Betta smoothed the hair back from her lady's sweaty face as she leaned over a basin and vomited. It was the second morning in as many days that Lucrezia Borgia had awoken with the need to void her stomach and Betta could see the knowledge that she had begun to suspect yesterday shining in the lady's eyes.
"I am with child again. His child." Betta was not surprised by this development. Cesare Borgia had visited his sister every night since the death of Prince Alfonso and from her room Betta could hear the sounds made as they loved one another well into the night. It was as if a whole lifetime of restraint and denial had to be expunged in a few weeks of utter abandon.
"Yes my lady," and Betta held her as Lucrezia laughed and cried by turns. When the tears had stopped Betta closed the doors and sat close to her mistress as they talked through what would need to happen to protect their family. They could not stay in Rome, of that there was no question. Despite their many faults the people of Rome could at the very least figure the normal duration of a pregnancy, especially with a presumed father lately put in the grave. Lady Lucrezia took to her bed after they had formulated a plan, and a message was sent to Lord Cesare and the Holy Father to attend her in the next few days.
Betta prepared Lady Lucrezia's belonging for travel in the room next to her chamber and she could hear the conversations from the steady stream of visitors through the open windows. Vanozza brought gifts and loving words for her daughter and Giovanni and if she harbored suspicions about the parentage of her impending grandchild she did not voice them. Guilia Farnese arrived in a cloud of jasmine scent and her visit, although brief, made Lucrezia dissolve in laughter again and again as the other woman recounted the gossip that was currently being whispered throughout Rome, most of which involved the Borgia name.
Cesare Borgia was preparing for his next military campaign and he arrived, dusty and smelling of sweat and horse, as a warm afternoon was just beginning to cool into dusk. When he entered Betta remembered a fortnight before when her sister had been brought to the palace by Papal Guards. Ginevra had been almost fainting in terror to appear before Il Valentino, as he was now called, and could not utter a word of thanks to the Duke for his generous gift to her family. When Betta had refused any reward for protecting Lady Lucrezia he had purchased a tiny home and gifted it to her sister, who was shortly to deliver her first child. Ginevra had been overcome and had to be led away to a dark room to recover lest the shock harm her child.
"Am I so terrifying?" He asked Betta with a slight smile after Ginevra had been escorted back to her home.
"Yes, my lord," Betta answered with complete sincerity. His hand in the death of Prince Alfonso was widely known and it had only increased his renown as a prince of singular ruthlessness. His only softening influence, the only one who could temper his monumental drive, would be absent for the forthcoming year and the Papal States waited in breathless anticipation to see the direction of his next campaign.
Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia made no noise for a long while as they greeted one another, and Betta knew that her mistress clung to him as she imagined the pain of their coming separation. Their voices were whispers in the approaching twilight that only became intelligible as they discussed the need for her to journey from Rome.
"I must go to Nepi. Already our father begins to plot my next marriage and I would forestall that, if only for a while. After the child is born I will be forced to marry again, I have no doubt."
"You would agree to belong to another man?" Cesare asked her with a note of incredulity in his voice.
"We have only ever belonged to one another, as you well know. But you must be about winning your kingdom and I will go to have our child in secret so that it may have a name."
"There is more to it then that. Tell me, my love." As always his voice was a caress when he spoke to her.
"If I stay too long what we are to one another will no longer be just a whisper. And I would not have you blame the person I love above all else for that infamy."
"A better man than I could have resisted you." Self loathing was evident in his voice.
"I never wanted a better man. I only wanted you."
There was no more words for a long time after that, as though the inevitable goodbye must begin now and the brush of lips upon flesh was the only thing that could assuage the pain of loss yet to come.
Il Valentino was gone in the morning although Betta had not heard him depart. Lady Lucrezia slept through most of the morning and began her own preparations to travel into the mountains to the small holding she had been granted years before. The Holy Father arrived with all the pomp of a royal visit, carried by a litter through crowds that begged for his blessing. Betta, knowing the path that this conversation must take, unashamedly listened at the crack in the door when Rodrigo Borgia was ushered into his daughter's apartments.
