“YOU CAN TELL His Eminence anything, Amaury,” Hélène assured him. “I trust him as I would God himself.”
Cardinal d’Aubuisson shook his head. An old man, short and round, but with gray eyes that twinkled. “A bit too much of a burden, my dear. I do, however, pledge to you, Monsieur Faverges, that once I have given my word, I will respect all confidences . . . ” The cardinal smiled. Dimples formed in either cheek. “Even heretical ones.”
The cardinal’s apartments in the Louvre were as sumptuous as Beda’s had been ascetic: Plush furniture filled the room, thick carpets lay on the floor, tapestries and beautiful paintings hung almost to the ceiling. A large bookcase lined one wall. Even a cursory glance revealed the contents to be not only theological texts, but also the very sort of secular scientific works that Amaury had read surreptitiously in his days at Montaigu.
But Amaury was not going to place his life in a man’s hands because of a fine library and dimples. “You would protect heresy?”
“Not true heresy. But I suspect that what you have to tell me will not go counter to the word of God, but only some fool’s interpretation of it.”
“And by fools, you mean . . .
“I expect, Monsieur Faverges, that I mean precisely the same sort of people as you do. I agreed to see you—and protect you—not simply because I adore my niece—although I do—but because I suspect you are in possession of knowledge that will aid the Church. The True Church. The Lords Church. Not the Inquisition’s.” The cardinal frowned. “Or, it pains me to say, the king’s.”
Whether the cardinal was sincere or dissembling, Amaury had little choice. He was at the mercy of this man’s whim. When d’Aubuisson was informed that his niece was at the gates of the Louvre, he had more or less smuggled her and Amaury inside. They were escorted through side passages far from the wing holding the king’s apartments or the section frequented by more conservative members of the Church. If the cardinal was not as Hélène had described, or what he heard displeased him, Amaury had no hope of escape. But from the man’s excitement as Amaury described his discovery, he knew that Hélène had not been mistaken.
“Heliocentric astronomy,” the cardinal mused when Amaury had finished his tale. “I have heard rumors. And you say this Pole has proved the theory? You are competent to judge?”
“I am. I did not have the time, of course, to check the calculations, but the methodology was certainly sound.”
“Extraordinary. A boon if true.”
“A boon? Excuse me, Your Eminence, but any alteration in the theory of Aristotle and its application by the Blessed Thomas has been deemed heretical. Do you not find it so?”
D’Aubuisson wrinkled his brow. “Why would I? God’s glory does not rest on the theories of Aristotle or the interpretations of Saint Thomas. Brilliant men, both, but the brilliance of any one man is invariably superseded by the brilliance of another. That is God’s way, is it not? Why should the Church not grow with each great mind who serves it?”
“Few of your brethren share those views.”
“There are more than you suppose, although, I agree, not yet in positions of ultimate power. Those are currently reserved, sadly, for either hedonists or fanatics. As a result we have a Church that has replaced devotion with corruption, the teachings of Christ with the pursuit of wealth and power, and true piety with rigor and dogma.”
“I would not have believed I would have heard such words from a prince of the Church.”
“Ory, the Inquisition, and Montaigu do not speak for everyone, Monsieur Faverges. They certainly do not speak for me.”
“So you will help us, Uncle?”
“To leave Paris? Certainly. Monsieur Faverges must make his exit from the city as quickly as possible. You must journey to Poland, my son, and find this man Copernici. He is in great danger, as I’m sure you are aware. Poland has remained Catholic. Ory will surely send word to have him arrested, or worse. Copernici must be warned.
“I suggest you leave before dawn. The king’s vengeance has just begun. After tomorrow, I’m afraid many more will be swept up. It will give me some sense of peace if you are not among them. If you don’t make yourself conspicuous, you should have little to fear from the Inquisition. Word arrived just this morning by messenger. He had hard-ridden from Nérac, pausing only once a day to eat and sleep. The guard that my dear niece bribed was evidently indiscreet. He was discovered and questioned. He was happy to volunteer that the two of you were on your way to Savoy. No one will be looking for you specifically. Clever of you to employ such a ruse.”
