Once again, thanks to you Jazzy for being so supportive! I hope you're right ;))
Chapter 13: The calm before the storm
Pope Alexander had once more called for a meeting since the last one had ended so unsuccessfully. This time, Jane was led by a Vatican servant to a room that, according to the servant, was a back room to the College of Cardinals – and it did look like a back room; it was furnished with a wooden table and wooden chairs that, compared to the rest of the glorious rooms in the Vatican, looked cheap.
Jane was the first one to arrive at the meeting, so she sat down one of the chairs to wait. She didn't have to wait long before another person arrived. Vice Chansellor Sforza entered the room, his face calm as always. He smiled a little at Jane and greeted her, and she responded politely as he found a chair.
"Are you the only one who has arrived?" he asked.
"Obviously."
"Yes." He looked at his hands, folded in front of him on the table. "How long have you known the Pope?" he asked, looking up again.
"Since just before the late Pope Innocent died," she said, and Ascanio quickly drew a cross over his chest in respect of the former Pope.
"Before the conclave, then?"
"Yes, and before he was elected Pope, Cardinal," she added with a devious smile, "that was what you were asking for, was it not?"
He smiled. "You supported him before his election?"
"I did. Him and no other."
"And if he had not been elected, what would you have done then?"
"I see," she said, "You want to know if I can be trusted?" Ascanio nodded.
"I want to know if the life of the Pope of Rome is safe around you."
"He is, believe me," Jane answered, but she could tell that wasn't enough: "I chose to support a cardinal, any cardinal, before the conclave, so that he would trust me. But I did not plan on killing the next Pope. My plan was, and remains, to gain power, wealth and influence to my family."
"So you choose to remain in the shadows?" Ascanio said, pointing out the irony in her goal.
"Power can be many things, Cardinal Sforza, and so can wealth and influence."
In that moment, a door – another door from the one Jane and the cardinal had entered through – opened, and the Pope marched in.
"Where are all the others?" he asked, sitting down on one of the chairs.
As if summoned, the door through which Jane had entered opened and Cesare, Giulia and Micheletto entered.
"Excuse us our delay, Holy Father," Cesare said and sat on the chair closest to him, while his servant, Micheletto, stood by the wall. He preferred to stand, Jane knew, because he felt immobile when he sat. Giulia walked past the Pope, where she purposefully let her fingers run across his shoulder and around the back of his neck, before she found a seat next to Jane.
"You are excused," the Pope said, his gaze following Giulia as she sat. He cleared his throat and said: "We suggest that we continue the discussion from yesterday – about the French king, not the shepherd," he added, which caused a few to laugh (Cesare clenched his jaw, as if to stop himself from saying something, so Jane supposed that he and his father had already settled that matter in private).
"We had sent Giovanna Volturi to Ostia to settle the disagreement between me and former Cardinal Della Rovere, but by then he had already fled to France to speak to Charles," Rodrigo continued.
"He left a letter for me, on which he told me to deliver a message for our Holy Father – the message said that he had left to France to speak to the king," Jane explained.
"The king has long had a vague claim on the throne of Naples, and Rovere, as much of a coward he may be, is still clever enough to use this as an excuse for the king to come here," the Pope continued.
"So now you fear that the Papacy might be in danger?" the Vice Chancellor asked.
"I do indeed," the Pope said, leaning back in his chair, "and I would bring this up the next time the college meets."
"But surely, Your Holiness still has the support of Giovanni Sforza?" Giulia asked, her voice doubtful as if she already knew the answer. The Pope didn't answer, but looked at Ascanio inquiringly. Ascanio shifted in his seat.
"My cousin's behavior since the marriage has disappointed even me, Holy Father," he said after drawing in a deep breath, "but I do not think that he would ever break an alliance without warning, especially not one with such significance."
"And if he did?" the Pope inquired.
"I would be both surprised and disappointed. I would feel shame in being related to him, but that is all that I can tell you." Ascanio seemed uneasy when he spoke about his cousin, and Jane couldn't help but wonder how two so different people could be from the same family.
"For now, we put our faith and trust in God and His good will, and pray that your cousin is as honorable as you make him sound," the Pope said. He walked to the door which he had stepped in through and said: "Giovanna, would you please follow me."
It wasn't a question, but a command. Jane rose from her seat and followed the Pope through a door which led to another room much like the one she'd just left, except it was smaller and there were only two chairs on each side of a table.
After they had both sat down, the Pope said, "You met Machiavelli in Florence?"
"Yes, I did," Jane answered, not sure exactly what the Pope wanted to know.
"Is he as cunning as my son makes him sound?"
"If not more so," Jane answered honestly, thinking of the genius of a man that she'd met in Florence. When the Pope didn't start talking, she continued, "He is careful to let any information spill, and to make out the meaning of his words can be a riddle at times, but I believe that his reluctance to make promises is a sign that what he does promise, he keeps to the best of his might."
"What did he promise?"
"He promised to do the best he could to keep the Florentine arms turned against the French, in return for a later favor-"
"-the installation of him as head of the Second Chancery in the still non-existent Florentine Republic, yes," the Pope said. "He does have a weakness towards power."
"As do you," Jane commented with a little smile.
