measure of veiled aggression in his voice. What was this man driving at?
‘You mean they are not as interested in money?’ continued the brown-garbed man. He might have gone on, but Odo stilled him.
‘What have you come for?’ he asked the Venetian.
‘To express my admiration for your work – I fully intend to do the same for the Hospitallers, by the way, since by your prowess both Orders have helped secure and maintain our Christian Faith in the birthplace of Our Lord. And to extend the hand of friendship from Venice, on behalf of my master, Doge Vitale.’
‘What makes you think we need your friendship?’ the other Templar asked coldly.
Odo said, ‘Be quiet, Thomas.’ Turning to Dandolo, he said: ‘You must forgive him. He is here, if you like, to make sure I do nothing rash.’
‘Come to the point,’ put in Thomas, adding reluctantly, ‘If you please.’
‘Certainly,’ said Dandolo. Glancing at Leporo, he continued. ‘We think you may have … something for sale. If so, we might be interested in acquiring it.’ To himself, he thought,
they already know
.
17
‘And what is it that you are interested in acquiring?’ asked Thomas.
‘A relic.’ Leporo spoke for the first time. ‘You are a fellow Cistercian, Brother Thomas. You will understand our eagerness. A Holy Relic, which we should like to acquire for the protection and the greater glory of our basilica of St Mark, and our city.’ He hesitated. ‘We find ourselves in troubled waters, and we have need of the Lord’s protecting arm.’
‘You mean your confrontation with the Greeks of Byzantium,’ replied Thomas brusquely.
Was there nothing these people didn’t know, thought Dandolo. He must handle them with subtlety. But in order to gain what, exactly? He only had Leporo’s word for it that they had some thing of great value. True, he trusted his aide, and Leporo’s judgement in such matters was seldom false. Well, he had come this far, and he wasn’t going to pass up any opportunity which presented itself for his own aggrandisement. And he had more than enough money at his disposal to satisfy even these money-conscious warrior-monks.
He guessed, too, that the presence of the Grand Master and the aggressive nature of Friar Thomas were good indications of what they were prepared to put on the table.
‘We seek to do God’s will,’ he replied simply. ‘But to do so justly, we poor humans need all the help we can get.’
There was silence in the room then. You could hear the breeze rustling the leaves of the palms outside, and the muted talk of Dandolo’s men as they waited in the shade outside.
The two Templars exchanged a look. Odo, Dandolo guessed, was for taking the negotiations further; Thomas against.
Then Odo walked over to the cabinet, unlocked it, and from it produced a leather bag, which he placed on the table between them.
It was a small bag; the leather was rough and well-worn. Odo’s lean fingers undid the strings which held it closed.
He drew out a small iron box and a key, attached by a leather thong. He placed the box on the table, fitted the key into the lock and turned it in a complex series of clockwise and anti-clockwise movements which Dandolo found hard to follow. No doubt Odo would tell him the secret of the manipulation if a deal was struck. At last the lock clicked open. Odo raised the lid with great care.
The box was lined with grey wool. Lying within was a clay tablet, about the size that would fit comfortably into your palm. One side was covered in a crowded series of symbols, but they bore no relation to any alphabet or numeric system that Dandolo had ever seen. The other side was blank, though Dandolo could make out a thumbprint, no doubt pressed into the clay when it was still moist by whoever had written on it.
Just behind him, Leporo could not suppress a sigh of disappointment. Dandolo kept his face expressionless,however, as Odo laid the tablet down next to the box. He looked at the
‘You mean they are not as interested in money?’ continued the brown-garbed man. He might have gone on, but Odo stilled him.
‘What have you come for?’ he asked the Venetian.
‘To express my admiration for your work – I fully intend to do the same for the Hospitallers, by the way, since by your prowess both Orders have helped secure and maintain our Christian Faith in the birthplace of Our Lord. And to extend the hand of friendship from Venice, on behalf of my master, Doge Vitale.’
‘What makes you think we need your friendship?’ the other Templar asked coldly.
Odo said, ‘Be quiet, Thomas.’ Turning to Dandolo, he said: ‘You must forgive him. He is here, if you like, to make sure I do nothing rash.’
‘Come to the point,’ put in Thomas, adding reluctantly, ‘If you please.’
‘Certainly,’ said Dandolo. Glancing at Leporo, he continued. ‘We think you may have … something for sale. If so, we might be interested in acquiring it.’ To himself, he thought,
they already know
.
17
‘And what is it that you are interested in acquiring?’ asked Thomas.
‘A relic.’ Leporo spoke for the first time. ‘You are a fellow Cistercian, Brother Thomas. You will understand our eagerness. A Holy Relic, which we should like to acquire for the protection and the greater glory of our basilica of St Mark, and our city.’ He hesitated. ‘We find ourselves in troubled waters, and we have need of the Lord’s protecting arm.’
‘You mean your confrontation with the Greeks of Byzantium,’ replied Thomas brusquely.
Was there nothing these people didn’t know, thought Dandolo. He must handle them with subtlety. But in order to gain what, exactly? He only had Leporo’s word for it that they had some thing of great value. True, he trusted his aide, and Leporo’s judgement in such matters was seldom false. Well, he had come this far, and he wasn’t going to pass up any opportunity which presented itself for his own aggrandisement. And he had more than enough money at his disposal to satisfy even these money-conscious warrior-monks.
He guessed, too, that the presence of the Grand Master and the aggressive nature of Friar Thomas were good indications of what they were prepared to put on the table.
‘We seek to do God’s will,’ he replied simply. ‘But to do so justly, we poor humans need all the help we can get.’
There was silence in the room then. You could hear the breeze rustling the leaves of the palms outside, and the muted talk of Dandolo’s men as they waited in the shade outside.
The two Templars exchanged a look. Odo, Dandolo guessed, was for taking the negotiations further; Thomas against.
Then Odo walked over to the cabinet, unlocked it, and from it produced a leather bag, which he placed on the table between them.
It was a small bag; the leather was rough and well-worn. Odo’s lean fingers undid the strings which held it closed.
He drew out a small iron box and a key, attached by a leather thong. He placed the box on the table, fitted the key into the lock and turned it in a complex series of clockwise and anti-clockwise movements which Dandolo found hard to follow. No doubt Odo would tell him the secret of the manipulation if a deal was struck. At last the lock clicked open. Odo raised the lid with great care.
The box was lined with grey wool. Lying within was a clay tablet, about the size that would fit comfortably into your palm. One side was covered in a crowded series of symbols, but they bore no relation to any alphabet or numeric system that Dandolo had ever seen. The other side was blank, though Dandolo could make out a thumbprint, no doubt pressed into the clay when it was still moist by whoever had written on it.
Just behind him, Leporo could not suppress a sigh of disappointment. Dandolo kept his face expressionless,however, as Odo laid the tablet down next to the box. He looked at the
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