Author's Note:
Thank you guys for sticking with me, especially as I've realised I've been writing this story for more than two years and am nowhere near done with it. I apologise for being so late with this chapter but I changed my mind about it so much I had to rewrite it three times. Please keep favouriting and following, but most importantly, reviewing. It always makes my day. Anyway, enjoy my newest offering!
Chapter L - Sinning Demons
Seven months later…
"Your Grace, you must come at once!" The messenger boy who sped into the office of the head of the papal armies without knocking or due deference.
"What is it?"
The boy caught his breath before announcing, "Your wife, Her Grace the Duchess of Valentinois, is dead."
There was no response to be had from the newly made widower. His wife was dead, at eight months along with his child, she was gone. He felt a new weight tug at his heart, but it was not sorrow for his wife's untimely death but for himself and his own loss.
"How did she die?" Cesare croaked.
"I know not, milord, but the physician begs you come at once."
Cesare nodded and hurried after the other man now hastening from his office. They ran the length of the Vatican palace to the apartments of the Pope's family. When they entered Charlotte's bedchambers, such a site greeted her husband.
The late duchess was lying on the floor, bare from the belly down and haloed in a sea of blood spreading out from her lifeless corpse. Her skin was as blue as the Circassian Sea. Yet the wound she bore in her midriff was what drew His Grace's attention. It was a long, clean cut that went from her left to her right and was so wide that it allowed Cesare to see deep into her body. Standing beside her was the grey-bearded physician whose expression was grave and hands were bloody.
"Your Grace, my apologies for Her Grace's situation but time was of the essence and we could not wait for you to act. What was required had to be done express or be redundant."
Cesare wiped the unwelcome tears from his cheek before replying, "What was required? What are you talking about?"
The doctor relayed that Charlotte had been poisoned. The poison was administered with great ability, since it would inevitably lead to Charlotte's death but was slow enough to spread that there was just time enough to save the babies.
"Babies?" Cesare exclaimed.
"Indeed, Your Grace, the Duchess of Valentinois was carrying twins. The infants had to be cut from their mother's womb while she yet drew breath. She was so far gone with the poison that she felt very little of the pain and the result was successful. Instead of losing all three, milord, you have a healthy son and a daughter to remember your late wife by."
Cesare pondered how little the physician knew him. He did not wish to remember the deceased Duchess of Valentinois. In fact, if he could have reversed time, he never would have wed her to begin with. Yet what was done was done and Charlotte had at least delivered him children – legitimate Borgia children. The son would please his father particularly and he had half a mind to give over his daughter to his mother to raise in order to lighten her overburdened heart.
"Thank you, physician," Cesare uttered, his throat still raw from withheld cries more for his children non natus non nataque than for his wife, "my man Micheletto will see to your coin but answer me some questions. Who called for you? Who found Her Grace? And lastly, what poison was it that has…robbed me so?"
"It was Her Grace, the Duchess of Bisceglie and one of your manservants that found your wife and it was he – Micheletto, I believe he is called – that summoned me. The poison I believe was interesting since I believe it not to be just one, but two combined to produce the desired effect. I believe Belladonna and Galerina – a fatal combination if ever there was one."
Cesare's breath stuttered upon learning what ingredients were part of the concoction that spelled Charlotte's miserable demise. He could barely hold his countenance. It was more news than he had anticipated and none of it was a boon, other than the survival of his offspring.
"Who has been told of these unfortunate events?"
The physician thought for a moment before responding, "Your Grace is the only one we had time to send for. I required this lad to help with the delivery, seeing as there was more than one babe to birth."
"Very good. Do not trouble yourself to. I will take matters into my own hands. Where are Her Grace the Duchess of Bisceglie and my man now? And, my children, if you please?"
"I believe they went to Your Grace's chambers to await your instructions and I have removed the twins to the nursery where they are well enough to be tended to by the wetnurses there."
Having learnt all he needed to from the man, he sent him on his way, and then followed the aged man out of the room to meet Lucrezia and Micheletto and find out answers he thought only they could provide. He also snapped at a young chit to get the floors cleaned and see to the dead duchess. He would have a funeral to plan soon enough but Charlotte could not very well rest on her bedroom floor until her mass.
