They had already been warned not to pursue their relationship. La Valette had approached Thomas at the morning weapons drill and taken him aside for a quiet exchange. Maria de Venici, he reminded the young knight, was waiting for her brother to retrieve her from the island and pay over the reward to the Order for her rescue.
Thomas’s lips twitched with amusement. Ransom was a more accurate word for it. Not that such an infelicitous term played any part in the exchange of messages between the Order and the Venici family.
‘Your mutual affection has not gone unnoticed,’ said La Valette. ‘And I must warn you that it is inadvisable, Thomas. Maria is betrothed to another and there is no future for this . . . friendship that has grown between you.’
‘Who told you, sir?’ Thomas asked.
Before he could stop himself, La Valette’s gaze instinctively flickered towards the other young knights practising their attacks against wooden dummies set up in the courtyard of Fort St Angelo. Thomas looked beyond him and saw Oliver Stokely watching them. As their eyes met, Stokely turned his attention back to the dummy he had been attacking, which was painted to resemble a Turk, complete with a crudely depicted face with dark features and black eyes.
So, Thomas thought, it was the man he had considered a friend. It came as little surprise. Their friendship had cooled in the weeks since the galley had returned to Malta as it quickly became evident that the woman they had set free preferred the company of Thomas. She had been grateful and friendly towards Stokely, but her expression became far more lively in the presence of Thomas and it was him she asked to accompany her in her walks about Birgu, and then in the surrounding countryside.
That was where it had happened, Thomas recalled, with a quickening of his pulse. In the shadow of one of the island’s rare trees on the heights of St Margaret, which overlooked Birgu and the harbour. She had stumbled against him, her brow brushing his cheek as he caught her by the arm to prevent her falling. Maria had looked up, and smiled, and then they had kissed. It had been an instinctive act, and Thomas had been shocked by his impulsiveness, until she reached her hand behind his neck and pulled him closer to her and they kissed again. They found a hidden comer in one of the stone walls and Thomas had laid his cape on the ground and they had remained there for the rest of the afternoon, before returning to Birgu, flushed with passion, and trepidation. It was a dangerous liaison and both knew it. Yet they could not, and would not, constrain the heat that coursed through their veins.
That had been several days before La Valette had issued his warning. Days in which Thomas had endured his daily duty as if it had been an eternity in purgatory. Afterwards he ran to meet her at place they had agreed upon, a small garden close to the town gate. It had belonged to a Venetian merchant who had bequeathed it to the islanders. The garden offered shade and the sweet scent of flowers and herbs to visitors. A more fertile ground for the meeting of lovers was not to be found anywhere else on the island. That was where they had been, in a shady bower, when Stokely had appeared, standing foursquare upon the path, in the direct glare of the sun. He stared at them in silence as they self-consciously leaned away from each other. The scar on his cheek was still livid and had stretched skin at the comer of his mouth into a faint sneer.
‘Oliver,’ Maria smiled. ‘You surprised us.’
‘I can see that,’ he replied coldly. ‘So, this is where you have cn running off to, Thomas.’
Thomas rose from the bench he had been sharing with Maria, 'Listen, this is our secret. I would ask you not to tell anyone of this.’
‘Ask and be damned,’ Stokely said angrily. ‘This is wrong. You swore an oath of chastity, Thomas. As has every knight.’
Thomas snorted. ‘The oath is meaningless. Honoured more in the breach than the obligation, and you know it. Grand Master d’Omedes is content to turn a blind eye when it suits him.’
‘Nevertheless, it is an oath. It is my duty to report this.’
The two glared at each other and Thomas was surprised to see the anger, and even hate, that blazed in the eyes of his friend.
‘You must not speak a word of this, Oliver. If not for the sake of our friendship, then out of chivalry to Maria.’
‘I will take no lessons in chivalry from you!’ Stokely spat. Thomas gritted his teeth and pressed his lips together as his hands balled into fists. But before the confrontation could go any further he felt Maria gently stay his arm. She stepped between them and smiled nervously at Stokely. ‘There is no need for this. Not amongst friends.’
‘I see no friends here,’ Stokely responded in a strained voice.
Maria frowned 'I consider you a friend, Oliver, and you have my heartfelt gratitude for saving me from the Turks, as does Thomas.
‘Is this how a friend shows gratitude?’
‘Do not be angry with me.’ She reached out for his hand but Stokely took a step back. Maria let out a small gasp. ‘Oliver... I speak direct from my heart when I call you my friend. My dear friend.’
