Stefano Vignaroli - The Bronze Crown

«Cover yourself, please! It is not right of you to try to tempt me like this. Tell me what you want me to do, and I will do it», he said with a loud voice and his head down.

«I knew you were impotent», continued Lucia, taking a lighted candle from the candelabra above the desk and handing it to her. «Why don’t you try pouring hot wax on my breasts? Maybe then you’ll start to get excited, and then you’ll finally want to own me. But no, I see you’re still backing away from me. As well as being powerless, you’re also a coward!»

«Enough, please! I repeat: tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it!»

The priest saw with relief Lucia put the candle away and put her robe back on, and then continued with her speech. She felt the sweat raging down his brow and down his back.

«Do you want to know the truth? You're a coward anyway, and you won’t have the courage to tell anyone. Mira is not responsible for my uncle’s death. I am. It was I who wounded him and caused him to fall from the balcony. And now that you’ve heard, I’ll tell you what I want you to do. You will release Mira from the charges of witchcraft. You will say the accusations were unfounded and return my handmaiden to Judge Uberti. After that, start packing your bags. I want you as far away from Jesi as soon as possible. Tomorrow I will send a messenger to the Holy Father, to Adrian VI, advising your transfer to Haute Savoie. Up there heresies are raging and an inquisitor like you will know what to do to fight them. There is a need for you, in those borderlands, to bring back to the fold the lost sheep!»

«The new Holy Father?» replied Father Ignazio, now visibly pale, feeling all his certainties fading.

«Have you been so busy serving your Holy Mother Church that you did not even know that the papal throne was occupied by Bishop Adriano Florensz of Utrecht, more than six months ago? After the death of Leo X, the Council took a long time to elect the new pontiff. But in the end, it chose, and not the Bishop of Florence, Giulio De’ Medici, as you might have expected.»

«And so, the Church is now ruled by a man close to the Reformers? And our papal legate? When will he arrive at the headquarters?» Father Ignazio was completely shaken by the news.

«How misinformed you are, my dear! Cardinal Cesarini arrived from Rome in the middle of last March, but it seems that Jesi is not a see that has met his graces. He left one of his vicars and soon returned to Orvieto. Considering his perennial absence, the civil authorities have requested his replacement. But we will await word from Rome, which will not be long in coming. Listen to me, pack your bags, before all the evil you have done turns against you. You are still under the protection of that garment you wear, but I believe that those clothes will soon be tightened on you.»

Father Ignazio, having nothing more to reply, went head down towards the door, walked out passing by Judge Uberti without even giving him a glance, and went away through the meanders of the tower. Certainly, in those months he had been so concentrated in demonstrating that Mira was a witch, that he had completely lost contact with reality!

Still dazed by the conversation that had just ended and immersed in her thoughts, Lucia had not even noticed that the Judge had returned to the room, patiently waiting for him to speak. She heard the sentence coming out of her own lips as if it were someone else speaking.

«The charges of witchcraft against Mira have been dropped. It is for you to judge her. Try to be merciful!

«Her guilt in being responsible for the Cardinal’s death is now widely proven. And, for a murderer, the sentence is death. There is little to discuss. The only clemency I can reserve her is a quick execution without an audience to attend. Mira will be beheaded at dawn tomorrow morning. I will not go public with it. It will be between her and the executioner.»

«The only thing I ask is that she don’t suffer», replied Lucia, shrugging her shoulders.

«One sharp blow, well settled, and the young woman’s head will roll on the floor of Piazza della Morte. Mira won’t even have time to realize that her head is no longer attached to her neck.»

Lucia felt the tears that were about to burst from her eyes, but she pushed them back, sensing their salty taste in her throat. Her grim thoughts were interrupted by an unusual clamour, which reached the windows from outside, from the Piazza del Palio and the surrounding streets. A crowd of people, coming from the countryside, armed with pitchforks, knives and other rudimentary tools, was entering the city from Porta Valle and headed threateningly towards the upper part of the city.

«At the Palace. Let’s get to the Bishop’s office!»

«Death to Cardinal Cesarini’s vicar!»

«Death to the thief, death to the usurper!»

Lucia, hearing those sentences, understood what was about to happen, and realized that the situation was really serious. She had to do something to stop those people and to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

A popular uprising right now would mean the end for this city. I must prevent these villains from turning the centre into a massacre. The population has already been decimated by the plague, all we need now is the infighting between citizens to destroy Jesi.

The castle of Massignano was welcoming and safe, but Andrea had really tired of training against The Mancino and his thugs. Not that he minded the company of these rude men. Often in the evening he drank wine and played dice with them and more than once he fell asleep on the naked floor, on the other thugs. Of course, The Mancino, even though he had long lost the use of his right arm, knew how to duel well, and more than once he had made the sword fly out of his hands. The more time went by, the more the two became friends, but Andrea was a man of action, and a nobleman, and often wondered how long he had had to endure that semi-captivity, to please the Duke of Montacuto, as a demonstration of his gratitude for having saved him from the gallows. From one day to the next, Andrea waited for the Duke to summon him and finally make him leave for Montefeltro, where he would put his qualities as a leader in the hands of a powerful Lord. And yes, he just couldn’t bear to keep on spending his time in that absurd way. It was as if the Duke was purposely keeping him in that stalled condition, as if he enjoyed keeping him idle for as long as possible.

«If the Duke hasn’t arranged your transfer yet, you can see that there’s some obstacle, material or political. My master is a shrewd man, though he appears to be a rougher person than we who serve him. But what he has in addition, compared to us, is the ability to make his mind think», and The Mancino touched his temple with his index finger, to underline this concept of his. «You’ll see, in due time everything will be organized, nothing will be left to chance.»

«Gesualdo, I can make my head work well, and all I understand is that I’ve been here in this castle for almost four years and my limbs are getting lazy. If I had to be face to face with an enemy, I don’t know how it would end... Maybe not good for me!»

The Mancino, who had understood the antiphon, so as not to plunge young Franciolini into melancholy, jumped up, grabbed his heavy sword with his left hand and invited his friend to the fight.

«Come on, then, let’s see how rusty you are. In my opinion, what you miss most in here is a woman. It’s useless to keep thinking about your Lucia, who knows if you’ll ever see her again! Leave it to me and tonight you’ll have company. A man needs to let off steam not only the muscles in his arms and legs. I know a couple of maids who, in need, know what to do to satisfy a muscle that has been hibernating for too long! Just give them a couple of silver coins at the end, and it’s done», and he burst into a fat laugh.