The Family - Mario Puzo [38]
Lucrezia smiled, her eyes shinier than usual. “I feel well,” she lied, but Adriana noticed the gooseflesh on her arms. “As soon as we arrive and I have some hot tea, I’m sure I’ll feel better. But let us get started, for I’m certain there are festivities awaiting us, and we do not want to weary the loyal citizens.”
They traveled on to Pesaro, where miles before they reached the gates they saw the crowds of men, women, and children who had gathered, some holding boards or cloth above their heads to shelter themselves from the hard driving rain. But still they sang to her and clapped for her while they shouted happy greetings. They threw flowers and lifted children for her to touch.
But by the time they arrived at the gate, Lucrezia’s head was spinning. And when Giovanni greeted her with a smile, and said, “Welcome, my duchess,” she hardly heard him before she swooned from weakness and slipped from her horse.
One of the manservants caught her in his arms, and carried her into the palace. Amazed at how little she weighed and impressed by her blond beauty, he placed her gently on the feather bed in the grand bedroom and went back to tell the others all about the duke’s new bride. Adriana and Julia fussed about her, asking for tea and soup to help warm her, but by then Giovanni had gone back to the crowds, telling them that the duchess would formally greet them the following day once she had rested and managed to renew herself.
That night, in the darkened room in a strange city, Lucrezia lay in bed, said her prayers, and tried to sleep. She missed her father terribly, but even more she missed her brother Cesare.
On the day she left Rome Cesare had promised to visit her in Pesaro, but if for any reason that became impossible, he promised he would send Don Michelotto to accompany her to meet him at Silverlake, which was halfway between Rome and Pesaro. There they could spend time alone. They could speak without anyone hearing; they could play in the fields as they did as children, far from the prying eyes of the Pope and those others who were sworn to safeguard them.
The thought of Cesare comforted her, and finally, when she closed her eyes and imagined her brother’s lips upon hers, she fell asleep.
When she awoke the following morning she still felt feverish, but refused to stay in bed, for she didn’t want to waste another day without seeing Pesaro and greeting the citizens she knew had been waiting to see her. The rain had cleared and now the sun was shining into her room, making it look warm and cozy. Some of the citizens had stayed through the night and were still standing in the square outside the castle; she could hear them singing through her open windows.
Giovanni had promised Lucrezia that there would be grand balls and parties to attend. She had to prepare. With Julia and Adriana and the ladies-in-waiting, she managed to choose a gown that was both simple and elegant, of pink satin with a bodice of fine Venetian lace. She wore a beaded headdress of gold and pearls, with her hair tied up at the sides, but left long and flowing in back. When she presented herself to Julia, she spun around joyfully. “Do I look like a duchess?”
Julia, her blue eyes shining, said, “Rather like a princess to me.”
Adriana agreed. “A perfect angel.”
Lucrezia walked out onto the balcony and waved to the crowd in the square. They clapped and cheered for her, and threw crowns woven of flowers. She bent and lifted one from the floor of the balcony and placed it on her head. And the crowd cheered even louder.
Then there was music in the city, with jugglers, jousters, and jesters running through the streets just as there had been in Rome, and again she was overcome with happiness at all the attention being paid to her. She had always wondered why her father and her brothers so enjoyed the marches through the city and the power of position, but now she felt she understood. Looking into the faces of all the men, women, and children gazing up at her, Lucrezia