Chiara – Revenge and Triumph (42 page)

"Oh no, it will harden me, and I love the feeling of being clean… No grudge against me anymore,
mamina
." She hugged her. "I promise that I’ll never again let my concentration slip when I work with Pepe. It haunted me half the night. I would never forgive myself, if I injured him."

"I love you, Chiara. I was more worried about you than him… And have you resolved what troubled you?"

"How do you know something troubled me?"

"My child, I know you. That knife would never have slipped your hand otherwise."

"Oh
mamina
, I don’t deserve you." She pressed the woman again against her.

"Let me breathe. You’re suffocating me with your love. And have you resolved it?"

"Yes, I think so. At least I’ve an idea to work on."

"And? … Will you tell me?"

"No, not yet, but I would like that you help me into my Lucrezia look later on, will you?"

"I see. It is one of your hair-raising schemes again, but then I’m used to it by now. Anyway, with your luck …"

Chiara responded with an embarrassed smile.

* * * 

Midmorning Chiara went to Casa Medici. She carried the scroll of the marriage contract, but the letter of credit remained safely in their little house, guarded by Pepe. Jacomo trailed a short distance behind her. His task was to observe after Chiara came out again if anybody from Casa Medici went to the nearby Palazzo Pubblico and entered the offices of the Podestà. He would report immediately if this happened.

In contrast to the busy activity she had seen in Casa Sanguanero, an air of sober solemnity reigned in the spacious, marble ground floor hall of Casa Medici. A clerk left his desk next to the entrance where he had stood making entries in a ledger and approached her, bowing repeatedly: "Good morning, Signora, how may I help you?"

"Good morning. I would like to speak to Signor Averardo di Bicci," she replied, cultivating her southern accent.

The clerk’s attitude became more eager. "Does Signor di Bicci expect you? What name may I announce, Signora?"

"I have no appointment. I am Lady Lucrezia Alberti de’ Morrone of Naples."

His solicitous smile became a worried frown. "Of Naples? I will check whether Signor di Bicci is receiving visitors, Signora. Please, be seated." He pointed to a set of chairs along the wall, waited until she sat and then disappeared through a door at the back of the hall. She saw di Bicci quickly look into the hall, and the clerk returned, bowing several times again.

"Signor di Bicci will see you shortly."

She was surprised when the old man came out to fetch her himself. He greeted her very formally, but there was a puzzled look on his face. After offering her one of several high-backed, elaborately carved chairs, more beautiful than comfortable, he sat in another one facing her, rather than take his usual place behind the big oak table.

"Lady Lucrezia, what fortuitous circumstance gives me the honor to make your acquaintance."

Dropping her southern accent, she replied: "Chiara da Narni, Signor di Bicci. It is not my intention to deceive you."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his eyes. "I thought that the resemblance was more than simply coincidence. But I must admit you look stunning. That dress suits you well and the decorations on your belt are rather unique."

She removed one of the small knives from its silver-embossed leather sheath. Its double-edged steel blade flashed in the rays of the sun that entered the window. "They are real, not decorations. You could shave yourself with one of these." She slid it back. How odd that this was one of the first things he noticed, as if she had bewitched him to ask that. In fact, she had wanted him to be aware of them.

"I see. You are not only well-armed with words. But why the disguise?"

"So that your employees do not have to lie if they are ever questioned whether I visited your office. Chiara da Narni never came here."

When he did not reply, she continued: "I seek an accomplice, somebody cunning and courageous enough who will help me ruin Casa Sanguanero."

"Was it not enough revenge to blind the old man?"

"That was only to stay alive and escape. They stole my inheritance. I want to make them pay for it with their ruin."

His only response was to raise his eyebrows.

"I know that they plan to break into the spice trade. They have taken up contact with Venetian merchants, but their talks are stalling, as is to be expected. Venice does not want any outsiders competing with them, but then one never knows."

"How do you know all that?"

