Madonna of the Seven Hills (8 page)

Adriana stood by Roderigo while Lucrezia bowed in the Spanish fashion. Roderigo laid his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheeks and then her forehead.

“But how she grows, my little one,” he said tenderly. “Madonna Adriana has been telling me of your progress.”

Lucrezia looked askance at Adriana whose expression was grim.

“It has not been as good as you hoped?” said Lucrezia timidly.

“My dear, who of us reaches perfection? You please me. That will suffice.” Roderigo looked at Adriana, who bowed her head. He was asking that they be left alone.

When Adriana had gone she took all restraint with her, and Lucrezia threw herself into her father’s arms telling him how wonderful it was to see him.

He kissed her with tenderness and passion, and brought a bracelet from his pocket, which he put on her wrist. She kissed it and he kissed it. He was always passionately sentimental when they were alone. He wanted to tell her of his love and to be assured of hers.

When these assurances were made they talked of Vannozza and of Cesare and Giovanni.

“Cesare does well at the university,” said Roderigo. “I am proud of his scholarship and his prowess at sport. It will not be long, I swear before he becomes a Cardinal. And Giovanni does very happily in Spain. My Lucrezia is growing into a beautiful lady. For what more should I wish?”

“And Goffredo?”

“He grows in strength and beauty every day. Ah, we shall have to make plans for him before long.”

Over her father’s shoulder Lucrezia saw the door open slowly. Giulia, her face flushed, was peering round it.

Lucrezia shrank in horror. This was an unforgivable breach of etiquette. Giulia could not realize how very important the Cardinal was. To dare to come peeping thus … it was unthinkable. Giulia would be dismissed, and the marriage arrangements would be broken off, if Adriana discovered she had done such a thing.

Roderigo had sensed his daughter’s dismay; he turned sharply and Giulia was caught.

“And who is this?” asked Roderigo.

“Giulia, you must come in now,” said Lucrezia, “and I will present you to the Cardinal.”

Giulia came, and to Lucrezia’s consternation she was not wearing her most modest gown, and her lips were faintly carmined. Lucrezia prayed the Cardinal would not notice.

Giulia, reckless as she was, flushed and with her golden hair falling in tumbled curls about her shoulders, looked a little apprehensive as she came slowly toward them.

“My father,” said Lucrezia quickly, “this is Giulia who is to marry Orsino. She meant no harm, I do assure you.”

The Cardinal said: “I believe she did mean harm. She looks full of mischief.”

“Oh no …” began Lucrezia; and then she stopped, realizing that her father was not at all angry.

“Come, my child,” he said, “you do not need my daughter to speak for you. I pray you, speak for yourself.”

Giulia ran to him and knelt. She lifted those wonderful blue eyes of hers to his face, and she was smiling that confident smile which said clearly that she did not believe anyone could really be annoyed with her, if only because of her enchanting presence.

“So you are to marry Orsino,” said the Cardinal. “My poor child! Do you love the young man?”

“I love Rome, Your Eminence,” said Giulia, “and the people I meet in Rome.”

The Cardinal laughed. To Lucrezia’s great relief she knew now that, far from being angry, he was pleased.

“On these occasions when I visit Lucrezia,” he explained to Giulia as though she were one of his family, “there is no ceremony. I will have it thus. Come, you shall sit on one side of me, Lucrezia on the other, and we will talk to each other of Rome … and the people we meet in Rome.…”

“You are gracious to me, Your Eminence,” said Giulia with a demureness which did not ring true. “I fear I have behaved very badly.”

“My child, you are charming enough to dispense with that etiquette which others less fortunate must sustain.”

Lucrezia noticed, as they sat together laughing and talking, that her father turned more often to Giulia than to herself.

She was too astonished to feel jealousy.

And it was thus that Adriana found them.

Strangely enough Adriana
did not appear to be angry, and much to Lucrezia’s relief and astonishment nothing was said about Giulia’s alarmingly bold action.

Giulia herself seemed to change subtly; she was more subdued and, when Lucrezia tried to talk to her about Roderigo, Giulia seemed less
communicative than usual. Yes, she replied to Lucrezia’s insistence, she did think the Cardinal was a very fine man. The finest man she had ever seen? demanded Lucrezia, who always enjoyed hearing compliments about her family. It might well be so, admitted Giulia.

She would say no more than that and, during the whole of that day, she seemed to withdraw herself from Lucrezia so that the little girl could not help feeling uneasy.

And when on the following day, hearing the sound of horses’ hoofs, she looked out from her window, and saw the Cardinal riding away from the palace, her first impulse was to call him, but that of course would be undignified. He had come alone, which was unusual, and he had not seen
her
which was more unusual still. For what reason would he come to Monte Giordano if it were not to see his little daughter?

It was bewildering. Then Lucrezia thought she understood. Certainly he could not allow Giulia’s boldness of the previous day to go unpunished. Because he was gentle by nature and hated to be present when it was necessary to punish, he had not scolded Giulia but had pretended to be pleased by her company. That was entirely due to his courteous manners; but now he had come back to talk seriously to Adriana; he had come to complain and ask how such a minx as Giulia could possibly be a fit companion for his daughter.

