Caprice and Rondo - Dorothy Dunnett [153]
The Duke did not know, of course, of anything to the detriment of de Fleury, and had forgotten that he was no longer a banker. Adorne had not enlightened him. But the reference had rankled as he rode grimly home from his audience, bearing the customary ducal donation of gold plate and refunded expenses. His fellow merchants had given him a banquet to mark what he had achieved, and to console him for what he had been forced to abandon. There were murmurs of a high civic appointment, of the kind his father had held. He was grateful, but the distaste remained. He already held a commission in Scotland. Men of exalted office in Bruges, or in Antwerp, or in Ghent were apt to find themselves caught between their burgher friends and the Duke, and not every townsman proved understanding. All through the feast, Tommaso Portinari had glared.
Adorne’s niece did not expect to discuss any of that with Egidia van Borselen, who was not here, of a certainty, to talk about business, or Adorne. Gelis had taken trouble and spent time with Jodi: a glance at the child showed as much. But her overriding interest, for good or for evil, was to collect news of Nicholas. Whatever excuse she had given, that was why Gelis was here now in Bruges, composed, svelte and golden, sipping wine and asking after everyone’s health. Kathi said, ‘And what about you? The merchant community is riveted by news of your triumphs in Venice. Are you enjoying it all?’
‘Am I here to oust Diniz? No,’ Gelis said. ‘Nicholas damaged the Bank. I aim to repair it, and leave.’
‘They might believe it — eventually,’ Kathi said. ‘Nicholas might even believe it.’
‘Do you think so?’ Gelis said. ‘Of course, Dr Tobie has stayed with me, but there might be other reasons for that.’ The irises of her eyes were of an unvarying clear, pallid blue under the veiling and velvet. She said, ‘Do you believe me?’
‘I understand you feel responsible,’ Kathi said. ‘Nicholas feels even worse. He tried to cut free of you all and become the carefree lout people once took him for. Alichino, hooray. Then he went too far, managed to put an arrow through Julius, and sobered up sufficiently to offer to escort Anna to the Black Sea. I think he will stay in the Crimea, or Poland, or Germany. He loves intrigue, and attracts learned men. Good teachers will find him.’
Gelis said, ‘I wondered. He shot Julius because he had been drinking?’
‘It looked like that,’ Kathi said. ‘But he was upset as well: edgy and changeable. The way he looks when the pendulum has dragged him down.’
‘Had he been divining?’ Gelis said.
‘I’m sure he had, although I don’t know the reason. Perhaps Julius had been goading him recently, and he suddenly lost his head. Because Nicholas was so equable as a boy,’ Kathi said, ‘no one expects him to have a temper. But now, I suppose, he has a position in the world, and has learned to defend it by showing anger. Certainly he desperately regretted the shot. He collapsed when he saw what he had done. Thank God Julius didn’t die.’
‘I wish I had been there,’ Gelis said.
‘He hated me for seeing it,’ Kathi said quickly. ‘Anyway, you were doing something more useful. Tobie told me. You went to see Thibault de Fleury, and he wrote a letter. Nicholas will have it by now. He may even turn back and go to Montello?’
‘He couldn’t get there in time. And with his grandfather gone, he would have no motive for going,’ Gelis said flatly. ‘He doesn’t want to prove that he is Simon’s son, now. He wouldn’t even want to trace Adelina, if he thought she had proof.’
‘And you?’ Kathi said. ‘Would you prefer to discover the truth, even if no one ever knew what you found, even Nicholas?’
Gelis was silent. Then she said,