Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett [231]
Today the Turks owned the Phocoea alum mines, but the trade of Chios was still controlled from Genoa, and the Genoese merchants on Chios still included Baldassare and Paulo and Raffaele and Niccolò and Giuliano and Tomà Adorno.
Today the French occupied Genoa. But among the exiled Genoese still with an interest in Chios was Prosper Adorno, Count of Renda, seigneur of Ovada and of the two Ronciglioni, and the man with the strongest claim to be the next Doge of Genoa. He was Tomà’s cousin. He was kinsman, many times removed, to Anselm Adorne. He was a longtime friend and supporter of Prosper de Camulio their host, and bore the same Christian name. He was the first of the Genoese rebels whom the Duke of Milan was supporting in secret since the Duke, too, wanted the French driven from Genoa.
He was also the man whose estate the doctor Tobias had recently visited to discuss, according to Nicholas, the interesting matter of alum.
Alum linked Tomà Adorno and Camulio. Alum and republican politics on a scale which cast Felix, when he thought of it, into a state of frightened excitement. The excitement came from the prospect of riches. The fear came when he looked at Nicholas and, now and then, allowed himself to realise that there was something here that he could not recognise.
Fear as well as his vestigial Italian kept him quiet, too, while the others were talking. The talk was not social. An undercurrent of resentment disturbed him. Nicholas appeared not to notice it. He went methodically about his business, which was to describe and produce for his Genoese hearers a written survey of the alum deposit recently found by the Charetty company in the Papal States, together with an estimate of its quality. The survey and the estimate were both signed and countersigned by Venetians. Felix had never seen them before.
It was Prosper de Camulio who raised his head from the paper and said, “This tells us, of course, that Venice has already seen the deposit and is aware that it constitutes a threat to its monopoly of Turkish alum. If, that is, the signature is genuine.”
Nicholas said, “The man who signed it, Caterino Zeno, is in Milan. He is waiting not far away to be summoned once I have your agreement to his terms and mine. If, that is, you consider him a reliable spokesman for Venice.”
Adorno answered. He said, “His forebears ruled Constantinople. If Venice has sent him, then they are taking you seriously. You don’t say where this deposit has been found. But Venice, it seems, has been shown it.”
Nicholas said, “It is Venice who is being asked to pay in return for concealing this mine. It would have suited Venice to make these arrangements direct with my company; to pay me for my silence, as they will do, and to guarantee me concessionary alum, as they will do. Unless I insist, there is no need for them to include Genoese merchants in their special terms.”
“But you include us, in return for a handsome payment. Why Genoa?” said Tomà Adorno. “Why not include the merchants of Lucca? Of Mantua?”
Nicholas sat, his big hands between his knees in their serviceable cloth, and rested on the Genoese his large and innocent gaze. He said, “The demoiselle de Charetty has always found the Adorne and the Doria and the other Genoese merchants in Bruges to be fair in their dealings with the dye trade. I confined the concession to Genoa, otherwise it would have been worthless. You wouldn’t pay me for including your rivals.”
“And profit, of course, is what you want,” said Messer de Camulio. “You didn’t think of approaching the Pope? With the money from a mine as rich as this, he could finance a Crusade and free the Phocoea mines. Then there would be a world of cheap alum and no monopoly.”
Felix looked at Nicholas.