The Family - Mario Puzo [172]
Where was the brilliant, hardheaded commander he had once idolized? Machiavelli wondered. Yes, he had to admit it, the man he had idolized. Machiavelli considered himself a friend of Cesare’s. But when it came to his official report, he had only one friend: Florence. That evening he rode as hard as he was able, in order to reach his city before it was too late. And this time the views he expressed to the Signoria were quite different from any that came before.
Now he rose, his clothes not as fresh as usual, his voice not as dramatic; in fact, he himself was not in his usual form. In the smaller private chamber used by the key ruling council, his expression was grim. He disliked what he had to say, but he knew he must.
“Excellencies, it would be the height of folly to provide any support to Cesare Borgia. Yes, the Holy Father, Pope Julius the Second, has publicly promised to confirm Cesare in his conquests and to make him gonfaloniere. But, Excellencies, I am convinced this Pope considers himself no more bound to carry out that promise than I feel bound to leave this chamber by the north rather than the south door. He still despises the Borgia. He will betray Cesare; he has already decided privately to do so.
“As for Cesare himself, I see a fearsome change. This man, who would never even hint at what he intended to do, now regales men with things he plans but can never accomplish. Inch by inch, Excellencies, Cesare Borgia is slipping into the grave. Florence must not slip with him.”
Machiavelli was correct. Pope Julius, convinced at last that both the Venetian threat and Cesare’s power were exaggerated, made haste to dissolve his agreement. He demanded that Cesare surrender all of his castles at once. That accomplished, Pope Julius II placed Cesare Borgia under arrest, and sent him to Ostia accompanied by an elderly cardinal and an armed guard to be certain his orders were carried out.
Cesare Borgia turned over the first two fortresses, and wrote to the commanders of others telling them he had been ordered to return them to their former owners. He hoped these messages would be disregarded, at least for a time.
He then asked the elderly cardinal for permission to travel to Naples, now under Spanish control. Believing that Cesare had complied in substance with the Pope’s orders, and that he could cause no trouble as long as he stayed out of the Romagna, the cardinal accompanied Cesare to the port at Ostia and put him on a galleon bound for Naples.
In Naples, Cesare had one more card to play: Gonsalvo de Córdoba.
The Spanish were now the sole masters of Naples, allowing them to wield greater influence than ever before throughout Italy. Cesare immediately sought help from Ferdinand and Isabella, for he believed them to be Borgia allies. With their support, he told de Córdoba, he and his loyal men could hold out in his fortresses indefinitely, raise additional troops, and force Julius to make and keep favorable terms.
De Córdoba agreed to present his case to the Spanish monarchs. In what was now Spanish territory, Cesare finally felt safe from the reach of Pope Julius. While he waited for a reply from Ferdinand and Isabella, Cesare sent messages to his remaining commanders urging them not to surrender their fortresses. He also began to assemble mercenaries who could fight side by side with the Spanish under de Córdoba.
For three weeks Cesare waited, and still there was no reply from the Catholic majesties in Spain. Cesare grew restless, filled with apprehension. He could sit still no longer; he must do something!
And so Cesare rode through the