The Devil in Green (66 page)

'A fire takes on the aroma of whatever spice is thrown in it.
' – Heraclitus

The peal of bells at noon should have sounded joyful, yet it had an oddly
leaden note to it as if it were heralding a warning instead of a celebration.
The entire brotherhood, packed into the cathedral for the announcement,
waited with a measure of hope. Mallory had already decided that what was
to come was a foregone conclusion, though no one believed him. 'Stefan
hasn't got enough experience in the Church,' Daniels said. 'They'll go for
a continuity candidate, somebody with the weight of Cornelius.'

Mallory tried to explain that, as in all shifts of power, it would simply go
to whoever wanted it badly enough. Daniels had countered that Stefan had
professed he didn't want it at all - he was happy with his lot. Mallory
praised him for a life untainted with cynicism - or reality. They agreed to
differ.

The Church elders sat impassively in the quire, though Mallory thought
he saw a hardness in some of their features that suggested which way the
wind had blown.

It was Julian, the man who should have been Cornelius's anointed
successor but who was probably too young and too pleasant, who made
the announcement. 'The Chapter of Canons has deliberated long and hard
over the last twenty-four hours. The choice of who should become our
new bishop was never going to be easy.' His voice was strong, filling the
vast structure. 'We took advice from some of the most learned and wisest
members of our Church before reaching our decision. We considered the
merits of many before coming to our conclusion. In the end, it was a
harder decision than anyone dreamed, but it must be one that you all
accept, for anything less than a united front could be the end of us.'

Mallory thought it interesting that he made this point so early in his
speech.

Julian took a deep breath before continuing, his gaze fixed on the
sunlight breaking through the stained-glass windows. 'There are some
amongst you who probably feel we are rushing towards this with
unseemly haste. Indeed, that was my own opinion. However, the case
has been made that we are in a time of
crisis
...
if not war . . . and that
to leave the Church leaderless at this time would be an abdication of
responsibility with potentially lethal results. This is a time when we must
all pull together, for our own survival and for the survival of the Church.
The case, too, was made that the strongest leadership will be necessary.
Thoughtful debate and a desire to consider all sides is a peacetime
luxury. I accept now that we need a clear vision, a brave heart and a
strong stomach. An ability to call, perhaps, for sacrifices from us all. And
who knows the importance of sacrifice better than we? Our Lord Jesus
Christ died to redeem all mankind. Against that, the sacrifices demanded
of us must seem petty. And so we shall stand firm, and do what is asked
of us.'

He appeared at that moment to be talking to himself. He caught himself
after a long pause and fixed his attention back on the rapt audience. 'The
new bishop is well known to you, and I'm sure you're perfectiy aware of
the qualities we saw in him.' He took a step to one side and made an
awkward gesture that had more of the theatrical about it than any honest
emotion. 'Our new bishop is Stefan.'

A ripple ran through the crowd, though whether it was appreciative or
not was hard to tell. Mallory tried to catch Daniels' eye, but his friend
pointedly avoided him.

Stefan emerged from the wings with an air of studied
gravitas.
'Thank
you, Julian. I am truly humbled by the trust you have all placed in me, and
I pray that I can find the strength to live up to expectations. This is not a
position I wished for - I was content to serve in the role God had granted
me - and certainly not in these terrible circumstances. But I will not shirk
this calling. I will continue to serve God, and you, to the best of the abilities
with which He has gifted me.' He continued to move his gaze across the
congregation as if he were speaking to each one personally. 'There will be
some
changes ...
we need to be stronger if we are to avoid any more
tragedies . . . but this is not the time to talk of them. The Chapter of
Canons will convene shortiy to discuss the new rules I have planned and
an announcement will be made soon. Now, let us join together in prayer
for my predecessor, Cornelius, a devout man who provided many lessons
for us all.'

As they bowed their heads, Daniels finally did look over. Mallory was
surprised by what he saw in his face: it looked very much like fear.

The ceremony anointing Stefan had been stripped of pomp and ceremony
under the circumstances and took less than an hour. Afterwards, Mallory
and Gardener went to inspect the digging. Piles of soil lay all around, but
the diggers had now hit the expected obstacle of the gravel that provided
the solid foundation for the cathedral.

'They need to make it deep and wide enough to bring provisions in,'
Gardener mused.

'And when they could have made it just wide enough for one man,'
Mallory said.

Gardener eyed him suspiciously. 'You're not thinking of running out on
us, are you?'

'With the way things have been going here, I can honestly say I'd rather
be anywhere - even London.'

'You're just a soft Southern shit, Mallory,' Gardener deadpanned. 'The
first bit of bloody hardship and you fall apart.'

'Well, I wasn't brought up wearing a horsehair shirt in a leaky hovel, you
Northern bastard.'

Gardener fixed himself a roll-up.

'Where do you get that supply of tobacco from, anyway?' Mallory
asked.

'Don't ask me that, and I won't ask you what you did before you got
here.'

Mallory winced; was it that obvious? 'What do you think of the new
boss, then?'

'Good choice, I reckon.'

'Yeah? Can't see it myself.'

'He's a tough bloke. That's what we need right now: somebody who can
take control.'

'That's what they said in the Weimar Republic.'

Gardener inhaled the smoke deeply. 'Sometimes, Mallory, I think
you're from another bloody planet.'

November advanced relentlessly. The nights were always bitter, the days
harsher than anyone remembered from previous years. Winter threatened
a furious assault.

Stefan quickly but cautiously exerted his control over the rule of the
cathedral, though he did it with a smiling, always moderate face. The
Inquisition was brought into the structure of authority alongside the knights,
'to root out seditious elements amongst the brothers' so Stefan said, although
Mallory saw no sign of treason; most were too broken for that. Yet Stefan
made no overt move to change the day-to-day governance of life in the
cathedral. Instead, he preferred to make daily pronouncements filled with
platitudes about how spirits were high, how the brethren had grown even
more devout, how the Lord was with them in the face of adversity.