I am so sorry for the slow update on this! Exams and general laziness are my only excuses, I'm afraid. Thanks for your patience! love, thisnameisnowtaken

You know you're wrong when there's only one right
But what is wrong when right is out of sight?
-Agnes Obel

Chapter 21

"You would return to Florence now?"

Jane shook her head, in despair rather than as an answer to Julio's question. "No, I will not be spending time with Machiavelli, if that is what you are implying," she said with a cool collectedness.

"Mere hours after we reconciled and you already…"

"The Pope of Rome commanded me to leave, Julio; it is not of my own accord." Their eyes met and she stared right into his eyes. "The same Pope who pays hundreds of florins to us and to Volterra every month."

Julio closed his eyes. "I beg you, do not do this."

She sighed. Of course she knew that he was still hurt, that he was afraid, but if he couldn't trust her on this, then she couldn't see how this would work. For some reason, the missions of the Pope stood in higher regard at the moment.

Jane bit her lip and silently made her way towards Julio. Her fingers brushed his chin, still his eyes didn't open. He didn't need to, really. She smiled, leaning in and kissing him. When she drew back, he was smiling as well.

"Maybe it is this Pope and not Machiavelli that I should worry about."

Jane smiled when his fingers raked through her hair. "You need not worry about anyone, Julio." Their eyes met for a moment before Jane's fell to her hands. "The Pope knows. I told you that. It is a wonder that he has not yet revealed it so I can only hope that I'll earn his continued loyalty through work."

She lifted her eyes and was relieved to see that they were filled with much more understanding now. "I should not be enraged when this is partly why I love you; your devotion." Jane shook her head as if he was speaking nonsense, just about to say more when a servant entered.

"Your brother has arrived, milady. He wishes to see Signor Julio." The servant bowed her head politely.

"Thank you." Jane smiled to Julio. "You should go."

"You will not meet with your brother?" Julio frowned.

"I wish I had the time." Jane gave him a quick kiss before giving him a light shove in the direction of the door. "Now, you must leave."

She already felt the loss of Julio's company before he had disappeared around the corner of the door. The sun, slowly descending towards the horizon, sent a dimming light into the sitting room. Jane sighed before turning to the servant. "Has Giulia returned home yet?"

"No, milady, but she will be expected back soon."

"Will you send her to me once she has arrived?"

"Yes, milady."

Jane smiled kindly, having learned from Giulia that staying in good favor with your servants was always a good idea. "Thank you. That will be all."

It wasn't long until Giulia entered the room; in fact, it was only a couple of minutes. She wore a beautiful dress, one that brought out her pale beauty and the richness of her eyes. If that wasn't enough to make any man turn his head, then the low cut at her chest would do the rest of the work. Jane smirked; now she knew why Giulia had been at the Vatican.

"I saw Julio leaving," Giulia said with a playful edge to her voice. "What happened?"

Jane shrugged. "Not much. I had to explain to him why I was leaving for Florence - that is all." Giulia nodded, looking a slight bit disappointed as she sat down across from Jane. "And I saw you at the Vatican. Wearing that dress, one might almost think that the Pope has not yet tired of you as you suspected."

Jane's heart sunk when she instantly realized that her deduction had been wrong. Giulia lowered her gaze, swallowing a lump. "I am afraid that you are for once wrong."

"What then?" Jane frowned worriedly.

Giulia shook her head. "He has found another lover already." She took a break from speaking, breathing heavily. "Her name is Vittoria." Giulia's voice broke then, but she quickly regained her composition. "She is very beautiful. More Italian in her looks than I."

"Giulia, I am so sorry." Jane's eyes tried to find Giulia's, but she kept them at the floor.

"Don't be. As Vanozza once told me, when we were still bitter enemies, the love of the Pope is as warm and rewarding as the summer, but just like that season, one day it must give way to the coldness and summer will blossom elsewhere."

"I didn't know she was that poetic."

Giulia let out laughter, which still seemed sad but at least it was there. "Everyone is when they're heartbroken." She straightened her back. "I have not birthed him a child so I will probably leave court completely, but… I do not intend to go by it the way Vanozza did."

