Here is the second part of my interview with MuseitUp Publishing author Christy McKee. Today I am talking about the Knights Templar.
Can you tell us a little about the Templars? What role do they play in Angel Heart? Do the Templars—in perhaps another form—still exist?
The Knights Templar, also know as the Poor Fellow-soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, was a monastic order founded in 1118 to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land, defend the Saint-Sepulcher and fight in the Crusades. The Order grew rapidly in power and wealth and the Knights Templar, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. They managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom, acquired vast estates, became the French King’s bankers and built fortifications across Europe and the Holy Land.
The Templars' existence was tied closely to the Crusades and when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded, and rumours that they indulged in heresy and devil-worshiping grew rife. In 1307, as he found himself deeply indebted to the Order, Philipe IV of France – also known as Philipe le Bel – decided to have most of their members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then executed. Under pressure from the French King, Pope Clement V disbanded the Order in 1312. The abrupt disappearance of the Order gave rise to speculation and legends.
One of them stems from the curse issued by the last Great Master, Jacques de Molay, against the Pope and the French King. As he was being burned at the stake, he predicted that the Pope would die within forty days, foretold the French King’s imminent death and cursed all his descendents for the next thirteen generations. The Pope died three weeks later, Philippe le Bel eight months later. Some claim that the execution of King Louis XVI in 1792 put an end to the Templar malediction on the royal family, since Louis was the 13th generation of the Capet line.
King Philipe’s actions against the Templars did not make him a wealthy man since only a fraction of the Templar treasure was ever recovered. Many believe that, forewarned of their imminent demise, the Templar Knights arranged for their treasure to be shipped away - to Scotland or Cyprus - or transported to a secret location, like the chateau of Arginy in the Beaujolais or Gisors in Normandy.
The Knights Hospitaller – or Knights of Saint John – who were founded at around the same time as the Knights Templar to care for sick and injured pilgrims, still exist today. They are now a charitable organization based in Rome.
In ‘Angel Heart’ my heroin Marie-Ange must recover a sacred relic hidden by the Knights Templar - the ‘Cross of Life’ – which is rumoured to give eternal life. With the help of cuirassier captain Hugo Saintclair, she enravels an old family mystery linked to the legendary Count Saint Germain, a man reputed immortal, and returns the cross to its original hiding place in the crypt of the chateau of Arginy.
Excerpt
Who did the woman think he was to summon him to her room like that? A lackey, probably. His lips twisted in an angry snarl as he climbed the stairs two by two. Madame Norton might live in a ramshackle manor house on the bleak, windswept Devonshire moorland, but she was still a Beauregard on her mother’s side and a member of the English gentry by marriage. He should have followed Martin’s advice and stayed at the club a while longer.
He walked down the draughty corridor and drummed impatient fingers on her door.
“Who’s there?” A timid voice answered from behind the door.
“Saintclair. Did you want to talk to me?” His tone was short.
The door opened just enough for Madame Norton to peer through.
He exhaled sharply to control his rising temper. “Are you going to let me in or shall we talk in the corridor?”
She opened the door wider and he strode in.
“Is there a problem?” He looked down at her. Barefoot and swamped in an old dressing gown, the woman hardly reached his shoulder. He wondered what she wore underneath, if anything. His pulse quickened and a sudden rush of heat coursed through his veins. He stuck his hands in his coat pockets to hide the direction his thoughts had taken.
She stepped back and folded her arms on her chest.
“You said you would be back early. I have been waiting here all day for you,” she said, her voice cold and haughty.
Her icy tone did nothing to cool his desires, in fact it had just the opposite effect. He took a deep breath and walked to the fireplace to put some distance between them. His lips stretched in a thin smile.
“Sorry. I got…distracted.” He shrugged. “I did arrange a carriage and a driver for us. We’re leaving for Lyon on Saturday.”
She looked at him again in the way a queen might look at a mangy dog.
“Why wait until Saturday? Your instructions are to take me straight to Beauregard. Monsieur Malleval won’t be pleased.”
If she meant to intimidate him, she had failed. She was starting to amuse him greatly—in more ways than one.
“I have things to do. Anyway, what’s the rush? I thought you might like to come to town with me tomorrow and see a play in the evening.”
Her eyes flashed in anger.
“I do not go to the theatre, Capitaine. I am in mourning.”
He arched his eyebrows. “After six years?”
“My husband was a wonderful man. I will mourn him all my life.” Her eyes filled with tears, she bit her lip.
He didn’t answer. There was one thing to be said for her. She was convincing—a first-class actress. He had almost been taken in by her wistful sighs and tearful eyes, by her drab mourning dresses and the almost virginal blushing on her cheeks every time he looked her way. He had almost believed her grief-stricken widow act…until he saw young Norton leave her room in the middle of the night with a wide grin on his face. He knew better than to be fooled by a woman, especially a pretty one.
Still, the way her voice quivered with emotion, her pale blue eyes shone with tears, and her lips trembled did have a strange effect on him. His throat went dry and he swallowed hard, so strong was the urge to crush her mouth under his, rake his fingers in her soft blond curls, and pull her close. The memory of her soft, pliable flesh quickened his pulse and made his body throb and grow hard.
As if she could sense the heat of his desire, a very becoming pink blush covered her cheeks and throat.
* * * *
Why did he stare at her in this way? His eyes had gone dark. The red glow from the fire cast a sinister, almost evil light across his face. He walked toward her, looking like a wolf about to pounce on his prey. Uneasy, and very conscious of her state of dishabillé, Marie-Ange stepped backward until her back touched the dressing table.
“I bid you good night, Capitaine,” she said, striving to keep her voice calm despite the thumping of her heart. It was thundering so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
He seemed to snap back to reality and took a deep breath. “Of course…I have a few errands to run tomorrow morning,” he said, walking to the door and opening it. “Be ready for ten o’clock if you want to come with me.”
Once alone, she breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment, something in his expression had made her very uncomfortable. He had come so close the stubble on his cheeks, the outline of his mouth, and the rugged line of the scar had been clearly evident. She could have touched the rough fabric of his jacket. A shiver rippled the skin on her arms and she wrapped herself more tightly in Christopher’s dressing gown. She would have to be very careful where the capitaine was concerned. Despite what Uxeloup Malleval had written, she wasn’t sure she could trust him. But who was there to trust here? She was on her own, in a foreign land. France might have been her mother’s country, it wasn’t hers.
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