The Family - Mario Puzo [125]
Only Cesare’s eyes showed, and they glittered like coal. “Baby brother, each of us has more enemies than we can imagine,” he said. Then, reluctantly, he offered, “I will see if there is anything I can discover,” and he left the room.
The moment Lucrezia came back to herself, she ordered the servants to bring her some clean bandages and warm water. She then carefully lifted the sheet to see what further damage had been done to her beloved, but when she saw the slice from neck to navel she felt sickened and quickly took her seat again.
Jofre stood by, and together they spent the night waiting for Alfonso’s eyes to open. But it was two days before he even stirred, and by that time the physician from Naples as well as Sancia had arrived. Sancia, distraught, bent to kiss her brother’s forehead but could find no place left uninjured, and so she lifted his hand and placed a kiss upon his bruised and blackened fingers.
She kissed both Lucrezia and her husband, Jofre, who even in these dire circumstances could not hide his pleasure at seeing her. To Jofre, Sancia looked more beautiful than ever; her dark hair lush and curling, her cheeks flushed with fear for her brother, and her eyes shiny with tears made him love her all the more.
She sat next to Lucrezia and held her hand. “My sweet sister,” Sancia said. “How dreadful that such terrible villains should harm our prince of grace. I am here now, so you may rest without worry, for I will care for my brother in your place.”
Lucrezia was so grateful to see Sancia that she began to cry again. Sancia soothed her. “Where is Cesare? Has he discovered anything of value? Has he captured the attackers?”
Lucrezia was so weary that all she could do was shake her head. “I must rest,” she told Sancia, “but only for a brief time. Then I’ll return to wait for Alfonso to wake, for I want mine to be the first face he sees when he opens his eyes.”
She left them then and walked with Jofre to Santa Maria in Portico, where she greeted her children and Adriana, and then lay exhausted on her bed. But just before she fell into a long dreamless sleep, something struck her and disturbed her.
Her brother Cesare. His expression when he heard the news—or rather, his lack of expression. What went on beneath that mask?
Several days later, Jofre and Sancia were finally alone in their chambers. It had been days since she’d arrived, and he had been longing for time alone with her, yet he understood her concern for her brother as she attended to him.
Now, as she undressed for bed, Jofre came up to her and put his arms around her. “I have truly missed you,” he said. “And I am sorry about the tragedy that has befallen your brother.”
Standing naked, Sancia placed her arms around Jofre’s neck, and in a rare moment of tenderness put her head on his shoulder. “It’s your brother we must speak about,” Sancia said softly.
Jofre moved away so he could see her face. She was strikingly beautiful, and her distress over Alfonso made her look softer than usual. “There is something about Cesare that troubles you?” he asked.
Sancia climbed into bed, and motioned to Jofre to join her. She leaned on her side as he undressed. “There is much about Cesare that troubles me,” she said. “Those freakish masks he has taken to wearing make him appear altogether sinister.”
“They are to cover the marks of the pox, Sancia,” Jofre said. “He is embarrassed by them.”
“Jofre, it’s not only that,” Sancia said. “It is more the mystery that has taken hold of him since he is back from France. He is different, I feel it. Whether he is intoxicated by his own power, or the pox has invaded his brain as well as his face, I feel frightened for us all.”
“It is his wish to protect our family, to make Rome strong, to unify the city-states so they may be ruled properly under the Holy Father,” Jofre said.
Sancia’s voice was strong. “It is no secret that I hold no affection for your father