When he rounded the corner into his solar, he was met by his lover whose expression betrayed nothing of what she was feeling or her deeds and his most loyal friend who bowed before greeting him. Once he took his seat at his desk, Lucrezia sat down and Cesare gestured to Micheletto giving him permission to sit. This was going to be a long interlude and he wished both to be comfortable until its completion. Micheletto declined to sit, always preferring to stand at guard, as if waiting for an assault. All that had to be determined was whether such an attack was justified…
"So, I know you both have witnessed the fate of the late Duchess of Valentinois, but what remains to be revealed is to what extent were you both," Cesare paused to send a prickly glare at Lucrezia, "responsible for what befell my wife?"
"What do you mean, brother?" Lucrezia asked, not wanting to accidentally confess to any deed before she was ready.
"I think you know, sister. The medic tells me that Charlotte was poisoned with Belladonna and Galerina, the latter a substance I believe you have knowledge of. And let us not deceive ourselves. Charlotte's death you have longed for over quite some time."
"You believe I have it in me to assassinate a woman great with child?" Lucrezia snarled back.
Cesare smiled at her bold reaction to his implication, "Not if you knew the children would come to no harm. Then you were merely killing a woman and that I know you are capable of. You are a true professional, my love, and you would not murder an innocent but you have already taken your own husband's life into your own hands, so why not my wife's life too?"
Lucrezia had nothing to say then and Cesare responded with a smile. He left her to think out her next words or move for a while and turned to Micheletto.
"And what, my friend, was your role in this intrigue?"
Micheletto took a moment to look between his master and his mistress, but returned his gaze to Cesare and said contritely, "Forgive me for acting without your order, milord, but I had other orders to follow. Yet I would…confess my sins to you. It was I who provided the mushroom and Cantarella powder and placed it into the goblet of wine that was brought to Her Grace with her midday meal."
"Yet the deed was not of your imagination. Fear not, Micheletto, it was not a question; I know whose brilliant mind was the architect of this."
"No, that was me." Lucrezia said finally, with a defiant and certain look upon her fair face.
"Why would you do such a thing? Why now?" Cesare asked, straight-faced and unmoved by her boldness.
"Because she wounded me one too many times, once too often! Have you been blind these past months, Cesare? With every passing moon as she grew larger, she grew more conceited and bitter. Many times she threatened me with losing you. She was certain that once your child – unknowing how many she had within her – was born and you looked into the eyes of her as your wife and the mother of your legitimate heir, you would no longer need the comfort of my bed and she would have you body, mind and soul. She was not going to return to France, my love, I became sure of it. So, I acted. I acted before she could present you with an heir herself and replace me. Don't you see, brother? I did it for us! I killed her and stained my hands red again for us!"
Cesare saw she was becoming hysterical, "Micheletto, leave us. Go to His Holiness and inform him of what has happened, though be discreet as to the culprits behind the loss of his daughter-in-law."
Once his assassin had gone, Cesare beckoned Lucrezia to him and then pulled her to sit in his lap. As he then played with her fingers and sensed her breathing return to normal, he forgave her. He did not find her culpable for killing Charlotte for what she had said and done, but despised that she had acted without him, without his knowledge, without his assistance. She had not trusted that he would act for her and against Charlotte so she had approached one she could trust. She had feared he would abandon her, despite his numerous vows never to, and kept her fears from his ears and made sure he had nowhere to go should such an outlandish desire spring forth. He felt her loneliness and the panic and mourned with her for her second murder and renewed loss of innocence and unstained hands.
"I do not blame you for your actions, my love. You are the only one I have ever loved, truly loved. I have shared my body with many, I'll not deny it, including Charlotte, but you are the one who shares my heart. I consider us one being, one body, one soul. So, it is not possible for me to share myself with anyone since to do so would be to share you with them as well, and that I could never contemplate. My love, I was planning to have Charlotte killed. I was waiting for her to give birth but that was not in hope of being closer to her in any way. There is nothing or no one who could take me from you; not even God himself will manage it by plunging me into the depths of Hell, for I will find a way to defeat the Devil and come to you in Heaven."
"I doubt you'll need to. I'll be in Hell. We are both sinning demons to be kept at Satan's side." Lucrezia interrupted, a smile beginning to grace her lips.
"So you see then, we are the same, my love, and your sins are mine. Never believe anything you or I could do has the power to separate us. 'Tis not possible."