"I overheard Niccolo and his father talk about it."

"How? Where?"

"You do not expect that, while our troupe waits behind the curtains for a show to start, we just twiddle our thumbs. It is surprising what we are not supposed to overhear."

He chuckled. "Thank you for that warning, Lady Chiara. I will take it to heart… And how do you as a woman plan to make use of this knowledge?"

"I plan to dangle the promise of a huge dowry in front of his nose in the form of a quarter share of the proceeds of a trading mission to bring back two armed galleys full of spices from Alexandria. The major condition is that they share half of the cost of the forty thousand florins needed for supplying the galleys and its cargo out of Naples." She had switched back to the southern vernacular.

He smiled appreciatively. "Interesting. And who is the bride to be?"

"Lady Lucrezia Alberti de’ Morrone."

"And you expect Niccolo to fall for that?"

"Yes."

"Admitting that he does, and I doubt it seriously — he is dumb and greedy, but hardly dumb enough not to have your credentials checked out carefully —"

"You would not expect me to jump out of the window without knowing that I would land safely, would you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "And what do you see the role of Casa Medici to be in all this?"

"A simple one. Present the letter of credit to the Florence agents of their banking house for payment and transform the proceeds into different forms so that they cannot retrieve it anymore … obviously for a commensurate commission."

"Is that all?"

She nodded. So far his reactions had been completely noncommittal, even a shade negative. Had she misjudged him? Her spirit sank a bit, but her face continued to express confidence that she would get her way.

"Lady Chiara, you disappoint me. I think you have let your imagination run away with you. You will only get yourself into serious trouble from which even I cannot extricate you. I now see why Contessa d’Appiano is worried about you. Forget about it. Stick to what you are good at, being beautiful and one of the best actresses I have seen. This plan of yours is crazy. It will never work."

"Won’t it?" The smile on her face was genuine. "Signore, answer me at least a hypothetical question. Would you be willing to do that last simple act if I put that letter of credit into your hands?"

       He paused. Her whole stance and the manner she had asked it seemed to make him unsure. His gaze tried to pierce her mind.

"Would you or do I have to approach Casa Buondelmonti?"

"The answer is ‘yes’, simply because I do not like Casa Sanguanero, but it will never come to that point."

"Signore, I have a document here that might interest you. Are you willing to read it?" She retrieved the marriage contract from the satchel she had placed at the side of her chair and handed it to him.

He started reading and after a few seconds looked up and met her gaze. His usually inscrutable face went through surprise, disbelieve, embarrassment, ending in a smile that got bigger and bigger. Once he reached the end, he went back to the top and finally held the seals into the light of the window. Then he returned the document to her. It took another moment, before he finally spoke: "Lady Chiara, will you forgive me for having doubted you —"

"— only if you also admit that you are not disappointed in me any longer."

"No, I am not. I should have trusted my instincts that told me otherwise, before I said these unjustified words. And you have the letter of credit for ten thousand florins?"

"Yes, but not here. There are still a few aspects that we have to negotiate on."

"I guess I should have expected that from you. I once told you that I would not want to have to sit opposite you in a negotiation. Do I now have to eat my words?"

"I think you misjudge me again. I am only looking for an equitable deal."

"Obviously, Casa Medici is taking considerable risks. We could be accused of all sorts of things, from being an accomplice, to being negligent, or worse to having been duped. So I would expect a commission of fifty percent."

Chiara smiled and rose, picking up her satchel at the same time. "Thank you, Signor di Bicci, for indulging me. I am afraid I came to the wrong banking house. I doubt that we can do business."

He also rose, rather abruptly, holding out both hands, as if to appease her. "Lady Chiara, I was not serious. I was only testing you. Please, sit down again and let’s talk seriously."

Maybe he was testing her, but she had her doubts, but her face only revealed a smile.

"What did you think would be a fair deal?" he asked.

