Lucianna (10 page)

“Oh my, my mother would like you,” Lucianna said. “You are very fierce to deal with, Mistress Kira. I would have given him what he first asked and still considered it fair.”

“Believe me, he made a goodly profit on what we paid him,” Yedda assured Lucianna.

They spent the remainder of the morning shopping for the household items that Lucianna would need, finally returning home to the little house that was now hers. It was there Yedda Kira took her leave.

“I must go now to choose the servants you will need,” she said, not even going into the house with Lucianna. “Within a few hours you will be fully staffed.”

Lucianna thanked her for the morning and went into her house, where Balia was waiting for her.

“The furnishings have arrived,” she said. “I can only hope you did not pay too much for them. A new country, and new coinage, can be difficult.”

“Not when you have Yedda Kira with you,” Lucianna said. “My mother would fully approve of her. You should have seen how she bargained with the shopkeepers. It would have made a Florentine proud. And we will have the additional servants shortly. I have chosen fabric for the bed hangings and drapes.”

“You have been busy,” Balia approved, “but so have I. You will find your bedchamber just as it should be.”

“Where is Cleva?”

“In the kitchens with Alvina,” Balia said. “Would you like me to fetch them for you?”

“Nay, let’s go down to Alvina’s domain. It still seems to be the warmest room in the house,” Lucianna remarked.

They descended into the kitchens, where they found Alvina stirring a pot over the fireplace, and Cleva seated at the table. The younger girl jumped up, seeing her new mistress, and curtsied.

“I hear you have been busy this morning,” Lucianna began. “Mistress Kira has now returned to her home and will send us a few more staff by evening. Alvina, I have asked for a helper for you, and a helper for you as well, Cleva. Sam will have a boy to aid him too, and we will gain two litter bearers. I think we will be able to manage with those few, but if not, you will tell me.”

“Thank you, mistress,” Alvina said, speaking for herself and Cleva. “Cleva will prepare the sleeping places for the new women and men. The boy can sleep in the stables with Sam.”

“Excellent,” Lucianna replied. “Have Balia bring them to me when they come.” Then she turned and went back upstairs with Balia.

David Kira sent a message saying he would come on the morrow to take her to the shop they had rented for the Florentine silk merchants. Lucianna sent an answer back with his messenger saying that she would expect him at nine o’clock in the morning. The additions to her household staff arrived shortly thereafter. She spoke with each of them.

Bessie would help Alvina in her kitchens. She was an excellent baker, she told her new mistress. Alvina was very pleased to learn that.

Welsa would serve as Cleva’s underhousemaid. Dunn and Gerd, two boys no older than eleven, would work in the stables for Sam. Finally, there were the two sturdy brothers, Flynt and Ford, who would serve as Lucianna’s litter bearers. All were clean and polite. Once again, Yedda Kira had served her well.

The autumn afternoon slipped into evening. Lucianna ate a small meal and retired with Balia, who had spent some time in the kitchens so she might inspect these new servants. “The boys are boys,” she said. “The others, respectful and polite. They are all glad for work in a respectable household, my lady.”

“Good, then the household will run smoothly. When I was out this morning, I ordered liveries for the litter bearers. They are simple but will add a modicum of importance to my stature.” She climbed into her bed, made up with her own fresh linens, and snuggled down.

“Do you think we will see your earl now that we are in London?” Balia wondered aloud.

Lucianna laughed. “He isn’t
my
earl, Balia. I honestly hope we will see him, but perhaps he has taken a wife since his return. If he comes, I will welcome him, of course. Tomorrow I will go the the shop and see what must be done.”

“Will you bring the silks you brought with you?” Balia asked.

“Nay, not until I have determined what is necessary to display them properly. Whatever I do, it must be as perfect as I can make it to attract customers for the guild. If they decide I am not doing well, they could send someone else, and I would have to return to Florence.”

“You do not want to go home?” Balia was surprised.

“We have been here only briefly but, despite the rain, I like it. London is different from Florence. Its look is unfamiliar, its smells are not the same, but I want to know more of this England.”

