The Sixth Key(66)

‘Why not?’

‘Well, Billard was of the old school. Look, after the revolution and especially after Napoleon, the government had complete control of the clergy. It could withhold the wages of any priest opposed to the republic and could even prohibit contact between a priest and the Vatican. The government also controlled which priests were selected for positions in episcopal vacancies. Billard and Saunière were both staunchly anti-republican. In fact, speaking out against the government is what got Saunière into hot water on several occasions. The truth is, he was a restless, ambitious man, and Rennes-le-Château was a backwater. He didn’t like living like the rest of us, from hand to mouth, on whatever scraps were thrown to us; preaching to heretics in churches that were falling to bits. He was soon to learn that what kept many of us alive was our healthy friendship with the nobles, who often opened their purses in exchange for a mass here and there. These same nobles also belonged to Masonic Lodges. Bishop Billard condoned these delicate but lucrative relationships . . .’

‘Are you saying Saunière and Billard were involved with Freemasons?’

‘Yes, of course! Many priests were, including myself. But that was before the pope put a stop to it.’

‘So was Saunière being investigated by Cros because of his connection to the Freemasons?’

‘He was being investigated, so they say, because he was selling masses for the dead.’

‘How can you sell masses to the dead?’ Rahn asked.

‘You don’t sell masses to them,’ Grassaud said this as if he wanted to add you imbecile. ‘One pays for a mass to shorten the time of a dead loved one in Purgatory. The nobles paid highly to have masses said for their relatives. As I said, it was what kept many of us alive in those days – what we got for the dead. Ironic, don’t you think?’ He leant forwards. ‘They say Germans have had to learn the meaning of irony the hard way.’

Rahn held back his chagrin, though inwardly he was prickling.

Having secured higher ground, the old man now spoke with a certain arrogance: ‘But the masses were just an excuse because De Beauséjour had an ulterior motive for filing that suit against Saunière.’

‘Another reason besides weeding out corruption?’ Rahn said, making his point.

‘Look, Billard himself had taken money from nobles for things such as the odd appointment of a relative to a certain parish. In truth, in those days there were not many bishops who would have cared less if a mass was said here or there for a loved one . . . no, there was another reason.’

‘What was the other reason?’

‘There was a rumour,’ the other man wheezed, ‘only a rumour mind you.’

‘Rumour of what?’

‘Of treasure . . . This is not so unusual, you know, there’s treasure hidden everywhere in caves and holes and churches all over the south. Some of it may have once belonged to the aristocracy fleeing the revolution; the rest could have belonged to the Visigoths or even the Cathars. Perhaps Saunière found something valuable? I don’t know, perhaps something heretical? I don’t know that either.’

‘You said he took what he found to Paris. Whom did he take it to?’ Rahn said.

‘From what I’ve heard he went to the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, and then somewhere else, to an order named the Society for the Reparation of Souls.’

‘Who are they?’

‘I don’t wish to speak of them!’ he said abruptly. ‘Except to say, you should look into the Abbé Louis Verger, the man on the top of your list, then you will know more. The only other thing I can tell you concerns another priest on the list, Abbé Rivière of Espéraza. Some time before Saunière died, he confessed everything to Rivière. But when Rivière heard his confession he didn’t give Saunière the sacrament until after he was dead.’

‘Is that normal?’ Rahn said.

‘No! I’ve never heard of it before!’ the old man said. ‘Whatever Saunière told him must have upset Rivière so much that he couldn’t bring himself to absolve him. Afterwards he was never the same, poor man – they say he never smiled.’

There was the intonation of the great bell. It woke the bee in Rahn’s head.

Monks began to arrive for the canonical hour and the abbé got up. ‘You will leave now,’ he said, with authority. ‘But before you go I will tell you this – apparently, days before Rivière died, he told a friend that Saunière had sold his soul to the Devil.’

Rahn left the hermitage and returned to the flat area but he found no Mademoiselle Cros waiting for him. She was missing and the contretemps completely baffled his head, causing him to stand there looking around like an abandoned orphan. He called her name but there was no sign of her – she had completely vanished. He decided the only recourse left to him was to walk to Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet. As it turned out, it was a considerable walk and by the time he reached the small township he was both exceedingly annoyed and frightfully concerned, in equal measure.