The Borgias' Spy by Andrea Frediani

Author:Andrea Frediani [Frediani, Andrea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838932985
Publisher: Head of Zeus

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The only good thing she could count on, Isabella told herself as she slumped to the ground in the darkest part of the alley, was the warmth of the season. If nothing else, sleeping out in the open at night was not so terrible and even if she had lost consciousness due to her tiredness, sleepiness or just exhaustion, as she feared might happen, no one would have dared to take advantage of a masked individual with nothing else on him but a pair of trousers, boots, a shirt and a jacket, who had fallen asleep or fainted near the garbage. Everyone, even the most outcast of beggars and delinquents, would have simply thought they had found someone who was in an even worse state than them. In any case, she had walked the streets of Rome by night dozens of times, in the company of the duke during his outings, and she knew how to defend herself.

She had run away from the house where they had kept her imprisoned for no evident purpose. She had only been careful to get as far away as possible, especially from the Parione and Campo Marzio districts, the area controlled by the Sforza, who now had become the main suspects for Giovanni’s death and it made sense, she said to herself. Ascanio Sforza had been offended by the duke during the dinner he had invited him to, and although the vice-chancellor had not let his irritation with the quarrel with Count Annibaldi show, he was not the type to leave insults unavenged and Sforzino, repeatedly vilified and threatened by Giovanni up to the point of being close to fleeing to Pesaro, could very well have plotted with his cousin or sent emissaries to kill his brother-in-law.

Her conviction that Cesare was the instigator was hard to bear. But in any case, she had been right to warn Pinturicchio against the environment of the Vatican. It was certainly there that Sforza had learned of the painter’s bond with her, had followed her and captured her. It remained to be seen why he hadn’t had her killed immediately. It was precisely this that did not make sense to her. In her slumber she wondered several times what the vice-chancellor wanted from her, if not her death. He probably believed that she knew secrets about the duke and the Borgias that he could extract from her with torture, with the intention of using the information obtained to end up destroying the Pope and his family. The Sforza had many reasons for wanting to do this. But it could also be that the vice-chancellor had agreed with Cesare and that he was doing the dirty work for him. After all, it would not be the first time. In the past, it was said, he had allied himself with Cardinal Borgia to make him pope, so it could also be that he had now agreed with one son to eliminate the other.

There was still so much to do to

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