‘Then why do you betray my friendship like this? Both of you.’
‘In what way have I betrayed you? Have I lied to you?’ she reproved him.
When he did not reply she lowered her head sadly. ‘I had thought you my benefactor and friend, just as I regard Thomas. And now, even though he is more than my friend, that does not make you less of one. Dear Oliver, please understand.’
‘Do not call me that! Not unless you mean it as I wish it to be meant.’
‘You have my affection. Please do not abuse it.’
Stokely growled something under his breath and with a last bitter glance at Thomas he turned on his heel and strode off through the garden. Thomas watched his retreating back and let out a sigh. ‘There will be trouble for us. Mark my words.’
Maria shook her head. ‘Oliver is a good man, and a good friend. He will come to his senses.’
Thomas thought for a moment and shrugged. ‘I hope you are right, my love.’
As soon as he had uttered the words he felt his heart jump anxiously and he quickly glanced at Maria. She was smiling at him in delight as she whispered, ‘And now I know ‘Thomas, did you hear me?’ La Valette snapped.
Thomas’s mind raced to recall what his superior had just said to him, but to no avail. His mouth opened, but no reply came. La Valette let out a hiss of exasperation and ran his hand through his thick dark hair. He leaned forward.
‘Stay away from the woman. If you do not, there can only be misfortune for you both. Great misfortune. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘I could ask you for your word that you will not see her but I would not wish to place you in a position where your soul was put at risk for the sake of your more animal instincts.’ Thomas felt a moment’s anger at this characterisation of his feelings. ‘I am therefore ordering you to remain away from Maria de Venici until her brother removes her from the island,’ La Valette continued. ‘Is that understood? Keep away from the house where she is staying.’
‘I understand.’
‘Good.’ La Valette stretched up to his full height with a smile. ‘I let her know what has been agreed. Let that be an end to it.’ Why has she not come? Thomas fumed. She had got his note and -lied that she would meet him, despite the warning from La Valette. So what could have delayed her? A change of heart, or me other cause? Dear Lord, let it be another cause, Thomas prayed silently, then felt ashamed that he had called on divine favour In pursuit of an end he knew that others would see as ignoble.
He decided to wait until the bell tolled the first hour of the morning. If Maria had not come by then he would take it that she would never come and that this first love of his life was doomed.
The night edged on and as the deep note of the bell sounded, he drew a sorrowful breath and slowly paced back along the path. Then she emerged from the gloom and hurried towards him and without a word they embraced and kissed and all his fears vanished.
‘What kept you from me?’ Thomas asked at length.
‘I’m so sorry, my love. The wife of the merchant tasked with accommodating me is a suspicious old shrew and watches me like a hawk.’
‘With good cause.’ Thomas chuckled.
Maria pushed at his chest. ‘Do not mock. I had to wait until I was sure there was no movement in the house before I dared creep tint. I came as soon as I could. We haven’t much time. I have to be back in my room before the servants stir at dawn.’
She kissed him again and Thomas sensed her tension and drew back.
‘What is the matter?’ he asked.
Her skin looked pale in the moon’s glow as she stared at him, and he felt her tremble. ‘Thomas, what is to become of us? We are sinning, there is no other word for it. I am to be married to another you my heart and body. What good is that? My brother will arrive any day. After that we shall never see each other
‘So we should make the most of the time we have.’
‘We have already made more of it than is prudent,’ she replied nervously.
‘Damn prudence. We should follow our natures and our hearts.’ She shook her head and spoke softly. ‘You fool. You dear fool. We are as the smallest cogs in an intricate mechanism. We must turn on the whim of larger forces. We have no say in it.’
‘But we do,’ Thomas responded earnestly. ‘We could leave Malta. Come home with me to England.’
‘Leave Malta? How? Do you think to steal yourself a ship as easily as you have stolen my heart?’.
‘It was not stolen, as I recall, but freely given.’ Thomas rubbed his jaw as he considered their plight. ‘We could stow away aboard a merchant ship. Make for France and travel on from there.’ He was speaking without much thought and his words sounded foolish and hopeless even to him. Maria would be missed at once, and when it was discovered that he was also gone, it was not hard to imagine the consequences. Maria was in the safekeeping of the Order. They could not be seen to have failed in their duty. A fast galley would be sent in pursuit of any ship that had left the island. They would be overtaken before the first day was out and brought back to face the wrath of the Grand Master. He knew this but still his heart argued for fleeing with Maria.