Alexander barely paused to inquire after the health of his daughter before launching into his plans for her next marriage.
"My daughter, our Papacy is in a difficult state right now and we will need another alliance to ensure our continued stability, especially considering the way in which your husband died. Already this morning I have had to listen to the delegations from Naples and they are screaming for his killer to be found."
"If I marry again it will be to a man of my own choosing." Lucrezia had lost the doting affection that had colored her speech when she spoke to her father but he did not seem to notice the change in her demeanor.
"I am your father and you will marry as our needs dictate." The Holy Father's voice, normally a husky velvet that was the most attractive part of him, shook with anger. "Need I remind you that Alfonso was your own choice?"
"Remarriage after you sold me to Giovanni Sforza was not my choice." Lady Lucrezia's voice dripped with ice and Betta recalled the dark days she had spent in Rome while her mistress had suffered at the hands of her husband. Lucrezia had left for Pesaro a carefree, beautiful child. She had returned colder, darker, and a Borgia in more than name. "Attempt to barter me off again like a prize mare I will proclaim you the father of the child I am now carrying instead of the sole grandfather. " Lucrezia Borgia's voice was utterly flat.
There was a sound like a person falling into a chair. "You are with child again?" Rodrigo whispered horsely.
"Oh yes."
"And Alfonso..." Rodrigo Borgia seemed incapable of completing the sentence.
"Is not the father." Lady Lucrezia said. "I will soon be departing from Rome. I go to Nepi and mourn the passing of my husband and have what the world will know as his child."
"Are we to have no say in this?" The Holy Father blustered.
"None. If you force my hand I will reveal the true father of this child and cause a scandal that even your most holy papacy will not survive. When I return we can revisit the matter of alliances. Now if you will excuse me I have endless preparations to see to." Betta busied herself down the hall as Lady Lucrezia swept from the room.
The Holy Father mumbled as he walked away "Only grandfather? What scandal? Surely not, I must be mistaken." He did not ride out to bid his daughter farewell as the procession of wagons and the armed escort left the city for the the mountains of Nepi. He was, Betta surmised, rather cross with the daughter who seemed so intent on thwarting his will.
Cesare Borgia journeyed with them until the walls of the city began to fade into the distance. His army awaited their commander on another road that would take them to the Romagna. Micheletto rode beside his master openly once more but he would accompany Lady Lucrezia .
"Send me word when your time draws near. I will come to you." Cesare whispered . He gathered Lucrezia into his arms and embraced her tightly. He kissed her forehead and breathed in her scent deeply, as though memorizing it for the months ahead. When his mouth pressed one last lingering kiss to her cheek Betta had to turn away from a moment that seemed impossibly intimate. Lord Cesare pulled a mask over his face before he mounted his horse and galloped away. Lady Lucrezia brushed away the tears that slipped down her cheeks until he disappeared from view.
They traveled slowly and Betta rode beside Lady Lucrezia in the wagon. Giovanni had become a very active toddler and it took the combined talents of his mother, Nanny, and Betta to keep the child occupied until an ancient tower came into view.
Their arrival in Nepi was a cause of celebration to citizens of the town. Lady Lucrezia was ceremonially given the keys to the city gates and the contrast between the rumors of her misdeeds and her delicate appearance and manner made the people love her. Lady Lucrezia wore a veil and a simple black dress that had been subtly gathered to make her pregnancy appear more advanced but the subdued color did not detract from her beauty. The somberness of her gown only emphasized the delicate blond curls and skin that glowed with the radiance of impending motherhood. Festively dressed people crowded the road and threw rose petals before them. Some of the brilliant spots of color fluttered down from the balconies and caressed Betta's skin before falling to the ground. The petals were crushed beneath the hooves of the horses, perfuming the air with a heady fragrance. Betta had to suppress a shiver as the bright crimson petals clung to Lady Lucrezia, staining her gown with spots of color that looked like blood.