"Let me first tell you what I intend to do with most of my share. I look to invest it with a reputable banking house for several years. My troupe supported me throughout this whole venture, and I want to give each several hundred florins. I am certain that at least four of them will heed my advice to invest it too. So if we look at this in the form of a balance sheet, then on the positive side Casa Medici would get a commission, it would get several thousand florins as investments, and it would help giving Casa Sanguanero a serious blow from which it might never recover. The fact that it took Niccolo Sanguanero almost three weeks to arrange for the letter of credit and he wanted three months to supply the cargo for one galley lets me deduce that their financial position is not as strong as he would like others to believe. You may even be able to speed up their demise by planting the right rumors, get their creditors worried. And let us not forget that Florence itself aims to break into the spice trade and would not like to see Siena get in ahead of them. Stopping Casa Sanguanero will give Florence welcome breathing space, and if you whisper this news into the right ears, you will even get recognition for it —"

"— very perceptive —"

"— and what appears on the negative side? The slight possibility that some competitors may try to slander you a bit — a slander that will hardly stick, since you legally presented a valid letter of credit for payment on behalf of Casa Alberti to pay them the proceeds in various forms less the usual commission. Am I right so far?"

He nodded, his eyes reflecting his amusement.

"So I would think that a fair commission would be ten percent."

"Twenty-five."

"Twenty, and that is my last word." Her voice had taken a hard edge.

He already started to shake his head as if he wanted to turn her down and then his smile returned. "Agreed."

She shook his outstretched hand, pressing his firmly.

"When will you bring the document?"

"Messer Antonio da Quaranta, the procurator of Casa Alberti, will bring it in this afternoon."

"And how do you want to have your share split up?"

She handed him a small sheet of paper. "Five hundred florins each in these four names, one thousand for the fifth name, the balance in my name. All except the one for one thousand as one-year renewable investments. You will have to ask Messer da Quaranta himself how he wants his share."

"No coins?"

"No, not for me."

She stood up again

"Lady Chiara, you truly are a woman of many facets. It is a pleasure dealing with you. But before we part, I need to satisfy my insatiable curiosity. Why do you trust that I will not betray you?"

"I trust my instinct and my assessment of the pros and cons for you."

"And betraying you could be costly."

"You said it, Signore, not I."

"Lady Chiara, I sincerely hope that this is not the end of our association. I would like to get to know you closer, and you might appreciate what I can offer you."

"Signore, when I have finished with Casa Sanguanero, it would be my utmost pleasure to be spoiled by you at one of your splendid parties."
You can interpret this anyway you feel like
, she mused silently to herself, while showering him with a charming smile.

"I am encouraged to hear this, Lady Chiara."

After leaving Casa Medici, she made a small detour past the Palazzo Pubblico, and winked to Jacomo who was standing near the entrance to the offices of the Podestà.

She accompanied a rather reluctant Orlando to Casa Medici in the early afternoon. When they walked past Jacomo, he whispered: "Nobody came."

She replied: "Di Bicci’s office is the one to the right at the back."

But there was no need for that precaution. The exchange only took a few minutes. Di Bicci had all the documents ready for them.

* * * 

"But is our money safe? Can we get paid out if we want to?" asked Alda.

"Yes, it’s safe and you can redeem it after one year or renew the investment, whichever you want."

"But you told him everything. Won’t he betray us once it becomes known that Sanguanero is the victim of a fraud?"

"Firstly, who would know that there is a connection between that affair and your money? The horse relay was not set up in the first place so that I could easily travel between the two cities, but mainly that I would have witnesses who will confirm that I was in Florence and could not have been in Siena on the same day, since it takes at least two days even by horse. Secondly, Di Bicci will make sure that their books are clean. Thirdly, there is too much at stake for him to disclose anything. He was only party to a completely legal transaction for Casa Alberti. Their records only show that a Lady Lucrezia and the procurator of Casa Alberti visited their offices."

"I’m surely glad you didn’t tell me this morning what you were up to when I asked, or I would have died."