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The Borgias S3E10
Pt. 21 Rumour Has It
"Out! Out! I can't get out!" Vannozza cried excitedly as she tried to extricate herself from her cell; Rodrigo heard her and rushed back into the room to free her.
"Cesare! Did you not hear your mother?"
"He only just left the room—I haven't even closed the door on him properly..." he frowned at them. "He probably heard you, mother..."
"So what if he did—Rodrigo, he is perfect for our darling! Absolutely perfect! I cannot contain myself—Cesare himself admitted his liking to him..."
"What? Really?" A broad smile broke across his face. "This is most splendid...most splendid—now Cesare, you must convince your sister of the same, yes?"
Cesare cast a long glare at his mother; he had hoped to talk to her before his father came back in but he could see that would not happen soon.
"So...tell me—what did he and Cesare talk about, then?"
Cesare looked again at his mother and waited; Vannozza realized then that she could not reveal all of the conversation, for Cesare had broached a subject that Rodrigo knew nothing of at that point; she looked knowingly at her son and calmed herself accordingly.
"He would endeavor to have Giovanni at court, Rodrigo—in what ever manner you might see fit to arrange—call him a nephew; a cousin; whatever suits, as long as he is with his mother."
"That is sticky, my love; the boy is already declared Infans Romanus..."
"Then name Cesare as the father and be done with it—she will take her "nephew" to court and go on to some happiness, at last," Vannozza snapped at him.
"Vannozza, please calm yourself, I will work it all out before she walks down the aisle, hmm?"
"I will leave you both to it, then; I must gather a proper retinue together and take them with me when I go..."
"Oh, thank you, Cesare, I don't know why your sister left here with none of her court—when will you leave, then?"
"Tomorrow."
"Oh—do you think that you can get them together so quickly?"
"I do, father—I must." He looked again at his mother. "You will have ready for me that which we spoke earlier about?"
"Yes, Cesare."
He nodded at her.
"I appreciate the haste you make my son, but your sister shall be at least a year to her wedding; we must honor the mourning period, at least as close to its completion as possible, hmm?"
"At least, indeed," he looked again at his mother. "I'm off then." Cesare left them.
"So, my love, tell me more..."
"Not here—let us retire to your apartment, Rodrigo..." Vannozza said as she led her excited paramour away.
The next day, at an hour later than he desired but still in time to arrive at Nepi's castle gates before sundown, Cesare set out for his sister with two hundred courtiers, six hundred soldiers and the man who was to be Lucrezia's trusted new head coachman. He bade his happy parents farewell amidst their most loving regards to be given to their daughter and dispatched Micheletto to San Marino to captain the new army until his own arrival. He left Rome then, with a heart full of happiness for his sister, sadness for himself, and his passion for her, ever unbridled.
The hour was drawing late; Lucrezia had spent most of the day in her office counseling with Don di Tosoni over a particularly difficult case that she was to hear the following day; when she was confidant that her understanding was complete she gave the Don a happy smile.
"I thank you Don di Tosoni, you cannot know how much your counsel is appreciated. I would ask you to supper, but I know that you desire to get home to your beautiful family and I have kept you long enough," she said as they both rose from her desk; seated in a corner Cardinal Bembo rose up, as well.
"Well, you fed me a most delectable dinner, my Lady, and my wife will most surely appreciate that—I am none too pleasant, I'm afraid, when I am starving."
"I would never choose to send a man home to his wife in such condition," they both chuckled as he took her hand to his and kissed the back of it chastely.
"My Lady, it is an honor to work with you; your skills at negotiation are most natural and more than admirable; you have been a quick study and a just administrator—the people know that when they come to you dispensation will be fair and timely—you are a success."
"I am your protege, Don di Tosoni—your patronage alone is the reason for my success, sir," she curtsied at him.
"Ah, you flatter me much too much, my Lady—never stop!" he joked her then let loose a mirthfully conspiratorial little laugh. "Good night, to you then and give a kiss to your precious little boy from my wife and I both, yes? She so enjoyed her visit with the two of you last Sunday."
"And we enjoyed her—we must do it again soon."
"I will tell her. Until tomorrow then," he bowed at her. "Good night, Cardinal."
"Good night, Don di Tosoni."
The moment came then that Bembo waited most patiently for every time they were together—the one that found him alone with Lucrezia.
"Cardinal, will you stay for supper, then?"
"Of course I will, must you even ask?" he smiled at her.
"There you are, at it again..." she scolded him lightly.
"What?" he feigned innocence.
"That smile, Cardinal—must I give up on you and ban you from this castle?"
