Lucrezia, almost in tears, ran to Alfonso's quarters almost as soon as it was prudent to leave the party. She had made a good effort to stay cheerful and not give way to the desperation building up inside her. She had also made a conscious effort to mingle with everyone, get a feel of things and make a small calculation of who was on whose side. Her unique position as the Pope's daughter and, at the same time, wife of the enemy of the Pope's new ally made people weary, but she had done her best. Unfortunately, in the process, she was prevented from what she really wanted, which was to talk to Alfonso, who in his turn was heavily socializing.
She threw all the servants out as soon as she was in his room. He turned towards her calmly. At the beginning of their marriage she had been occasionally frightened when seeing him calm, so used she was to his energy and franticness. But despite having as little as nine months together, this was not the beginning of their marriage anymore. They had built an unlikely partnership that was now functioning almost perfectly. She had learned to see the method behind his madness and he had learned that he didn't need to apply this method with her. The loss of their first child, a tragedy in itself, had helped them reveal themselves to each other.
"What is the plan?" She did not even try an introduction to the subject.
"The stage is being set for war. Your father wants to increase the power of the Papal States and he is going to use your brother's skills as a general and King Louis' armies to do it."
"He cannot set the French against Italy! They will end up turning against him!"
"They could, but if the Papal States grow strong enough, they will be in a position to fight back. Currently the Pope depends on a shift of alliances in Italy. With a large territory at His disposal, the Pope can stop worrying so much about alliances and be His own person. Plus, if all else fails, an excommunication can be very effective. Worked for Pope Gregory, why not for Pope Alexander?"
"What will you do?"
"The pope is currently not interested in Naples. He will probably go for Imola, Forli… Your former husband's town of Pesaro…"
"But King Louis…"
"King Louis will first go for Milan, on behalf of his grandmother's Visconti blood… He will probably turn towards our kingdom next." Alfonso calmly sipped from a glass of wine before continuing. "But we must remember, my dear wife, that we are not without family in this world. King Ferdinand of Aragon is my father's first cousin and he has no interest in seeing the French in Naples. Your father may have forgotten his Spanish origins, but I have not."
"…but wouldn't King Ferdinand use his relation to the royal house of Naples to claim the throne for himself?"
"Your father is using King Louis and running the risk of having him turn against him. I am afraid we are forced to take a similar strategy and, like your father, hope that after we have used the foreign armies, we will be strong enough to not have them overtake us."
Lucrezia sat down on the bed. She could not believe that this was happening. Her father and her husband were preparing to go to war. Against each other.
"In the meantime, my dear wife, I fear we must extend our visit in Rome. I have already sent notice to my uncle in Naples on the subject. He will take care of strengthening the city and gathering an army. We will take care of discussing with the ambassadors currently residing in the Holy City."
/
Two weeks after the Pope announced his new alliance, Ascanio Sforza requested an audience with Lucrezia. Not used to be the main participant in an audience (as opposed to being the daughter or the wife of the main participant), Lucrezia had expressed her surprise to her husband.
"I fail to see the element of surprise here. I am surprised it took him two weeks to do this – it should have been the first thing to do. But I suppose he is not as clever as people think him."
"But… why me?"
"Do not underestimate yourself, dear wife. He cannot come to me directly, since our families are on rather uncomfortable terms. We must remember that Ludovico Sforza is the one that initially brought this upon us by assisting the French with their first campaign for Naples, in return for his investiture as Duke of Milan. Now the tables have turned against them and they have very few people they can turn to. But you are in a perfect position: you are the daughter of the Pope and the Queen of Naples at the same time. You are on good terms with both sides, yet as Queen of Naples, are more interested in keeping the French away."
"What shall I do?"
Alfonso touched her face in a moment of tenderness that had become a bit of a rarity in their previous two weeks.
"Lucrezia, you have lived at the center of the political world. You have seen alliances made and broken. So far you have stayed outside of it, but I have no doubt that you are more than capable to be an active player in this game. The Neapolitans and the Milanese despise each other and Naples has been treated very badly by Milan in the past. However, Naples wants the French out as much as Milan does and such petty conflicts can be postponed… for the right incentive."
His confidence in her touched her greatly, although she had already signs of it when he had started sharing his plans, plans that were quite against what her family was going for.
"I will not disappoint you, my love" she whispered. Alfonso's eyes widened at her unintentional confession. His hand held her face in place as he kissed her cheek for a long moment.
"You could not disappoint me if you tried… my love." He whispered against her skin.
/
Ascanio Sforza was a man that Lucrezia had always been wary of, despite not having had much contact with him. He was a very hard man to read. Despite his family name, he had occasionally assisted the Pope against his amazon cousin, Caterina. He had managed to stay in the Pope's good graces even after Lucrezia's marriage with his other cousin, Giovanni, had gone south. He had negotiated the annulment of that marriage and the final settlement had been much in Lucrezia's favour. Yet, he was a Sforza and long-term all his schemes had been for the benefit of his family, even if sometimes they were not obvious as such.
"Cardinal Sforza… to what do I owe this honour?" Lucrezia decided to give him a head start.
"Your majesty… I believe I did not have the chance to congratulate you on your pregnancy."
"That is very kind of you Cardinal, thank you."
"It is no little thing, being the mother of the future king of Naples…"
"Believe me, Cardinal, I am aware of the honour."
"Of course, that is supposing that there will be a kingdom of Naples to be a king of."
"I am very confident that that will be the case."
"The armies of France are moving towards Milan as we speak. If Milan becomes a French territory, there is nothing stopping King Louis from moving on to Naples."
