The Family - Mario Puzo [144]
Next, Duarte asked Cesare to order half the men to strap their weapons to their backs. The other half were to remain on the ships until they saw the signal that the town had been taken.
They did as they were told, but not without grumbling. Duarte slipped over the side first; then, gripping his ship’s rope and holding it high so all could see, he waded hand over hand along the rope to the beach.
Cesare went over the side next, following Duarte along the rope to the shore. Reassured, one soldier after another went over the side clutching the taut line as he made his way to land, for anything was better than remaining on the swaying, rolling ships.
Once the troops landed and dried themselves in the sun, Cesare led them off the beach and up a steep and winding path through the hills. In an hour, they had reached the crest. From there they could look down on the town and the harbor.
As Duarte predicted, huge cast-iron cannons were aimed in fixed positions at the entrance to the harbor. An hour later, they could still see no movable artillery from the crest, and no more than one small defense unit of militia marching in the main square.
Silently, Cesare led his forces down the mountain path until they reached the edge of town.
“Charge! Charge! ” Cesare shouted, and they ran screaming and brandishing their weapons down the principal street and into the central square. The militia, vastly outnumbered, was taken by surprise and quickly surrendered.
The terrified townspeople scurried to their homes. Cesare sent a force to secure the massive cannons, and another to take possession of the iron mines, while Duarte led a contingent to seize the docks. Finally, Cesare ordered his standard bearer to raise the charging bull of the Borgia, and his own flame flag, on the empty flagpole in the town square.
When the nervous delegation of citizens arrived in the square, Cesare identified himself and advised them that the island was now under papal control, but he reassured them that they had nothing to fear.
By this time, his eight Genoan ships rounded the headland.
The troopers then built a fire on the beach to signal that the town had been taken, and that it was safe for the galleons to enter the harbor. As they sailed in flying the Borgia flag and tied up at the docks, the remaining soldiers disembarked.
After inspecting the iron mines and selecting a contingent of men to hold the island, the troops were ready to return to the mainland. Cesare loaded his men back onto the ships.
And so it was that, just four hours after their first landing on the beach, Cesare Borgia and Duarte Brandao had captured the island of Elba. Now Michelotto, Jofre, Cesare, and Duarte rode side by side on the long journey back to Rome.
25
CARDINAL DELLA ROVERE and Cardinal Ascanio Sforza met in secret over a lunch of pink salted prosciutto ham, roasted red peppers dripping with green olive oil dotted with several shiny cloves of garlic, and crusty loaves of freshly baked semolina bread. The fine red wine was plentiful, and helped to loosen their tongues.
Ascanio spoke first. “It was a mistake, placing my vote for Alexander in the last conclave. It is an impossible task being his vice-chancellor, for though his administrative skills are above reproach, he is too fond a father. And he indulges his children to such an extent that he will bankrupt the church by the time a new Pope takes the throne. Cesare Borgia’s desire to conquer and unite the territories in the Romagna has almost emptied the papal coffers through his endless payments to his troops. And no queen or duchess has as fine a wardrobe as this young son of the Pope.”
Cardinal della Rovere smiled knowingly. “But my dear Ascanio, you did not come all this way to discuss the sins of the Pope now, for there is nothing new here. There must be another reason that remains invisible to me.”
Ascanio shrugged. “What is there to say? My nephew Giovanni has been humiliated by the Borgia, and Pesaro now belongs to Cesare. My niece Caterina, a true