Chiara – Revenge and Triumph (36 page)

This is the test
, went through Chiara’s mind. Although several of the other visitors had seen her perform, none really knew her. She noticed that a brief frown clouded his face when he recognized his presumed competitors.
A good sign.

As Orlando introduced her, she braced herself to keep her hatred out of her eyes and put on her most charming smile. She only bowed slightly to him and endured his searching glance that undressed her, while she shook hands with Lucia, pleasantly surprised by the firmness of her handshake. She also noticed that he studied Antonia’s diamond studded cross carefully.

"Lady Lucrezia," Niccolo addressed her, "it is a privilege to meet such a charming young woman." His silly grin spoiled the effect. "I’m obviously utterly curious to know why Casa Alberti is seeking a liaison in Tuscany rather than in Naples. Is it because the Tuscan men are more handsome?"

"Or more wealthy … or more astute in commerce?" Chiara responded with a smile, practicing her southern accent. "Or possibly all three? How could an innocent girl like me judge? You tell me, Signore."

"You may be innocent —"

She noticed his eyes darting to her bosom and interrupted him, standing more upright and pointing her breasts toward him: "Signore, you doubt my innocence?"

"How could I even dare such a thing? But you certainly are not lost for words, Signorina."

"Is this not the only means a woman has to match her husband?" She chose the word ‘husband’ purposely, and forced herself to blush, thinking of being kissed by her sailor. He noticed it and grinned.

"Signorina, are you really only nineteen, as the letter said. You seem far too clever for that."

"Esteemed Signore, you do not expect that I would reveal such secrets in public. You may have to wait a bit longer to know."

This time his laugh was genuine. "Signorina, you are a delight. I hope to get to know you better. And now may I have your permission to have a serious talk with Messer da Quaranta?" With a parting glance at her bosom, he turned to Orlando, and they began talking commerce.

Chiara was now alone, face to face with Lucia.

"Lady Lucia, I admire your beautiful necklace."
Although it’s mine.

"Yes, I receive many compliments for it."

"Is it a family heirloom, if I may be so bold to ask?"

"Oh no. It was a present for my twentieth birthday from Niccolo. He brought it back from a trading trip to Spain. I was rather surprised. He usually is not that attentive."

"Are you warning me against a liaison with your brother?"

"Lady Lucrezia, do not misinterpret my words. I am sure he would offer you all the luxuries our house can afford. It is more that like all busy men he tends to forget about birthdays and anniversaries."

"From the little I have seen, he seems to be quite sure of himself. If I dare say so, even taken by himself."

"You are right, but then from the little I have seen of you, I think that you would be able to handle him quite nicely. Anyway, he is away for at least half the year, leaving you all the freedom you would want."

Chiara began to warm to this young woman.

"But tell me the answer to my brother’s questions which you sidestepped so cleverly."

"Oh, it’s nothing secret. My mother, God bless her soul, came from Tuscany. That is why I’m fluent in your vernacular. It had always been her wish that I should marry into a distinguished family from up here, and I must admit I like this country. I can easily see myself bringing up my children in Siena."

"Yes, I prefer Siena to both Pisa and Florence. Naturally, I am biased since I was born here. But if I have to leave it even for a few days only, I cannot wait to return. It offers so much, not just spiritually, but also in the arts; we even have serious theater."

"You like serious theater?"

"Yes, I was introduced to it last spring when I was fortunate to see Terrence’s
Phormio
performed in the vernacular."

Where,
wondered Chiara? She had no recollection of any Sanguanero attending one of her performances of that play, or had it been at Tolomei’s second invitation?

Lucia continued: "I would have loved to see it a second time. So much more entertaining than the boring religious plays. It is such a pity that not more of the classical plays have been translated."

"I know
Phormio
. I read it in Latin. It has a clever plot, but it is the play of words that is most amusing. It may be lost in a translation."

"Oh, it was not. At least that is what I recall, but I could not really judge. To my shame I have to admit that my Latin is not good enough to read it."

