The Family - Mario Puzo [159]
Bentivoglio held a meeting at his castle in Bologna and invited the short, stocky Guido Feltra, the displaced and outraged duke of Urbino. Feltra spoke so softly that one had to listen carefully to each word he said—unless one knew, of course, that with Guido Feltra each sentence held a threat.
Joining the conspiracy were key condottieri from Cesare’s army: Paolo and Franco Orsini, one a madman and the other the aging prefect of Rome and duke of Gravina, who had made his reputation as a ruthless soldier by displaying the head of one of his victims on the tip of his spear for days after a conquest. The Orsini were always eager to conspire against the Borgia.
It was no surprise that those men were enemies of Cesare’s; of greater note was the participation of commanders who had once served Cesare well. Oliver da Fermo—and, even more shocking, Vito Vitelli himself—rode up to the castle. Vitelli was enraged that he had been forced to return Arezzo. These men, who were close enough to Cesare to know that his military strategies had put him in serious danger, still commanded a great part of his army.
Together, now, they formulated a plan. First they agreed they would need other allies. Once that was accomplished, they would meet again to organize their troops, and more important to decide where and when they would attack Cesare. And so it appeared that Cesare Borgia’s days were numbered.
Unaware of the dangers he faced, Cesare sat by the fire in his new Urbino headquarters, enjoying a fine port wine from Guido Feltra’s cellar, when his aide announced a gentleman from Florence had ridden out to see him: Signore Niccolò Machiavelli.
Machiavelli was ushered into the room. As he threw off his long gray cloak, Cesare noticed his pale and tired countenance, offered him a comfortable chair, and poured him a cup of port. “So what brings the brilliant star of Florentine diplomacy to Urbino in the dark of night?” the gracious host asked with a smile.
Machiavelli’s face showed his concern. “Critical business, Cesare. I’ll be blunt. Florence has been asked to join a massive conspiracy against you. Some of your own best commanders are involved. Many whom you would suspect, but one that you would not, Excellency: your commander, Captain Vito Vitelli.” Machiavelli also named the others who had met at Magioni.
Cesare was stunned, but did not show it.
“Why have you told me this, Niccolò?” Cesare asked. “Wouldn’t it be in the best interest of Florence if my campaign were stopped?”
“Cesare,” Machiavelli said, “we have debated that very question. Are the conspirators a less dangerous devil than the Borgia? It was not an easy decision, and it was made not by the Signoria, but in an emergency session of the Council of Ten.
“I told them you are quite rational, and at least your objectives, the ones that you have confessed, are reasonably sound. And I believe that you would abide by the preference of France that Florence not be attacked.
“The conspirators, on the other hand, are not altogether rational men. Paolo Orsini is half mad. The whole Orsini family despises the government of Florence, and your friend Vito Vitelli simply despises the city itself. Who knows why? We do know, for example, that Orsini and Vitelli were the ones who urged you to attack Florence on your last campaign, and that you refused. That show of loyalty was an important consideration for us.
“If these men succeed in destroying you, they will depose your father, and we will have a militant Pope of their choosing. In that instance, their power would be catastrophic. They, unlike you, would not hesitate to attack—and even sack—Florence.
“Besides, I told the council that you would learn of the conspiracy—these men cannot keep a secret—and that, knowing of their treachery with your superior tactical skill, you