Jane leaned forwards a bit. "What do you mean?"

"I did not carry any child of his. I must survive only on my wit and my detachment." She nodded slightly to herself. "I was at the Vatican today to negotiate my terms. I will stay silent; in return, he gives me estate and money enough for a dowry so that I can marry and he will make my brother a cardinal."

Jane furrowed. "I have never met your brother, I believe."

"That is because he is in Florence. A monk there trains him in math and astrology." Giulia smiled. "Now that the Pope has so graciously offered him a higher position here in Rome, I will be able to spend some much needed time with him."

After observing Giulia for a moment, Jane smiled as well. "I am glad."

"And the sum which he has offered is substantial. Together with the estates, I will be quite the bride." Giulia laughed, shaking her head. "Although I might not exactly be a blushing one."

Jane laughed as well. "I am relieved that you take it so well. Not all women would be capable of it."

Giulia lifted her hand to one of the servants. "Some wine, please," she said before turning to Jane once more. She sighed, offering a small smile. "Admittedly, it has taken some time to get here. But I see clearly now. There is no future in being the concubine of a priest; I have played my best cards now, and my time with Rodrigo has borne fruit." She smirked slightly. "Now it is time to harvest, even if it is harder work than enjoying the summer sun."

The conversation with Giulia played around in Jane's mind even after she had left and throughout the night, as Jane packed her clothes. When the morning sun showed itself, she was ready to go. When Jane arrived at the appointed place, she was met only by the Vice Chancellor.

"Cardinal Sforza," Jane said, looking around in obvious confusion. "I had expected the Holy Father to be here?"

Ascanio's smile was strained. "He had other… matters to attend to."

"A new lover, perhaps?" Jane smirked at the man.

He frowned. "Even for Roman standards, that rumor travelled quickly."

"You Romans do have a finesse for rumors, do you not?" Ascanio bowed his head slightly, chuckling. "Although, I do live with the Pope's former lover, so the rumor might have reached my ears rather early."

The Vice Chancellor simply nodded before drawing out an envelope. "These are for Cesare. Guard them carefully."

Jane nodded just as a stable boy came over. "Your horse is ready, milady."

"Thank you," Jane said before turning to Ascanio. "And the guards?"

"Will be here momentarily." Swiftly, he put his hand to her arm and drew her aside, into the shadows. "While we wait for them, I would wish to exchange words."

"Words about what?" Their eyes met and Jane noticed how a bit of well-hidden fear shone through.

"You see, if you know of Giulia's replacement, you should know of Giulia's… arrangement with the Pope."

"She will have estates and money, and her brother will gain position within the church." Jane frowned when he pulled her further into the dark. "In return for her discretion."

"Indeed." He furrowed. "Although some of them, especially the last one, wasn't bought just by discretion."

"What do you mean?"

Ascanio smiled, although it wasn't one of happiness. More of a cynical amusement. "Tonight, there will be held a banquet – a feast of sorts." Jane's eyebrows drew together as her eyes squinted. "All the cardinals have been invited, even me, although the Pope warned me not to go."

"Why not?"

"It would be a disgrace. It is a disgrace, just as many other things within the Vatican, I have come to realize, have been since the year of our lord 1492."

Jane sighed. "You speak in riddles, Eminence."

"Sometimes, it is the only way you possibly can speak." Jane was sure now; Ascanio was afraid of something. "Giulia will be the one holding the feast. It has the main official purpose to collect money to finance the war against Catherina Sforza, but the way that money will be collected…"

"How?"

"By having the cardinals buy the clothes of prostitutes dressed as nuns; to buy their flesh and sin." Ascanio didn't even flinch when he said those things. "But it has a dual purpose as well; the Pope want something on the cardinals, to prevent that they plot against him. He will have one of the lawyers write down his observations and you can guess the rest yourself, I suppose."

Jane nodded. "I see. You mentioned that this disgrace had been going on since the election of 1492."

"Since the election of the Borgia Pope, yes." He seemed to think something over for a bit. "I do not know how to say this, but… it is enough now."

