Cathy stared blankly at the closed doors of the church, which were guarded by two Swiss mercenaries who refused to look Caterina in the eye. Today was the day that she was going to married to a man that she knew she was going to have to fight against for the rest of her life. As unsettling as this thought was to her free spirit, Cathy was revealed that the Count had treated her fairly their entire acquaintance, and perhaps someday he would be able to trust her.
The music began to play and the large doors were pulled opened by the guards. Hundreds of unfamiliar faces bombarded her at once and she quickly focused her gaze ahead on Sixtus who was smiling notoriously as if this had been his plan for Cathy and the Count all along. Cathy then dared to shift her gaze to Riario. He stared at her with an intensity that would have normally startled Cathy, but the look in his eyes was one of reassurance not intimidation.
Cathy sighed inwardly when the music stopped playing and her sweaty hand was in the soft cool hand of the Count. Riario exchanged a quick glance with Caterina before she glued her eyes to the Pope and swallowed down her fear. She flinched when the Pope's voice rang loudly throughout the chapel as the ceremony began. She felt her hand being squeezed tighter and a light graze of a thumb began to stroke her palm. Cathy slowly began to relax and the Count's grip loosened.
"Do you, Lord Girolamo Riario, Count and Captain-general of the Holy Roman Church wish to have this woman, Lady Caterina Sforza as your wife, and to love her, honor her, keep her and protect her, in health and in sickness, as a husband should his wife, to keep from all other women except her, as long as your lives shall last?"
"I do." Riario replied looking at the Pope instead of Caterina.
"Do you Lady Caterina, accept this man, Lord Girolamo Riario as your husband, and to love him, honor him, keep him, and serve him, in health and in sickness, as a wife should her husband, to keep from all other men except him, as long as your lives shall last?"
"I do." Cathy replied. The Count looked over at her with a relieved expression as if he expected her to say no.
"By the power invested in me, and with God's blessings I now pronounce you husband and wife."
The music began blaring and the people in the church cheered. Riario put Caterina's arm in his and walked down the long hall of the church, Cathy smiled at the strange faces that were admiring her; even Riario seemed to have a hint of a smile as the crowd roared with delight. As soon as they were out of the church they were led into a carriage and followed by Sixtus.
The door slammed shut and people inside the church began to flood the streets. Cathy felt the warmth of her husband as the carriage started moving and thrust her close to him.
"So, now that you two are married we can begin discussing your travel arrangements to Florence. You will leave tonight after the wedding feast." Sixtus said.
Riario nodded.
"Lady Caterina, you will accompany Girolamo to Florence, I want the Medici's to know that Milan is no longer a feasible ally."
Cathy felt Riario's body stiffen when Sixtus mentioned her accompaniment.
"My Lord, surely Lady Caterina would be safer in Vatican City."
Cathy inwardly rolled her eyes and stared at the Pope hoping he would not give in to his nephew's plea.
"Are you afraid that you will be unable to protect your wife in Florence, Girolamo? In that case I am certain she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, isn't that right Lady Caterina?"
Cathy couldn't help but smile until she saw the Count's fists clench in rage.
"I hope that does not burden you too much Girolamo, the security of Florence takes precedence over everything, do you understand?" Sixtus said glaring at Riario. The two seemed to share an unsettling glance that made Cathy feel uncomfortable.
"Perfectly."
The carriage stopped and the door opened. Sixtus got out first, followed by Riario. Cathy tried to catch the Count's eye but he seemed to be lost in thought. She stepped out of the carriage holding her husband's soft hand.
They were led by the Pope into the Grand Hall were all of Rome's finest had already begun celebrating. They clapped the moment they saw the Pope enter with the newlyweds. The three took their seats at the end of the hall, both on either side of Sixtus and the merriment continued.
Cathy poured herself a glass of wine, only to pour herself another one in a few minutes. The tension at the table was formidable.
"Congratulations Count Riario, dare I say you are a very lucky man." A familiar voice spoke. Cathy looked up to see King Ferdinand of Naples. She smiled sweetly and allowed the King to kiss her hand. She wondered how he got back to Rome so quickly; he had only embarked to Naples a few weeks ago.
"Ah, King Ferrante, perhaps you would like to introduce to Lady Caterina your son." Sixtus spoke in a sly tone. Caterina raised her eyebrow at the blushing King. Ferdinand had never mentioned he had a son, what other secrets had he hidden from her.
The King signaled over to a young man. The boy emerged; he looked around the same age as Caterina, maybe a few years younger.
"Lady Caterina, my son, Alfonso."
The boy arrogantly stepped forward and kissed Caterina's hand a bit inappropriately, winking at her in the process. Cathy tried hard to withhold her laugh at the boy's brashness. She wasn't surprised at the Ferdinand's concealment of the boy; no doubt he was a bit hotheaded.
"A pleasure to meet you Lady Caterina, it's a shame that you have been whisked away so young by an old Roman Count."
Caterina's hand immediately flew up to her mouth to stifle her now audible laugh. Ferdinand scowled at his son, who left after seeing the disapproval in his father's face. Riario gripped the dagger on the table ready to steady in the boy's heart. He hated Alfonso's arrogance and Ferdinand's inability to control it.
"I hope you can control his pretension in Florence Ferdinand, I do not want his distasteful ways jeopardizing the mission." Sixtus remarked.
"Of course your Holiness." Ferdinand bowed and turned around to scold his son.
"Alfonso is one of the best swordsmen in Italy Caterina, he has never lost a match." Sixtus said.
"Well he certainly needs too." She responded taking a sip from her third glass of wine.
"Girolamo why don't you take your bride for a dance. If not for enjoyment then do it merely to appease the crowd."
Riario stood up abruptly and waited at the end of the table for Caterina. She looked at the Pope who was now focused on the people in the hall. She got up slowly and walked over to her husband, intertwining her arm with his, and placing her hand on his forearm.
He led her to the dance floor and gently placed his arm on her waist. The music started and the two slowly began to spin along the granite. Caterina tried to lock eyes with Riario but he refused, his focus was elsewhere.
"Why is Sixtus employing the help of Ferdinand for the security of Florence?" Cathy asked.
Silence.
"I know why I am accompanying you to Florence Girolamo. It's not to flaunt allies, it's because Sixtus is afraid you are going to do something to screw it up." Cathy said.
This caught Riario's attention. His gaze crashed down on her in a violent frenzy.
"Look, I don't care about Florence, and quite frankly I like Medici's as the rulers of Florence. I can see it in your every move that you could care less about the security of Florence as well."
"That's not true." Riario spoke firmly.
"Then what plagues you so fervently?" Caterina asked searching his dark eyes for answer. Girolamo looked deeply into Cathy's dark blue eyes for a moment. He almost thought her trusting eyes would force him to reveal every secret he had ever kept but alas his pride was too wounded to share anything about Da Vinci and his loss of the key to the vault of heaven.
The dance was over and Riario led Cathy back to her seat. She sat that in wonderment of what was about to transpire in the next few weeks. The stable man she thought she married seemed to be less stable than she initially thought. Something plagued him and she would find out eventually. But despite her marriage to the Count, she could not lose sight of the bigger picture, and she needed to continue her search for the Turk, the Book of Leaves and now her brother, the bastard artesian.
Sorry for those who were waiting but I finally updated! :)