City of Flowers (40 page)

*

When the Eel had gone, Niccolò sent for Gabassi again; the architect did not get much peace from the restless Grand Duke at the moment.

‘Have you brought the sketches for my walkway?' asked his master as soon as the man got into the room.

‘Yes, your Grace,' said the architect, rolling out his drawings on the table.

They showed an elegant roofed corridor zigzagging from the Palazzo Ducale across the top of the Guild offices and over the Ponte Nuovo to the Nucci palace.

‘Excellent!' said Niccolò. ‘I'd like you to start straightaway. My son Fabrizio and I can walk from here to the government seat or the other direction, above the noise and dirt and smells of the city. Quite right for people of our importance.'

‘There may be a problem with smells from the shops on the bridge,' said Gabassi. ‘You see that most of them are butchers or fishmongers.'

‘Then we'll change the shops,' said Niccolò. ‘I'll give orders moving all food shops out to the market. Then the silversmiths and gemstone workers, who lost so much in the flood, can move their workshops to the bridge. Any other problems?'

‘No, my Lord,' said Gabassi. ‘If your Grace will give me the funds and the authorisations I need, I can start building tomorrow.'

*

When Sky and Georgia met them later up at the friary, Nicholas looked morose and Luciano drawn and anxious. The others guessed that the Stravaganti had vetoed the plan and Georgia was relieved that the decision had been made. Brother Sandro greeted them in the cloister and dispelled some of the tension by asking Luciano straight out, ‘Shouldn't you be practising for your duel?'

It jolted Luciano out of his torpor and sent him off back to the Embassy to find rapiers and some clothes of his own for Sky and Nicholas to wear; there was no way they could fight in robes.

‘They said no, then?' Sky asked Nicholas.

‘It was all the same stuff I've heard before – we don't know if it would work, too dangerous, not Luciano's only option,' said Nicholas. ‘I'm sick of it. There's so little time left, and if we don't do it, Luciano is a dead duck tomorrow.'

‘Don't say that,' said Georgia.

Sandro didn't ask about the forbidden option or who ‘they' were who had said no. He felt a great respect for the Stravaganti, especially this startling-looking young woman. As far as he was concerned, if Sulien was one, then these time travellers were a good thing. And, as for Luciano, he held him in awe and some fear, since the friar had told him that this handsome young noble had died once and been reborn in Talia. Now he had guessed who ‘Brother Benvenuto' really was, there were clearly great and frightening mysteries afoot, about which Sandro realised he wasn't qualified to talk.

But he understood Georgia's terror about the next day. Niccolò di Chimici was a fearsome opponent.

‘Perhaps there is something that could put the Grand Duke off his guard?' he suggested tentatively, looking at Nicholas.

Nicholas looked at the little novice, light dawning.

‘You're right!' he said. ‘I think if my father saw me and knew me, he might fall into a swoon or something. At least it would give Luciano the chance to disarm him. Thanks, Sandro.'

‘We should all be there,' said Georgia. ‘All the Stravaganti. Our circle failed at the weddings but we'd have only one person to protect this time. Surely seven of us could save the eighth?'

She was beginning to see some hope.

‘I'll have to be there anyway,' said Sky. ‘I'm one of his seconds. And Doctor Dethridge is going to be the other.'

‘But how can Nick and I be there?' asked Georgia. ‘Or the others?'

‘I think you will find there will be quite a crowd of spectators,' said Sulien, joining them. ‘Rumours are flying about the city that the Grand Duke is going to fight at dawn, and Giglians are not likely to pass up on such a spectacle.'

*

‘Fight the Grand Duke?' said Silvia, when Rodolfo told her. ‘What new devilry is this? You must stop it.'

‘Luciano is determined to fight this duel,' said Rodolfo. ‘I can't stop him or get him out of the city. But if we are all there we should be able to protect him.'

‘Should?' said Silvia. ‘Will that satisfy Arianna?'

