A Robert Shea 'commercial'

[This is a bit of prose from All Things Are Lights, one of my favorite novels by Robert Shea,  that appears at the front of the book. I've always thought it was a good "commercial" for the contents and decided to share it. All Things Are Lights is set in in medieval France; while  many characters in the historical novel are fictional, St. Louis, Louis IX (1214-1270) is one of the characters. Roland de Vency, a knight and troubadour,  is the protagonist of the novel. His friend the Templar also belongs to a secret society within the Templars. Free version in HTML, you should also be able to hunt up a used version that doesn't cost very much. The Mgt.]

“How much jousting have you done?”

“A little,” replied the young troubadour.

“A little!” the Templar said ironically. “In tournaments all over Europe, Count Amalric has bested hundreds of knights. Many times he has killed men. Of course, it is against the rules. But he is a master at making it look like an accident.” He looked at Roland with an almost fatherly kindness. “Indeed, Messire, the best advice I could give you would be not to enter the tournament at all.”

Roland laughed. “Such cautious advice from a Templar?”

“We fight for God, Messire. Have you as great a motive?”

“Yes, I do,” said Roland, seeing Nicolette’s eyes shining in the darkness before him. “I fight for love.”