Prodigal by Peter Darman

Author:Peter Darman
Format: epub

Chapter 14

The River Parma flows through the centre of the town of the same name. It runs south-to-north to the River Po and though it is called a river, it is in reality a wide stream that nevertheless flows all year round. Under the rule of Orlando the Magnificent the town’s defences had been allowed to fall into disrepair, a result of the marquess and his lands avoiding the conflict that had raged between Milan and Venice north of the Po. The town’s stronghold had been turned into a jail, though its battlements were still functional.

Sigmund Thyg peered through an arrow slit at the soldiers and labourers beyond the moat setting up artillery positions and crossbowmen taking the odd shot at the battlements from behind oversized pavises. The bolts invariably bounced off the stone walls. Next to him, Ritter Cleron looked at the besiegers from another slit. They had arrived the day before, perhaps five thousand soldiers together with cannon, a bombard and a large number of camp followers. Leon’s letter had reached the town two days before, so Thyg was confident relief would arrive before the town was assaulted, especially as the banners among the besiegers were those of Orlando Pallavicino. It would take time to assemble the bombard and its wooden base, but several small cannon were already in emplacements, ready to pound the walls.

‘They won’t start pounding us before all negotiations have ended,’ commented Thyg.

‘What negotiations?’

‘You see those red and white banners? They are the same ones we encountered outside the walls of this town when we beat Orlando’s army. Now he has a new one but he won’t want to reduce his own town to rubble, which means he will want to negotiate.’

Cleron turned away from the besiegers below.

‘You will talk to him?’

‘Of course, anything to waste time until Muller arrives.’

‘He should have been back by now.’

Thyg walked away from the slit.

‘He has not only destroyed the army of Savoy, he has also killed a high number of Milanese. I told you he was a lucky talisman.’

Cleron followed him down the stone steps from the battlements.

‘He’s not lucky for us if he doesn’t get back here in time.’

‘There is plenty of time, Ritter,’ Thyg assured him. ‘Orlando will not want to batter us into submission and then have to spend a fortune having to rebuild the town.’

‘I though you said he is rich.’

‘He is, but it will be cheaper to pay us to go away rather than conduct a red-blooded siege.’

*****

Orlando Pallavicino had his eyes closed as he listened to the angelic voices of the choir singing a few feet from where he sat on his horse. Behind him, servants in Pallavicino livery were placing food on a trestle table covered with a white cloth that sat on carpet-covered wooden boards. The town of Parma was around four hundred paces away, safely out of range of enemy crossbows and arrows. It looked like a pink cake surrounded by many shades of green. Behind the marquess was

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