Chiara – Revenge and Triumph (63 page)

It was on the fourth day when Lady Teresa requested that Chiara accompany her to her apartment after the midday meal. She did not have to wait long for her curiosity to be satisfied.

"Chiara — I may call you Chiara," began the old lady and Chiara replied: "Lady Teresa, I would be honored."

"Well Chiara, I now have had ample opportunity to observe your young charge, Signorina Veronica, and I find her a delightful young woman. You have done marvelously with her. There is none of the silliness or haughtiness that beautiful young woman often display. On the contrary, she is respectful and modest, but when one engages her in conversation her intelligence and remarkable education, so rare in a girl, clearly come to the fore."

"Yes, I have been fortunate to have her as my sister. Like Jacomo, she is eager to learn and so quick. After less than a year, she is already reasonably fluent in Latin and reads it aloud like few do."

"I noticed that she masters it better than Luigi. But to come back to the purpose of having asked you to my apartment, I think it would put the final touches on her education and courtly manners if she spent an extended period as the attendant of a Lady at court, as is the custom for young girls and young women of high standing, as you did with Contessa d’Appiano."

Is she going to offer that one of Lord Baglione’s retainers take her? Or even Lady Amelia? I wouldn’t let her be exposed to that woman’s inevitable jealousy,
went through Chiara’s mind, but her face betrayed none of these thoughts. "I must admit, Lady Teresa, to my shame, that I was remissly in this respect —"

"Chiara, I do not blame you. You did a remarkable job, and with the plague and your own … let me say ‘quest for justice’, it was understandable. But these are now behind you and you should think about Veronica’s future. In fact, I have a proposal that I hope you will look upon favorably. I would be willing to have her as one of my personal attendants… You seem surprised."

"I am, Lady Teresa, I truly am. I would not have dared to hope that you would bestow such honor on me by training her yourself."

"Chiara, I may as well be frank with you, since you will already have figured out that I am the winner in this bargain. A girl like Veronica is so rare that I could not pass her up. With my eyesight not being what it was, I will again have somebody who can read properly to me and, what’s more, with whom I can have intelligent discussions about what we read. And besides, it would make Luigi happy. I make it no secret. If I approve of her, I will do my best to convince my son to let Luigi marry her. You said that she has a sizeable dowry, didn’t you?"

Chiara responded with a smile. "Yes, I will guarantee twelve hundred florins in gold."

"That is very generous. So you agree that she joins me."

"Lady Teresa, I will talk to Veronica and impress upon her the honor that you bestow on both of us, that you offer her a unique opportunity, but she will have to make her own decision."

"I should have known that this would be your answer. It is entirely true to your character, and if this is how you trained the girl, it will be an even greater privilege to have her with me."

Veronica’s face showed that she was torn between her need to be with Chiara and her desire to be near her brother and Luigi.

"I don’t want to leave you. Please, Chiara, I want to be with you and Alda and Pepe. You are my family, and I’m frightened by the very thought of being the attendant of a noble lady. I’m just the daughter of poor tenants. I’m a nobody."

"First, you’re not a nobody. You’re a highly intelligent person, possibly more intelligent than Lady Teresa, just less experienced and still lacking her wisdom, but I’m confident that you’ll gain that in time too. Second, we’re still your family, even if you’re not with us. Anyway, sooner or later you’ll get married and will live away from us. And third, you won’t be alone. You’ll have Jacomo. Just think that you’ll be able to look after him. And then, there is Luigi." The girl blushed. "It’s obvious that you love him. It’s also obvious that he loves you. And this is your chance. If you can show that you’re up to be a courtly lady, there will be no obstacle to a marriage between you. He’s not a first born, so the parents aren’t looking for a prestigious marriage. Look, many noble houses don’t even contemplate marriage for their second or third born sons a serious prospect, because they don’t want to split up their patrimony. So, if a girl with a good dowry comes along and their parents are willing to let her marry such a penniless son, they’re usually agreeable to the marriage."

"But I only have a small dowry."