Balia smiled. “You like it because you are more your own mistress here. You do not have your mother fussing at you to take another husband, or your father burdening you with the work that rightfully belongs to your brother Marco, or Marco whining about his adored Clarinda. Here, you are truly your own mistress.”

Lucianna sat up a moment on her elbow. “I am, aren’t I?” she said, smiling. “It is a little overwhelming, Balia, but I like it!”

Balia smiled back at the younger woman. “Go to sleep now, mistress. The morning will be here soon enough.” Then she made certain the hearth had sufficient wood to keep the fire going and went into her own little chamber.

In the morning, Lucianna arose, ate, and dressed. She knew her litter would be waiting at the door, for Balia had spoken to the bearers the previous evening. “Good morning,” she greeted the two brothers. “In a few days you will have your livery. Do you know where you are taking me?”

“Yes, mistress,” one of the brothers answered. “We were told by Master Kira before we came yesterday.”

“Then let us go,” Lucianna said, climbing in to sit down.

The two litter bearers carried her quickly and smoothly from the residential streets into the heart of the city.

Lucianna was fascinated to see the busy streets and shops they passed. They hurried through a market that actually did remind her of Florence, with its farmers selling vegetables, late-autumn fruits, meats, chicken, milk, and other items. She saw both men and women with trays of buns and other edibles, selling their wares as they went. And there were women shopping in the markets, some servants and some ordinary housewives, seeking items for that day’s dinner.

Finally, the litter was set down before a shop, and David Kira stood waiting for her. He helped her out, greeting her pleasantly. “I think you have brought some of your sunshine from Florence to us today,” he said.

Lucianna laughed at the compliment. “I hadn’t actually noticed; I was so busy staring at this wonderful city of yours.”

David Kira nodded. “It has a bit of magic about it, doesn’t it?” he said as he led her into the shop. “We will have a sign to hang above the door installed shortly.”

Lucianna nodded and gazed about the room. It was rectangular and had a long counter along one wall. “It is large enough,” she said. “I am concerned as to customers. How will they know I am here? I do not believe it wise to leave everything to chance, do you?”

“The merchants who purchase fine cloth have all been notified of your coming. I will be certain they know when you are ready to do business, madame.”

“The space is clean and bright,” Lucianna noted. “I will have the trunks with the silks brought here tomorrow. Then I will begin to see it arranged for display. This shop will be far different from what your merchants expect. There will be flowers to sweeten the air, and comfortable chairs for them to sit in while the fabric is brought to them for inspection. Have you found me a trustworthy man to work here with me? I shall have to teach him a great deal before he can be of any real help to me,” she said.

“Would you object to having one of my people working for you? I actually have a young relative who is very reliable. He learns quickly,” David Kira said.

“I see no reason not to employ him,” Lucianna said. “Have him here tomorrow morning, and I will begin to teach him as we unpack the trunks of material.”

“His name is Baram Kira,” David said. “Here are the keys to your shop, Mistress Pietro d’Angelo.” He handed them to her.

Suddenly the door to her shop opened. “Welcome to London, Lucianna.”

She recognized his voice immediately, and her face lit up in a smile. “Robert!” she said. “How on earth did you know I had arrived in London? Do you know my banker, David Kira?”

The earl held out his hand, much to David’s surprise. It was not often a nobleman would offer his hand. “Master Kira.”

“My lord.” Then David turned again to Lucianna. “You will send for me if you need anything else, madame?” He made a small, polite bow and departed the shop.

“Not a Medici?” The earl was intrigued.

“My father has not kept money with their bank in several years,” Lucianna said. “They had difficulties, and we found the Kiras more reliable,” she explained. “How did you know I was here?”

“It is already being bandied about the court that the representative for the Florentine silk merchants’ guild is a beautiful woman. The king’s people always know anyone of interest or importance who comes to London.”

