He had asked her to trust him. She had.
He had told her that he hadn't broken his vows. She had been convinced.
Claudia lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, bitterly reflecting that the cracks on the ceiling reflected the cracks that must be on her heart.
She had been so foolish; so naïve. Of course he had been other women, yet she had been led astray by delusion and imagined emotions she had thought were feelings of love. The tears started to flow uncontrollably again and Claudia bunched up the bed sheet in her hands. Si, she had only imagined that love for him. She wasn't really in love with him.
She was an Assassin. Only an Assassin.
But no matter how many times she told herself that, she couldn't persuade herself that she was just that. She had been a sister, she was a daughter and now, regardless of what was going on, she was still someone's wife.
And deep inside, the ache of her broken heart confirmed that her feelings for him were real. The love that was still blooming for him was undeniable.
Claudia sat up straight, wiping her tears, only for fresh ones to roll down. The image of Marietta and Machiavelli kissing would not leave her mind. She could see them even when she closed her eyes and she was afraid that if she fell asleep, she would dream about that too.
She got up and started to pace to and fro in her room. She would give anything not to think about him….about them.
A knock on the door, roused her from her thoughts and she felt her heart skip a beat. Was it him? She couldn't face him yet; not like this.
She stilled herself, hoping that whoever it was would think she was sleeping and leave.
That didn't happen. "Claudia?" It was Borso. "I know you're in there. I can see your shadow from under the door."
Claudia started to cry again. Why wouldn't everyone just leave her alone?
"You are being called. Antonio has gathered everyone for a meeting." Borso said.
Claudia felt a tremble rush through her spine. Everyone? Was he there too?
"Claudia?"
She went to the door, considered opening it and then her hands stopped. "Who is there?" she asked, well aware that her voice was shaking.
"La Volpe, Antonio, Teodora and Paola." Borso said. "And your Mother has arrived from her stay in Monteriggioni. Your Uncle has extended your stay. Bartolomeo and his wife will not be attending."
Claudia crept closer to the door. Still not wanting to open the door and show her swollen face and her red eyes. "Is…is Machiavelli there?"
Borso didn't answer for a few seconds and Claudia hoped the answer would be no.
"He hasn't arrived yet." He replied.
Claudia felt a wave of relief wash over her and she opened the door. "Let us go."
"Aspetta!" Borso called. "Have you been crying?"
Claudia sniffed. "Not anymore. And not a word of this. Capito?"
"Si." Borso replied and quietly followed her downstairs.
Claudia kept her eyes down and hoped that no one else would notice how downcast she looked. A quick glance at La Volpe confirmed that he had yet not spoken about Machiavelli to anyone else, which was surprising since it had been days since she had seen Machiavelli and Marietta.
She had to respect La Volpe for not revealing this to everyone else and causing her to feel ashamed for what her husband was up to. She couldn't imagine what he Mother would think of all this. She had already had her doubts about Machiavelli and now if she learned of this, Claudia couldn't imagine how she would react.
Antonio stood in the center of the table and unrolled the map of Roma. "As you can see here, we have been able to eliminate Borgia influence from here…" he put a cross on the right corner of the map and then down the center. "And here."
"That should give Bartolomeo some relief." Sister Teodora said. "And God knows he could use it."
"Si." Paola said. "It is with regret that we cannot do more."
"You women keeping an eye on the activities in both Firenze and Venezia is enough for us." La Volpe said.
Claudia kept her eyes on the map and the circles Machiavelli had drawn in one of the previous meetings that showed where the Borgia Captains where. She was supposed to assassinate more of them, but right now, holding even a throw knife seemed like such an ordeal to her. All she wanted to do was to go back to her bed, put her head on the pillow and wallow in her misery.
"So what do we have next?" Claudia pressed her lips together when she saw her Mother enter. She was sure to notice her depressed state. Claudia took a step back and tried to hide herself between Teodora and Paola.
Antonio rubbed his chin. "Bartolomeo maintains that he is doing his best to fend off the French. Caterina Sforza still needs to be rescued. And our recruits have to be promoted after their return from their missions."
The door to the Hideout opened and Claudia's mouth went dry. It was him; there was no doubt about that. The sudden rapidity of her heart confirmed that.
True enough, his footsteps echoed through the empty corridor and stopped at the meeting hall.
"Salve." He greeted and Claudia felt her tears returning. She blinked back furiously and prayed no one would notice her state.
"Niccolò." Antonio greeted. "We were just discussing our next steps."
