by Mary Hoffman
There was a commotion in the square.
‘They’ve chosen the new Pope,’ said Paolo. ‘I can hear the people chanting.’
Soon they could all hear what name the people were repeating.
‘Oh no,’ groaned Nick. ‘Tell them, Georgia.’
So Georgia relayed the message to Bellezza that Rinaldo di Chimici was now Pope.
*
The band of kidnappers had taken Ludo beyond Padavia, unaware that he was very familiar with that city and the area between it and Bellezza.
As they got closer to the lagoon, the men became more boisterous and drank more wine at every stop. Ludo pretended to drink but managed to pour away some of each measure on to the ground.
He was sure that they were winding themselves up to an enterprise they didn’t much like and he had little doubt what that might be. If he could remain sober while they were the worse for liquor, the better his chance of escaping.
The horses came out on to the shore and Ludo could see the glittering city floating on the water. He remembered the time he spent there after the rescue from the flames. He had needed to see the water then, to experience the cooling, soothing sight of green waves. It had been as if the flames were still licking round his ankles and he needed quenching.
The men were conferring among themselves.
‘How are we to get over there with the horses?’
Ludo smiled. They had not realised that horses were banned in the lagoon city.
‘Leave them here and take the ferry,’ said one of his captors, pointing down to the place on the shore where the boat waited.
‘We don’t need horses for what we have to do,’ said another.
They had given up worrying about being overheard. They rode the horses down to the water and were told where to stable them until their return.
‘Here for the wedding, I suppose,’ said the ferryman. They had flung a cloak round Ludo’s shoulders, which concealed his tied hands.
When they had stabled the horses, they brought him back to the boat.
‘Our friend is not well,’ one of them told the ferryman, to explain why they had to help him aboard.
‘And like to feel worse,’ said another, before being kicked in the shins.
If his hands hadn’t been bound, Ludo would have hurled himself overboard and taken his chances. He was a good swimmer.
The boat arrived in the north of the city and the group stopped at a tavern for more wine. They couldn’t untie Ludo in such a public place so he went without – something he didn’t mind.
Then they wove their way through the narrow streets and across bridges, getting closer to the centre, marvelling at the canals.
‘Never saw a city like it,’ said one.
They were on a narrow stone bridge when Ludo took his chance. He lowered his head and butted the man nearest him, pushing him into the canal. He got two more the same way and found his way open to run forward and away from his captors.
‘Shoot him!’ cried one. ‘We can’t fail in our mission now.’
Shots rang out, echoing across the water. Without knowing where he was going and without his hands to help him, Ludo jinked this way and that, running down an alley. A musket ball rang on to the stone wall ahead of him and then there was a burning pain in his side. His legs kept running but his mind was closing down. In it there floated the vision of a girl with huge dark eyes and a cloud of dark hair.
*
By the time the Barnsbury Stravaganti arrived in Remora it was known that the new Pope would go by the name of Candidus the First.
‘What does that mean?’ asked Georgia.
‘White, or without a stain,’ said Paolo.
‘Huh!’ was the response from the Barnsbury Stravaganti.
There were lots of introductions to be made and, once everyone had met Paolo, they set out to visit Gaetano in the palace, which was uncomfortably close to where the new Pope was taking up his throne.
The Prince’s guards were a bit dubious about admitting so many visitors, but Nick gave them a written message to take to his brother and they were soon all in the Prince’s reception room.
‘Gaetano!’ cried Nick, hurling himself into his brother’s arms.
Laura was awestruck. She knew that Nick had been a Talian prince but it was quite another thing to see him clasped in the arms of a powerful ruler.
‘Welcome. Welcome, all,’ Gaetano said, reluctantly letting go of his little brother but still keeping a hand on Nick’s shoulder. ‘Tino! Good to see you again! It was good of you all to come.’
‘We have come to find out what we can about Ludo,’ said Laura, nervous but sticking to the main point. She had scarcely slept since she had heard about the Manoush’s capture.