‘I think that Luciano and Arianna are not in each other's confidence at present,' said Rodolfo. ‘They seem unhappy about more than the Grand Duke.'

‘But that doesn't mean she wants Niccolò to kill him!' said Silvia.

Rodolfo sighed.

‘I'll have one more try to persuade Luciano to leave the city,' he said. ‘There's no need for Arianna to know anything about the duel yet.'

*

Barbara was feeling better. Her wound still hurt but Brother Sulien had promised to come and take the stitches out the following week and she could feel that the flesh was knitting together. She now had the novel experience of sitting up in bed, being waited on by her own mistress. The Duchessa was so mortified by what had happened that she brought her maid tempting morsels of food or fortifying drinks every hour.

‘I can't just lie in bed doing nothing, my Lady,' said Barbara. ‘Give me something to occupy my hands.'

‘I'm sure that nothing is exactly what you should be doing,' said Arianna. ‘Oh, if only I hadn't asked you to wear that hateful dress!'

‘I was happy to wear it for your Grace. It made me feel like a real lady – it was so beautiful. What will happen to it now?'

‘I should like to burn it,' said Arianna bitterly. ‘But I can't do that because of its value. As well as the great tear where you were stabbed, I don't think the blood will ever come out of the brocade – the Embassy staff have tried. I suppose all the gems will have to be unpicked.'

‘Then let me do that, at least,' said Barbara. ‘That will not be taxing and, in spite of everything, I'd love to see it again.'

‘Really?' said Arianna. It made her shudder to touch it and she hadn't even been the one wearing it. But she ordered the dress to be brought and Barbara bent over it assiduously with a tiny pair of silver scissors, snipping at the rows of embroidery that kept the stones in place. Each pearl or amethyst was put in a bowl as it was released and the pile grew steadily as the young women talked.

‘It might be easier to clean when all the jewels and silk embroidery are off,' said Barbara. ‘And the tear could be mended.'

‘Well, if you will undertake the repair, you may have the dress if you want it,' said Arianna. ‘It would make a fine wedding dress – if you have a sweetheart.'

Barbara blushed. ‘I do have a young man who keeps asking me,' she said.

Arianna was surprised. ‘Well, then, I promise to have some of these stones set for you into wedding jewellery,' she said. ‘As a thank you for saving my life. And if you don't want this dress, you shall have another, at my expense.'

‘Thank you, my Lady,' said the girl, quite happy to bear the scar of her wound in return for such a lavish gift. It made Arianna feel more ashamed.

‘I shall miss you, Barbara,' she said, her eyes filling with tears. ‘Who shall be my maid if you marry?'

‘Oh, I don't want to leave you, my Lady,' cried Barbara. ‘My young man is Marco, one of your Grace's footmen at the palazzo. We would both want to continue in your service, I'm sure.'

‘Good,' said Arianna, blinking her tears away. ‘How old are you, Barbara?'

‘I am eighteen, your Grace – very late to marry, I know,' said Barbara. ‘But we have been saving.'

‘You are less than a year older than I am,' said Arianna.

Barbara was horrified. ‘Oh, your Grace, forgive me. I did not mean to insult you. It is different for nobility. Take no notice of my silly chatter.'

‘That's all right, Barbara,' said Arianna. ‘We do marry young in the lagoon. Two years ago, I would have expected it myself, when I lived on Torrone. Now, as you say, it is different. I have many duties to perform that are not compatible with romance.'

She fetched such a deep sigh that Barbara said, ‘I am sure there is no need to worry about the young man.'

‘What young man?' asked Arianna.

‘Why, Cavaliere Luciano,' said Barbara. ‘They say he has been having fencing lessons and may well defeat the Grand Duke.'

Arianna jumped to her feet, spilling bright jewels all over the floor.

‘Defeat the Grand Duke? What are you talking about?'

*

Now that he had seen the red-headed man once, Rinaldo caught glimpses of him everywhere. But he never had a moment to think about where he knew him from. The Pope kept him constantly busy with errands between the Residence, the Via Larga, the Palazzo Ducale and the Nucci palace.

