Château Villette
Château Villette is the sprawling 185-acre estate of Sir Leigh Teabing, located twenty-five minutes northwest of Paris near Versailles. Designed by François Mansart in 1668 for the Count of Aufflay, it is one of Paris's most significant historical châteaux, complete with two rectangular lakes and gardens designed by Le Nôtre. Fondly known as "la Petite Versailles," the estate serves as a crucial safe harbor for Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu after their escape from the Louvre, and it is the site where the true nature of the Holy Grail is revealed and where the keystone is nearly lost to Silas.
Architecture and Setting
The château is a three-story edifice of gray stone, at least sixty meters long, with a facade illuminated by outside spotlights. Its interior is exquisitely adorned with Victorian lamps, a rough-hewn fireplace large enough to roast an ox, and Old Master paintings, including a Poussin. The estate is enclosed by an imposing security gate with an intercom entry system installed on the right-hand side—a deliberate eccentricity of its British owner, who prefers things as they are at home. The mile-long driveway winds through poplar-lined grounds, and the property includes a barn converted into an automotive parking facility housing a collection of luxury cars.
Role as a Safe Harbor
After escaping the Louvre and evading the police, Langdon and Sophie drive a wrecked armored truck to Château Villette, seeking refuge. Langdon knows Teabing as a colleague who despises the French authorities and is wealthy enough to be uninterested in any reward. Teabing, despite being awoken, welcomes them after a playful test of honor involving questions about tea and rowing. The estate provides a secure environment where the pair can rest, eat, and, most importantly, learn the true history of the Holy Grail from Teabing, a British Royal Historian and Grail specialist.
The Grail Revelation and the Keystone
Inside the château's vast ballroom-turned-study, Teabing reveals to Sophie the secret of the Holy Grail: that it is not a cup but Mary Magdalene, who carried the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ. He explains the Priory of Sion, the Knights Templar, and the Sangreal documents. During this exposition, Langdon and Sophie produce the keystone—a cryptex they retrieved from the Depository Bank of Zurich. Teabing is astonished to see it, and the group works together to decipher the poem on the rosewood box, eventually discovering the password "SOFIA" and opening the outer cryptex to reveal a smaller black onyx cryptex inside.
The Attack and Betrayal
The sanctuary of Château Villette is shattered when Silas, the albino monk, breaks in and attacks. He knocks Langdon unconscious and holds Sophie and Teabing at gunpoint, demanding the keystone. Teabing, using his crutch, strikes Silas's cilice belt, subduing him. The police, alerted by a tracking device on the armored truck, arrive, forcing the group to flee. Teabing's manservant, Rémy Legaludec, drives them off in a Range Rover, and they escape to Le Bourget Airfield, where they board Teabing's private jet for England. It is later revealed that Rémy was working for the Teacher—who is, in fact, Teabing himself—and that the entire attack was a staged deception to steal the keystone.