Lucrezia’s bewilderment turned to misery. She felt sure that very soon she would be deprived of Giulia’s bright company.

Giulia was gay
. She was wearing a new necklace set with emeralds and rubies.

“But it is exquisite workmanship,” cried Lucrezia. “You possessed such a treasure and did not show it to me before!”

“It is certainly exquisite,” agreed Giulia; “and I should never have kept it from you for a day, sweet Lucrezia, if I had had it to show you. I have just received it.”

“A gift! From whom?”

“That would be to tell, and to tell is somewhat unwise.”

Giulia had seemed to grow up in a few hours. Full of coquetry, she
seemed more like a girl of eighteen than one of fourteen. Her laughter was high and infectious; she sang gay Italian songs about love; and she was tantalizingly secretive. There was also the mystery of the necklace.

But Giulia was too young, too excited to keep up the secrecy for long. She wanted to share confidences; she wanted to flaunt her experience before Lucrezia. Lucrezia demanded: “What has happened? Why are you so pleased? You do not care that the Cardinal complained to Madonna Adriana of your forwardness—which may well mean that you will be sent away.” Then Giulia laughed and retorted; “I shall not be sent away. And the Cardinal did not complain. I’ll tell you something, Lucrezia. I have a lover.”

“Orsino …”

“Orsino! Do you think I should ever take Orsino for a lover? Would you?”

“I … but I would never …”

“Mayhap you
are
over-young yet. For myself I shall be fifteen soon … and married to Orsino. Therefore what is there for me to do but take a lover?”

“Oh, have a care,” begged Lucrezia. “What if Madonna Adriana should hear you talk thus? You would be sent away.”

“I shall not be sent away. Oh no … no … no!”

Giulia laughed so much that the tears came to her eyes. Lucrezia gazed at her puzzled.

The Cardinal’s visits to Monte Giordano became very frequent and he did not always come to see Lucrezia.

Giulia would dress very carefully before his visits—not in her most modest gowns—and sometimes Lucrezia would hear Giulia’s high-pitched laughter when she was alone with the Cardinal. It was disconcerting.

But he always came to see
me!
Lucrezia told herself.

And then she began to understand.

Giulia had many rich presents. She was the loveliest girl in Rome, Lucrezia had heard the servants say. They had named her
La Bella
, and referred to her more often by that name than her own. The rich presents came from a rich lover, a lover whom Giulia was entertaining in the formal
household of the Orsinis. It was some time before Lucrezia would allow herself to believe who that lover was.

Then she could keep her suspicions to herself no longer.

One night she slipped from her bed, took her candle, and went to Giulia’s bedchamber. Giulia was asleep, and the light from Lucrezia’s candle showed her the beauty of that perfect face. Giulia was indeed
La Bella
.

The candlelight playing on Giulia’s face awoke her and she started up, staring in alarm at Lucrezia.

“What is wrong?” she demanded.

“I have to know,” said Lucrezia. “The Cardinal is your lover, is he not?”

“Did you wake me up to tell me what everybody knows?” demanded Giulia.

“So it is true!”

Giulia laughed. “Think of it,” she said, sitting up and hugging her knees. “He is fifty-eight and I am not yet fifteen. Yet we love. Is that not miraculous? Who would have thought a man so old could make me love him?”

“With him,” said Lucrezia solemnly, “all things are possible.”

That made Giulia emit one of her secretive laughs. “It is true,” she said. “And I am happy.”

Lucrezia was silent, looking at Giulia, seeing her afresh, trying to remember what she had been like before this astonishing thing had happened to her.

Then she said slowly: “If Madonna Adriana heard of this, she would be very angry.”

Giulia laughed again, recklessly it seemed to Lucrezia.

“What you are doing should be kept secret,” persisted Lucrezia. “I know we do not like Madonna Adriana, but she is a good woman and she would never allow you to live in her house if she knew.”

Giulia stopped laughing and looked intently at Lucrezia.

“You will be cold, standing there,” she said. “Come into my bed. You are no longer a child, Lucrezia. Why, you will soon be ten. You will soon have lovers of your own. There! That is better, is it not? Now, let me tell you this. The Cardinal is my lover. He says I am the most beautiful woman
in the world.
Woman
, you understand, Lucrezia. And soon I shall marry Orsino. But who cares for Orsino! Not I. Nor the Cardinal.”

“Madonna Adriana cares for him.”

“Yes. Indeed yes. That is why she is contented that I should please the Cardinal. My family is contented also, Lucrezia.”

“Contented! But how can that be when you are to marry Orsino?”

“Yes, yes. And it is a good match. The Farnese and the Orsini will be united, and that is good. One cannot marry a Cardinal … alas … alas!”

“If Cardinals could marry, my father would have married my mother.”

Giulia nodded. Then she went on: “You must not be
sorry
for Orsino. I told you his mother is contented that I am the Cardinal’s mistress. I told you that, did I not?”