Stefano Vignaroli - In The Lion's Sign

«Up, up! Get up!», Lucia had told him, the cheeks that were getting inflamed. As he got up, Andrea found himself with his face at a very short distance from her. The impulse had been to bring his lips closer to hers and kiss her for a long time, but he had to hold back because of the presence of the servants, but especially the two girls.

The two remained like that, for a while, staring into each other’s eyes, without uttering a word. Then Andrea cleared his voice.

«Your hazel eyes. I think I saw them the last time behind a raised concealed. It was you the day of the tournament in Urbino. I’m sure of it. I recognized your eyes. Of the same colour, there are no others in the world. It was you who saved my life, who blocked Masio. And I just do not understand, I do not understand how a bridesmaid, as beautiful and delicate as you, had the strength and courage to intervene in a manner worthy of a man of arms.»

«You must still know me well, Messer Franciolino - or can I still call you Andrea? - In any case, behind the facade of femininity, I’ve always been able to assert myself, even in situations that required not only strength, but also cunning, brains and reasoning. And no one has ever managed to trick the here present Countess Lucia Baldeschi. And I assure you that many have tried.»

«I imagine that these years for you, here in the city, have not been easy. I know you have taken on some very important responsibilities. And I know you have done it very well. They also told me you are a daredevil, and more than once you have ventured on dangerous journeys, and moreover without an escort. A very risky thing for a lady of your rank.»

To these words, Lucia had lowered her gaze, sighing. Andrea, having understood to have touched a perhaps painful button for his beloved, had brought back the speech on a different plan.

«Of course, after the events of Urbino, I would have expected to find you at my side, to be assisted by your loving care, as at the time of the sack of Jesi. Instead I found myself in a remote and solitary castle, with the only company of two gruff mountain Counts, and a small handful of their servants.»

«I made me sure someone were taken care of you, but I could not stay in Montefeltro. I had come all the way there undercover, just to see you. And now that you are well, I am waiting for you to...»

«But of course, of course, you are absolutely right», and he prostrated himself again at the feet of his beloved, taking his hand between hers. «I humbly apologize to you for having dwelt in useless chatter. The purpose of my presence here is one and only one. That of proposing myself as your husband. It’s strange having to ask you directly, usually the hand of a lady is asked for through the intercession of her parent, or her guardian. But better this way. I am ready to declare my immense love to you, and I believe that your heart is also beating strong for this knight, as you have made me understand many times.»

Lucia ordered him to get up for the second time. Andrea stood up, continuing to hold her hand. He could smell the scent of rose water, which was making him intoxicated, almost drunk. Once again he had the instinct to kiss her. He gently moved his torso closer to her, until he felt the pressure of her breasts against his chest. He touched her cheek with his lips, in a very light, almost imperceptible kiss. Lucia retracted a little.

«And you got it right. Yes, I’m ready to marry you, on one condition only, that you want to be the father of both girls.»

«And this is granted. I want to be. They are two marvellous girls and, as far as I can see, already well educated. We must give them credit for this.»

«I think it’s good to say goodbye now. You must visit our beloved Bishop, Cardinal Ghislieri, and make arrangements with him for the wedding ceremony. I will be willing to abide by whatever the Cardinal may wish to arrange. Go, now!»

The Venetian ship, as stable as it was, was more subject to rolling and pitching movements as it approached the coast. The manoeuvres due to the docking, moreover, accentuated said movements, as well as awakened the nausea and the headache of Andrea. From the sailors’ voices, he understood that they were approaching Marina di Ravenna. From the small window of the captain’s cabin you could see a thick pine forest to frame the coast. As he pulled himself up from his bunk, he banged his head on the ceiling of the cabin, which, although one of the highest, located between the second and third aft decks, was always lower than its height. Just as he was fighting a gagging gag, trying to swallow the bile coming up from his stomach, the Sea Captain entered the cabin.

«We’ll stop here, at Marina di Ravenna, for a few days, in order to supply the ship with food and ammunition. It will take another two days until the Delta of the Po River, then we’ll sail up the Po River to Mantua. From here to Mantua, the journey will be much less easy than it has been until now. Especially the river navigation will create many problems. We’ll be able to find shallows, narrower stretches of rivers, in short, it will not be easy to reach our destination with such a large ship. Take my advice, disembark here. I will get you horses and an escort. By land, you will reach Ferrara, where you’ll be a guest for a few days of the Duke of Este, our friend and ally. From Ferrara to Mantua the road is not long. I will send you a messenger as soon as our ship has arrived in the city of Gonzaga and we’ll meet there.»

Andrea was relieved of the proposal. He couldn’t wait to disembark and finally jump on a horse.

CHAPTER 6

Beauty will save the world

(Fedor Dostoevsky)

Muddy up to his neck, Andrea had his forehead beaded with sweat, despite the stinging cold of the beginning of a winter that, in fast steps, would open the doors to the year 2019. The municipal administration had been clear. By the following spring, Piazza Colocci had to be restored and the archaeological excavations, which had brought to light the remains of the lower floors of the old Government Palace, would be buried. Everything had already been photographed, the main finds transferred to the new archaeological museum, on the ground floor of the Pianetti-Tesei Palace, and by then it had been given too much time to citizens, tourists and curious people to take a peek, completely free, at the uncovered square. But Andrea was not satisfied, he did not give up. Down there, at a lower level, there must have been the remains of the ancient Roman amphitheatre. Evidence of this were the ancient balls of the “ball game”, an ancient discipline dating back to Roman times. This game, also known as Harpastum, or spherical ball game, was an integral part of the training of gladiators and was played mainly by legions to guard the borders. According to Andrea, the balls found about twenty years earlier at the bottom of the well in the inner courtyard of the Palazzo della Signoria were not referable to the eighteenth-century game of tennis court, as had been asserted so far. They were instead the testimony that in that area took place, between the first century B.C. and the third century A.D., games in which gladiators and slaves were involved, in the same way as those that could be seen in Rome inside the Coliseum. Of course, he could not go down to the bottom of the well to break through its walls, but according to him a passage from the rooms of the ancient Government Palace to the levels below had to be there. Everything was there to find him. The very expensive radar surveys that he had carried out completely at his own expense proved him right, but every time he thought he was close to the sensational discovery of the possible passage there was something that went wrong. There were sewer manifolds that could not be touched except at the risk of flooding everything, there were metal bulkheads to protect and consolidate the foundations of the Palazzo della Signoria. Here remains of fireplaces, which could not be touched except by unleashing the wrath of the delegate for Cultural and Artistic Heritage. And now there was also snow. Since December 8, an early but heavy snowfall had prevented him from working for a few days. Then, when the snow had melted, it had left so much mud that it was almost impossible to stand upright in the excavations without sliding continuously. Irritated, cold, with nerves on edge, he lifted the pickaxe. He would have given a dry picket to the back wall, the one that separated the old government building from the foundations of the present one, finished building around the year 1500, but he stopped with his arm in the air. Something had attracted the attention of his eyes. The mud, draining downwards, had left uncovered a detail he had never noticed before. A vaulted arch limited by the ancient bricks, almost at the top of the ground he was trampling on and representing the floor of the ground floor of that ancient building, undoubtedly delimited an opening, even if it was occluded by debris and semi-basement.