CHAPTER XII. BLOOD
The words that passed between Bianca and me that evening in thedining-room express all that can be said of our attitude to each otherduring the months that followed. Daily we met, and the things which ourlips no longer dared to utter, our eyes expressed.
Days passed and grew to weeks, and these accumulated into months. Theautumn faded from gold to grey, and the winter came and laid the earthto sleep, and then followed spring to awaken it once more.
None troubled us at Pagliano, and we began with some justice to considerourselves secure. Galeotto's memorial, not a doubt, had stirred upmatters; and Pier Luigi would be under orders from his father not to addone more scandal to the many of his life by venturing to disturb MadonnaBianca in her stronghold at Pagliano.
From time to time we were visited by Galeotto. It was well for him thatfatigue had overwhelmed him that day at Bologna, and so hindered himfrom taking a hand with us in the doings of that hideous night, else hemight no longer have freedom to roam the State unchallenged as he did.
He told us of the new citadel the Duke was building in Piacenza, andhow for the purpose he was pulling down houses relentlessly to obtainmaterial and to clear himself a space, and how, further, he was wideningand strengthening the walls of the city.
"But I doubt," he said one morning in that spring, "if he will live tosee the work completed. For we are resolved at last. There is noneed for an armed rising. Five score of my lances will be all that isnecessary. We are planning a surprise, and Ferrante Gonzaga is to be athand to support us with Imperial troops and to receive the State as theEmperor's vicegerent when the hour strikes. It will strike soon," headded, "and this, too, shall be paid for with the rest." And he touchedthe black mourning gown that Bianca wore.
He rode away again that day, and he went north for a last interview withthe Emperor's Lieutenant, but promising to return before the blow wasstruck to give me the opportunity to bear my share in it.
Spring turned to summer, and we waited, wandering in the gardenstogether; reading together, playing at bowls or tennis, though thelatter game was not considered one for women, and sometimes exercisingthe men-at-arms in the great inner bailey where they lodged. Twice werode out ahawking, accompanied by a strong escort, and returned withoutmishap, though I would not consent to a third excursion, lest a rumourhaving gone abroad, our enemies should lie in wait to trap us. I grewstrangely fearful of losing her who did not and who never might belongto me.
And all this time my penance, as I regarded it, grew daily heavier tobear. Long since I had ceased so much as to kiss her finger-tips. Butto kiss the very air she breathed was fraught with danger to my peaceof mind. And then one evening, as we paced the garden together, I hada moment's madness, a moment in which my yearnings would no longer berepressed. Without warning I swung about, caught her in my arms, andcrushed her to me.
I saw the sudden flicker of her eyelids, the one swift upward glance ofher blue eyes, and I beheld in them a yearning akin to my own, but alsoa something of fear that gave me pause.
I put her from me. I knelt and kissed the hem of her mourning gown.
"Forgive me, sweet." I besought her very humbly.
"My poor Agostino," was all she answered me, what time her fingersfluttered gently over my sable hair.
Thereafter I shunned her for a whole week, and was never in her companysave at meals under the eyes of our attendants.
At last, one day in the early part of September, on the very anniversaryof her father's death--the eighth of that month it was, and aThursday--came Galeotto with a considerable company of men-at-arms; andthat night he was gay and blithe as I had never seen him in these twelvemonths past.
When we were alone, the cause of it, which already I suspected, at lasttranspired.
"It is the hour," he said very pregnantly. "His sands are swiftlyrunning out. To-morrow, Agostino, you ride with me to Piacenza. Falconeshall remain here to captain the men in case any attempt should be madeupon Pagliano, which is not likely."
And now he told us of the gay doings there had been in Piacenza for theoccasion of the visit of the Duke's son Ottavio--that same son-in-law ofthe Emperor whom the latter befriended, yet not to the extent of givinghim the duchy in his father's place when that father should have gone toanswer for his sins.
Daily there had been jousts and tournaments and all manner of gaieties,for which the Piacentini had been sweated until they could sweat nomore. Having fawned upon the people that they might help him to crushthe barons, Farnese was now crushing the people whose service he nolonger needed. Extortion had reduced them to poverty and despair andtheir very houses were being pulled down to supply material for the newcitadel, the Duke recking little who might thus be left without a roofover his head.
