The Family - Mario Puzo [161]
“I drank no wine,” the cardinal whispered hoarsely.
“Yet you ate the inky black squid,” the Pope said.
That very night Cardinal Orsini was carried away by papal guards from the Vatican to be buried. During a Mass in the chapel the following day, the Pope himself offered prayers for the soul of the cardinal, and sent him off to heaven with his blessings.
Alexander then sent the papal guards to confiscate Cardinal Orsini’s possessions—including his palace, for Cesare’s expanding campaign needed increased funds. But when the guards arrived they found Orsini’s gray-haired crone of a mother living there, and so they put her out into the streets of Rome.
“I must have my servants,” she cried, frightened, as she stumbled along, steadying herself with her cane. And so they sent her servants with her.
It was snowing that night in Rome, and the wind was cutting and brutally cold. But no one would give the old woman shelter, for they feared the Pope would be displeased.
Two days later, in the Vatican chapel, the Pope offered another Mass—this time for Cardinal Orsini’s mother, who had suffered misfortune and been found dead, curled in a doorway, her cane frozen to her withered hand.
In December, on the way to Senigallia, Cesare stopped in Cesena to inquire about its governor, Ramiro da Lorca. He had been placed in charge, but now word had reached Cesare of a certain discontent among his citizens.
The latest rumors of da Lorca’s brutality forced Cesare to call a hearing in the town square, before the townspeople, in order that da Lorca might defend himself. “I hear you have used extreme cruelty to punish the townspeople. Is this true?” Cesare asked.
His wild red hair a ring of fur around his head, his thick lips pursed tight, da Lorca spoke in a voice so high it was almost a shriek. “I hardly think I have been unduly cruel, Excellency,” he said. “For no one listens, and fewer behave as I order.”
Cesare asked, “I am told that one young page was thrown into a raging fire in the square on your orders, and that you held your foot upon him as he burned alive?”
Da Lorca hesitated. “But of course it was with reason . . . ”
Cesare stood stiffly, his hand on his sword. “Then I must hear it . . . ”
“The boy was insolent . . . and clumsy,” da Lorca said.
“Governor, I find your defense inadequate,” Cesare responded sternly.
Cesare had also heard that Ramiro had plotted with the conspirators to trap him. But the goodwill of the people of Cesena was of greater import to him. Any undue cruelty would undermine the Borgia control in the areas of the Romagna Cesare ruled, and so da Lorca must be punished.
On Cesare’s orders, da Lorca was immediately thrown into the dungeon of the fortress. Afterward, Cesare sent for his loyal friend Zappitto, made him the new governor of Cesena, and gave him a purse full of ducats, along with detailed instructions.
To the surprise of the citizens, once Cesare left the town Zappitto released the ruthless and brutal Ramiro da Lorca from the dungeons. And though the townspeople were displeased that he had been set free, they felt fortunate—for they realized Zappitto was a governor with the ability for mercy.
But the morning after Christmas, Ramiro da Lorca was discovered speeding headless through the marketplace, still dressed in his bright red and gold Christmas cape and finery, tethered to his horse.
Then everyone agreed it was a great misfortune for da Lorca that he had been set free from the dungeons.
Cesare prepared for the attack on Senigallia, ruled by the della Rovere family. He had long planned to occupy this port city on the Adriatic, and so he gave the order to move his loyal troops to the coast, where he would be joined by the former conspirators and their own forces. The loyal condottieri and those who had conspired were pleased to be working in harmony again, and both groups