"Was it performed by a local group?"

"No, by a traveling troupe that stayed in Siena the whole winter and was highly sought after. I saw them twice. A blood-curling knife act. The best I have ever seen. I think they called themselves I Magnifici."

"I Magnifici! What a coincidence! I saw them present the Greek tragedy
Electra
in Florence. Marvelous acting and no masks."

"Yes, they are really special. I hope they will soon return to Siena."

They already have
.

"I recently learned that the actress who played the lead role had also done the translation of
Phormio
from the Latin. She is a remarkable woman and so young for being so talented. In fact, you resemble her a bit, the same eyes, the same high forehead, but her skin was darker, and curiously her brown hair had a strong red sheen."

Chiara suppressed the mild flutter of nerves. "Yes, now that you mention it, I can recognize a resemblance," she mused, adding: "I also admire serious theater. So we have something in common."

Blushing, Lucia said softly: "Lady Lucrezia, I think I would love to have you as my sister-in-law."

Alas, that’s not to be
.

"You are so mature," she continued, "not like that silly girl Niccolo was betrothed to two years ago, for I do not know what obscure reasons. The only thing in her favor was that she was of noble birth."

That silly girl is standing right in front of you, but then you’re right, I’m not that silly girl anymore.
"I see. Why did the marriage not take place, if I may be so indiscreet as to ask?"

"Oh, it is no secret. Everybody in Siena knows. She is the reason my father lost his sight." And Lucia launched into the story of her father, how he lost his left eye, then his right, and his poor state of health ever since.

Later, she bemoaned the fact that she was still childless after three years of marriage. Not only did she long for a child, but she was also worried that her husband, whom she loved, might stray from the marital bed to beget a son elsewhere. To console herself, she read and reread the few books, written in the vernacular, her father owned. She had just finished La Commedia.

We could have become good friends, I guess,
Chiara told herself.

Niccolo was the last to take leave and, on departing, repeated that he hoped to see her again soon.

* * * 

"How could you flirt with Niccolo so blatantly?" questioned Orlando, after the door had closed behind Sanguanero.

"Have you forgotten that my goal is to snare him?"

"Chiara, you were perfect," exclaimed Alda. "I loved the way you paraded your bosom. He had the hardest time keeping his eyes off you, even after he left you with his sister. She was again wearing your necklace, wasn’t she?"

"Yes. I actually liked her. She was refreshingly frank, so different from her brother."

"She could have been your sister-in-law."

"She could have been my friend, but even if I had known her beforehand, the price would still have been too high… Friends, thank you for your help." She embraced each one and kissed Jacomo on the cheek. Blushing, he touched the spot with his fingers.

"Yes, it went well," said Orlando. "You know, Chiara, that three other families voiced strong interests in pursuing the matter further. I guess, I will have to front up to Casa Sanguanero shortly and present our proposal for a partnership as a condition for the marriage."

* * * 

A message to that effect was delivered to them already the following morning. When Orlando returned from the meeting, he was beaming.

"I think they bought it, although they are a suspicious lot. They wanted to keep the documents, but I told them that they could only copy them and that I needed them back by tomorrow. I overheard Niccolo order their head clerk to check out the authenticity of the seals." He looked questioningly at Chiara. "Will they pass such a test?"

"I’m confident they will. Ser Stachos is a master forger. I’m more worried about the signatures. What if different people are currently in charge and this is known by their banking house here? But it’s out of our hands. We’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed. Anything else?"

"Yes, as we agreed, I told them that I had no authority to change the terms stipulated in the letter of the notary."

"If need be, you could agree that the entire shipment is consigned to them for sale against a commission on the Alberti share. I’m sure that they will jump on this opportunity to increase their profits."

"Chiara, you should go into business. There’s more money to be made than as a traveling player."

"But less fun and more worry."

"Most traveling players worry constantly where their next meal will come from."

"I’ve no intention of joining that group of no-hopers."

Orlando laughed. "You’ve been lucky so far."