"He has gone mad," said Galeotto, and laughed. "Pier Luigi could notmore effectively have played his part so as to serve our ends. Thenobles he alienated long ago, and now the very populace is incensedagainst him and weary of his rapine. It is so bad with him that of latehe has remained shut in the citadel, and seldom ventures abroad, so asto avoid the sight of the starving faces of the poor and the generalruin that he is making of that fair city. He has given out that he isill. A little blood-letting will cure all his ills for ever."
Upon the morrow Galeotto picked thirty of his men, and gave themtheir orders. They were to depose their black liveries, and clad ascountryfolk, but armed as countryfolk would be for a long journey, theywere severally to repair afoot to Piacenza, and assemble there upon themorning of Saturday at the time and place he indicated. They went, andthat afternoon we followed.
"You will come back to me, Agostino?" Bianca said to me at parting.
"I will come back," I answered, and bowing I left her, my heart veryheavy.
But as we rode the prospect of the thing to do warmed me a little, andI shook off my melancholy. Optimism coloured the world for me all of therosy hue of promise.
We slept in Piacenza that night, in a big house in the street that leadsto the Church of San Lazzaro, and there was a company of perhaps adozen assembled there, the principals being the brothers Pallaviciniof Cortemaggiore, who had been among the first to feel the iron hand ofPier Luigi; there were also present Agostino Landi, and the head of thehouse of Confalonieri.
We sat after supper about a long table of smooth brown oak, whichreflected as in a pool the beakers and flagons with which it wascharged, when suddenly Galeotto span a coin upon the middle of it. Itfell flat presently, showing the ducal arms and the inscription of whichthe abbreviation PLAC was a part.
Galeotto set his finger to it. "A year ago I warned him," said he, "thathis fate was written there in that shortened word. To-morrow I shallread the riddle for him."
I did not understand the allusion and said so.
"Why," he explained, not only to me but to others whose brows had alsobeen knit, "first 'Plac' stands for Placentia where he will meet hisdoom; and then it contains the initials of the four chief movers in thisundertaking--Pallavicini, Landi, Anguissola, and Confalonieri."
"You force the omen to come true when you give me a leader's rank inthis affair," said I.
He smiled but did not answer, and returned the coin to his pocket.
And now the happening that is to be related is to be found elsewhere,for it is a matter of which many men have written in different ways,according to their feelings or to the hand that hired them to thewriting.
Soon after dawn Galeotto quitted us, each of us instructed how to act.
Later in the morning, as I was on my way to the castle, where we wereto assemble at noon, I saw Galeotto riding through the streets atthe Duke's side. He had been beyond the gates with Pier Luigi on aninspection of the new fortress that was building. It appeared that oncemore there was talk between the Duke and Galeotto of the latter's takingservice under him, and Galeotto made use of this circumstance to forwardhis plans. He was, I think, the most self-contained and patient man thatit would have been possible to find for such an u
ndertaking.
In addition to the condottiero, a couple of gentlemen on horsebackattended the Duke, and half a score of his Swiss lanzknechte in gleamingcorselets and steel morions, shouldering their formidable pikes, wentafoot to hedge his excellency.
The people fell back before that little company; the citizens doffedtheir caps with the respect that is begotten of fear, but their airwas sullen and in the main they were silent, though here and there someknave, with the craven adulation of those born to serve at all costs,raised a feeble shout of "Duca!"
The Duke moved slowly at little more than a walking pace, for he was allcrippled again by the disease that ravaged him, and his face, handsomein itself, was now repulsive to behold; it was a livid background forthe fiery pustules that mottled it, and under the sunken eyes there weregreat brown stains of suffering.
I flattened myself against a wall in the shadow of a doorway lest heshould see me, for my height made me an easy mark in that crowd. But helooked neither to right nor to left as he rode. Indeed, it was saidthat he could no longer bear to meet the glances of the people he hadso grossly abused and outraged with deeds that are elsewhere abundantlyrelated, and with which I need not turn your stomachs here.
When they had gone by, I followed slowly in their wake towards thecastle. As I turned out of the fine road that Gambara had built, Iwas joined by the brothers Pallavicini, a pair of resolute, grizzledgentlemen, the elder of whom, as you will remember, was slightly lame.With an odd sense of fitness they had dressed themselves in black. Theywere accompanied by half a dozen of Galeotto's men, but these bore nodevice by which they could be identified. We exchanged greetings, andstepped out together across the open space of the Piazza della Citadellatowards the fortress.