Gaetano’s face changed. ‘I cannot forgive myself for letting him be taken,’ he said. ‘That was what he feared all along, that Fabrizio’s word would prove false.’
‘Then you think he is already dead?’ said Laura. She could not swallow.
‘No, no, I don’t know,’ said Gaetano. ‘I have sent out men to see what they can find. I and my guards struggled for hours to shed our bonds and then we rode here. I had to attend my uncle’s funeral.’
‘We know you did what you could to keep him safe,’ said Nick. ‘We all know who was responsible for the ambush. But tell me, where is Francesca?’
‘She has joined me now,’ said Gaetano. ‘She will be so pleased to see you.’
‘What about the men you sent out?’ Laura persisted. ‘Did they bring any news?’
Gaetano shook his head. ‘Nothing helpful,’ he said. ‘They found a place where the attackers had definitely camped for a few days, then they headed east.’
‘But that is good,’ said Sky. ‘Could they follow the trail?’
‘It led as far as the shore of the lagoon,’ said Gaetano, ‘and then stopped.’
‘Then they must have gone to Bellezza,’ said Matt.
‘But why would they?’ asked Georgia.
‘I must leave for Bellezza myself tomorrow,’ said Gaetano. ‘Francesca and I will represent Giglia at the wedding.’
‘It would be just like Fabrizio,’ said Nick slowly.
‘What would? What do you mean?’ asked Laura, desperate to understand.
‘Either to take Ludo’s body to the cathedral or to take him alive and kill him in the middle of the ceremony,’ said Nick.
Laura could not help crying out, ‘But why?’
‘He will always hate Bellezza for its independence,’ said Nick, ‘and his rage against Luciano is bound to be worse since he was made to look such a fool at the trial in Fortezza.’
‘Then we should be in Bellezza,’ said Sky. ‘Not here.’
Ludo awoke in a filthy alley among the rubbish outside a butcher’s shop. The burning in his side was the only thing he could remember at first and that was still there, along with the blood crusting on his shirt. His hands were still tied and his head throbbed where he had hit it on the cobblestones, but he was alive.
Only he had no idea what to do next. He needed to get to his friends in the Ducal Palace, but he had no idea what direction that lay in and he also did not know where his captors were or how he had managed to get away from them.
‘Argh!’ shouted the butcher, coming to unlock his shop. ‘Who are you? I took you for another bit of offal!’
‘My name is … is …’ Ludo hesitated. What was his name? He couldn’t remember.
‘You look like a ruffian to me,’ said the butcher. ‘Why are your hands tied? I should hand you over to the authorities.’
‘A knife,’ said Ludo. ‘You must have a knife in your shop. Just cut my bonds and I’ll be on my way. I promise I’m no danger to you.’
‘You swear you’re not a murderer?’ said the butcher. ‘Haven’t killed anyone?’
Ludo tried to swear but shook his head. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I can’t remember.’
‘Look at him,’ said the butcher’s wife, coming up in
to the alley. ‘He couldn’t hurt a fly. He’s been shot.’
She took a knife from her basket and sawed through Ludo’s bonds without waiting for her husband’s approval.
‘There,’ she said, as Ludo massaged his wrists. ‘I’m not offering to do more than that. We need to keep away from trouble.’
‘Just tell me where I am,’ said Ludo, hauling himself to his feet. ‘Direct me to the Maddalena.’
‘They won’t want you at the wedding looking like that!’ said the butcher.
‘Turn left at the end of the alley and you’ll be on the Great Canal,’ said his wife. ‘From there you can see the columns at the Piazzetta.’
‘I know my way from there,’ said Ludo. ‘Thank you.’
He staggered to the end of the alley, holding his side.
‘Ragamuffin,’ said the butcher. ‘And villain, I don’t doubt. Why did you set him free when he could come back and cut our throats?’
For all six Stravaganti to get back to their beds and restravagate to Bellezza that night was an impossibility.
‘We’ll have to have different clothes in Bellezza anyway, for the wedding,’ said Nick.
