The Spring of the Ram - Dorothy Dunnett [28]
“Genoa!” Godscalc exclaimed.
Nicholas stood completely still, thinking. Then, aloud, he said what he thought. “It isn’t so serious. We knew we’d have resentment to fight, and from the Genoese more than from Venice. Once in Trebizond, the common danger will draw us together. Till then, we shall have to be careful, that’s all.” He said to Godscalc, “You knew? Or suspected?”
“Suspected,” the chaplain said. “Doria and I met at Pisa, perhaps not quite by accident. There was no word of a voyage to Trebizond. Afterwards, I made some enquiries. Fra Ludovico, I fear you’ve been used. It alters things. It might suggest to monsignore that the Charetty company could be trusted at least for so long as it would take to send to Cardinal Bessarion, wherever he is, and obtain his judgement on the matter of Master Julius?”
The Minorite made to speak. The old man held up his hand. “No,” he said. “The decision is mine.”
Nicholas waited, looking round at the silent gathering; wondering at the power of one clever man. At length, Cosimo de’ Medici shifted in his chair. He said, “My conclusion is this. The Charetty company shall represent Florence, and papers will be drawn up to that effect. Messages will also be sent to my lord the Cardinal of Nicaea. In the event of an unfavourable reply, Florence will withdraw her support of the Charetty company. The Emperor will be informed. Florentine merchants will be told that they no longer need honour their contracts. If you have already departed, you may well arrive in Trebizond to find that you cannot recoup on your voyage. The risk is yours. Are you willing to incur it?”
“Yes, my lord,” Nicholas said.
The old man held his eyes, it seemed to him, for a long time. Then he turned. “Fra Ludovico, what do you say?”
The monk’s ruddy colour had cooled. “There are good Christians as well as bad in Genoa, my lord,” he said. “I hope to learn what news the Cardinal sends. I bow, of course, to your lordship’s judgement. But I would not lend gold, or send valuable cargo. You and your colleagues would lose it.”
Nicholas spoke quickly. “We don’t ask for gold; merely a ship on deferred purchase terms. Sequester the ship if you don’t get the money. Call on my company if you can’t obtain either.”
“And the cargo?” said Cosimo de’ Medici. “The good friar has a point.”
Nicholas said, “I, not the merchant, would pay the insurance costs. I should expect him to refund it when satisfied.”
Julius said, “Nicholas. It isn’t fair. Our budget won’t stand that.” He had turned from pale to patchily livid.
The lord Cosimo said, “Indeed, that seems a little extreme. We are not talking of a group of blackguards, Father Ludovico; only of a past misdemeanour of one, now exposed to his masters.” He turned to Nicholas. “I will guarantee the insurance. I require you to sign the papers as well as your notary. That will satisfy me. I trust Fra Ludovico is equally satisfied.”
“Thank you, my lord,” Nicholas said. He looked at the friar. And after a moment the friar, too, bent his neck. He did not look submissive. But he had agreed.
“And now,” said a voice.
A little slowly, Nicholas turned. The well-upholstered figure of Giovanni de’ Medici stood before him. Giovanni de’ Medici said, “I have business with you.” He opened his palm. “Cosimino has rent the ears of his nurse and his mother because this thing has become tangled. This toy. This thing that walks. Who can restore it?”
Nicholas wrinkled his brow. “I suppose I can,” he said. “But in return, of course, for certain business concessions.”
Together, he and the lord Cosimo’s son bent their heads over the toy, while Julius got out his penner and crossed to speak to the secretary. His hand was visibly shaking. Whereas Nicholas, fully himself, turned the farmuk in hands that were large and firm and warm as a mason’s. The trial was over; and the lists cleared for the battle.
Chapter 5
OUTSIDE THE PALAZZO MEDICI unlikely things started to happen as soon as the Charetty company emerged into the