On one of these journeys he bumped into his old servant Enrico. He was not someone that Rinaldo wanted to spend time with, but the man was friendly enough.

‘How is your Excellency keeping?' he asked.

‘I am that no more,' said Rinaldo. ‘Can't you see I am a man of the cloth now?'

‘Of course!' said Enrico. ‘But how should I address your Lordship now?'

‘Father will do,' said Rinaldo primly. ‘I am only a priest. But the Pope's chaplain too,' he couldn't help adding.

‘Oh yes, Uncle Ferdinando,' said Enrico with a leer. ‘Not long till there's a Cardinal's hat in it, I shouldn't wonder.'

Rinaldo shuddered at the man's familiarity.

‘It's amazing what you can get pardons for now, isn't it?' said Enrico conversationally. ‘Kidnapping, murder. Confession and absolution are wonderful things.'

‘What are you implying?' said Rinaldo. He had a feeling that this horrible little man might be trying to blackmail him.

‘Implying?' said Enrico innocently. ‘Nothing, Father. Just thinking of all the terrible things you have to listen to in the confessional. All the dreadful sinners you have to deal with. It must be a sore trial for a virtuous man.'

‘I'm afraid I must bring this delightful encounter to an end,' said Rinaldo. ‘I am taking a message from the Grand Duke to the Pope.'

‘Maybe it's about tomorrow's duel,' said Enrico. ‘You might want to come along to that. One of them will be in need of a priest by the end. And if it isn't the Grand Duke, it will be a young man that you and I know rather well, if you get my meaning.'

He tapped the side of his nose and went on his way, whistling. Inside his jerkin was a phial of deadly poison bought from a certain monk from Volana. But even without knowing about that, Rinaldo was profoundly unsettled by their meeting.

*

‘That's better,' said Nicholas. He and Sky had both pressed Luciano till all three of them were hot and panting. But Luciano had kept his defences up and even touched them lightly once or twice. He wasn't as good as Nicholas but he was better than Sky. Nicholas soon adapted to the heavier Talian rapier, which was what he used to use before his translation, but Sky still found it awkward and unwieldy. Luciano took comfort from the fact that he was a great deal younger and fitter than the Grand Duke.

‘Let's stop for a bit,' said Sky.

They were in the kitchen yard at Saint-Mary-among-the-Vines, watched by Georgia, Sandro and Brother Dog. The little animal had got very excited when the boys first started fighting, but had calmed down a bit. He was still shivering in Sandro's arms, but had stopped barking.

‘I can't believe you're going through with this,' Georgia said to Luciano, while the boys flopped on to the ground and Sandro went in search of some cold ale from Brother Tullio.

‘Thanks for the vote of confidence,' said Luciano, breathing heavily, his dark curls wet with sweat. ‘I thought I was doing rather well.'

‘You are. But there's no reason to suppose the Grand Duke will fight fair.'

‘Who will his seconds be?' asked Sky.

‘One of them will be that man they call the Eel,' said Luciano. ‘I know him of old. He was the one who kidnapped me in Bellezza. He was the one who kidnapped Cesare too, Georgia, and stole Merla.'

‘A nasty piece of work,' said Nicholas. ‘We need to watch him as closely as my father.'

*

The di Chimici princesses were assembled once more, in the Nucci palace. Francesca and Caterina were in attendance on their husbands, who were getting stronger with every hour. Bianca was visiting with her husband Alfonso. Lucia drifted through the empty rooms on the first floor in her black widow's weeds as if searching for something.

Princess Beatrice found her and brought her to the others.

‘Come and live with me in Fortezza, Bice,' Lucia said impulsively, when she saw the other three couples. ‘We can be old maids together.'

‘We'll all come and visit you often,' said her sister Bianca. ‘You won't be alone, I promise. We just have to get through this funeral of Carlo's today and then you can return with your mother and father to Fortezza. They will be a comfort to you.'