Brethren: An Epic Adventure of the Knights Templar Read Online Free PDF

He recovered quickly, his eyes narrowing as he saw Will. Setting down the knife, he wiped his hands on his tunic, glancing past Will as Simon hastened out and shut the storeroom door. “What were you two doing in there?”

    “We heard a noise,” said Will calmly. “We went to see what it…”

    Peter pushed past him and yanked open the door. “Pilfering rations again?” He scoured the storeroom’s shadows, but could see nothing out of place. “What was it last time? Thieving bread?”

    “Cake,” corrected Will. “And I wasn’t thieving, I was…”

    “And you?” Peter turned on Simon. “What need has a groom in the kitchens?”

    Simon hooked his thumbs in his belt and shrugged, shuffling from one foot to the other.

    “The stable broom was broken,” said Will. “We came to borrow one.”

    “Takes two of you to carry it, does it?”

    Will stared back at him in silence.

    Peter scowled. He had served the preceptory for thirty years and refused to have his intelligence insulted by these upstart adolescents. But he didn’t have the authority to force a confession from them. He looked from the storeroom to Will, then ceded with a grunt of annoyance. “Take your broom and be off then.” Returning to the trestle, he snatched up the knife. “But if I see either of you in here again, I’ll report you to the Master.”

    Will hastened through the kitchen, pausing to grab a besom from the wall by the hearth. He headed outside, blinking at the sun’s brightness and turned, grinning, as Simon came out behind him. “Here.”

    “How kind,” said Simon, as Will handed him the broom. “I hope your curiosity is satisfied. If a knight had found us…?” He sucked in a breath. “The next time you want someone to keep watch for you, I’ll be in the Holy Land. I expect I’ll be safer there.” He shook his head, but gave Will a broad smile that revealed his jagged front tooth, broken when a horse had kicked him. “Will I see you before Nones?”

    Will wrinkled his nose at the mention of the afternoon office. He hadn’t even begun his chores and the morning was already drawing to a close. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day for all the things he was expected to do, however fast he tried to work. Between mealtimes, daily training on the field with the sword, and all the menial tasks he had to undertake for his master, there was very little time left for anything else, let alone the seven offices to God. Will’s day, as all sergeants’, began before dawn with the office of Matins, when the chapel, summer or winter, would be cold and gloomy, after which he would see to his master’s horse, then be given his orders. At around six was the office of Prime and following this, Will and his fellow sergeants would break their fast, while listening to a reading of the scriptures, then return to the chapel for the offices of Terce and Sext. In the afternoon, between lunch, chores and training, he attended Nones. At dusk there was Vespers, followed by supper, and the whole day ended with Compline. Some Templars might be proud to be known as the warrior monks, but Will resented seeing more of the inside of the chapel than his own bed. He was about to complain of this to Simon, who was already well versed in his objections, when he heard someone shout his name.

    A short, red-haired boy was running toward them, scattering the hens that were pecking in the yard. “Will, I’ve a message from Sir Owein. He wants to see you in the solar immediately.”

    “Did he say why?”

    “No,” replied the boy. “But he didn’t look pleased.”

    “Do you think he knows what we was doing?” murmured Simon at Will’s side.

    “Not unless he can see through walls.”

    Will grinned, then sprinted off across the yard, the sun warm on his back. Diving down a passage that led past the fragrant-smelling kitchen garden, he came out in a large courtyard surrounded by gray stone buildings. Beyond the buildings to the