"Oh no, I would not have that. Is this better, then?" he frowned at her most comically but could not hold it as her laughter greeted his ears.
"Rogue."
"Maybe, but I do so love when that shield about you, that invisible cloak that you wear for protection and the means to hide your truest self from prying eyes, my Lady, comes down, revealing your true self to me...you are a woman of great passion, Lucrezia Borgia, and I would replace that cloak with my loving arms if only you would let me." His voice was as full of sympathy—and his own challenge.
"Then I must replace it with something that is not so easy to penetrate, it seems—a suit of armor, perhaps, Cardinal Bembo?" she joked him.
"I would penetrate that, as well, my Lady..." he said wickedly.
"Cardinal, you promised to be my friend..." her joking manner dissipated into one of uneasiness.
"I am your friend..." he approached her slowly.
"You will stop this or be banned from coming to this castle ever again, I mean it."
"Strong words, my Lady..." he took Lucrezia into his embrace, "yet so hollow..."
"Cardinal Bembo..." she beseeched him softly, succumbing most definitely to his charm and the feel of his body against her own, "please stop this..."
"Pietro..." he murmured at her.
"Have you no honor about yourself?" The question came out as a whisper.
"I have been a good boy...you should reward me..." he whispered back at her, through the tilt of his head and his imminent kiss.
"My Lady! My Lady! Oh..." Pietra, excited beyond measure stopped in her tracks at the sight of the pair, and her cheeks flushed immediately red from the embarrassment and discomfort of her discovery; she turned away abruptly as the spell and their embrace upon each other was broken.
"Pietra..." Lucrezia began awkwardly.
"My Lady, your brother approaches; he has come from Rome just this moment, and..."
"And here I am, dear sister," he said as he stood next to the flustered woman with a scowl upon his face.
Pietra gave a fearful curtsey at Cesare but said not another word as she left the room in great haste.
"Cesare? What..." her smile at him was immediate even through her own embarrassment and shock.
"I have news of your next betrothal, sister. Good news," he pronounced angrily as he glared at the cardinal.
"Cesare, this is Cardinal Pietro Bembo—surely you know that he was sent here by Our Holy Father?"
"I did not know," he stated as if it was an accusation against her; Lucrezia bristled visibly at his tone.
"He has been my counsel, along with the former governor, and has been of great assistance during my time here, brother."
"I can see that," he leveled at her with a mix of condescension, light reproach and sarcasm that completely unnerved her.
"Your Excellence, I am at your service," Bembo approached him humbly then, and gave him a bow.
"Really?" Cesare's tone was more than indignant; he cast his angry eyes back upon his sister. "I have brought a small but proper retinue with me, Lucrezia, that you must come and greet; and your mother sends that which you asked for in one of your earlier letters—do you remember?"
"I do, brother."
"And then we must talk. Send your little friend away now, I have not much time, for another campaign awaits me," he concluded tersely. Lucrezia was insulted and hurt by his words and both emotions registered upon her face.
"Cesare, I do not appreciate your tone or manner," she said finally.
"Duly noted, sister," he replied coldly. "May we get on with the matters at hand now?"
Lucrezia braced herself as she realized that her brother would not be removed just yet from his anger and turned to the cardinal. "Thank you, Cardinal Bembo for your assistance and your company today. You must excuse me now and I will see you tomorrow morning at the town hall."
"Yes...good night, my Lady." Bembo gave her a respectful nod—and his smile.
"The pleasure was all mine, Your Excellence," he smiled at Cesare as he walked past him and out of the room.
Lucrezia looked at her brother and saw that he was in a quiet rage; she was none too happy herself and brushed past him without another word to go and welcome her courtiers to their new home.
It was more than an hour later that Lucrezia had finally, with Pietra and Maria's help, seen to everyone's accommodations; she would manage a meeting with everyone in the morning before she went to town and excused herself to go and conference with her brother. She found him in Giovanni's nursery, playing happily with his nephew as Miracella sat nervously by.
"He remembers me," Cesare said happily over his nephew as his sister walked into the room; he kissed Giovanni on the forehead then rose from the boy's crib to greet her. His countenance was jarring to her, as the scowl he'd last visited upon her was back in effect and in direct conflict the happy voice that had issued forth from him only seconds earlier.
"Miracella, I shall come check on him again later. Excuse us now, for I have business with my brother."
"Yes, my Lady." Miracella watched the angry pair leave the room, let out a sigh of relief and breathed her first easy breath since His Excellence had arrived.