"You have over six hundred florins of your own right now, and I’m willing to double that. Twelve hundred florins is a dowry that even the Baglione would consider acceptable. Furthermore, remember that you’re now Veronica da Narni. You carry a name to be proud of. And you’re always welcome to come back to us if you feel that you can’t stay."

Veronica broke into tears.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because you’re always so good to me. I —"

"You’re my sister. I love you and I will sorely miss you, but this is one of those times where you have to take control of your life. Being the attendant to Lady Teresa will bestow much honor on you and will bring you closer to Luigi."

"You think I should?"

"Yes, that’s my advice, but, Veronica, you must decide for yourself. I can’t, neither would I, make that decision for you." Chiara held out her arms. "Come, little sister, let’s hold each other. Think about it and let me know by tomorrow."

* * * 

Three days later, Chiara left Perugia — alone. Veronica had agreed to become Lady Teresa’s attendant. Jacomo admitted that he was glad to have his sister near, and he promised Chiara to look after her and to immediately let her know if things did not work out. She would come and get her without delay. She also impressed on him to include her in his life, maybe even share with her some of what he learned and that she might in fact be able to help both him and Luigi in their studies. Veronica was to keep the horse she had ridden.

Veronica took up her duties immediately, and Chiara had the opportunity to observe her. When she took her leave from Lady Teresa on the eve of her departure, the old matron told her how delighted she was. She had even discovered that Veronica gave a wonderful shoulder massage. The girl had offered it to her the first evening.

On the eve of her departure, Chiara had another long talk to Veronica, boosting her confidence and making her aware that Lord Baglione flirted with most pretty women and that this invariably attracted Lady Amelia’s anger on them, rather than on him.

Chiara started out alone, as dawn was breaking, taking Luigi’s hired horse along. While keeping a constant vigil for anything that could mean danger, she pondered on how to go about her new quest to gain back Elba. As a first line of attack, she would try to use the law of contracts. Since Casa Baglione had not even tried to deny her claim of rape, maybe she could contest the validity of the contract her father had been forced to sign. It clearly had been obtained under false pretenses. Maybe, she should approach Professor Barbarigo and ask him to represent her. She figured that, since Elba was under the dominion of Piombino and, furthermore, Niccolo had sworn allegiance to Count d’Appiano, any challenge would have to be lodged with the latter. Her first step should be to write to Professor Barbarigo and set out her case in full detail.

Changing mounts regularly, she reached Castello Gianbucca without any difficulties by late evening.

"Where is Veronica?" was Alda’s alarmed greeting. "What happened?"

"
Salve, mamina, salve
Pepe," she replied, letting go of the horses’ leads, embracing first Alda and then Pepe. "Yes, you could say that something happened to her, but it’s nothing bad."

She explained.

"That must have come as a shock to the poor girl, because deep down, and in spite of all your efforts, she still thinks of herself as a peasant orphan," mused Alda. "I’ll miss her, but I’m also happy for her. She’s very close to Jacomo and would have pined for him… The house will feel empty with both of them gone."

"Yes, but she’s so clever; I’m sure she’ll do well," said Pepe. "I guess I should look after the horses. I can see that you have ridden them hard."

"Yes, Pepe, thank you. I’m beat and was counting on you."

She put an arm over Alda’s shoulder, and they walked into the large ground floor kitchen.

"Any food left, Alda? I’m starving."

"I’ll reheat the minestrone we had for dinner." She quickly went into the cool pantry at the back of the kitchen and returned with a good size chicken leg, a round of cheese, and half a bread. "Here, start with this."

While Chiara ate, they talked about Veronica, assuring each other that she will be fine. Pepe joined them and also had another bowl of soup.

After the meal, they sat around a fire in the parlor. Chiara told about the trip and the time in Perugia. Then she asked: "Have you heard from Gianbucca about the house yet?"

"Yes, we wanted to tell you," replied Pepe and Alda added: "He wants two hundred florins, quite a sum."

"It is a good solid house," exclaimed Pepe.

"True," acquiesced Chiara, "it probably would be worth that much if it were in Siena, maybe even in Monte Pulciano, but not out here in the contado, almost a league from the nearest little town."

"But quite a bit of land comes with it."

