Percilla, now being recognized as a member of the mysterious Order of the Dragon, was a tempest of emotions, and she struggled to keep them all in check. But she had her anchors, familiar names and faces about her - not the least of which was Eason, dear reliable Eason, who walked next to her behind the Elder and her three companions. Percilla's emotional whirl alighted, for a moment, on the thought of Eason, and how the news of Thurgood's mistake might have caused them all such trouble. It had to be a mistake - poor dear Thurgood, such a reaction to their last conversation...
Thoughts and musings ended, after climbing back several staircases to the ground floor, and up into the main apartments and chambers of the cathedral's clergy. They were now in the residences, high above the streets of Paris with the sun now approaching noon, such was the length of the tribunal in the catacombs below.
The Elder approached an door which was guarded, seemingly, by a priest of the cathedral, who bowed to her, and held open the door as she swept regally by, the rest following her in. The room inside was remarkable: well-appointed, and to Percilla's aristocratic eye, might pass for any salon in Europe, and not Notre Dame. Bright and airy, with great windows looking south onto the city, there were chairs, small tables, and one great chair similar to the thrones used by the Order in the catacombs. Best of all, to Eason's notice, there was a luncheon laid out, and a sumptuous one, at that. With the Elder seated first by Father Patrick, all there simply helped themselves to what ever foods they fancied, and conversation began to flow.
What followed was a series of conversations, some one on one, others in a mix of voices, with a few punctures of laughter - usually by the brothers Marcelle and Pettibone. And whichever way the conversation steered, Percilla and Eason tried to steer it back to one burning question - what made the Order such a force, and why aren't they known?
"You know some of our history already, from what Father Patrick tells me," Gregor was saying, "and now all there remains is your instruction on what is expected of you, as a member of the Outer Court. Yes, Madam, for that is to be your new station as a member. As the presumptive Baronness of Sibiu', you already enjoyed the Order's protection, though you were not aware of us."
Then that explains," Eason said, "how you knew so quickly that Edgar had oncovered the key, and how we found the scroll."
"Precisely, young man," Gregor replied. "We knew of Percilla's heritage, and as Baron Mircea was the Knight-Commander of the Order, we were obligated to protect his line, no matter what or where. It was mainly a question of timing, as Her Grace stated: Edgar's blundering greed upset a timetable that was balanced with care, for years."
"Can you not tell me more, Sir," Percilla asked, "why was there such a need to wait? What were you all waiting for? What needed to happen, that Uncle Edgar ruined?
"Cardinal" Gregor paused, collecting his thoughts, then said, "Let me say this: the strategies in which the Order must act last over lifetimes. For a proper heir to resume the baronial title, there must be a legitimate heir immediately, or the title falls into vacancy. At the time of the Baron's death, there were no heirs of sufficient degree to make the claim. But we knew that Elizabet'a survived, and had children - and it would be her children who would gain legitimacy. Especially you, Miss St. Cyr, who was born into English aristocracy. So, you became the ideal person to reclaim the baronial title, and the Order's place as well."
"So, the barony and the knighthood go together, then?" Eason asked.
"For our purposes, yes," Gregor said. "It provides much more than legalities. It provides resource, and influence, that the Order needs in that region. Events Are moving throughout the world, young sir, that will require as much power and influence as the Order can possibly aquire."
Across the room, several people were watching the exchange...
"Do you think they will be strong enough? It is too soon for this, My Lady, I had warned you..."
"We must act now, and quickly, Stavros. You know my reasons. Percilla Raymondova will grow into this new life, as we did. As I did, if you recall?"
"It is still a dangerous game you play. She is not schooled, even in the fundamental things all of us know..."
"And was I, Stavros? When my family was exterminated by the Bolsheviks, thank God I had the Order to turn to, or I would have died in a barn in Siberia along with Nicolai and the rest. Only I remain, Stavros, to carry on."
"That is not a fair comparison, Katya, and you know it!"