"Will you take a room tonight or will you go as soon as you are done with me, brother?" she asked him coolly as she led him to a corridor and then stopped.
Cesare yanked her angrily by the arm and turned her to face him. "Do not talk to me like I am some stranger, Lucrezia! As if I'm some lodger at one of mother's inns!" he hissed at her.
"Stop this, now, Cesare...you've brought a household of new eyes to pry into my life, please be cognizant of that," she reminded him coldly.
"Take me to your room," he grunted at her as he released her and angrily pushed her away from him.
When they were at last behind a closed and private door Lucrezia let her own anger rip.
"Why have you done this, brother? Brought all of these people here along with your tidings of bad news? I told mother I would support a proper retinue, but when I was ready—"
"You need other people here, Lucrezia; a house abuzz with life and other concerns so that the town is not set aflame by the rumours of those that have nothing better to do than discuss your lonely condition."
"So, she told you about Tomas, the reason I need to replace him?" she asked as she paced the floor.
"Of course she did. And he is a dead man—tonight."
"And she did not tell you about Cardinal Bembo?"
"No, she did not."
"Is he a dead man, as well?"
"Should he be? Is he bread and water to sate you or have you found yourself a banquet feast, sister?"
"He is neither, brother."
"It did not look that way to me..." he shot back at her.
She stopped pacing and turned to face her brother. "Then your eyes condemn me with their ignorance."
Cesare snorted a disbelieving little guffaw at her and rolled his eyes hard in his head.
"He is enamored of me, yes; I find him pleasing; but this evening was the first that I allowed myself to be swayed by him and I know him not as you suspect."
"But you want to—know him—do you not?" he accused her as he stepped closer to her.
"What has gotten into you, brother? Did we not talk about this very thing? Have I ever come at you in such a condition? And you've had far more lovers than I will ever dare to, so what is this? This anger that has us at each others throats when all I want to do is to feel your arms about me and mine about you?"
"Is that what you want?" he asked her roughly.
"Yes."
He took her into his arms just as roughly. "This is what you want?"
"Yes!"
He took her face into his hands then and his eyes bored into her own, full of fury and torment. "You have been so sure that I would break your heart, and first, but it is you, sis, that breaks mine so magnificently..." he put his forehead to hers. "This condition I am in—is ever my heartbreak—for I must give you up always—to everyone!"
"Cesare..." Lucrezia tried to wrest his hands from her face but could not budge them.
"Argh! No! You will hear me, sister; to husbands; to suitors; to lovers, I must ever give you over to—to a life spent without you more than even in your remote company—and here I find you, moving on without me even as I bring news of the next man who will have you—when all I would wish for is that they would all be me!"
"Cesare, please..."
"And your next husband—I even like him! How could I not? He is honest; he is a man, Lucrezia—a man who could truly make you forget me; the type of man I prayed that father and I would find, one that we could entrust not only you, but your children to..." Lucrezia broke away from him.
"She told you..." she gasped as she backed away from him.
"Is it mine?"
Lucrezia broke down into tears then and fell to her knees upon the floor.
"Is it mine!"
"I don't know!" Her voice was full of anguish. "I told you about Alfonso; how he was when he was in his cups—I had him, Cesare, the night before you left for Forli—the night before you returned and he attacked you...the timing of it all...it's just too close for me to know with any assurance, one way or the other..." she sobbed, her face buried in her hands, the lovely apricot skirt of her gown billowing about her as she sank further to sitting dejectedly on the floor.
"You must tell father—and your husband-to-be..."
"What?" she looked up at him aghast.
"Father knows nothing at all, but Alfonso—"
"Alfonso? Alfonso who?"
"d'Este of Ferrara. He only suspects—I had to put the hypothetical question to him, Lucrezia, I had to know. The man desires to bring your children to court, in any way that is possible—even if they have to be declared openly as not being your actual children; he doesn't care as long you have them with you and he would follow any advice and help that our father would render in that matter."
"It is all too much, brother...your anger, this news...I have questions of my own," she said as she brought her tears and her hiccup-infused sobs under control.
"About him?"
"No, about you—and myself."
"What?" Cesare gave his sister a wary look.
"These rumours that swirl about us on the tongues of my servants—I have heard them in full."
"And?"
"And I have read the transcript of the inquest."
"What of it?"
"Is that why father sent me away? Because of Alfonso and what transpired before his accident? Before his accident, Cesare, did you plan to have him murdered?"
Cesare's jaw dropped open and he let out out a sigh, as if he'd just felt the first stab of a knife to his heart.
"I see," she looked sadly away from him.
"Lucrezia..."