"There was nothing stopping King Charles when Milan was Italian, so I suppose nothing is new on that front."
Cardinal Sforza took a long moment before answering.
"Milan and Naples may not have the most peaceful history, but in the face of the current circumstances…"
"Milord Sforza, Milan has a long history of treachery and deceit against Naples. I may not have been Queen of Naples for long, but I have lived long enough at my father's court to remember that Duke Galeazzo's wife was Neapolitan and that Duke Ludovico, not content with being regent of Milan, has used the help of the French armies to removing Duke Galeazzo and his Neapolitan wife and then set those armies towards Naples to prevent King Ferrante from helping them. The tide has turned against you and now you expect the very same Naples to assist you."
"If Milan falls, Naples is next. That is a fact, Madonna Lucrezia."
"What guarantees does the Queen of Naples have that the Duke of Milan will not simply turn their backs on her kingdom once he has gotten what he wanted?"
"The King of France has to go through Milan to get to Naples, your majesty. The previous French King may not have cared about Milan, but the current one does. If Milan freely allows King Louis' presence, Duke Ludovico will no longer have a Dukedom. For this reason, Duke Ludovico would never give in. And as long as Duke Ludovico does not give in, Naples is safe."
"I do understand you, Cardinal, however, I believe an alliance needs to be thought through for a more consistent scope, rather than just defeating one enemy."
Cardinal Sforza sighed and Lucrezia bit her lip to prevent a giggle.
/
"Well?"
"Duke Ludovico would like to sign a secret treaty with you. In exchange for your military assistance, he would like to assist you in signing a treaty with Emperor Maximilian, who is currently married to his niece, Bianca, a treaty which he guarantees will offer you a strong protection against the French. He also is willing to sign a marriage treaty between a Neapolitan princess of your choosing and his oldest son, Massimiliano."
"His son is but six years of age. Such an engagement holds no value."
"True. And, besides, I believed you wanted an agreement that was slightly more discreet than that. An open alliance with Milan, after such long history of conflict, would set you definitely against my father in this matter, and I do not think you should do this too soon."
Alfonso smirked but said nothing.
"I agree with you that we cannot be very trusting of Milan. On the other hand, Milan is allied with Ferrara and the Estes, the family of the Duke's late wife, Duchess Beatrice. Duke Ercole of Este's other son in law is Francesco Gonzaga, who is a man of word and a great general. Duke Ercole has managed to remain neutral so far and has managed to maintain a reasonable relationship with King Louis, while still being allied to Duke Ludovico. Duke Ercole's oldest son, your majesty's cousin, Alfonso, has lost his wife in childbirth more than a year ago…"
"Is Cardinal Sforza authorized to negotiate Alfonso's marriage?"
"Duke Ercole is old and none of his sons have heirs. A marriage is needed for the good of the Este future. Naples is a very good place to choose a bride. Your cousin Carlotta is still available… I do not believe she would protest much against being the future Duchess of Ferrara."
"…in return for…?"
"Your cousin will require an escort on her way to Ferrara. She is a princess of a great position, so it cannot be a small one. Marquess Francesco may decide to use that escort to… create difficulties for the French…"
Alfonso released his typical shrieking laugh.
"…We must congratulate our cousin on her engagement, then…"
/
An official proposal of marriage was made to Carlotta and her reply showed that she felt it was a much more appropriate match than the one of Cesare Borgia. Alfonso, through Lucrezia, concluded the discussions by the end of June. At the beginning of July, Cardinal Sforza, more and more insecure with his safety within the walls of Rome, decided to flee – but at that time, Alfonso and Lucrezia were already directly in contact with the Este family and their representatives in Rome, so his presence was not much missed. Carlotta and her 'escort' started preparing in Naples.
By the end of July, however, news came that the French had successfully invaded Milan. The speed of campaign showed that it was long in the making and that King Louis had prepared his armies long before receiving Papal approval. Duke Ludovico had fled to Emperor Maximillian's court. Cesare had sent message that he was heading towards Rome with King Louis, to celebrate their success and receive official Papal approval.
Lucrezia and Alfonso noticed the increase in the number of guards on their quarters. The Pope mentioned it was "for their safety and comfort", since Lucrezia was now five months pregnant and more vulnerable. Her only comforts were Alfonso and Giovanni, who had been moved to their quarters. The two spouses had to develop a system in which they communicated in whispers and signs to prevent as much information leakage as possible. At the same time the Este family became much less communicative.
"My darling wife…" Alfonso whispered one night.
"Yes, husband."
"I can no longer stay in Rome."
"When shall we leave?"
"We cannot. I am afraid I must leave alone."
"I will not stay without you here."
"I have suggested the Holy Father that there is business waiting for me in Naples and he very covertly suggested that the business can wait. I will not be allowed to leave so it must be done in the night, when nobody's looking. And I must do this before your brother, Cesare, and King Louis are here with their many soldiers. You are in too vulnerable a state to travel like that, it is much too dangerous."
"You are leaving your wife and heir in the hands of the enemy!" Lucrezia almost screamed her whisper and Alfonso shushed her hurriedly.
"Lucrezia, the enemy, as you call him, is your father. He may despise me and plot my doom, but he would never consider harming you."
"Plotting your doom is harming me." She cried.
"I do not believe he sees it quite like that, my love." He kissed her forehead. "Naples will be in war again and if it doesn't go our way, this is the only city in the world where you and your children are safe. "
/
On the night of August 2nd, with the help of some guards that were vulnerable to 'incentives', Alfonso left his wife in Rome and fled for Naples.
That night, her first night sleeping without him in months, Lucrezia hugged a pillow and cried herself to sleep.
