The Borgia Bride. Jeanne Kalogridis

good reason. Against all advice, the King taxed them beyond conscience, appropriated lands unfairly for his own use, then publicly tortured and executed those who dared protest. Now that they know the French are on their way, the barons are heartened. They will fight with Charles to defeat us.’

      ‘But Ferrandino is coming, with our army,’ I said.

      Prince Federico eyed me wearily. ‘Yes, Ferrandino is coming…with the French on his heels. Charles has four times the men we have; without the papal army, we are doomed.’ This he said without apology, despite the fact that Jofre shifted uneasily at the words. ‘That is one reason I sent for you, Jofre. We need your assistance as never before; you must make good on your ties to our kingdom, and convince His Holiness to send military aid as quickly as possible. I realize the safety of your brother Cesare is compromised, but perhaps a solution can be found.’ He paused. ‘We have sent for help from Spain—but there is no way such assistance, even if it is granted, can arrive in time.’ He let go a gusting sigh. ‘And now we are without a king.’

      ‘You have a king,’ my brother countered swiftly. ‘Alfonso II has clearly abdicated his throne in favour of his son, Ferrandino. That is what the barons and the people must be told.’

      Federico gazed at him with admiration. ‘Shrewd. Very shrewd. They have no cause to hate Ferrandino. He is far more liked than your father ever was.’ He began to nod with the first stirrings of enthusiasm. ‘The hell with Alfonso. You’re right, we should consider this disappearance an abdication. Of course, it will be difficult. The barons don’t trust us…they might still fight if they believe this is political manoeuvring on our part. But with Ferrandino, we have a better chance of winning popular support.’

      My Uncle Francesco spoke at last. ‘Ferrandino, and mercenaries. We simply have no choice but to hire help, and quickly, before the French arrive. It’s all very well for Prince Jofre to convince Alexander to send papal troops, but we don’t have time for such diplomacy. Besides, they’re too far north to get here in time.’

      Federico scowled. ‘Our finances are strained as it is. We can scarcely support our own army, after all of Alfonso’s spending on rebuilding the palaces, and commissioning all of that unnecessary artwork…’

      ‘We have no choice,’ Francesco argued. ‘It’s that, or lose to the French. We can always borrow money from Spain after the war.’

      Federico was still frowning; he opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again at the sound of urgent knocking. ‘Come,’ he commanded.

      I recognized the white-haired, hawk-nosed man whose face appeared in the doorway; it was the seneschal, the man in charge of the royal household—which included the royal jewels and financial matters. His expression was stricken; Federico took one glimpse at it, then forgot all royal protocol and hurried over, bending his head down so that the old man could whisper in his ear.

      As Federico listened, his eyes widened, then grew dazed. Finally, the seneschal retreated and the door closed once again. My uncle took a few unsteady steps, then sat heavily upon his chair, lowered his head, and put his hand to his heart. He let go a strangled sound.

      I thought, for a terrifying instant, that he was dying.

      Uncle Francesco rose at once and went to his brother’s side. He knelt and put a hand upon the suffering man’s arm. ‘Federico! Federico, what is it?’

      ‘He has taken it,’ Federico gasped. ‘The Crown treasures. He has taken it all…’ The Crown treasures constituted the majority of Naples’ wealth.

      It took a moment before I realized the word he referred to my father.

      I had always imagined that my return home to visit my brother would be one of the happier moments in my life, but the next few days in the Castel Nuovo found us all caught in a special sort of misery. My husband and I spent time in Alfonso’s company, but it was scarcely happy; the harm our father had inflicted upon the kingdom left us stunned and sombre. We could do nothing but wait and hope for Ferrandino and his troops to reach Naples ahead of the French.

      Even more painful was the discovery that my mother had disappeared as well. This was a hard fact to accept: you have your mother’s loyal heart, Uncle Federico had said, but I could not accept that Trusia’s loyalty to her lover outweighed that to Naples and her own children. The notion was so ghastly that my brother and I could not bear to discuss it; and so my mother’s betrayal went unmentioned.

      The morning after our arrival at the castle, Donna Esmeralda admitted Alfonso into my chambers. I smiled, faintly, in greeting—but my brother did not. He held a wooden box slightly longer than my hand and half as wide; he proffered it to me as a gift.

      ‘For your protection,’ he said, his tone infinitely serious. ‘We cannot predict what might happen, and I will not rest until I know that you are capable of defending yourself.’

      I laughed, partly from a desire to dismiss such a topic.

      ‘Do not scoff,’ Alfonso urged. ‘It is no joke: The French are on their way to Naples. Open it.’

      Reluctantly, I did as instructed. Inside the box, nestled against black velvet, was a small, long dagger with a narrow silver hilt.

      ‘A stiletto,’ my brother explained, as I drew it from its little scabbard. The hilt was quite short; most of the weapon consisted of the triangular blade, of fine, polished steel terminating in a wickedly sharp point. I dared not even touch the tip with my finger to test its keenness; I knew it would draw blood at once.

      ‘I chose this for you because it can be easily concealed in your gown,’ Alfonso said. ‘We have seamstresses who can set to work immediately. I came this morning because we have no time to waste. I shall instruct you in its use now.’

      I let go a clicking sound of scepticism. ‘I appreciate your thoughtfulness, brother, but this can hardly do battle against a sword.’

      ‘No,’ Alfonso agreed, ‘and therein lies its beauty. Any soldier will presume you are unarmed, and will therefore approach you without fear. When your enemy draws close, that is when you surprise him. Here.’ He took the weapon from me, and showed me how to hold it properly. ‘With a dagger like this, the best method of doing damage is underhanded, thrusting upward.’ He demonstrated, slitting an imaginary opponent from belly to throat, then handed the little blade to me. ‘Take it. You try.’

      I copied his movements precisely.

      ‘Good, good,’ he murmured approvingly. ‘You are a natural fighter.’

      ‘I am a daughter of the House of Aragon.’

      He at last smiled faintly, which had been my intent.

      I scrutinized the steel in my hand. ‘This might be suitable against an Angevin,’ I remarked, ‘but hardly deadly against an armoured Frenchman.’

      ‘Ah, Sancha, therein lies its power. It is slender enough to pierce chain mail, to slip between spaces in armour—and keen and strong enough, if wielded with sufficient enthusiasm, to penetrate light metal. I know; it was mine.’ He paused. ‘I only pray you never have to use it.’

      For his sake, I pretended not to share his fear. ‘It is pretty,’ I said, holding it to the sunlight. ‘Like jewellery. I shall wear it always, as a keepsake.’

      But in the days that followed, after small pockets had been added to my bodice, just above the folds of my skirts, I practised alone: withdrawing the stiletto swiftly, surreptitiously, wielding it underhanded, over and over, slaying invisible foes.

      Two more days passed, during which time the royal brothers met constantly to formalize their strategy. An edict was announced in the streets, that King Alfonso II had abdicated in favour of his son, Ferrandino. We hoped this would mollify the barons, and keep them from fighting with the French against the Crown. In the meantime, Jofre wrote an impassioned letter to his father, Alexander, giving the official explanation of the abdication and begging for papal support; Prince Federico edited it heavily, then sent it to Rome via secret courier.