Having said all he wanted, Cesare claimed her lips with his own and scorched all doubt from her body of his untrustworthiness or fickleness. As they kissed and reminded one another that they were the same and no secrets were necessary between them, Lucrezia wished for more intimacy and more proof that he did not hold Charlotte's death against her and was no longer blind to her suffering and despair. For, he merely considered the Duchess of Valentinois a thorn in his side and an annoyance to be stomached, whilst she felt the sting of each of her rival's comments and threats and saw the determination in the expectant woman's eyes to be more than a wife in name only and a joke to her husband and father of her children.
It pained her then, when her lover gently pushed her away.
My love, as much as I would like to continue, and before you start to doubt my desire I exhort you to feel how much I would enjoy making love to you," he stopped momentarily to guide her hand to his hardness which could be plainly felt beneath his hose, "we cannot give in to our pleasure now. Charlotte has just died and we need to clean up our mess and I would like you to accompany me to the nursery so I can meet my children. Children you need to be mother to now, 'Crezia. Children I would like to see you as their mother and I will insist that you are their godmother for the rest of the world to see. I promise, though, that tonight nothing will keep me from your side."
Lucrezia nodded and rose from his lap to right her dress and fix her appearance. She held out her hand and beckoned her lover with a wide smile before he joined her on his feet. Cesare kissed her once more while in the privacy of his solar before they walked to the nursery where there was now a veritable brood of Borgia babes.
When Cesare and Lucrezia arrived at the nursery they found their father already there holding one of the newly born twins.
"Father? To what do we owe the honour?" Cesare asked.
"Ah, Cesare! You have a most handsome son. Well done, my son, well done! Though you are to be consoled too, but let sadness reign on another day. And Lucrezia too, come as the proud aunt?"
"Proud aunt and godmother, papa," Lucrezia replied, "and I would like to see and hold my niece. Where is she?"
"Godmother? Good, good, yes, you should hold such a title since Cesare holds the same for your sons. The girl is over there with her wetnurse."
The pair went over to see the baby girl passed over by her grandfather for her brother and Lucrezia swept her up out of the servant's arms and into her own.
"Oh, Cesare, she has your bearing. She will be a handful, I have no doubt."
The new father smiled at his sister's quick fondness for the infant but asked quietly, "And you will love her?"
"I promise easily to love her, though I would prefer to love children bearing names, brother." She retorted cheekily.
"Indeed," Rodrigo agreed, having heard the word 'names' and had his interest peaked, "how will you call them?"
"Though there was no love lost between their mother and me, Charlotte wanted French names and though she will never see her children, I will allow her daughter to possess a name from her mother's homeland."
Lucrezia looked surprised and anxious for a second once more, but Cesare shook his head to dispel any feelings of slight.
"She will be called Louise."
Neither his father nor his sister looked especially pleased at his choice of name but neither said a word against it. Rodrigo had no wish to argue with a dead woman's wishes and was silently praying that Cesare did not name his son in the French fashion and Lucrezia knew that however the child was named, she was going to be more of her than of Charlotte d'Albret. That was consolation enough.
"And the boy?" Rodrigo enquired, unable to still his nerves, for he still hoped for a younger Rodrigo in the family, not satisfied with Alessandro whom he told himself was named for his mother's father and he suspected that this would be his last chance to have a grandson named for him.
"He will be called Ottavio." Cesare announced proudly.
"Ottavio…yes, very well, Ottavio Borgia." Rodrigo murmured over the child in his embrace.
"Do not forget your promise, Holy Father," Cesare reminded, "to me and to your new grandchildren."
Rodrigo looked up from the baby and regarded his surviving son with perplexity, "Promise? What promise?"
Lucrezia suddenly remembered the event and words Cesare was recalling to their father and took her cue from the Pope, "The promise you made Cesare and Charlotte's children when Oriana and Alessandro were christened, Holy Father."
His Holiness also remembered and was utterly blindsided by his lapse in memory and his children's ability to recall what was owed to them and the new babies.
"I remember the occasion and what is owing to young Ottavio and Louise. I will see to the matter presently. They shall not be without title, land and income for long. Do not worry, my son, their grandfather will see them well established."
"That is all I ask of you, Holy Father. Thank you."
With the matter of new titles to find and then bestow on his grandchildren, the Pope handed over Ottavio to his father and went in search of the Vice Chancellor, whose work would be cut out for him in the coming days. Cardinal Sforza would also be the prime candidate to christen the new additions to the papal family, so once Ascanio had discovered two – or hopefully more – titles and accompanying estates to attach to each twin, he would have to prepare for a large feast and mass for the infants.
