The Secret Of The Cathars (2011) by Michael Hillier Read Free Book Online Page A

laughed. “You’ve been like this ever since we started here, Jo. I’ve never known you react like this before. Is it because you’re worried that I’m opening a can of worms by going back over the work that my uncle did?”
    “ Perhaps it is partly that. But, be warned. I think something nasty is going on out there.” He shook his head and changed the subject. “I tell you what - I’m going to be a lot more careful about who I allow on the site in future.”
    “ At least Gaston seems reliable. All we need are some decent lads to back him up and then we’ll start to make progress.” He shook his head. “It’s been slow, hard work with just the three of us. And there have been precious few useful finds to keep up our enthusiasm. It seems as though nothing’s happened here for the last seven hundred years.”
    “ You’re right,” she agreed. “Most of the masonry has been robbed for later buildings. The remainder has just gently collapsed and been filled with soil around the rubble.”
    “ And it’ll take us several days to backfill this trench, during which time we won’t be able to work anywhere else.”
    She took his arm. “Don’t worry about that. Now we must hire some local labourers to do the backfilling, while we move on. We’ve already decided on the next location. I hope this new area will prove to be part of the main residential section of the castle. But it’s going to be a much larger job than this trench in the gateway. We’re still going to need more diggers. It’s a pity that it’s too early to recruit some students.”
    “ What about that young couple staying at the hotel?”
    “ Do you mean Armand and Jeanette?”
    “ That’s right. They seem to be quite keen on finding out about the history of the place and they say they’re staying here for a month.” He grinned. “I must say she’s got a fantastic figure.”
    “ Not necessarily a qualification for a digger.”
    “ I accept that. But they do seem very anxious to please.”
    “ Are you sure it’s their technical capabilities that you’re interested in?”
    “ Well, we’ve had several pleasant evenings in the bar with them. At least we know what we’ll be taking on.”
    She considered the suggestion. “I suppose Armand would be a good guy to get on our side. But somehow Jeanette doesn’t seem quite right. She’s too much of a city girl. I can’t imagine her liking the idea of getting her hands dirty.”
    “ I didn’t think of her as a digger,” admitted Jolyon. “Marie Blande joins us to start cleaning and cataloguing finds on Monday, doesn’t she? Perhaps Jeanette can help her while Armand does the digging.” He shrugged. “In any case, there’s no reason why we can’t ask them. They can only say no.”
    “ OK.” She smiled. “You can ask your little Paris poule .”
    “ I’m pretty sure Armand would like to have a go at digging,” Andre continued. “He’s been up here almost every day - checking on progress and looking at what we’ve dug up. I’d say we’ll have a definite recruit there.”
    “ But we’ll need more people than Armand.”
    “ Maybe. But the trenches won’t be very deep up in the residential area. There’s much less accumulated soil. It’s going to be mainly a question of moving fallen masonry and the local labourers can do that under our supervision.” He had a sudden thought. “There will also be plenty of photography. Maybe Jeanette would be good with a camera.”
    “ All right. I’ve already agreed,” said Jacqueline. “You can ask them if they want to join us - only at the usual student rates though.”
    “ I don’t think that will be a problem.” Andre raised a cautionary finger. “First, I’ll get them both checked out by Paris. I think it’s essential to do that with all future recruits.”
    “ How long will that take?”
    “ No more than twenty-four hours. I’ll ring up as soon as we get back to the hotel.”
    “ I don’t think there are likely