“I would hardly consider myself either,” she replied. “I just came to see my establishment today and will now return home. My father bought me a small house on a pleasant street called Ivy Lane. The Kiras have seen I was supplied with an excellent staff of servants, and Mistress Kira and I have already purchased what I needed to furnish it. I was just planning to close up now, for I am not yet ready for business.”

“Will you object if I accompany you, Lucianna?”

“I am flattered,” she replied. Then, leading him from the shop, she locked the door carefully and climbed into her litter with his help, although Lucianna did not really need it. “I regret I have not room for another,” she told him.

“I have a horse,” he told her, and then he mounted the beast.

The bearers picked up her transport, and with the earl at her side, they hurried back through the streets to Ivy Lane. To her pleasure, one of the young stable boys hurried forth to take the earl’s animal as he dismounted and accompanied her into the house.

“How charming,” he said.

Balia came forward, smiling. “My lord,” she greeted him.

“Fetch the earl some wine,” Lucianna said. “Come into my little library, my lord. It is the coziest room in the house.”

He sat where she indicated, but he could not take his eyes from her. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, with her rich golden hair with its reddish highlights and her beautiful blue-green eyes.

“I have missed you,” he said.

“Yet you did not correspond with me,” she replied softly.

“There has been so much to do. I had my estates, which cannot be managed without me, so I am less in London than I would like. And when I am, my time is taken up by the king, who is yet young and must be careful from whence his guidance comes. I have no desire for power, and so I carefully blend myself into the background of the court that I not be noticed or considered a rival to any. I barely have time to eat or to sleep,” he explained.

“And yet you look well rested and healthy,” she murmured.

“And I still have my handsome head,” he responded with a grin.

“Ah, so you think you are handsome?” she said.

“Do you not think I am?” he countered.

“You will do, my lord,” Lucianna replied dryly.

Balia entered with the required wine and left quickly.

“Nonetheless, I thought of you every day,” he said to her. “Did you think of me, Lucianna?”

“Now and again, my lord, but I too was consumed by my other duties, and then my father’s guild decided in order to outdo the Milanese, I should come to England posthaste to represent them. There was the packing of my goods, the closing of my house, and the long trip to reach this rainy land.”

“It will be brighter in the other seasons, but late autumn and winter can be rainy,” he explained.

“And now I have to arrange for this shop to be properly fitted, and our silks displayed. I doubt I will have time for much else,” she said.

“But you will make time for me, Lucianna, won’t you?” His lips were smiling, but she saw an anxious look in his eyes that belied his confidence.

“If you will make time for me, my lord,” she answered.

“Will you not call me Roberto as you once did?” he asked her.

“When we are in private as we are now, Roberto, but never in public. To do so would be considered disrespectful, and I will not appear to be some mannerless wench before your people,” Lucianna said. “I am, after all, the granddaughter of a Venetian prince. I will not be disrespected for my calling and love for trade.”

He heard the pride in her voice. It was a side of her he had never before seen, and while surprised by it, he liked it. “You will not be disrespected by this court,” the earl told her. “The Tudors have a flimsy claim to the throne through the king’s mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, but they have firmly won the war now between the Lancasters and the Yorks. The most serious of their rivals have fled, are dead, or are in the Tower. Henry Tudor has wed Elizabeth of York, and already has a son, Prince Arthur. The queen is full with a second child, due to be born shortly. And Lady Margaret watches carefully from the sidelines for any threat to her son. I will see you meet both the queen and Lady Margaret. Become their friend, and your position will be strong within the court, if that is what you wish.”

“I shall be grateful for such friendships,” she told him.

“And you know you have my friendship, Lucianna, though I want more of you eventually than just friendship.”

“That is very bold, Roberto,” she answered him.

“I am a bold man,” he told her. Then he arose. “I must take my leave of you now,
cara
. May I visit you again soon?”

“Of course, Roberto,” Lucianna said pleasantly, when what she really wanted to say was
every day
. She stood. “Let me escort you down to the door.”

They walked together from her library to the front door. Once there, he took her hand and kissed it, first on the back, and then turning it over, kissed her wrist. Her knees grew weak, and it was all she could do to remain standing on her own.