A French Don Quiote - Geoffrey de Preuthune, Lord of Najac

 While Percy de Lacy and Felice de Preuthune are the principal protagonists in The Tale of the English Templar, it is Geoffrey - more than the principals - who is determined to undertake the quest for justice in face of the French king's tyranny. Once a Templar novice, who never took his final vows, once a crusader under Saint Louis, who lost his faith, he is now a widower and grandfather to Felice. He turns eighty in the course of the book, yet he plays an active, indeed decisive role. 

 In this excerpt, Geoffrey meets Percy for the first time. 

Amoment later [Felice] recognised the massive bay stallion that Niki rode and besideit her grandfather’s ageing destrier. Her first thought was that Hugh had takenhim as a fresh mount, but then she saw Hugh lagging behind on a roan from thestables. Her grandfather himself was astride the old warhorse. She broke into asmile and started to run forwards. Maybe her mother wasn’t just being cynical;maybe her grandfather really would live to be one hundred and nine! Hecertainly looked far from his deathbed as he drew his stallion to a halt andswung down from the saddle. No, he did not spring down; he let his brittlebones down gently. Yes, he was thin with hair as white as the snow that mingledin it, but he was not feeble. He advanced stiffly but determinedly towardsFelice.

Sheflung her arms around him and leaned her head on his bony chest. “Thank you forcoming, Grandpapa.”

Hesqueezed her in reply; already, both of them were looking towards the ditch. Felicetook her grandfather’s hand and led him. The Templar’s eyes were open again,glittering and penetrating. They met Geoffrey’s eyes as they had met Felice’ssome two hours earlier, and Felice felt her grandfather start violently, thenhe went down on one knee as if in homage and murmured in awe, “Master deSonnac!”

The Templar shook hishead. “My name is Percival de Lacy.”

Felice was relieved thathe could speak.

Hergrandfather nodded calmly. “My grandson says both your legs are broken.”

“Andhis feet have been burned!” Felice burst out in indignation.

Geoffrey signaled for herto be still. “May I see?”

Percynodded, confused by the question when he was helpless to resist — even if hehad wanted to. Yet he trusted this man just as he trusted the girl. They werecut from the same sacred cloth.

Geoffreyfolded back the blanket and considered the legs clinically. He had seencountless battle wounds and more than one broken leg; it would have taken morethan what he saw now to shock him. He glanced up at Niki and found that hisCypriot squire was already holding the splint and leather straps which had beenmade for his youngest son years ago. Niki squatted down beside Geoffrey andstarted preparing the splint.

SuddenlyPercy reached out and caught his arm, “Monsieur!” he exclaimed in alarm. “If youhelp me, you endanger not only yourself but your whole family.” The Sheriff hadread aloud to his prisoners the royal writ which had placed them on the samelevel as outlaws and excommunicates. Any person who aided them was threatenedwith arrest.

Inanswer, Geoffrey put his hand to his sword and drew the blade out of its sheathenough to be able to show Percy the hilt. This was composed of a crystal tube encasinga finger bone — as if it were a relic. Then Geoffrey dipped the sword, and Percysaw that the pommel was white enamel with a splayed red cross set in it.

Percyfrowned. Was the old man a Templar then? Perhaps one of the many noblemen whojoined the Order for a fixed term of service before returning to their landsand families? He looked up at Geoffrey, questioningly.

Geoffreysmiled. “I am Sir Geoffrey de Preuthune, Brother. And my oath was never toabandon a brother in danger or distress.”

Geoffreyturned to attend to Percy’s legs, but Percy stopped him again, more desperatelythis time. “Wait! You don’t know what I’ve done.”

Geoffrey looked at him,waiting patiently.

Percywas sweating and his chest heaved in time to his short, shallow breathing. “Idenied Christ. I said I spat upon him. I... No, no, I didn’t confess to idolworship. But I signed the confession. The inquisitor twisted what I had saidbut I signed it. I didn’t —”

Geoffreydidn’t appear to be listening any more. He was examining Percy’s legs with hiscool, wiry fingers and the expression of a physician. When Percy fell silent,he looked back. “I will tell you what I said to Master de Sonnac at Mansourah.I told him: ‘Christ died on a cross in Jerusalem, but he was not the Son of Godand not the Messiah.’”

Hughcried out in alarm, as if expecting lightning to strike at any second. Even theloyal Niki blanched and crossed himself. Only Felice was not shocked. She hadnever heard this, but she knew that something terrible had happened in Egypt,something that had transformed her grandfather and ended his novitiate in theKnights Templar. Now, she understood that her grandfather had been angry withGod.

Percyand Geoffrey stared at one another. Percy wondered why he was not outraged, andthen realised it was that he had had similar thoughts as the weeks and monthsof his captivity passed.

“Ihad not been tortured,” Geoffrey continued, reaching inside his suede leatherbrigandine studded with brass tacks and withdrawing a flask of wine. He slippedhis left hand behind Percy’s head and held the flask to his lips.

Nowine had passed Percy’s lips since the night of his arrest. The wine tastedstrong, and he coughed slightly. Geoffrey waited for the coughing to pass andthen offered him the flask again. “It will go to my head,” Percy whispered,feeling the effect even as he spoke.

“Itis supposed to,” Geoffrey countered and pressed it to Percy’s lips again.

NowPercy drank with a kind of dazed gratefulness. It seemed almost miraculous thatsomeone could want to dull his pain rather than increase it.

Whenhe had drained the flask, Geoffrey laid him back in his bed of snow and warnedsoftly, “Brace yourself, Brother. This will hurt more than the breaking did.” Hetook hold of two pieces of one leg and, with uncanny strength and skill in hisskeletal hands, set the first of Percy’s legs.

Forthe second leg they had to improvise a splint; by the time Niki lifted Percyout of the ditch and handed him up to a remounted Geoffrey, he had lostconsciousness.

The Tale of the English Templar is available in paperback and ebook format from all major online retail platforms. 
An escaped Templar,an intrepid, old crusader, and a discarded brideembark on a quest for justice inthe face of tyranny.  Find out more at on my website Buy on amazon.com Buy on Barnes and Noble