The Ringed Castle - Dorothy Dunnett [243]
‘And by the French,’ Philippa said.
‘Yes. Well, de Guise is supposed to have a remote claim on Naples through Renée of Lorraine. Hence the secret treaty between France and the Pope to recover Naples, and the Pope’s fury when the Constable pushed through the truce two months later. So our old man goes to work, and five months after that, manages a new secret treaty between himself and France—here it is. The Pope to create a new batch of French Cardinals, just in case. Each side to provide twelve thousand foot, five hundred men at arms and five hundred light horse. The crown of Naples to go to King Henri’s younger son, and land to the Papal Territory and the three nephews’ estates. Also, the French King is to invite the Sultan Suleiman to attack Calabria …
‘How the Pope adores Charles. That schismatic and heretical Emperor.… We will deprive him of the Empire, of his realms and of his existence as a human being and a Christian … that devilish soul of Charles, in that filthy body … the most vile and abject nation in the world … gnawing the vitals and drinking the blood of the poor … diabolical, soulless, thirsty for the blood of Christians … born to destroy the world.… If the enemy crosses my frontier by so much as the distance of this toothpick, a sentence so tremendous it will darken the sun.… And a bit in Italian, which is just as well. What sentence? Perpetual residence in Naples?’
‘I understand Italian,’ Philippa said. ‘The threat, if you read on, is to release the Emperor’s subjects from their oath of allegiance, and confer the kingdoms on those who shall obtain them. And the justice of God, he says, will cause even the Turk to come and inherit them.’
‘I see,’ Lymond said. ‘We love the King of France and will make use of him, as we would even of the Turk, for the need of the See Apostolic. But the King of France doesn’t want to fight, yet. The Duke of Alva crosses into Papal territory on some small excuse, and Strozzi and all the French ministers are hanging on to the pontiff’s coat tails to persuade him not to give Philip cause to start a full-scale war. For now Charles has abdicated and King Philip is running the Empire—I see his character has not escaped blessing, either.’
‘Little beast, begotten of that diabolical father?’ Philippa said.
‘You do know Italian. An inexperienced youth, having by the grace of God become master of so many kingdoms, his first exploit is to take up arms against the See Apostolic to give proof of himself.… That accursed silly boy; would to God he had never been born, nor yet that iniquitous father of his: rebels to God; a treacherous race, without faith.… Rely upon it, the powder is prepared and the guns shotted and that if ignited, everything will be consumed in all directions. A fair estimate. And note of a letter from Queen Mary of England to her husband King Philip, congratulating him on the Duke of Alva’s success, and suggesting that since all is going well, he should come back to England.… Oh God, the asinine woman,’ Lymond said.
Philippa Somerville was silent.
‘But she pays you. The point is taken. Ah, here is Venice. We love the Seignory, both as Pope and as man. Offered half Naples to intervene on the Pope’s side, the Seignory declines, and hopes that matters will adjust without their help—Ayes 100. The Pope is angry: Tomorrow or the next day we shall depart this life and you will remain, and in the ruins will remember this poor old man, and lament not having chosen in time to provide against our downfall.…’
‘His Serenity the Doge,’ Philippa said, ‘has accommodated His Holiness with three tons of coarse cannon powder. You have reached the bit about Courtenay?’
‘Through the thumb-marks and liquor stains, barely,’ said Lymond. ‘Perhaps I failed to mention——’
‘That you don’t like your correspondence