"Yes, and it has been neglected for decades. All these acres of scrub on the slope behind the house and the forest dense with undergrowth. Even the fields have not been plowed for years. I suggest we offer him 120. That’s a reasonable price. Look, with so many plots unused and likely to remain so for years to come, he won’t get much more than that. I’ll make him aware that if he has that money in the hand, he can make it work, whereas if we move out, he may get no return and the house will even lose value if it’s empty and neglected."

Pepe scratched his head, frowning. "I don’t know. I don’t really understand all that."

"Pepino, just trust her. She knows what she’s doing," interjected Alda, chuckling. "But Chiara, we want to pay for it."

"Let’s go halves, then you don’t have to break your deposit with Casa Medici and still have enough to buy some tools to work the land and sheep and goats."

"How do you know how much we have?"

"Oh, that takes just a bit of adding up. Are you willing to go halves?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding and so did Pepe. "It will be strange to suddenly be land owners."

"Quite a change from our previous life, Alda," mused Pepe and she hugged him, kissing his cheek.

The following day, all three rode to Monte Pulciano, Alda on the donkey. After returning the horse and buying a strong animal for Pepe, they looked up Alfonso Gianbucca. The three had more than enough cash left to cover the proposed purchase price without having to withdraw any from the agent of Casa Albizzi, the Florence merchant bankers where all three had invested some of their earnings.

Gianbucca protested vigorously that 120 was well below the value of the land alone. She let her charm work on him, arguing the poor state of the property, the even worse prospects of finding another buyer, and the real benefits of putting the cash to profitable use right away, and made a pretty convincing case. Seeing the open purse containing 120 shiny gold coins, his eyes lit up. He made a counteroffer and they finally settled on 125 florins. Early afternoon, they took Gianbucca to the Palazzo Pubblico where they recorded the change of ownership and the vintner counted and recounted the gold coins in the purse Chiara handed to him.

Back at Gianbucca’s house, they celebrated the transaction with a cup of wine. Chiara liked the drink and ended up buying a small wooden cask. It was loaded on the donkey, and Alda rode behind Chiara. By nightfall they were back in Castello Gianbucca, their own home now.

25

Castello Gianbucca, October 1350

With both Jacomo and Veronica in Perugia to begin a new chapter in their turbulent life, and Alda, Pepe, and I the proud owners of Castello Gianbucca — we even liked its name and had no plans to change it — the time had come again to take up my fight for my inheritance. What drove me to renew that quest was a sense of duty toward my father’s former tenants, treated harshly and exploited cruelly by Niccolo and his men. But I would not fight. I would try all other means first, and the first was to launch a challenge that the document my father had signed, handing Elba over to Casa Sanguanero, was obtained under false pretenses and therefore not valid in law. I knew that Roman law did not recognize this line of argumentation, but I would try, and the best person to represent me on this quest was Professore Barbarigo, the eminent law scholar whose lectures I had attended for several months during our first stay in Siena, almost two years earlier.

However, before starting out, I needed to confess to Alda and Pepe. I knew Alda would be very unhappy, that she would again fear for my life, that I was going to spoil her joy of finally being able to settle down to a quiet life. But what else could I do? Did I not owe it to my name of da Narni to assume responsibility toward my father’s tenants who were being squeezed and bludgeoned by Niccolo and his band of pirates?

It was important for me that Alda and Pepe understood why I had to do this, if only for my own self-esteem. We had a long and frank talk about it and, in the end, Alda reluctantly gave me her blessing.

Next, I set out in minute detail my case to Professore Barbarigo, carefully written in perfect Latin. I confessed that I had attended his lectures, disguised as a novice and asked for his indulgence. The letter ended with a plea that he submit my case to Count d’Appiano to be argued in a court of law. To my surprise, I received his reply within four days. He must have answered my letter the very instant he received it, since the courier service from Monte Pulciano to Siena takes two days in each direction, and the response was what I had hoped for. He was not only willing, but keen to represent me and argue my case, and hopefully set a precedent. To prepare it, he requested that I come to Siena, and bring my father’s copy of the document I was contesting.