Sophie set the silver plate upon the mesh outdoor table, avoiding placing it over the incriminating letter Élise had brought. They were discussing how the proceed with the news of the king's flight and the Illuminati ambush. They each took their steaming cup. As Sophie headed back inside, they resumed their discussion.

"Well," Timothee said. "I say if we can interrupt the Illuminati's operations, it's a good plan no matter what!"

"What are you, a damn royalist now, Tim?" Denis said. Élise knew he had a special hatred of the Royalists.

"Please don't be so curt, Denis. I understand the notion of royalty is...at odds with our order. But as the Arabs say, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend.' Anything they want must hurt them to be denied, even the king's life!"

Élise chimed in, "I think the salient issue is that we have an opportunity to kill Illuminati agents."

"Yes that...exactly!" Timothee-Abbé said. "If nothing else this gives us a unique opportunity to identify and kill members of the Illuminati. Their talent at secrecy makes that a rare opportunity!"

"We could always kill the royalty too," Denis said.

"That's...we would be accomplishing our enemy's purpose by doing so."

"So what? You're acting like this is a game of chess. We Templars are supposed to believe in something. If those beliefs happened to match the Illuminati's, so what?"

"But the king may prove a useful buffer against another threat I see in the horizon, the secular radicalism being wafted into the public by the likes of Robespierre and Jean-Paul Marat."

Élise knew Denis was going to hate those words.

"'Secular radicalism'?" The derision evident in his voice. Élise could sense everything bubbling beneath the surface.

"Denis, enough! I've made up my mind!" Timothee declared. He was showing emotionalism and insecurity. Such a declaration was antithetical to his call to discuss this over tea in the first place.

There was an awkward silence. Denis decided to fill it by taking a long drag of his tea. Élise knew he would have pushed harder if Timothee did not outrank him. Élise looked at her hands. Given her life, this all put her in a strange place. She left her order when she saw they were only concerned with a five-hundred year old vendetta, protecting corrupt nobles and stifling a revolution just to be a thorn in the side of their enemy. Denis was concerned Templars were heading down the same path. At the same time, Élise would have never joined the Templars if they were still as ruthless in their pursuits as they had been centuries ago. Was that the kind of ruthlessness Denis wanted to bring back? Was that what Timothee was trying to keep at bay?

Denis down his cup with a clink. "Fine. But if there's a whole ambush to deal with, waiting for the bloody king, its probably wise to send more than one person to deal with it. What are you thinking? Me and Élise?"

"Denis, I...no. I...I think its best to try out some fresh blood!"

"Fresh blood?"

"The Assassin! Arno Dorian! Let's test his mettle! Surely he would have no objection to this mission!"

"Dorian?" Denis said. Élise could feel the distaste between them. It was Timothee's distrust of his most trusted man in the sundry, piled on top of their political disagreement.

"Yes. Élise has proven herself well enough! Why not Arno?"

"You were livid about her bringing him here just last week."

"Yes, I..." He could not even formulate a response, just turned to Élise. "Élise, mon chère, would you please fetch Dorian for us? Tell him of all this."

"Yes, master."

Élise rose, though her thoughts started rushing. Any awkwardness between Denis and Timothee was nothing compared to that between herself and Arno.