Claudia looked the other way, but La Volpe was looking in her direction and when she caught his eye, she saw a gleam of smugness in him. He was dying to tell everyone that he had been right and Claudia fought hard not to lash out at him.
Her heart screamed that Machiavelli was innocent and there was a reason for the way he was acting oddly but her head scolded her for not trusting what her eyes had seen. There was no possible reason that would exempt Machiavelli from the fact that he had been with Marietta behind her back.
But could her heart be that wrong? Even now, with him being so near, all she could think of were reasons of why Marietta and him had been kissing instead of the fact that he probably had been cheating on her.
"Have you any information for us?" La Volpe asked with a smirk tugging his mouth. He was obviously implying that whatever Niccolò had to say would be false.
Machiavelli didn't answer and Claudia found that she couldn't bring herself to even look at him- it hurt too much.
"Nothing of importance." He replied curtly.
Throughout the meeting, he remained cool and barely contributed to the discussions except a nod in agreement every now and then. When she did glance at him, she saw him looking worried and she assumed it may have something to do with him finding out that she had found out.
Scolding herself for this absurd thought, she willed herself to pay attention to the meeting and when it was over, sought a discreet way to exit back to her room.
"Claudia." He called and she squeezed her eyes in frustration. "A private word?"
She saw Borso heading in her direction and called him. "You said you had something to say?" she hoped that Borso would take the hint and lead her away so that she wouldn't have to talk to Machiavelli.
"Er….si." he replied. "I was just…."
"Scusate, but I must have a word with her." Machiavelli gently gripped her elbow and then led her away.
He took her to the corner near the bookshelves and then spoke in a whisper. "I have heard that the Borgia have learnt of the recruits."
Claudia wanted to ask him how he was getting his information and then stopped herself. It was better if she let him finish first.
"Suffice to say, they are not pleased to know that the Assassin Order is growing and so they will do whatever it takes to stop that from happening." He said.
Claudia put one hand on the shelf to steady herself, bracing herself for her own outburst of anger that may or may not come. She should tell him that she knew about Marietta and she should ask him where he was getting his information from. But at the same time her heart was telling her that her trust in him couldn't have been so shallow.
If he was innocent, she would repent her errors for the rest of her life.
"Claudia? Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?"
She did trust him, even after seeing him with Marietta, she did and she couldn't understand why. But she was also terribly angry.
"I do. I'm not as foolish as you would like to believe." She retorted. The anger felt good.
"I wasn't implying that." He looked at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"
Claudia could feel herself seething. Now was the time to scream at him, yet she still couldn't do it. "No." she said through gritted teeth and then turned to look at the books on the shelves, but not really paying attention to them.
"We need to hide the recruits for a while until its safe." He continued. "No one can know of this hiding place. Do you have any suggestions?"
Claudia took a deep breath and then nodded. "Si…there is a liberated Borgia tower in the Campagna district. Near Bartolomeo's quarters. It is near the cliffs and there is water and…" her voice was breaking and she took another deep breath. "No one would find it easily. Besides, the mercenaries would also be there to caution the recruits should they sense trouble from the Templars. "
Machiavelli looked thoughtful. "Bene. That does seem like a good idea. When are the recruits returning from their mission?"
"Soon." She replied.
Machiavelli was watching her, but she couldn't meet his gaze for fear that she may say something she would regret.
"Claudia…I ….we haven't had the chance to talk since that night."
"My Mother is calling for me." She lied and quickly made her way to her.
Her Mother looked happy to see her and hugged her. Claudia tightened her arms around her Mother's shoulders, wishing she was somewhere else and alone so that she just cry her heart out.
"Claudia, you're shivering." Her Mother remarked.
"I'm just cold." She lied. "Why don't you come upstairs and rest. We could talk."
Her Mother smiled. "Certainly."
Claudia took her Mother's hand and quickly exited the hall so that she wouldn't be stopped by Machiavelli again. She led her Mother to her room and then closed the door.
"Is there something you want to talk about?"
Claudia shook her head, her tears threating to fall.
Her Mother sat down on her bed. "Qui. You look upset. Is something that matter?"
Claudia nodded and bit her lip as a tear trailed its way down her cheek.
"Do you want to tell me what it is?"
Claudia shook her head quickly as another tear rolled down.
Her Mother spread her arms and Claudia ran to her and hugged her, crying.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"
Claudia sobbed and then shook her head. Her Mother sighed and then stroked her hair. "Bene. Tell me when you are ready to talk about it."
I can't tell her! Claudia thought. I cannot tell anyone!