Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett [232]
“What of Christian conscience?” Messer de Camulio said. “In protecting Venetian trade, you are protecting Turkish trade.”
“And who isn’t?” said Nicholas. “The West needs what Turkey can sell. Turkey needs the trade even more, and unless she’s pushed, won’t go too far in her wars in case she forfeits it. Kings make war, but traders, you can rely on it, are suitors of perpetual peace.”
“I see,” said Messer de Camulio. “Then why not demand your concessions direct from the Turk?”
Felix’s mouth had fallen open. He shut it. Nicholas said, “I could, of course, if I were a larger company. I could demand almost any sum for my silence, and force any concessions I wanted, for anyone I wanted, including a change in the franchise. I don’t have such power, but Venice has. I can’t approach the Turk. But I’m rather expecting Venice to do it for me.”
“I wondered if that would be your answer,” said Prosper de Camulio. “So your plan will in the end favour Venice?”
Nicholas said, “Venice has the Turkish franchise. I can’t alter that. Our concession will mean she takes less profit from us. It’s only fair that she recoups from the Turk. You are still better off, and so is my company.”
Tomà Adorno rubbed his chin. “True,” he said. “You’ve been lucky, Messer Niccolò. You’ve been enabled to make a discovery which holds to ransom a great many rich institutions, for a short time at least. And I think you are right. The price the Christian church will set on its goods will far exceed the tribute exacted by Turkey. But in the meantime the price of alum to you and to Genoa must fall, and in some way all clothmakers benefit. I’ve no quarrel to find with your terms. I should like to know, however, how you mean to exclude the Florentines. Once the Medici observe our concessions, they’ll begin to ponder the reason. Remember, they’re papal bankers. If the existence of this mine comes to their ears, they’ll proclaim it from every tower.”
“I thought of that,” Nicholas said. “But concessions are made for many reasons. Venice and Florence themselves, for example, are constantly in some such negotiation over the price of Italian silk. Florence could well be persuaded that our cheap alum was a matter of trade adjustment. You can make ledgers say pretty well anything.”
“I daresay you can,” said Tomà Adorno. “I think you should produce your terms in detail and let us have done with it, before you decide to add Lucca and Mantua to your list of the favoured. Then we can send for your patron Caterino Zeno. A friend, I take it, of Alvise Duodo of the Venetian galleys? A kinsman of Marco Zeno who commanded the Flanders galleys himself?”
“Gentlemen,” Nicholas said, gently respectful. “You know him better than I do.”
No one mentioned, because they didn’t know, or they thought it irrelevant, the most important element in the history of Messer Caterino Zeno of Venice; which was simply the identity of his beautiful wife Violante. It played no part in the conversation the following morning, when the arranged meeting took place, and the agreement was ratified which made the Charetty company immediately wealthy, with the promise of healthy future assets in the way of concessions and fees.
Prosper de Camulio supplied the Milanese agent who was to transfer the payments to Bruges. Felix, hollow-eyed from a night in which he had hardly slept and barely stopped talking, counter-signed what had to be signed, and escaped, when he could, to shed some of his pent-up excitement at the Castello.
Much later, Nicholas joined him at the tilting-ground. Of course, he had spent some weeks there in the winter. That explained the shouts with which he was greeted, and the laughter as he clowned his way through the first practice bouts. Then the jousting-master came out, and flung a sword at him,