Shadow of God (26 page)

“I still need to review the reports with the Treasurer, and inspect the troops. But, the inspection will be a pleasure. It is good to see the knights in their battle dress and their weapons.”

“And let us not forget the inspection of the Hospital,” Bosio said.

“Yes, actually I was looking forward to that. I’m anxious to talk with Doctor Renato and see how well prepared he is.”

Philippe took up his broadsword, placing it carefully on his hip, assessing himself in a small wall mirror as he did so. When he had adjusted his uniform, he motioned to Bosio. “
On y va!
” Let’s go! “We have some daylight left. Let’s visit the good doctor and his staff.”

The two men walked side by side, in a military cadence. They left the Residence of the Grand Master, and proceeded toward the hospital, which was located at the eastern end of the Street of the Knights, farthest from the Palace.

As Philippe and Bosio proceeded through the city, small groups of Rhodian citizens greeted them: a tip of a hat; a military salute; a word of greeting. One group of men had congregated near the
doorway to the Inn of France when the Grand Master walked by. Philippe raised a gloved hand in salute, but the men merely glared at him. He touched Bosio’s shoulder and turned toward the small group. Bosio started to protest, but it was too late. Philippe had stepped over to the men and was saying something that Bosio could not hear. The tallest of the men stepped forward and confronted Philippe directly. Bosio rushed to Philippe’s side, his hand on his sword. Without taking his eyes from the man, Philippe raised a quieting hand toward Bosio, but Bosio held his place at Philippe’s right. He was not going to allow even the gesture of violence against the Grand Master. As Bosio took up his position he heard Philippe say, “…and we are your allies, are we not?”

The man blew a puff of air through his pursed lips, contemptuous of Philippe’s words. “You are nobody’s allies but your own, monsieur. We have been on this island long before you came, and we shall be here after you leave. The Turks would not be bothering us if it were not for you. If you were not here, they would leave us in peace. We could trade with them, or with anyone else in these waters. But
you
…
you
bring down the anger of the Turks upon our island. Then you burn our farms and destroy our houses…”

Philippe interrupted. “If we did not burn the outlying farms and destroy the houses, the Turks would use them. We would be providing them with food and shelter…something we cannot do in a siege…”

“If you would take your knights and just leave us, there would be no siege!” the man shouted. The others began to mutter and grumble in agreement. Bosio sensed that the situation might be getting out of hand. He did not want to fight with the Rhodians. They would be sorely needed in the coming months.

“Grand Master,” Bosio whispered, “we must hurry. We have no time for this.”

Philippe hesitated, then reluctantly turned. He hoped that these were only a few who felt this way inside his city.

The Hospital of the Knights was a large and imposing building, completed in 1484 by Grand Master d’Aubusson. The stones had been taken from the ruins of an old Roman building on the same site.

As they entered the ward, Doctor Apella Renato recognized the uniform of the Grand Master. He jumped to his feet and faced Philippe. When Renato stood, he was as tall as the Grand Master, himself. And the Grand Master was well over six feet. Bosio broke the embarrassed silence, and said, “I am sorry to have startled you,
Dottore
. But,
Permettez-moi de vous présenter, Le Grand Maître, Philippe Villiers de L’Isle Adam.”
Please allow me to present the Grand Master.

Renato brought his heels together and bowed deeply to the Grand Master. The men shook hands, and he replied, “
Enchanté de faire votre conaissance, Seigneur. ‘
I am pleased to meet you, my Lord.’ Let me show you our hospital.”

They left the doctor’s office and walked through the ward. Beds were lined up neatly on either side against the walls. Philippe was heartened to see the absolute cleanliness of the room. All the floors and walls had been neatly scrubbed, and the beds were freshly made. There were no dirty dressings or any sign of garbage, as he had seen in so many other hospitals around Europe. The air smelled of disinfectant, but he could not place the odor precisely. Before he could ask, Renato said, “
Seigneur
, as you can see, there are none of your knights here at the moment. Happily, when we are not fighting, the knights stay healthy enough. Most of these patients are farmers or people of the town. A few are travelers who took ill while nearby or while visiting our island.”

They stopped at the foot of one of the beds, and the doctor walked to the side near the patient. There was an elderly man lying in the bed, wearing a white gown. The stump of his arm was heavily bandaged. A knight was finishing with the old man’s dressings and taking away the soiled bandages. Next to him, a young woman, her back to Philippe, was holding the old man’s hand.

Gesturing to the knight, he said, “My Lord,
permettez-moi de vous présentez le Chevalier, M. Jean de Morelle.”

Philippe nodded. “Yes, I am well acquainted with Monsieur de Morelle.”

“Oh, of course.” Renato turned to the woman and smiled. But, he did not introduce her to the Grand Master. Melina continued to tend to the old man, and silently thanked the doctor for leaving her
out of the introductions. The less the Grand Master saw Jean and Melina together, the better, Renato thought. No need to flaunt their relationship. Jean took the dressings away, and moved on to another patient. Melina remained with the old man.

