Ezio had called Maria, Angelo and Leonardo to his study. Maria stood in silence as Ezio and Leonardo entered the room. Angelo snorted.
"It's been an hour since you called us!"
"Be calm," Ezio hushed, his hand dismissively batting his anger, "the letter took longer to decode than we expected."
"Surely it wasn't that difficult, master," he muttered.
"Then decode it yourself," Ezio retorted, tossing the letter onto the desk. Maria stepped towards it, and looked at the encryption.
...1.
Angelo said nothing.
"It's quite simple, actually," Leonardo began, glad to share his discovery, "I thought it was strange, using numbers, and I was sure it required a code wheel. However, look at the repeating numbers at the end...one, nineteen, nineteen, one, nineteen, nineteen...this made me suspicious, and I looked a bit further, and ah ha! I realized the numbers represent letters!"
"And you said it was difficult!"
"Up until I saw this pattern, it was. But now look at the numbers again, and consider that each number represents the numerical position of a letter in the alphabet. A being one, B being two..."
Maria gazed down at the encryption. She counted the letters in her head. Fifteen was "o", twenty-three "w" and twenty "t".
"It still doesn't make sense," she wondered aloud.
"Yes, at first," Leonardo agreed, "But suppose we start at the end of the code! One is 'a', nineteen 's', so that is a-s-s-a-s-s-i-"
"Assassin," Ezio interrupted. The room fell into a hush. "The full message is this: assassins near, know of eden, hide treasure, six two four one two."
"What do the numbers mean?" Angelo persisted, frustrated that he did not see through the illusion.
"It is a date," Leonardo replied, "for the sixth month, on the twenty fourth day at midnight."
"I have researched this date," Ezio explained, "Riccardo will be holding a party at his villa that night, probably as a facade for the templar meeting that will take place at midnight, and this is when we will strike."
"A classic ambush!" Angelo grinned.
"Not quite," Ezio interrupted, "this is a fragile meeting, a single suspicion and the whole meeting will be called off, the codes changed and Riccardo will head back to his barracks outside of Italy. However, I believe there is one way to kill Riccardo right under his nose. I know for a fact that he has a weakness; a weakness for women."
Ezio turned to Maria.
Maria said nothing, but her expression was cold.
"Maria will disguise herself as a courtesan."
Angelo burst into a fit of laughter. It was a mocking, slick laugh, and Ezio opened his mouth to silence him, but Maria was too fast.
Her hand slapped him across the face.
For a moment, Angelo was silent, his hand instinctively covering his red cheek. It was short lived.
"You bitch!" Angelo cried. His hands reached forward, intending to hurl her to the ground, but Ezio drew between them.
"Enough! I will not tolerate a break in the brotherhood!" Ezio grabbed Angelo's arm and threw him aside, then he turned to Maria, his finger directed at her under accusation, "And that includes you, Maria!"
Maria looked away.
"You have to work together!" Ezio commanded, walking back to his desk. He sighed, sitting down into his uncle's chair, "If either of you want your revenge,"
Angelo cursed under his breath.
Maria returned to the kitchen that night with a red dress. She laid it on the table and examined it. With its low collar, ripped skirt and abundant frills, it symbolized the whore. She tossed the shoes and headdress away in disgust.
"Angelo will bring his men to the rear of the villa during the party, making sure to take care of the archers and any guards that will pose a threat."
Pouring warm water into a large wash pan, Maria let the steam float up and warm her face. She exhaled, exhausted.
"As Angelo is doing so, Maria will attend the party with a group of courtesans Claudia has organized."
Dipping her toes into the water, Maria sat in the bowl, and began to wash her body. The small bar of soap slid along her arm, leaving a path of small bubbles.
"Maria will seduce Riccardo and pull him away from the party. Then, she will kill him."
Her hair dripped with water, the brown locks soaked with suds. She poured a bowl of water over her head, washing away the soap.
"You will not fail."
As Maria pulled her white nightdress on for the first time in years, she let the cotton wrap around her and cling to her wet body, scented with lavender. She embraced it, her arms wrapping around her body and letting the fabric catch and fold between her fingers.
"One day I won't have to leave," Luciano whispered to Maria, his rough hands stroking the cotton of her nightdress.
"One day I will be fat," she complained, followed by the bells of her laughter.
"Because you will be with child!" he testified, his body embracing hers. She squirmed in fake protest. He cooed, his voice low and loving, and stroked her shoulders. Finally, he found his way to her stomach. It curved outwards from her body, the round shape ending right before her groin. He admired the curve.
"One day when this is all done," he murmured in a soft voice, his hand rubbing her belly. She gazed up towards him, her vision clouded with ecstasy. He began to weep. He made no noise, but the innocent tears that fell onto the fresh bed sheets.
"It will soon be done,"