Before they had left Remora, Paolo had contacted Rodolfo to tell him their fears that Fabrizio was planning a gruesome interruption to the marriage ceremony.
Where’s the safest place for us to go? asked Georgia.
Come to Arianna’s sitting room, where you and Nick came when you pretended to be clowns, said Luciano.
Matt and Sky arranged to stay with Nick, and the two girls with Georgia, so that everyone would be with someone who knew the place in Bellezza.
Laura was in a terrible state all next day, occasionally falling into a feverish and unrefreshing sleep. Her dreams were all about what might have happened to Ludo and that brought no rest.
‘Do you think she’s worrying about the family therapy?’ Ellen asked James after supper on the Sunday.
‘I hope not,’ he said. ‘I’m feeling guilty enough already.’
‘Well, at least she’s going for a nice sleepover at Georgia’s tonight,’ said Ellen. ‘Maybe that will give her a boost.’
‘It’s a good sleep she needs more than a boost,’ said James. ‘And I doubt she’ll get that at a sleepover.’
‘Oh, James,’ said Ellen. ‘She isn’t twelve any more.’
The sunlight sparkled on the water of the canal, which looked deceptively clean and refreshing. Ludo stumbled alongside it, looking longingly down. If he could lower himself into it, he could swim along to the Piazzetta. It was an appealing idea. It would wash away the blood and cool the burning sensation in his ribs.
And it would rinse my shirt, he thought. Can’t show up at the Duchessa’s in a dirty shirt.
The more he thought about it, the more appealing it seemed.
‘Hey!’ shouted a figure on the bank. ‘Man in the water!’
It was shockingly cold. The force of the cold water knocked some sense into Ludo’s fuddled brain, and he was now aware of what a foolish choice he had made. He remembered that the water of the Great Canal was notoriously foul and he had swallowed some of it.
And the coldness which had at first seemed to soothe his side now made it throb. He swam a few strokes and realised that he would never make it to either bank, let alone down to the Maddalena.
So, he thought, it ends like this. But it is a cleaner way to go, for all the filth in the water, than lying in the butcher’s rubbish.
Already he felt better. But he knew it could not be long before the water closed over his head.
A black mandola cut swiftly through the canal towards the sinking man. As well as the mandolier, two figures sat in it, dressed in colourful and flamboyant clothes. As they got closer to the body in the water, the mandolier brought his vessel to a halt and with the help of his oar dragged the sodden man on board.
Ludo groaned with pain but opened his eyes. The world was spinning. He thought he saw his cousins.
‘Aurelio,’ he whispered and then knew no more.
*
Enrico sought out the Cavaliere to give him back his Merlino-blade.
‘Where did you get this?’ asked Luciano.
‘Some of my men took it off some armed ruffians they arrested in the city last night,’ said Enrico.
‘Was the Manoush with them?’ asked Luciano. ‘I gave this blade to him.’
He had hardly expected to see it again.
‘Not that I know of, Cavaliere,’ said the spy.
There was a gathering of people in Arianna’s parlour, waiting for the Stravaganti to come. They had a collection of clothes ready for them. But instead the footman Marco arrived with a message to say that there were three Manoush, one half drowned and bleeding, asking for admittance.
‘It must be Ludo,’ said Arianna, jumping up. ‘Let them in.’
But Rigello had his own views about the raggedy group that entered the room. He snarled at the man streaming blood and canal water on to his mistress’s carpet.
‘Hush,’ said the blind man who had helped to bring the unconscious Manoush in. He went unhesitatingly to where the cat sat leashed at his mistress’s side and put his hand on its large spotted head.
Rigello whined and yawned, then licked the tall man’s hand and sank down again at Arianna’s feet.
‘Please help us!’ said Raffaella. ‘We found our cousin in the canal, wounded to death.’
‘Of course,’ said Arianna, all efficiency and orders. ‘Marco! Bring help. We need to put this man to bed and get a surgeon to him.’
