HISTORICAL FICTION — SPECULATIVE FICTION

Adopting The Profession Of Masonry

Chapter Nineteen — Pascal’s grandson Léo is contacted by Laurent

The old ways had to change. Gods or just one God, it didn’t matter anymore. The one thing that didn’t ever change was greed, the greed of the Church or the greed of traders who brought the plague to their lands. Change was inevitable and needed. It was out of this demand for change which had the de Longpré family gave up their oath to protect the old religion. Change was needed but change was slow to come. No one knew the path to take, not the family nor anyone else.

With the land in turmoil, it was a time for the remains of the ruling classes to sort out areas of control. And much of the wars that ensued were fought in Picardy, the ancestral home of the Longpré family. Picardy lay in ruins. Many of the towns were abandoned, including the town of Longpré-les-Corps-Saints.

It was only when peace finally returned to the valley of the Somme River in Picardy. And it was with that peace, the decedents of Guillaume de Longpré returned home, not as nobles any longer, but as common labourers and as stone masons. Pascal had died before the family had left his chateau, fleeing as war descended onto the lands of his ancestors. His son Léo, who was a strong man, had been forced to take the family to safety.

Léo had found use for his strength finding work as a mason building churches, a profession which allowed them live in relative comfort while so many others came close to starving. It was an honourable and rewarding work. Léo had no knowledge of their Celtic heritage that was tied to the Somme River valley.

However, like so many of his ancestors before him, a visit from a stranger who called himself Laurent soon changed that. Léo saw with his eyes and listened and knew what he had experienced was as true as the stones which he placed to build the walls of a church.

Not too far away, in Notions, Picardy, a young lawyer named Jean Cauvin, had been attracting the angry attention of the clergy for his views. The lawyer soon found himself embracing the rebels cause against the authority of the Church. Jean Cauvin broke away from the Church and soon fled to Switzerland where he became the leader of what would become the Huguenots with the name John Calvin.

Raymond packed up his tools. It was time to leave the brickworks and walk to the village church for yet another mandated sermon. The Curé, following the demands of the Bishop in Longpré-les-Corps-Saint, railed against the apostate Huguenots who were challenging the authority of the Church.

Raymond could care less about religion. All that concerned him, was the welfare of his family and his work as a mason. He was a mason like his father and grandfather had been, and it was likely his two sons would be soon following in his footsteps. Raymond had no interest in anything to do with the church or with village politics.

Raymond was unlike his grandfather who constantly bored him with tales of how the family had once been nobles. He liked his simple life and had enough on his plate to simply keep his wife and children taken care of, something not so easy to do with all the tension in the village.

Though there had been no wars raging through the river valley since he had been born, there had been more than enough violence. A few rebels in the village had begun to challenge the local priest, making fun of him while mocking the Pope.

Everyday there seemed to be another fist fight in response to the rebels’ actions. Just the day before it had resulted in one of the rebels being beaten to death by a crowd which had gathered. Raymond had begun to worry things would get even worse. What would he do if war broke out, a religious war?

Once the sermon was over, Raymond decided it was too late to return to the brickyard, so he made his way to his small home at the outer edge of the village. His house stood at the edge of the peat bog not too distant from a small clump of trees. The mosquitoes were bad, but perhaps not as bad as having too many neighbours.

As he made his way past the run down inn, he noticed a tall man looking at him. With a quick look around himself, Raymond knew that the man was really looking at him and not some other man. The stranger approached.

“Are you Raymond Picard?”

Raymond confirmed with a nod of his head, wondering just how it was that a stranger would know his name.

“My name is Laurent and I would like to speak with you for a few moments. Could I interest you in a mug of ale? I have something of importance I need to discuss with you.”

Raymond considered for a moment. He had time yet before the evening meal, enough time for a mug of ale which would be a pleasant treat. What harm could there be in accepting the gift of drink from the man.

“Thank you, my good Sir. I would be very welcome to the idea of a pint and answering your pressing questions.”

Together, the two men turned to enter the inn. The place was busy, as always, at this time of day. The two men were able to find a small table in a corner where they could talk. Raymond raised his hand and called out to a young woman who was racing between tables with a tray of empty ale mugs.

“Colette, a pitcher of ale and two mugs,” Raymond called out as they sat by the table. “Now, Laurent is it? What do you want to tell me, or ask me?

“We’ll wait until we have our ale, if that is okay,” remarked Laurent. “Travelling is thirsty work.”

Laurent and Raymond took their time with the ale as Laurent began his tale. “I am an old friend of your grandfather.”

“Strange,” remarked Raymond with a chuckle, “You don’t look old enough to be an old friend of his.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Raymond explained. “However, regardless, your grandfather knows me. I haven’t seen him in many years, but I doubt the he will have forgotten our last meeting together.”

“So, what has does my grandfather have to do with this meeting?” Raymond asked. “If this is about my grandfather, why haven’t you gone to the house to talk with him?”

“Well, it is also about you, Raymond. I’ll explain later. For now, I was hoping that you would let your grandfather know that the time is ripe. He will know what that means. I am sure that he will explain and answer your questions. Tell him that we need to meet tomorrow evening, just after sunset, at the same place as our last meeting. Be patient, Raymond. You will understand everything in good time. Now, a toast to our new friendship.”

Soon after the toast, Laurent excused himself saying he needed to relieve himself. Raymond waited but, Laurent never returned. Puzzled, but satisfied with a free mug of ale, Raymond left the inn and continued on to his home.

Previously

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Carrie, Author, D. Denise Dianaty, Brian Lageose, Mariana Busarova, Rena Aliston, Julia A. Keirns, Michael Cappelli, Daniel Shaw, and Luis Ruiz, Robert, Arzuman Mamishov, Adda Maria, Love, and Mariana Busarova