"Is it not!" the Elder snorted. "The old families are dying out of the world, my friend. The Hapsburgs, the Romanovs, the Draculesti - who will be left to carry on the Order's work? The mushroom growths of England? The orphans and upstarts in America? Who, I ask? No, the great battle of this century for the Order begins now - and this young woman, who is stronger than you realize, shall bear the standard. I have forseen this."
The last sentence made Stavros take a breath. "When you say that word, Katya, I know well what you mean. I have learned not to doubt your 'sight'. Very well, I shall follow your lead in this. May God make your 'sight' clear."
BTTT ~ woo-hoo!
"Father, if I am truly a member of the Order now," she was asking, "is there to be no investiture, no ceremony to accompany this event? Or does the Order not stand on ceremony?"
"Oh, there certainly shall be, Child", Father Patrick said, "once more of the Order are assembled. The Order has some, well, unique methods of communication, that are more reliable and secure than letter posts and telegraphs. And our news travels faster than the radio of the news wires. It is how we conduct our operations, and how we track the working of The Enemy."
"And just who, is The Enemy of which you speak, Father?" she asked.
"The enemies of Christendom, My Lady, as it always has been," he replied. "The faces have changed over the centuries, as have the methods and weapons and policies, but The Enemy itself remains the same today as it was in antiquity."
"How is it possible to get information faster than the best reporters?" Percilla said skeptically.
"Oh, now that, My Lady, is a question that is better suited for the Inner Circle - and they won't tell you," Patrick said. "Not out of anything more than security. The Outer Court has its secrets, of course - they are charged with, among other things, the security and anonymity of the Order itself. They - including you and young Master Nordstrom, now - are the wardens, the gatekeepers who defend the Order's perimeter. The front-line soldier in the trench, is the best description."
Eason was also in talk with Alfred Pettibone, about his inclusion in the Order. "So, if I shall also be included in this enterprise," he was saying to Pettibone, "shall it be only as Percilla's 'guardsman', I think the word was used?
"That," Pettibone replied, "will likely be the least, and easiest, of your tasks, my friend. For the Outer Court does many tasks: guardian, watcher, adventurer and explorer, and many more besides. The great expeditions and voyages of discovery, do you recall them? Well, several of them, though they were fodder for the world's appetite of news and deeds, were expeditions on behalf of the Order of the Dragon, meant as missions to accomplish in some cases, a single task, which was worth the financing of the whole beastly lot!"
"That's an incredible claim, sir!" Eason said. "Some of the greatest adventures were the business of the Order? Such manpower and resources -"
"Ah, but you see, it's not necessary to finance the whole thing, now is it?" Pettibone explained. "Take the Arctic expeditions, for example. It was only necessary for two of our members, to accompany a recent expedition on one stage of the journey, getting us to where we really needed to go - an archeaological site frozen in the far north, which contained data needed for the Order's policies."
"So that way, the resources and personnel of the Order are husbanded! Brilliantly planned, Sir," Eason marveled. "But, hasn't anyone ever questioned their sponsors or benefactors? No suspicion has ever arisen?"
"I regret to say, in several cases, it has," Pettibone said, "and in each such case, it was not the fault of the knights of the Order, but rather the inquisitiveness of the expedition members and other backers. In those cases, it is our policy to sever all contact with that expedition, and make another attempt to garner our goals at a alter date. Of course, if the goal is of such immediate need, other arrangements cannot be made, and the work presses on, despite the suspicions."
All conversation stopped, at the chiming of the clock over the door. The Elder rose from her seat, and said, "It is now nearly time. Our guests shall be escorted to their new chambers. Your effects, my friends, have been obtained, and brought here. As members of the Order, your residence is here, in the safe house of Notre Dame."
"When you are shown your chambers," she went on, "there will be ceremonial vestments prepared for you. You shall don them, for your investiture this evening. We need only await the arrival of the others. Now, you may depart." And all there, Percilla and Eason bowing out of respect for this woman's presence, exited the salon, and the two newest Knights of the Dragon found their chambers, aside each other, with all readied as had been said.