Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett [280]
She had been sitting on the window seat, and she was fully clothed also. So he introduced the subject himself. “I’ve just heard. About the cannon.”
She had taken off her daytime headdress, and her hair was pinned, loosely coiled, at her neck. Her gowns now were lighter and prettier than those she used to wear for business. This one had brocade sleeves with glints of gold about them, and she was wearing a long string of fine pearls. She rose from the cushion and walked forward a little, saying, “I was waiting to tell you. Where did you find out? At Anselm Adorne’s?”
She didn’t say, as Adorne had done, “The sinking at Damme had nothing to do with it.”
He closed the door, while he thought. Then he said, “Yes. And about Kilmirren.”
She nodded. She was standing before the little table with her hands lightly clasped in front of her, looking at him. She had an open face, clear-skinned, with particularly bright blue eyes, which he had learned to read quite well. He said, “What has happened?”
She rarely stood perfectly still, like this. Her face was a little drawn. She said, “I heard another small piece of news. All France, it seems, is talking about the downfall of the vicomte de Ribérac.”
Jordan de Ribérac. A pain ran through his cheek, as though the ring had scored it again. He cleared his throat and said again, “What has happened?”
Marian de Charetty said, “It seems he had been caught trafficking with the Dauphin. The King was very angry. M. de Ribérac has lost, of course, all he had. Land, houses, money, all his possessions.”
Nicholas said, “What is going to become of him?”
And Marian said, “I imagine he’ll be locked in the dungeons at Loches. Perhaps they’ll put him in the cage. Perhaps they’ll behead him at once. Did you arrange that as well?”
He realised how stupid it was, simply standing staring at her. He said, “I expect so.” With a great effort he said, “Marian, what has happened?”
And she said, “You chose some very astute new men for the company. The doctor, Tobias, has been to see me. He and Julius and Gregorio have been troubled about the future of the business. So they decided, quite rightly, to place their doubts before me and ask my opinion.”
“Tobie,” he said.
“Yes. And Goro. And our good Julius. I thought you were fond of them, and they of you,” said Marian his wife. “But now, they’re afraid of you.”
A large sigh stretched his chest, and he got rid of it. It left an ache behind, as bad as a blow. Nicholas said, “You don’t need to be afraid of me. Ask me anything you like, and I’ll tell you. Will you sit? On the settle, and I’ll sit over here. But some wine, first. Will you let me give you some wine?”
She sat, nodding. When he took her the cup, the wine in it trembled, but whether from his hand or hers no one could have known. He saw it, and thought of the pink goblet in the grasp of Astorre and Lionetto. He was cold with fear. He had been, for weeks.
While she drank, he chose the bedside stool to sit on, elbows on knees, laced hands pushed into his lips. Then he dropped his hands and said, “Will you tell me what Tobie said?”
It was about Jaak de Fleury and Lionetto, as he had expected. They had pieced it all together remarkably well. And, of course, Marian herself could match it with her own knowledge. Of his dealings with the Dauphin, for instance. They didn’t know that he and Gaston had tried first to bribe de Fleury to the Dauphin’s side and failed, but that of course had had no effect on the final issue.
And they didn’t know, either, about Jordan de Ribérac. Only Marian and the van Borselen girls knew of the war between himself and de Ribérac. Marian had guessed that the vicomte’s downfall might owe something to him, but she couldn’t know how it had been done. Katelina was in Brittany, and he had been careful to ask no