"It would be a small price to pay for the support during the oncoming war, and if I did help him he would be more loyal to me, no doubts," the Pope mused, his thoughts wandering away. Jane let him think this over for a while, not saying anything. After being silent for a couple of minutes, the Pope rose from his seat and walked over to the wall, looking into either the wood or nothing.
"And," he said, running his index finger over the wood absent-mindedly, "what of my dear Lucrezia?"
The fact that he had turned his face away from her revealed a lot; it revealed that he was either ashamed or sad, and, under the circumstanced, probably both. "She is all right, taken her situation," Jane said in a calm voice. Right now was not the time to scold Rodrigo for his decision. "She is happy to be able to help her family."
"Is she very angry with me?" he asked, his voice worried.
"No, Holy Father, she still loves you," Jane answered honestly.
"I have had dreams of her, Giovanna," he said, his finger stopping its movement, "Horrible dreams." His fingers continued to trace the patterns of the wall again. "Dreams where she dies. She tells me that she can never forgive me and she sends me into Hell's flames."
"Lucrezia would never do such things, Holy Father, and I give you my word that she is still alive. Giovanni might be spiteful, but he would never kill her, not with the consequences that there would follow," Jane said, trying to soothe him.
"And what consequences will there be," the Pope said, his hand falling to his side, "when the French army are finished with us?"
Jane sat in one of the libraries, a book opened in front of her, but she didn't seem to be able to remember the words for long enough to read an entire sentence. Her mind kept wondering towards the oncoming war. She worried for the outcome because she wasn't as sure of Giovanni's reliability as anyone else seemed to be.
"Giovanna?" asked the pleasant voice of Ascanio Sforza. He was standing in front of the table, just a few steps away.
"Cardinal," she answered with a polite smile. Ascanio stepped a few steps forward to stand right in front of the desk.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"About what?"
"Do you think that my cousin will come to the Pope's aid?"
Jane leaned backwards in her chair so that she could better see Ascanio's face. "When I met him while I visited Lucrezia, he did not strike me as an honorable man, but you said that he usually kept his promises, so I choose to trust you – even if it is merely because that is our only hope."
Ascanio smiled for a second. "Then I fear that we do not have much hope. I remember Giovanni as a child, and back then he spoke of becoming a great man. I think something went wrong after that; there was always something strange about his family's home," Ascanio said, his face nostalgic, "Back then, I trusted him, but now I am not so sure."
"If we cannot trust your cousin, then we must put our faith in God, just as the Pope told us to," Jane said reassuringly.
"Giovanna, I…"
Ascanio was cut off by Giulia Farnese's call from a few feet away. "Giovanna!" she called with a smile.
"Giulia," Jane greeted and Ascanio followed her example.
"Vice Chancellor," Giulia said with a smile and a nod in his direction, "I think that the cardinals will conjugate in an hour or so. You should probably prepare yourself."
"Then I shall leave you," he said as answer, turning around to leave the room. When he passed by Giulia, she leaned towards him and whispered in his ear. The cardinal stood still for a second, then continued his pace towards the door.
"Oh," Giulia said, twisting her upper body to look at the cardinal who was standing by the door, "Cardinal Orsini spoke about the funds of the Papacy. He said that there is not quite enough money to lead a war; the whole Papacy now lies on the shoulder of your cousin. I hope he does not let us down."
Ascanio nodded and walked away quickly. Jane moved her gaze to look into the dark eyes of Giulia 'la bella'. "Do you not trust him, Giulia?" she asked.
"Trust him? I find it hard to trust anyone from that family," she said, returning Jane's gaze. Jane sighed. "But that is not what I came to talk to you about," Giulia continued with a mischievous smile. Giulia sat down in front of Jane's desk to better face her. "A long time ago, before all of this nonsense with the Sforzas, you asked me for an advice. Of love."
Jane nodded; she could hardly deny it. "So, can you now tell me who it is you needed advice about – and has it worked?" Giulia leaned over the table with an almost conspiratorial gleam in her eyes.
Jane smiled and shook her head. "I have found no one of interest," she said. It was only partly a lie, she told herself.
"Well, you must marry soon, must you not?" Giulia asked. "I am unaware of your exact age, but you must be past 15 years now, and even that would be a little young compared to the amount of help you have been able to give us."
"15 years, that is my age," Jane decided, "and I shall marry when I like and with whomever I find of my liking," she continued.
Giulia smiled indulgently. "But surely your father must insist that you marry."
"He has not mentioned marriage yet," Jane answered.
Giulia laughed in disbelief. "Not a single time?"
"Not a single time."
An idea seemed to take form inside Giulia's head. "Cardinal Sforza?" she asked.
"What of him?"
"Do you love him? Or find him interesting?" Giulia said, lowering her voice.
"No!" Jane exclaimed, not lying in the least, "Why would you think that?"
"Because," Giulia said, "I think he has interest in you."
"But he is a cardinal – he has taken his vows," Jane hissed, even though this conversation was slightly amusing.
"So has the Pope, and that doesn't seem to keep him from keeping a lover." Giulia seemed to blush a little. "Or so I have heard."
Jane's mouth curved into a smile before saying, "If I should fall in love, it would be to a man who is not already married to God."
The topic quickly changed and as the two young women chatted and laughed together in the library of the Vatican, they – for a short while – forgot everything of the oncoming war. Because there would be a war, and it would be a hard one to get through if you stood against the French and their canons of war.