Philippe moved closer to the old man. As he did so, Melina sensed his closeness and looked toward him. As their eyes met, she could see the Grand Master wince. His eyes locked upon hers, and narrowed almost as if he were in pain. His breath stopped in his chest, and his hands balled into fists. His whole body stiffened. She could not hold his gaze, and turned back to the old man. When she resumed wrapping his dressings she could feel the eyes of the Grand Master still on her. Her hands began to tremble, and she could not stop them. She began to make a mess of her work.

For his part, Philippe could not tear himself away. His heart was racing. Small droplets of sweat began to glisten on his lip. He tried to calm himself. He was sure the beating in his chest could be heard in the room. Surely the woman had sensed his emotions, for she had turned from him and he noticed that her hands were shaking badly.

How can it be?
he wondered.
How could two women look so alike, yet be unrelated? It is almost as if she were a twin. Hélène’s twin.
Philippe’s mind was already back in Paris.

His rooms in Paris had been nearly dark except for the small candle guttering in the last of the wax. Soon it would be out, and the room would be completely black. The summons to come to Rhodes as the newly elected Grand Master lay on the floor next to his bed, where it had fallen hours earlier. He had read it so many times that he could recite it by heart. Some of words were partially obscured, for they were wet with the salt moisture of tears.

Hélène had read it through before she had thrown it to the ground. She rolled back on the rumpled sheets of their bed and buried her face in the pillows. Philippe leaned over her and tried to take her in his arms. But, she pulled away, and sought refuge at the edge of the small bed. There was nowhere to go.

“It’s a summons I cannot ignore, Hélène.”

Hélène said nothing.

“I must go, and I don’t know when I will be coming back.”

Hélène rolled over onto her back, pressing alongside Philippe and holding on to him tightly. Her dark hair was in cascades, tousled and wild. She was still wet from perspiration and now from her tears as well.

“Can’t I go to Rhodes with you, Philippe?”

Philippe closed his eyes and shook his head slowly back and forth
. “C’est impossible, Chérie. Impossible.”

Hélène let go of him, and turned away once again.

Nothing is possible now,
he had thought.
And never can it be again.
Then the candle had sputtered for a last time and the room was black.

Philippe could feel the stares of everyone around him.

“My Lord?” Bosio asked, “are you unwell? Is it the odors, perhaps?”

Philippe brought himself back to the present and moved closer to the old man. He forced his eyes away from Melina and cocked his head, as if he had not understood what Bosio had said.

The old man looked up at the Grand Master and his Servant-at-Arms, but made no signs of recognition.

“This farmer was injured while harvesting his crops,” Renato told Philippe and Bosio. “He cut his hand badly, and developed an infection that nearly killed him. Only when he was suffering from a gangrene did his family bring him from Lindos to our hospital. Unfortunately, I had to amputate the arm below the elbow. That was over a month ago, and we’ve had a stormy time of it.” He turned to the old man and said in Greek, “Haven’t we,
philo moo
?” My friend. The old man smiled and nodded slightly. But, there was a persistent sadness in his eyes.

“He will live now, thank God, but life will be difficult for him, I’m afraid. It’s hard to be a farmer without your right hand, and he has no family other than his aging wife. His sons were killed right here during the last siege. Now, who will care for him?”

The Grand Master stood stiffly erect. “God will care for him,
Dottore,
and we shall be the arms and the hands of God. Make sure that this man and his wife are well provided for, Bosio. If necessary,
bring them within the city walls and provide them with shelter. Their sons died in our service. We will see that this old man and his wife do not suffer for that.”

When they reached the end of the ward, Philippe put out his hand and said, “Thank you,
Dottore.
I am very pleased to see what you’ve done here. Though we spend a good deal of our time in the military pursuits of the knighthood, you know that our main task on Earth is to care for the sick. Make sure that you always have enough of my knights to maintain this level of care. We will provide you with whatever you need.” Then his voice lowered, and he spoke to Renato in a tone of confidence.

“Now hear me well. As you know, we expect the Turks to attack this fortress. I don’t know when that may be, but we must be well prepared. My knights will take care of the preparations for the battle, but you must prepare for the possibility of many wounded and sick. We may well have another siege here, and I fear it will be far worse than the last one. Send now for whatever medicines you may want. Herbs, dressings. Opium. Yes, especially opium. Anything you need, have it sent for at once.”

“I will, my Lord. But, in calculating my needs, for what period of time shall I plan?”

“I think you should lay in supplies that would last you for a year.”

Renato’s eyes widened at the words of the Grand Master.

Philippe and his Servant-at-Arms turned from the ward and made their way back to the Palace.

Renato went back into the ward and found Jean cleaning instruments at a basin. Melina was with him, drying and sorting the clean instruments.