Free The Palace by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

contradict him.
    "I'm interested," Giuseppe said eagerly, and rubbed his ribs where Lodovico's
elbow had poked him.
    "So am I." Carlo stepped forward. "I have a cousin who is a sailor. He told
me of London, and the English. I'd like to go there, if it is permitted."
    The foreign name was magic. Giuseppe grinned broadly. "I've heard that there
is a city in Poland where the women are as fair as lilies of gold."
    "Krakow will please you, I think," Ruggiero said with the ghost of a smile.
"You may not find the women to your taste, but you will like the city."
    "Wait!" Gasparo ordered. "This is not settled."
    Lodovico shrugged and gestured to the others. "How is it not settled?
Giuseppe will go into Poland, Carlo will go to London and I… I will go to Lisboa,
if it please you." Portugal was far enough away to avoid suspicion, but close
enough for him to make a speedy return to Fiorenza, should that prove worth his
while.
    With a sigh Gasparo raised his hands in resignation. "Very well, if you are
all content, what is it to me?" He looked steadily at Ruggiero. "I will expect
to hear regularly of these men. You will arrange that?"
    "Certainly. And you will be furnished with proof that the sums have been
paid, annually."
    "Va ben'. There is nothing more to say. What must be done to earn this money
and exile?" Gasparo gestured to the other builders. "We will not do anything
contrary to the laws of la Repubblica, the Church and our Arte."
    "I don't expect you to." Ruggiero nodded to the builders again. "You are all
men of some intelligence. Perhaps you have noticed that this palazzo is built
upon different lines than other buildings in Fiorenza?" He did not expect an
answer and got none other than nods. "There are several reasons for this, most
of which need not concern you. But there is one reason that is of paramount
importance. Behind the landing on the grand staircase there are two concealed
rooms. There is a third concealed room in the wall of the stable. These rooms
must be finished, and to my master's specifications."
    "What is the purpose of these rooms?" Gasparo demanded. "We will not be party
to crimes."
    "There is no crime," Ruggiero said in such a way that none of the builders
doubted him. "My master is an alchemist. He does not want to work publicly, as
much for the safety of those around him as for his privacy." He held open his
hands. "It is not that what he does is contrary to the laws, good artisans, it
is that there is danger in the work."
    Lodovico's eyes brightened. He knew now that he could turn this knowledge to
good use, either as a way to force more money from Ragoczy or as reward from a
grateful city for revealing an unknown hazard to them. "What do we have to do?"
he asked more eagerly than he had intended. "When do we begin?"
    "Tomorrow," Ruggiero said shortly. "But there is something you must do
first."
    "What?" Gasparo was suspicious again.
    "You must swear a Holy Oath never to reveal what you do here. On your souls
you must swear, as you hope for Paradise." He clapped his hands sharply and in a
few moments Joacim Branco appeared, his long robe flapping around his legs like
broken wings.
    "Do you have the document?" Ruggiero asked.
    "I have it." The Portuguese alchemist held up an inscribed sheet of
parchment. "It is ready."
    Ruggiero looked at the builders. There was a steadiness in his manner that
took away the doubts they might have felt. "Which of you can read?" he asked in
the same tone he would have asked for a table to be moved, or a branch of
candles lit.
    There was an awkward moment in spite of this, and at last Gasparo said, "I
do, a little. But I have no Latin."
    "This is in your own tongue," Ruggiero said, and took the document from
Joacim Branco. "I will read it aloud, and you, Gasparo, will read with me, so
that there can be no deception. My master orders it be done this way."
    The agreement was long, but its language was simple, and at the end, the