‘What can we do?’ he asked angrily. ‘I will not give you up!’
‘Yes, you will.’ A voice spoke from the shadows further along the track. ‘Sooner than you think.’
They turned towards the sound and Thomas saw a figure emerge into the wan moonlight. A man, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Several more men appeared behind him.
‘Oliver . . .’ Maria whispered.
Thomas swallowed and tried to sound calm as he addressed his former friend. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Don’t be an even bigger fool than you already are, Thomas,’
Stokely responded. ‘You know precisely why I am here.’ He turned and gestured to the men behind him. ‘Arrest them both. Take the lady back to her quarters.’
Two men approached and Thomas stepped in front of Maria and raised his fists.
‘No, Thomas!’ she said urgently. ‘It’s too late for that. Far too late.’
‘Maria is right,’ Stokely intervened. ‘It is too late. It is over between you. Now let the lady be escorted to her keepers. . . ‘
Thomas stood his ground and Maria edged round him, taking his hand and giving it a quick squeeze before they were parted. Thomas watched in anger and despair as the three figures padded back along the path towards Birgu. Then Stokely gave a curt command and ’o men grasped his arms and pinned them behind his back. Stokely stepped forward and shook his head mockingly. ‘Dear Thomas, what is to become of you now?’
Flickering candles illuminated the hurriedly assembled hearing. Thomas stood between two armed guards in front of the three men sitting behind a long table. To one side Stokely stood and gave his account. When he had finished there was a tense silence before the Grand Master cleared his throat and glared at Thomas.
‘Do you have any idea how much damage you have done to the Order? The Venici family will never forgive us when they hear what has happened. Nor will the Duke in Sardinia to whose son Maria was betrothed. Our position is precarious enough without making new enemies.’
Romegas growled, ‘If we are denied permission to replenish our galleys from the ports of Naples and Sardinia then our ability to strike at the corsairs and the Turks will be hit hard, sir.’
The Grand Master sucked in a breath. ‘What are we to do?’
‘I don’t think there’s any choice, sir,’ Romegas replied. ‘We must punish Sir Thomas, in an exemplary fashion. The Venici family will expect nothing less.’
‘Wait.’ La Valette half turned to address the other men seated at the table. ‘There is no need to act rashly. It is not too late to hide this affair from outside eyes.’
‘I wonder,’ the Grand Master mused and then looked at Thomas shrewdly. ‘Is it too late? Sir Thomas, is the lady’s honour still intact?’
Thomas flushed and his defiant gaze dropped and he stared at the stone floor in front of the table.
‘I see,’ d’Omedes said flatly. ‘Then we must do as Romegas says. Punishment must be swift and severe. The Order must be seen to have acted against this miscreant.’
‘He has broken a sacred oath,’ said Romegas, ‘and betrayed the honour of the Holy Religion. The Venicis will want his head. I suspect nothing short of that will assuage their anger.’
La Valette snorted with derision. ‘You are not seriously suggesting that we execute Sir Thomas?’
Romegas nodded. ‘That is precisely what I am suggesting.’
‘For what? For succumbing to the weakness of the flesh? That is no reason to hang a man. By God, if it were then half the knights of the Order should be strung up alongside him for having mistresses or ravaging the women of our enemies.’
The Grand Master raised a hand. ‘Pray, be quiet. We are not here to judge other knights. Just Sir Thomas.’
‘Unless there is a common standard then I suggest that we have no code of honour worth preserving, sir.’
The Grand Master’s brow furrowed angrily. ‘You go too far, La Valette.’
‘No, sir. It is you who are stepping beyond the bounds.’ La Valette gestured towards Thomas. ‘I know this knight well. He has fought at my side for these last two years. I have not seen his equal for courage and devotion to the Order. Sir Thomas is one of the most promising knights of his generation. It would be foolhardy to eradicate such talent when we are in sore need of fighting men. Punish him, yes. A public flogging perhaps. That should do to remind our men of the need to act with honour and chivalry. That is all that is necessary.’
‘It is not enough,’ Romegas replied. ‘If we did that and permitted Sir Thomas to stay in the Order, he would be a constant reminder of our shame and, worse, our leniency and indulgence of ill discipline and lax morality. Our younger knights need to be taught a lesson. They need a reminder of the depth and solemnity of the oaths that bind the Order together. Let Sir Thomas’s death reaffirm the bonds that tie us. I urge you to have him executed, sir.’