Within minutes, Ludo had been bathed and changed into a clean nightshirt and was laid in a high bed in one of the Duchessa’s grandest guest rooms.
So there was no one but Rigello in the parlour when six Stravaganti materialised out of thin air. The big cat wanted to growl and cry out, but Isabel came forward to pet him and say his name and he remembered that she had arrived this way before and done him no harm. And two more of these people were his mistress’s friends. He sniffed Georgia and Nick’s hands and than allowed himself to be introduced to Matt, Sky and Laura.
‘Wow,’ said Matt. ‘He’s amazing! I wish I had one like him.’
‘He’s like his brother, Vitale,’ said Isabel.
‘There’s blood on the carpet,’ said Laura.
At that moment, Arianna and Luciano came back in. They had left the Manoush with his cousins and positioned one of Enrico’s guards outside the door.
Laura was the only one who had not met the Duchessa before and seeing her in her mask and her brocade dress, alongside Luciano in his Bellezzan clothes, she felt completely out of her depth. But this gorgeous and exotic creature came straight over to her and took her by both hands.
‘You must be Laura,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry. We have him. He has been shot but he is alive. Do you want to see him?’
Chapter 24
In the Cathedral
The Basilica of Santa Maddalena was full to bursting with dignitaries and nobles. And all around the square, positioned on parapets and loggias and balconies, were men with bows or muskets.
The square itself was packed with Bellezzans, many of whom had staked their positions from the early hours, bringing picnics and bottles of wine. It was not every day a Duchessa of Bellezza got married. Although most citizens now knew their last ruler had done that in secret over three years earlier.
There was nothing clandestine about this ceremony; the Duchessa Arianna Rossi was going to wed her Cavaliere Luciano Crinamorte in a service conducted by the Bishop of Bellezza assisted by a friar from Giglia and his young novice.
‘A great honour for the boy,’ said one citizen, ‘though surely we have friars and monks enough in Bellezza, without honouring foreigners.’
Not all the twelve Talian city-states were royally represented at the wedding: Giglia had sent no one official. Prince Gaetano was second only to the Grand Duke in the ruling family of Giglia but he would be there as the new Prince of Remora, following
the old Pope’s death. Moresco and Bellona had sent ambassadors.
But Duke Alfonso of Volana was there with his Duchess. And of course the Princess of Fortezza would come; was she not newly married to a Bellezzan? The spectators in the square loved this kind of gossip and rumour.
Classe and Padavia would be represented by their Governors and wasn’t the wife of the Governor of Classe a di Chimici? She was sister to the Grand Duke himself, so that the citizens felt no shortage of members of that great family.
More popular with the Bellezzans were the rulers of other independent city-states: Prince Stefano of Romula, Duke Alvise of Cittanuova and Messer Giorgio of Montemurato were all expected with their wives.
But there would be some important visitors present at the ceremony that no one would know – and one of them had been a di Chimici once.
*
The reunion of Ludo and Laura had not been completely satisfactory, since the Manoush remained unconscious for most of it, and when he opened his eyes he was feverish and confused. The surgeon who was tending him said there was a musket ball lodged in his side, which would need to come out.
Rodolfo had sat with them, grieving for the young man’s injuries.
‘We have to save whom we can,’ he said to Laura, looking at her as if he knew her deepest secrets.
‘But not everyone can be saved,’ she whispered.
She had insisted on staying for the surgery and had left reluctantly only when Ludo was asleep, the musket ball removed and the wound laved with honey and olive oil. Laura wasn’t at all sure that would be good enough, but she understood that sixteenth-century Talia had no antibiotics.
Eventually she had stravagated home, promising to return the next day. They were all coming back for the wedding anyway.
It was the biggest single stravagation ever undertaken from the twenty-first century back to sixteenth-century Talia and it needed some careful planning. Not only were Nick, Georgia, Matt, Isabel, Sky and Laura going, they were taking Vicky Mulholland too and stravagating straight to Bellezza, where all kinds of dangers awaited.
Seven Stravaganti, one of them on her first stravagation.