“I wish we could accept the compliment, Uncle,” Hélène said. “But the misdirection was purely by chance. I planned to take Amaury to safety in Savoy, but he insisted on returning here to attempt to save his friend. The guard had already left us when Amaury told me of his destination.”
“And you chose to accompany him?”
“Yes, Uncle. I intend to accompany him wherever he goes for quite some time.”
“You will go with him to Poland then?”
“Yes.”
D’Aubuisson reached out with his short, chubby fingers and touched her cheek. “Such good fortune must be looked upon as a gift from God,” he said. “Your quest is blessed, then.”
“I would like to think so, Your Eminence,” Amaury replied.
“I can arrange safe passage for both of you out of the city, despite the kings order. I will give you both a letter that will identify you as on a papal assignment. My personal assistant, Père Étienne, will accompany you. He is completely reliable and trustworthy. You will enjoy unquestioned passage through any gate in Paris. I will also make arrangements for your travel, at least from Paris to the border. You should have little difficulty managing the rest on your own.”
“That is immensely kind of you, Your Eminence,” Amaury said. “And I have every intention of making the journey to Poland. But first I was hoping you might help us in other ways.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Two things. First, before I leave I was hoping to learn more specifically what plans Magister Ory has for the manuscript and, more importantly, for the man who wrote it.”
“Of course. Both Beda and Ory are here, within these walls. There is a good deal of conversation between them and the king. Such communication has a way of leaking out. I will find out what I can. What else?”
“I would ask your assistance in saving my friend Broussard from the stake.”
The dimples vanished. “He is accused of heresy, Monsieur Faverges. Even I cannot aid someone who has renounced the Faith.”
“Heretic or no, Your Eminence, I cannot leave Paris with my friend condemned in prison, particularly since I am responsible for him being there.”
“You are not responsible,” Hélène said. “How could you have known?”
“I agree,” d’Aubuisson said. “You do him no good by staying. All that you will achieve is your own exposure and cause his death to be in vain.”
“I dont intend him to die,” Amaury said. “Since you are willing to sign a letter granting us passage from the city, Your Eminence, perhaps you can also sign one that demands Geoffrey to be released into my custody. So that he be returned to the Louvre and questioned further, perhaps.”
“You can’t ask him to do that, Amaury,” Hélène protested. “He would be found out.”
“That is of no concern,” d Aubuisson said. “I am a prince of the Holy Church. François has not gone to all this trouble to cultivate Rome to risk failure by prosecuting a cardinal. But I won’t write the letter because it will cause you to be found out. In that case, who will make the journey to Poland? I am sorry for your friend, my son, but we must not lose sight of our preeminent objective.”
“Your Eminence,” Amaury said, “I will not leave without trying to free my friend. The task will be more difficult if you withhold your assistance, but I must try in any event. If I slink out of Paris and leave Geoffrey to his fate, anything else I do has no value.”
D’Aubuisson considered his alternatives. “You will not change your mind. I can see that. Once you have freed your friend, you will leave for Poland?”
“We will be out of porte de Temple within the hour.”
DAubuisson nodded. “Very well. You will have the letter in the morning. Get some sleep. You will have a long day tomorrow. I will have you awakened at six. Best get to the Conciergerie early to avoid the officers of the watch. But you cannot arrive too early. And do not leave your rooms under any circumstances until Père Étienne comes to fetch you. You dont want to chance a meeting with Ory in the halls.” D’Aubuisson raised a cautionary finger; his dimples returned. “And you certainly don’t want to run into the king.”
Hélène moved forward and kissed the old man on the cheek. “Thank you, Uncle. I am once again in your debt.”
“Suborning heresy,” the cardinal muttered. “This has turned into quite a unique adventure.”