The King's Anatomist by Ron Blumenfeld

Author:Ron Blumenfeld
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: History Through Fiction
Published: 2022-01-06T18:52:48+00:00

The following evening, the eve of our departure, Antoine invited Marcus to dine with us. He coaxed Marcus to tell him of his family, and of the lives of North Sea fishermen. To honor our visit, he summoned a flask of wine sent to him from an abbey in Carcassonne.

“It is called ‘Blanquette de Limoux’, a pale wine with tiny bubbles that provide a novel experience of the wine in the mouth. The trick of it is to let the wine mature in the sealed flask.”

I found it sharp and dry, and the bubbles went up my nose and made me sneeze.

“It’s a clever innovation, Antoine, but I don’t think it has much of a future.”

“We’ll see if it catches on,” Antoine replied. “I find it festive.”

As we rose from the table, Marcus asked Antoine if it would be possible to give confession to one of the priests on his staff.

“Of course you may, but I would be honored to be that priest.”

Marcus swallowed, realizing he could not refuse.

The next morning we exchanged farewells in the courtyard. Antoine extended his ring to Marcus, and then took him by the shoulders.

“I am glad to know you, Marcus Schoop. May God protect you.”

Marcus’ eyes glistened. “Thank you, Your Eminence. I will never forget these past few days.” Marcus went off to bring the horses.

After we embraced, I handed Antoine a letter to be posted; at daybreak I had written another letter to Anne. He glanced down to see the name on the letter and nodded, glancing over my shoulder to see Marcus coming with the horses.

“I’ll see to it. Now get out of here before I have you detained.”

“For what reason?”

“Reason? A Prince of the Church needs no reason, or if necessary, he simply invents one. But the reason is that I will miss you. Now leave before I change my mind. By the way, you will have no excuse not to stop here on the way back. Ornans is on the most direct route to Brussels after the Alps. I doubt you will be in any mood to wander around Europe by then.”

He pointed at two men mounted nearby. “These papal guards will ride with you out of uniform so as not to draw attention; the uniform is a comfort to some, but a target to others. They will escort you as far as Montbéliard, and leave you at the Auberge des Juras. I have sent word to the innkeeper to expect two gentlemen with my guards. He will put you in his best rooms.”

“But Antoine, it is not necessary . . .”

“I will decide what’s necessary.”

I looked again at our guards. One of them was burly, with a red beard.

“I have seen one of the guards before. He delivered the letter about Andreas.”

“Yes. I entrust Émile with my most important tasks.”

My eyes lingered on Émile’s red hair and beard.

“Antoine, when Andreas and I passed through in 1537 on the way to Padua, do I not remember a red-haired child toddling around?”

He glanced his way, then back at me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.