"No, Orlando, I don’t leave luck to chance. I stay in control and make my own luck."

"She does, Orlando," cried Alda. "She really does."

* * * 

The letters were returned Friday morning, together with an invitation for Signorina Alberti to attend a family reception at Casa Sanguanero on Saturday late afternoon. So the forgeries passed the test. She would set foot into Casa Sanguanero. The first step to retrieve the little book of poems.

After dinner that night when the servant woman and her husband had left the house, the troupe sat together to plan the next few days. Chiara was anxious that Alda, Pepe, Jacomo, and Veronica went back to Florence right away. She wanted them out of reach, should anything go wrong, but she still needed Orlando to initiate the negotiations for the marriage contract. However, she herself needed to be in Florence by Friday of the following week since they had another private performance for
Phormio
, this time in the city itself, but she could make it back in less than half a day, while Jacomo and Pepe would take at least two, possibly even three days to return to Florence with the donkey as the only draft animal. Although the others wanted to stay with her to the last moment, the force of her arguments finally convinced them to leave on Monday.

"And you Orlando will have to leave at the latest on Wednesday on a hired horse," said Chiara.

"Could he not also use the horse relay you organized?" queried Jacomo.

"You mean buying another three horses?" asked Pepe. "We don’t have time to set that up anymore."

"What an ingenious idea," cried Chiara. "Thank you, Jacomo."

The young man blushed deeply and everybody else looked perplexed.

"All we need is one additional horse, not three," explained Chiara. "If Orlando leaves a day or two before me and uses the relay, then by the time I need the horses, they’re rested again. Such a simple and clever idea."

"And we can also use the same scheme when I return to Siena to finalize the contract," exclaimed Orlando.

Later that evening, she gave Pepe the money to buy another horse.

* * * 

Chiara was grateful that Alda again did a perfect job of getting her ready for the reception, particularly doing her hair, matching the Lucrezia look she had assumed. One of their biggest difficulties was Chiara’s limited wardrobe, but Alda had come to the rescue, with two outfits that were both reversible with different colors, giving her in fact a choice of four. Attachable decorations added to the variety. It needed the trained eye of a seamstress to see through the ploy.

As decorations for her broad belt, she had chosen four small throwing knives, which she had especially made in Florence. She wanted to be well armed. Jacomo accompanied her to the Sanguanero mansion on Via di Camollia, a brisk twenty-minute walk from Casato di sopra.

Lucia welcomed her with a warm smile: "Lady Lucrezia, I am glad that you could come and, just between us, I think so is Niccolo."

One of Casa Sanguanero’s servants showed Jacomo into the kitchen where he would wait for her. Chiara looked around as Lucia led her up a wide staircase into a big loggia. The ground floor and presumably the basement were used to store goods. A pleasant smell of spices and perfumed woods filled the air. She only saw two clerks counting or weighing bags. Had she hoped to see her sailor? She felt annoyed, but did not know whether it was from disappointment or from having hoped so in the first place.

The loggia had three large, glass-pane windows overlooking the street. The three storey buildings opposite allowed only subdued light to enter the narrow street. Four pillars supported the high ceiling, with patterned marble tiles creating a circular space in its center. A candelabrum in the form of a wheel hung from the ceiling, on which burned at least two dozen thick beeswax candles. Both the walls and the ceiling were white plaster. A dark, wooden bench ran along the wall under the windows. Except for a big vase, the hall had few other decorations, pleasing in its classical simplicity.
I could have liked living here,
was her immediate reaction.

"It is a very intimate receptions," whispered Lucia, as they stepped into the hall where no more than two dozen people talked in small groups. "Only our closest relatives and a few friends are here to meet you."

To check me out in person.
She spotted Massimo Sanguanero in a high-backed chair at the edge of the circle near one of the pillars, the only person sitting. As Niccolo came to meet them, his first glance went to her bosom, before he bowed gallantly with a pleased smile. Chiara forced herself to respond.