"Enough?" It took Jane a second or two to realize what he had just said. Stepping backwards once, she stared him in the eyes. "He trusts you. You have earned the Pope of Rome's trust and you are willing to just throw it away like that?"

Ascanio looked around him before whispering, "I know that he trusts me. That is all that I ever wanted, but now I realize that there is one more question. Do I trust him?"

"You do not," Jane concluded.

"And neither do you." He observed her as she nodded her head in protest. "You do not. I can tell."

"How?" Jane's voice was weaker than she'd intended.

He shrugged, leading her back into the light towards her horse, which was now saddled. "How can you trust him? You only know a slight part of his life. I know you only just heard of the injuries that the Gonfalonier suffered at the siege of Forli." He took the reins and held them out to her, a suggestion in his eyes. "Or am I mistaken?"

Jane just looked at him, her jaw clenching. Finally, she took the reins from his hands. "He is the Pope of Rome, elected by God's will."

"Elected by the hands of the cardinals, you mean."

Jane decided not to grace him with an answer right away. She mounted her horse, looking down at the cardinal with a stern expression. "You should choose your words with more care, Cardinal, or you might end up like Della Rovere."

Ascanio just smiled at her. "Ride safely, milady. Perhaps, after some thought, you may change your mind."

Jane nodded in goodbye, urging her horse to ride away. The cardinal had been right in one aspect, she found out after riding for a short while; she would think of what he said. In fact, the thought of his words couldn't seem to slip from her mind. Once she reached Florence three days later, her mind was still not made.

Just behind the gates of the capital of the city state, Niccolo Machiavelli sat on top of a horse, wearing the red clothes of a statesman. He smiled in greeting. "Milady Volturi, a rare pleasure to have you as guest once more," he said once she was within hearing range. He was seemingly unaware of the innuendos he could have hidden in his words and Jane slowed down her horse.

"All too rare." Jane waited as the man turned his horse. "Has Cesare arrived yet?"

"Not yet, but he will tonight or early tomorrow, no doubt." Jane had to stop her horse when a young boy wearing a gray cloak ran in front of her, screaming for her to let go of her vanities. While Machiavelli reprimanded the boy, she maneuvered around him.

"They are still going on about that?" Machiavelli had a strained look on his face when he nodded. "What happened? When my brother moved here, your city was positively flourishing. Why would anyone wish to ruin that?"

"I wish I knew." Machiavelli's lips pressed together into thin lines. "All that matters now is that we will soon be free to rebuild it. I have no doubt that the people will return to sanity once Savonarola has vanished."

"I pray that you are right."

They arrived at Machiavelli's estate, entering a heavily guarded port. "I must keep my vanities safe," Machiavelli explained, his tone bitterly sarcastic.

"They have gone to thieving now?" Jane asked as a stable boy emerged to help her off the horse.

"Anything to save me from the pits of Hell, apparently." Machiavelli jumped off his horse as well, standing for a moment while the servants led both of them to the stables. "Would you like some food? You must be starving for something better than what the taverns have to offer."

"I have grown accustomed to travelling after working for our Holy Father, but I still do prefer real food." Jane smiled as he guided her inside.

Once the table was set, Jane said, "Do you trust the Pope?"

Machiavelli looked up at her, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. "I have met His Holiness only briefly, on few occasions. I cannot judge him from those moments." He paused. "I have met his son often, though, and found him to be a man of his word."

"To be trusted?"

"Not with everything. He has a way to keep his word, and yet afterwards you feel cheated. Not that I have ever had that experience but I have seen him work his magic on others." Machiavelli began to cut out some of his meet. Jane followed his example.

"So… not to be trusted?" she said just before putting the meat into her mouth.

Machiavelli smirked. "An odd mix of them both."

"He keeps to his words, yet always has something up his sleeve." Jane thought it over for a moment. "It sounds very much like the Pope."

Machiavelli chuckled slightly but Jane was lost in her thoughts. Most would say a man like that couldn't be trusted – and apparently Ascanio was counted among them. But perhaps if you knew this about him, if you expected him to have a trick at the ready, then couldn't you come close to trust? Jane decided that tonight was not the night for answers as she swallowed down her second piece of meat.