We crossed the drawbridge, and entered unchallenged by the guard. Peoplewere wont to come and go, and to approach the Duke it was necessaryto pass the guard in the ante-chamber above, whose business it was toquestion all comers.
Moreover the only guard set consisted of a couple of Swiss who loungedin the gateway, the garrison being all at dinner, a circumstance uponwhich Galeotto had calculated in appointing noon as the hour for thestriking of the blow.
We crossed the quadrangle, and passing under a second archway cameinto the inner bailey as we had been bidden. Here we were met byConfalonieri, who also had half a dozen men with him. He greeted us, andissued his orders sharply.
"You, Ser Agostino, are to come with us, whilst you others are to remainhere until Messer Landi arrives with the remainder of our forces. Heshould have a score of men with him, and they will cut down the guardwhen they enter. The moment that is done let a pistol-shot be dischargedas the signal to us above, and proceed immediately to take up the bridgeand overpower the Swiss who should still be at table. Landi has hisorders and knows how to act."
The Pallavicini briefly spoke their assents, and Confalonieri, takingme by the arm, led me quickly above-stairs, his half-dozen men followingclose upon our heels. Upon none was there any sign of armour. But everyman wore a shirt of mail under his doublet or jerkin.
We entered the ante-chamber--a fine, lofty apartment, richly hung andrichly furnished. It was empty of courtiers, for all were gone to dinewith the captain of the guard, who had been married upon that verymorning and was giving a banquet in honour of the event, as Galeotto hadinformed himself when he appointed the day.
Over by a window sat four of the Swiss--the entire guard--about a tableplaying at dice, their lances deposited in an angle of the wall.
Watching their game--for which he had lingered after accompanying theDuke thus far--stood the tall, broad-shouldered figure of Galeotto. Heturned as we entered, and gave us an indifferent glance as if we were ofno interest to him, then returned his attention to the dicers.
One or two of the Swiss looked up at us casually. The dice rattledmerrily, and there came from the players little splutters of laughterand deep guttural, German oaths.
At the room's far end, by the curtains that masked the door of thechamber where Farnese sat at dinner, stood an usher in black velvet,staff in hand, who took no more interest in us than did the Swiss.
We sauntered over to the dicers' table, and in placing ourselves thebetter to watch their game, we so contrived that we entirely hemmed theminto the embrasure, whilst Confalonieri himself stood with his back tothe pikes, an effective barrier between the men and their weapons.
We remained thus for some moments whilst the game went on, and welaughed with the winners and swore with the losers, as if our heartswere entirely in the dicing and we had not another thought in the world.
Suddenly a pistol-shot crackled below, and startled the Swiss, wholooked at one another. One burly fellow whom they named Hubli held thedice-box poised for a throw that was never made.
Across the courtyard below men were running with drawn swords, shoutingas they ran, and hurled themselves through the doorway leading to thequarters where the Swiss were at table. This the guards saw through theopen window, and they stared, muttering German oaths to express theirdeep bewilderment.
And then there came a creak of winches and a grinding of chains toinform us that the bridge was being taken up. At last those fourlanzknechte looked at us.
"Beim blute Gottes!" swore Hubli. "Was giebt es?"
Our set faces, showing no faintest trace of surprise, quickened theiralarm, and this became flavoured by suspicion when they perceived atlast how closely we pressed about them.
"Continue your game," said Confalonieri quietly, "it will be best foryou."
The great blonde fellow Hubli flung down the dice-box and heaved himselfup truculently to face the speaker who stood between him and the lances.Instantly Confalonieri stabbed him, and he sank back into his chair witha cry, intensest surprise in his blue eyes, so sudden and unlooked-forhad the action been.
Galeotto had already left the group about the table, and with a blow ofhis great hand he felled the usher who sought to bar his passage tothe Duke's chamber. He tore down the curtains, and he was wrappingand entangling the fellow in the folds of them when I came to his aidfollowed by Confalonieri, whose six men remained to hold the three soundand the one wounded Swiss in check.
And now from below there rose such a din of steel on steel, of shoutsand screams and curses, that it behoved us to make haste.
Bidding us follow him, Galeotto flung open the door. At table satFarnese with two of his gentlemen, one of whom was the MarquisSforza-Fogliani, the other a doctor of canon law named Copallati.
Alarm was already written on their faces. At sight of Galeotto--"Ah! Youare still here!" cried Farnese. "What is taking place below? Have theSwiss fallen to fighting among themselves?"
