After a few hours of pretending to enjoy the celebration, Riario was relieved that the Pope dismissed him to prepare for the journey to Florence. He was anxious to find Da Vinci after being fooled by the artist once again in the water tunnels. Dreams of Da Vinci tearing the key from his neck haunted him every night for months. He needed to pursue this personal errand. However, Caterina's company would complicate his agenda immensely. She knew about the Book of Leaves, and seemed just as eager to find it as himself and Da Vinci. His wife's motivation behind this passion for the book was hidden from him, and he had no leads concerning her involvement in this entire scheme. He knew Caterina was not to be trusted. He would have to double his defenses around her and not succumb to her charms. His only duty was to protect her, nothing more.

Once everything was in order, Riario began to head back to the Great Hall to inform Sixtus. As he grew nearer he could make out two familiar voices.

"Now that you are married to Girolamo, your duty is to Rome."

"I wasn't aware that I was marrying Rome your Holiness."

"Don't be smart with me Lady Caterina…we can be great allies to each other. I am providing you with the resources I know you need."

"Why are you sending me to Florence?"

"Because you are a distraction from the Book of Leaves and I need Girolamo focused solely on the security of Florence and not an old tale whispered amongst the fanatics. "

"You do not trust him to do this?"

"I trust you Lady Caterina to make certain that Girolamo does not leave Florence before it falls under Rome's rule. And if I need to properly motivate you, I will be sure to have some of my friends pay a visit to Milan, do we understand each other?"

"Perfectly."

Riario felt the anger begin to boil in his gut. Not only did the Pope not trust Riario to carry out his orders, he was employing Caterina to be his personal spy. The entire reasoning behind the wedding was beginning to make sense to the Count.

Cathy rounded the corner to see a distraught Riario standing before her. He quickly masked his expression as the Pope appeared behind her.

"Is everything ready Girolamo?"

"Yes your Holiness."

"Superb. You best get on your way then." He said giving Cathy one last glance.

Riario nodded and took off towards the stables. Cathy waited for any sort of acknowledgement, but was ignored. She walked swiftly to catch up to her determined husband.

"Riario would you wait a moment."

He continued to walk, picking up his pace, and completely ignoring her plea. Once they reached the stables, the Count nodded at one of the soldiers. He came back holding the reins of Caterina's horse. Cathy smiled and immediately ran up to stroke the long white mane of her beloved friend. She turned around to thank Riario for allowing her to ride but he was nowhere in site.

"Allow me to assist you milady." The solider said offering her his hand. Cathy frowned and looked down at her attire. She would have put on her trousers if she had thought Riario would allow her to ride.

"No thank you sir." She said before swinging up onto the horse as her dress rode up to her knees exposing much of her legs.

"Let's move!" A voice shouted in the distance. The soldiers began to stir. Cathy followed alongside the men on her horse. They stared at her in shock at her condition and the fact that she was being allowed to ride a horse at all. She caught up to the front of the pack only to see Riario riding a few yards ahead of everyone else.

"You ride your horse well." Said the man who seemed to be leading the others. He looked up and down over Cathy's exposed leg making her feel uncomfortable.

"I suppose you are the Captain?" She asked in fierce voice. In her journeys', the first thing she mastered was suppressing her true emotions. She was already a woman; she needed to portray as much strength as she could.

"Smart girl, but not smart enough to know your place." He grunted.

"Excuse me?" Cathy remarked looking incredulously at the Captain.

"Our soldiers place their faith in me, not the beloved Count. And they are not so quick to forget how you slayed their brothers. "

Cathy snorted in amusement. She could not believe the Captain's pathetic attempt at intimidation.

"See, not smart enough. You laugh now, but when all is said and done... Riario will abandon you and the church for his own foolish conquests. And with no one will be here to protect you...you will be ripe for the picking."

Cathy stared at the Captain in rage. How dare he speak to her this way! How dare he speak of his commanding officer this way!

"Listen to me Captain, I should have your tongue removed for speaking of your commanding officer in such a degrading way. And I am absolutely sure that Riario would give me the pleasure of removing your tongue whilst all your men watch as retribution for the way you have been conducting yourself in my presence." She declared furiously. Cathy shot the Captain one last aggressive stare before focusing her gaze ahead.

Several hours past and they continued toward Florence in the dead of night. Cathy was beginning to grow extremely tired.

"Captain, we are on the outskirts of Florence. Please tell the men that we can set up camp to rest until dawn." A familiar voice spoke waking Cathy from her daze.

She looked at Riario who noted her tired expression. He quickly got off his horse and handed it to one of the slave boys. As he walked towards Cathy's horse he saw her bare leg hanging from the horse. An immediate rush of warmth surged through his body as her skin shined in the moonlight. Unable to resist, Riario slid his soft hand up her leg causing Cathy to shiver. He then reached for her waist and she brought her other leg around. With a firm grip on her waist, he gently lifted her down to the ground. Cathy looked up into her husband's face but her gaze was not returned. Instead the Count handed the slave the reins to Cathy's horse, and grabbed Cathy's wrist rather firmly and guided to a secluded area.

Two slaves appeared out of nowhere carrying blankets, pillows and a cot. They set up a bed beside a large tree trunk and walked away without a word.

"I thought you wouldn't mind sleeping like this for a few hours. Tomorrow when we arrive at camp, the necessary accommodations will be in order. " He said with his back turned to Cathy.

"I don't mind." Cathy said softly. The Count was silent and still faced away from her.

"Girolamo…"Cathy began hesitantly, "I do not know what it is that you overheard Sixtus saying to me, but you must know that the conversation did not in any way reflect my personal opinions of you."

The Count continued his manner in silence.

Cathy walked up behind her husband and slowly placed her hands softly on his shoulders.

"I have faith in you Girolamo. And I may be a fool blindly trusting such a fearsome man, but you are the only person I can even consider my friend amongst these retched people." She whispered in his ear. Riario shut his eyes tightly trying to ignore the feeling of Caterina's hot breath on his neck and ear. After a few moments of lingering, Cathy withdrew from the Count and fell asleep against the tree curled up in the blankets. He watched her intently before settling beside her and resting his own eyes for a moment. Tomorrow was going to be a tremendously long day.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :)