The Family - Mario Puzo [21]
Pope Alexander got up and walked across his chamber to the arch of the ornate doorway leading from one great room to another. He pointed to the five panels of the great arcade and then asked, “In your studies have you learned nothing about the great Egyptian dynasties, where brother and sister wed in order to keep the bloodline pure? Do you not know about the young Isis, who wed her brother, the king Osiris, elder son of Heaven and Earth? Isis and Osiris had a child called Horus, and they became the great Trinity, the one that preceded the Christian Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They helped men escape the wiles of the devil, and ensured that good souls were reborn for eternity. The only difference between them and our Holy Trinity is that one of them was a female.” Here he smiled at Lucrezia. “Egypt was one of the most advanced civilizations in history, and we might well take their example.”
“That cannot be the only reason, Father,” Cesare said. “They were pagans and had pagan gods. There is something you have considered that you have not told us.”
Alexander walked over to Lucrezia, stroked his daughter’s long blond hair, and felt a twinge of conscience. He could not tell any of them his real consideration: that he understood the heart of a woman. He knew that the man to whom she first surrendered would be the man who would command her love and loyalty. For once she gave herself to a man, she would offer the keys to her heart and soul as well. But he must find a way to ensure that she did not also offer the keys to the kingdom. And so it followed that, as Alexander would never allow a stranger to claim his best territory, the time had come for he himself to set claim.
“We are a family,” he told his children. “And the loyalty of the family must come before everything and everyone else. We must learn from each other, protect each other, and be bound first and foremost to each other. For if we honor that commitment, we will never be vanquished—but if we falter in that loyalty, we will all be condemned.” The Pope turned to Lucrezia now. “And you are correct, my child. For it is your choice in this instance. You cannot choose to whom you will be betrothed, but you may choose now who will bed you first.”
Lucrezia looked at Juan and tilted her head coyly. “I would rather be sent to a convent than be bedded by Juan.” Then she turned to Cesare. “You must promise you’ll be gentle, for this is love, not war, we are engaging in, my dear brother.”
Cesare smiled and bowed playfully. “You have my word. And you, my sister, may teach me more about love and loyalty than I have learned so far, and that will serve me as well.”
“Papa?” she asked, turning to her father, her eyes wide. “Will you be there to be certain everything goes well? I will not be brave enough without you. For I have heard stories, from both Julia and my ladies in waiting.”
Alexander looked at her. “I will be there,” he said. “As I will be on the night you are officially wed. For a contract is not valid if it is not witnessed . . . ”
“Thank you, Papa,” she said. Jumping up to hug him, she asked, “May I have a fine new costume and a ruby ring as a gift for this celebration?”
“Of course,” he said. “You may have two . . . ”
The following week, Alexander sat on his throne wrapped in his dazzling robes of white satin, free of the weight of his heavy tiara. On his head he wore only a small satin cap. The platform built high above the ground, opposite the bed, rested against a backdrop of exquisite beauty in one of the more ornately decorated rooms of the newly renovated Borgia apartments. Cesare and Lucrezia were summoned, but the servants were instructed to remove themselves until Alexander beckoned them.
The Pope watched his son and his daughter as they undressed. Lucrezia giggled when her brother, Cesare, finally stepped out of his costume.
He looked