In The Lion's Sign. Stefano Vignaroli

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СКАЧАТЬ of listening, looking at the young lady of subtext, with cunning eyes.

      Lucia blushed slightly, feeling so observed by a high prelate. She tried to conceal the embarrassment, detaching her gaze from the Cardinal’s eyes and staring at the cheerful flames of the large fireplace.

      «For a few days I will stay away from Jesi, and therefore I will not be able to follow, as I did all winter, the government and administration of the city. Therefore, in my absence, I put these functions, which you have entrusted to me with such confidence, back into your hands. Clearly, until my return.»

      «Well, I have no problem with that, even though I am more experienced in governing souls, rather than material and earthly matters. But, gracefully, tell me where you wish to go, and for how long you will be absent. Are you not going to join your beloved in the Netherlands, risking your own life?»

      «No, don’t worry. My intention is to stay away only a few days. I’ll go to the Apennines and reach the abbey of St. Urbano. I have a mission to accomplish on behalf of Bernardino, the printer. I have to deliver to the Benedictine monks, brothers dear to you, a copy of the Divine Comedy made by my dear friend the printer and enriched with illustrations drawn by the hand of the monks themselves. I will take the opportunity to gather a few days in meditation and prayer and do penance. After the long winter that has passed, I need it.»

      «Well, my dear little countess. I don’t want to hinder in any way this will of yours. But allow me to have you accompanied by some men of my confidence. They will be your escort, and I will feel more at ease.»

      Lucia, who had no intention of being controlled day and night by the Cardinal’s thugs, pretended to think a little bit about it, then took up her word again.

      «I thank you, Your Eminence», and Lucia lowered herself a little to take back the Cardinal’s hand and kiss the ring to say goodbye. «I have already given orders to four of my men to prepare the horses and provisions. I am already well escorted. Don’t worry about me.»

      Of course, the next morning at an early hour, even before dawn, Lucia gave instructions to the girls’ housekeepers, woke up the stable boy, saddled Morocco, and galloped off, without any escort or provisions.

      She arrived at the abbey of St. Urbano which was late afternoon. The air was sparkling. Although the sun was shining, the mountains around were still snowy. Going up from Esinante towards the abbey, Lucia had stopped in a wide clearing dotted with colourful flowers. The characteristic of these flowers, called Crocus, was to sprout in mountain meadows immediately after the snow had melted. The stigmas of the Crocus were much sought after by housewives and healers. The first ones, from the cultivated seedlings that blossomed in autumn, obtained saffron, an excellent reddish yellow spice to be used to make tasty dishes. The healers used instead the medicinal properties of wild flowers, which in nature blossomed in spring. The stigmas of the latter had to be dried as soon as they were picked and then stored in well closed glass jars. Crocus, in addition to having digestive, sedative and tranquilizing properties, could in fact be toxic, especially if taken in high doses or if the stigmas had not been dried properly, according to the rules handed down from mother to daughter. Therefore, once satisfied with the harvest, Lucia was quick to jump back on her steed to reach the abbey. Among other things, she would have asked the Prior, Father Gerolamo, to use the drying room, which no doubt was provided by the convent’s pharmacy. But when she arrived on the spot, the first thing that caught her eye, and that made everything else take second place, was Father Ignazio Amici’s cart, abandoned in the grassy square. Of course, it was covered with a beautiful layer of dust, which shows it had been there for quite a while. But the fact that Father Ignazio could arrive there from one moment to the next put a lot of anxiety on her.

      The Prior, in all probability, had noticed the hesitant lady in the abbey square from the window of his cell. And so he had gone out to help her get off her horse and to welcome her.

      «My Lady, I am truly honoured by your presence. But, tell me, how is it that you have come so far, in this still harsh season, and moreover alone, without any escort? Isn’t it unwise for a noblewoman to go around as you do?»

      «Well, now that I see that cart, some fear is also beginning to come over me.»

      «Don't worry», Father Gerolamo smiled. «If you are referring to Father Ignazio Amici, I believe we’ll no longer have to deal with him and his inquisitorial manias. A year and a half ago, after staging that farce of a trial up on the Colle dell’Aggiogo, he disappeared and no one knew anything about him anymore. But I assure you he certainly doesn’t roam these woods like a wolf. Someone would have sighted him sooner or later. I myself have made some inspections and found irrefutable convincing me our brother Ignazio, on the very day of the vile executions, has put his feet in foul, falling inside a sulphurous resurgence. Satan has called him back to himself, he has fallen straight to hell!»

      «Well, although I never wish death to anyone, not even to my most bitter adversary, this news comforts me. But let’s come to the reasons for my visit.»

      «Sure, but not here, my Lady. It’s starting to get cold. Come with me, let’s go to the library. We’ll converse in front of a nice lit fireplace.»

      The library itself was a warm and comfortable environment. The walls were almost completely covered with shelves filled with books. Each section was marked with a letter of the alphabet, indicating the initial of the title of the texts stored there. Some friars worked in absolute silence, sitting at some desks, arranged in the centre of the room. A large fireplace spread light and warmth throughout the large living room. At a nod of the Prior, the amanuensis rested their instruments in good order and took their leave, one after the other. In short, Lucia remained alone with Father Gerolamo. First she gave him the precious tome entrusted to her by Bernardino. The Prior appreciated it, first sniffing it, to smell the printed paper, then flipping through some pages, finally dwelling on some of the illustrations.

      «An excellent job!», he said, heading towards the section of the library marked with the letter D. «Thank your friend the printer. Few in the world know how to work as he does.»

      «It is he who thanks you. Without your work, his work would have had much less value. And that is why he wanted you to have the first printed copy.»

      «I am delighted, and my confreres will be too. But come to us. Soon darkness will fall, and I imagine that you will need hospitality. We have no nuns here in St. Urbano, so I will have to have a room prepared for you for the night in the guesthouse. I hope you are not afraid to be alone.»

      «Don’t worry, I’m very tired and I’ll sleep like a log. And then it’s just one night. Tomorrow morning at dawn I will leave again. I’ll pay a courtesy visit to Mayor Germano degli Ottoni and I’ll return to Jesi before tomorrow evening. But I would like to ask you a couple more things. First of all I would like to pray, and then I would ask you to participate in the Vespers prayer together with your confreres.»

      «And for that there is no problem. We recite the evening prayer in the church and there is always some faithful to attend. Take your place in the nave and turn to the Lord as you see fit. There are also confessors if you want to take advantage. Do you have any other request, my Lady?»

      «Yes, if I may. The last favour I would like to ask you is to have the stigmas of the Crocus that I collected this morning dried for me. You know very well they must be dried as soon as possible, to take advantage of their medicinal properties.»

      «Unfortunately, I cannot satisfy you in this. The brother who treated the pharmacy was very old and passed away just a few months ago. We have not yet had the opportunity to replace him, so there is no one who is able to use the equipment that belonged to him.»

      Lucia СКАЧАТЬ