Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett [5]
Felix said, “That’s Bishop Kennedy, the King’s cousin, come to winter in Bruges. That’s the party he brought with him from Scotland: they must have been staying in Damme since they landed. What are they waiting for?”
“Us,” said Claes happily. His feather waved slowly.
“The lighter,” said Felix. Occasionally, the future burgess surfaced in Felix. “What’s that thing in the lighter? Cargo for the St Salvator maybe?”
Occasionally, Felix was right. “Important cargo,” said Julius. “Look. It’s got Duke Philip’s own seals all over it.”
Hence, of course, the escorting soldiers and the other overdressed dignitaries. There was the ducal flag, with the Duke’s deputy controller in its shadow. There was the banner of Bruges, with the Communal Burgomaster and a couple of échevins under it. Also the cleverest agent in Bruges and one of the wealthiest: Anselm Adorne in a furred robe, his long poet’s face wreathed by the scarves of his hat. His wife was with him, her wired headdress sensibly hooded, apparently brought in to shepherd the only female in the Bishop’s small party. The female, turning, proved to be a fine-looking girl in a temper.
Felix said, “That’s Katelina van Borselen. You know. She’s nineteen. They sent her to Scotland to marry. She must have come back with the Bishop. And I may be blind, but I don’t see a husband.”
Married or unmarried, the girl called Katelina was wearing the steeple headdress. The hennin had caught the wind and was furling and unfurling its veil like a flagpole so that she had to hold it with both tight-cuffed hands. She wore no ring, but there were two possible suitors beside her, presumably off the same ship. One was an elegant older man with a beard, wearing a draped hat and gown Julius would swear came from Florence. The other was some silly gallant.
A good astrologer would, at that moment, have taken Julius by the arm. A good astrologer would have said, Do not look at the Bishop. Do not speak to the lady. Keep away from Anselm Adorne and the Florentine with the beard. And above all, my friend, leave the boat now, before you make the acquaintance of the man you call some silly gallant.
No one took Julius by the arm. Fate, which had a better idea, let him conquer his pang of jealousy and recognise that before him on the quay was a fair-skinned man of quite striking good looks, wearing a silken tunic as brief as a shirt-tail. Between cap and ear, the fellow’s hair was bright as church gold. Between high brow and cleft chin, his expression was one of impatience, mixed with ineffable scorn.
From the badge of his henchman he was of consequence. The henchman held, with some care, the leash of a muscular hound with an identical crest on its back-cloth. Hand on sword-hilt, his master was posed like a painting, one shapely limb flexed in its blue hose, the other stalwartly straight in its white. His gaze, idly scanning the onlookers, discovered the stare of a serving-girl. The nobleman lifted his brows and the girl, hugging her pail, coloured brightly.
Claes, transfixed beside Julius, allowed his feather to wander. Julius sneezed without ceasing to gaze at the paragon who, in turn, had caught sight of the bathing basin. It seemed to amuse him. Snapping his fingers, he acquired the leash of his hound and began to stroll up to the lock, throwing a remark, as he went, to the lady. He looked as if he might snap his fingers for her as well, Julius thought, but he didn’t. And although she looked after him, she didn’t follow.
The well-dressed magnifico came closer. He was not as young as you might think, at a distance. Thirty-three, thirty-four. His blue taffeta was French cut, and so was the one-shouldered cloak and the tilted plate of a hat with its ruby. In his two years at Bruges, Julius had never seen him before. Felix had. Felix, his fingers plucking his own atrocious pinked velvet, spoke in a voice of unwilling awe. “That’s Simon,” said Felix. “Heir to an uncle in Kilmirren, Scotland. They say he’s never had a refusal. The rich ones think he’ll marry them, and the poor ones