would exact a price for its absolution of the King. They would accept England back only if all the property that had once belonged to the monasteries was returned to the Church.

‘All those nobles who had gained so much from Henry’s largesse would be stripped of their fortunes. They would surely revolt against their King and plunge England into civil war. Henry was dying, and his only priority was that he be admitted to heaven. He no longer cared for worldly affairs. But his courtiers did and would have been horrified if they had discovered his intentions. So he wrote his last will and testament in secret. Only his closest advisers knew about it. The will was entrusted to Sir Peter de Launcey to carry to Rome.

‘He duly set off, aware that as soon as he was missed the King’s closest advisers, some of whom would suffer great loss if the dissolution was reversed, would send agents after him to retrieve the will. Knowing that the routes to Rome would be closely watched, he travelled via Spain to Malta where the Order would protect him. By then he had begun to have reservations about his mission. He understood the implications of the will and was torn between the needs of his country and those of his faith. That was when he confided in me and asked my advice. Before I could come to a decision he was drowned.’ Stokely paused. ‘I had Henry’s will in my hand and could easily have turned it over to the Grand Master of the day. But I chose not to. I would not have the blood of tens of thousands of Englishmen on my conscience. So I put the will in Sir Peter’s chest and had it placed in the archive.’

‘Why didn’t you just destroy it?’ asked Thomas.

‘It was too powerful a thing to destroy. As long as it was safe, no harm could befall the heirs of the King. And I was content to leave it be. But since then, I have watched the number of Protestants swell in England, and the persecution of the Catholics increase every year of Elizabeth’s reign. I resolved that if necessary I would find a way to use the will to stay the hand of the Protestants.’ Thomas was astonished. ‘You would blackmail the Queen?’