She looked up at him again. "You must tell me the truth, Cesare. If we don't have anything else between us we must have that."
Cesare took a chair and brought over near his sister; he took one of her hands into his own and gave it an apologetic squeeze. "Yes," he answered her simply.
"Why brother?"
"Why? Because he was weak! He was unable to protect you, Lucrezia! Unwilling and unworthy! I sat right beside him during my negotiations with King Ferdinand, over your marriage, and not once did he speak up for you or for Giovanni, Lucrezia...not once! He had no ambition; no sense of himself at all; a fearful boy at play in a man's world doing dutifully as he was told—by his uncle; his cousins—you! Content to sit passively by and let the world happen to him as it would. We do not live in that kind of a world, Lucrezia, you know that. He would have never been the husband in your relationship. Had he never married you he still would have found himself in jeopardy for he had no ambition at all—a death sentence for certain within his murderous family." Cesare slipped from the chair and onto his knees as he pulled her up on her own to face him eye-to-eye.
"Alfonso d'Este may have his faults, Lucrezia, but he's a man, with a mind of his own; he is not swayed by popular opinion or by anyone else's but his own and he has assured me that Giovanni and any other child, as yet unborn, would both be welcomed in his court—he would not see you separated from your children; he is not only willing but able to give me such assurance."
"And these faults you speak of? What are they?"
"Minor, compared to what he would offer you. He is more than a good prospect for you, Lucrezia."
"A good prospect for you, brother—and for father," she accused him.
"He will leave you to your bed in peace, Lucrezia, and would not force his affections on you. But he would appease himself otherwise, for he likes his whores."
"Wonderful. Another loveless marriage where I must now appoint a medic to my household staff so that he can verify if it is safe to give my husband a kiss hello when he returns home each day," she slumped back down to the floor; Cesare sat and faced her.
"I cannot ignore that he is a kind man, Lucrezia; a strong man; with one small vice he developed after the death of his dear wife. But his castle is as something from a dream—I know, I've been there; the city is a wonder, awash in art and artists—and life—something you've missed greatly here in Nepi and in Rome, as well. And he wants to give that all to you. Give him a chance—he is truly fond of you."
"He does not even know me, Cesare..."
"He has set eyes upon you before, Lucrezia—he was almost considered by father for contention of your hand at the same time as Alfonso—he saw you at the Vatican during that period when he was there on other business with Our Holy Father."
"Is that so..." she asked disgustedly.
"I know what it looks like to you, my love, but I have talked to the man and learned much of him for myself—he is a good man, at heart—a better man than me. He will treat you as an equal; he will provide you with safety. I would have you marry him, even though I hate the prospect for myself."
"You? You would have me marry him?" she grunted her disgust at him. "You truly have usurped Our Holy Father, Cesare—you would order me to marry this man?"
"I would if I could—instead, I can only beg you, sis...he can give you what I cannot and I have to be honest not only with you, but with myself about that. I was sure that I was truly committed to that truth until I saw you tonight with the cardinal—I'm sorry, I just...I've never seen you like that before, desiring another man in such a way—it hurt me, Lucrezia...on top of everything else it was just more than I could bear..."
"But you had seen me with Alfonso..."
"That was not the case with what my eyes saw tonight; Alfonso was no man and you never reacted to him as one; not even that horrible night that you had to perform for the King—it was not Alfonso you were making love to—it was me—tell me that it was not..." he dared her.
It was true, it was her brother she had been reaching for, and found, in her mind even though her body could not. She nodded her confirmation at him.
"Yes, it was you, always you. Cesare?"
"Yes?"
"You were going to murder my husband, weren't you?"
"Yes," he answered her simply and honestly. "Is that a thing you could ever forgive me for?"
"Yes."
"How is that possible?" he asked her in true disbelief, so afraid that her answer would have been otherwise.
"Because you did not do it, my love," she said softly as she put a hand to his cheek. "The opportunity was there, but you did not do it; he would be alive today had he not attacked you. I don't believe you would have ever gone through with it—you are many things, my love, but your concern and self-sacrifice for my happiness has been a constant in my life.
"You may feel all you like about this Alfonso d'Este, I will sum him up for myself; Cardinal Bembo would indeed have been bread and water, my love, but what I want..." she said as she took her hair down, "...whenever the opportunity should present itself, as it has now..." she pulled the bodice of her gown away to bare her breasts for him, "...is a banquet feast, Cesare...and I will not be denied." She put her hand to his neck and arched her back as she drew him toward her; he kissed her neck tenderly and then cupped her creamy mounds in his hands and began to devour her.