We paid the Grail reverence, Benjamin wrapped it in his cloak and left, telling me to wait. My master returned with a mixture of cement and plaster and we restored the baptismal font so that, at least to the untrained eye, it would look as if it had never been tampered with.
‘What about the choir stall?' I asked.
'Leave it’ Benjamin answered. 'Let the soldiers take the blame.'
We returned to the manor house to pack our belongings. The next morning we saddled our horses and slipped away from Templecombe, that house of horrible murders. We reached Glastonbury later the same day for, though the countryside was still in winter's icy grip, no snow had fallen and at last the clouds were beginning to break. Benjamin and I had already agreed on what to do. We met Brother Eadred in the guest house. Benjamin quickly described what had happened at Templecombe. Though Eadred tried to hide his pain, Rachel's arrest, the flight of the Santerres and the destruction of the manor house obviously came as a body blow to him. He slumped on to a stool, wrapping his arms round his belly, bending forward almost as if he was in pain.
'Oh, poor Rachel!' he breathed.
'You are one of them, aren't you, Brother?' I asked.
He looked up, dark eyes in an ashen face. 'You're a Templar?' I continued.
He nodded his head. 'As are some others here,' he replied softly. 'We are guardians of a great shrine, keepers of mysteries and, yes, in a sense, avengers of those Templars who were seized, imprisoned and killed.'
'Does that give you the right to murder?'
To protect the mysteries and secrets, yes. But Rachel went too far. She nourished a personal revenge, perhaps even a murderous madness, against the likes of Mandeville and her own family.' He took a deep breath and stood up. 'What will happen to Templecombe?'
'It will be stripped of everything.'
I saw the fear in the monk's face.
'They won't find anything,' Benjamin smiled. 'They will never discover Excalibur or the Grail.'
Eadred shrugged. 'The relics were never at Templecombe.'
'But you suspect they were? After all, succeeding abbots of Glastonbury have established that such relics do not exist here.'
Eadred stared back.
'Excalibur's gone,' Benjamin explained, 'but the Grail. . .'He loosened one of his saddle bags, plucked out his cloak and laid the small cedar cup on the table. The change in Eadred was incredible. He fell on his knees, hands joined, and stared fixedly at the holy chalice.
'You found it!' he murmured.
'And brought it to its rightful home,' Benjamin concluded. He picked up his saddle bags, gestured with his head to me and walked up the stairs to our chamber, leaving Eadred to worship alone.
The next morning, after a short meeting with Eadred, we left Glastonbury for London. He escorted us to the main abbey gates. Only when we were on the very point of departure did he clasp Benjamin's hand and thank him with his eyes. My master leaned down.
'Never,' he whispered, 'say anything to anyone. We have not been here. We gave you nothing. We shall not return.'
Eadred stepped back, sketched a blessing in the air, the gates opened and we left for London.
We took eight days to return to the capital and found it still in the steel grip of winter. The Thames had frozen whilst the city's dirt and refuse were hidden under a carpet of ice which at least killed the offensive stench. We took lodgings at Baynards Castle near St Paul's, sending a message to Hampton Court where Henry and the Cardinal were lodged preparing for Christmas. We patiently waited to see what would happen.
Three days after our arrival dear Doctor Agrippa arrived. Swathed in black robes, he looked like some merry gnome except for those strange, colourless eyes. He stamped his feet and clapped his hands against the cold, shouting for mulled wine. Only when he was alone with us in our chamber did he drop all pretence.
The King is not pleased,' he snapped. 'Nor is My Lord Cardinal.'
'Oh dear,' I retorted. 'Little thanks for a frozen arse, almost being killed, not to mention having to spend so much time in the company of bastards like Mandeville and Santerre.'
Agrippa smirked. 'Oh, the King is not angry with you. You have heard the news?' His eyes held mine. 'Rachel Santerre died on her return to London. Apparently her rosary was not what it seemed: two of the beads contained a poisonous substance which deals death in seconds. Her corpse has been left at the new hospital of Mary of Bethlehem just north of the city.' Agrippa pulled a face. 'The King is furious. She could have provided much information.'
Benjamin rubbed the side of his face. 'But His Grace the King should be pleased. My Lord of Buckingham is destroyed, the woman responsible for so many deaths has received her just desserts and the King can seize all the treasures of Sir John Santerre and his wife. I do not mourn for them, for they richly deserved what they got. A Templar coven in Somerset has been broken. And finally,' Benjamin shot a warning glance at me, 'although Excalibur is missing and probably will remain so until the end of time, we have brought back the Grail.'