Galeotto returned no answer, but advanced slowly into the room; andnow Farnese's eyes went past him and fastened upon me, and I sawthem suddenly dilate; beyond me they went and met the cold glance ofConfalonieri, that other gentleman he had so grievously wronged and whomhe had stripped of the last rag of his possessions and his rights. Thesun coming through the window caught the steel that Confalonieri stillcarried in his hands; its glint drew the eyes of the Duke, and he musthave seen that the baron's sleeve was bloody.
He rose, leaning heavily upon the table.
"What does this mean?" he demanded in a quavering voice, and his facehad turned grey with apprehension.
"It means," Galeotto answered him, firmly and coldly, "that your rulein Piacenza is at an end, that the Pontifical sway is broken in theseStates, and that beyond the Po Ferrante Gonzaga waits with an army totake possession here in the Emperor's name. Finally, my Lord Duke, itmeans that the Devil's patience is to be rewarded, and that he is atlast to have you who have so faithfully served him upon earth."
Farnese made a gurgling sound and put a jewelled hand to his throatas if he choked. He was all in green velvet, and every button ofhis doublet was a brilliant of price; and that gay raiment by itsincongruity seemed to heighten the tragedy of the moment.
Of his gentlemen the doctor sat frozen with te
rror in his high-backedseat, clutching the arms of it so that his knuckles showed whiteas marble. In like case were the two attendant servants, who hungmotionless by the buffet. But Sforza-Fogliani, a man of some spirit forall his effeminate appearance, leapt to his feet and set a hand to hisweapons.
Instantly Confalonieri's sword flashed from its sheath. He had passedhis dagger into his left hand.
"On your life, my Lord Marquis, do not meddle here," he warned him in avoice that was like a trumpet-call.
And before that ferocious aspect and those naked weapons Sforza-Foglianistood checked and intimidated.
I too had drawn my poniard, determined that Farnese should fall to mysteel in settlement of the score that lay between us. He saw the act,and if possible his fears were increased, for he knew that the wrongs hehad done me were personal matters between us for which it was not likelyI should prove forgiving.
"Mercy!" he gasped, and held out supplicating hands to Galeotto.
"Mercy?" I echoed, and laughed fiercely. "What mercy would you haveshown me against whom you set the Holy Office, but that you could sellmy life at a price that was merciless? What mercy would you have shownto the daughter of Cavalcanti when she lay in your foul power? Whatmercy did you show her father who died by your hand? What mercy did youshow the unfortunate Giuliana whom you strangled in her bed? What mercydid you ever show to any that you dare ask now for mercy?"
He looked at me with dazed eyes, and from me to Galeotto. He shudderedand turned a greenish hue. His knees were loosened by terror, and hesank back into the chair from which he had risen.
"At least... at least," he gasped, "let me have a priest to shrive me. Donot... do not let me die with all my sins upon me!"
In that moment there came from the ante-chamber the sound of swiftlymoving feet, and the clash of steel mingling with cries. The soundheartened him. He conceived that someone came to his assistance. Heraised his voice in a desperate screech:
"To me! To me! Help!"
As he shouted I sprang towards him, to find my passage suddenly barredby Galeotto's arm. He shot it out, and my breast came against itas against a rod of iron. It threw me out of balance, and ere I hadrecovered it had thrust me back again.
"Back there!" said Galeotto's brazen voice. "This affair is mine. Mineare the older wrongs and the greater."
With that he stepped behind the Duke's chair, and Farnese in a freshspurt of panic came to his feet. Galeotto locked an arm about his neckand pulled his head back. Into his ear he muttered words that I couldnot overhear, but it was matter that stilled Farnese's last struggle.Only the Duke's eyes moved, rolling in his head as he sought to lookupon the face of the man who spoke to him. And in that moment Galeottowrenched his victim's head still farther back, laying entirely bare thelong brown throat, across which he swiftly drew his dagger.
Copallati screamed and covered his face with his hands; Sforza-Fogliani,white to the lips, looked on like a man entranced.
There was a screech from Farnese that ended in a gurgle, and suddenlythe blood spurted from his neck as from a fountain. Galeotto let him go.He dropped to his chair and fell forward against the table, drenching itin blood. Thence he went over sideways and toppled to the floor, wherehe lay twitching, a huddle of arms and legs, the head lolling sideways,the eyes vitreous, and blood, blood, blood all about him.