Free Bianca by Bertrice Small

face.”
    “I would not know that, my lord,” Bianca admitted. “I have lived a most sheltered life until yesterday. My husband says I will be well cloistered for my own safety, for the city can be a rough place.”
    “I cannot blame Rovere for keeping you close,
cara
. He is right. Florence is a beautiful but dangerous city, but I suspect the world will come to you.” Reaching out, he fingered her necklace. “I collect rare and beautiful things,
cara
. Your necklace is quite spectacular. A gift?”
    “A wedding gift from my husband,” Bianca admitted.
    “The stones match your eyes perfectly. It is amazing that he was able to find such perfect gems,” the Medici said. “I might have had them cut a bit more delicately, but it is a striking piece, and you wear it well.”
    “It is vulgar,” Bianca heard herself say.
    Lorenzo di Medici laughed. “It is, indeed, but you must never tell him that. I am certain he went to great difficulty to find the stones,
cara
.”
    After their guests had left, her husband came to her apartment to tell Bianca how pleased he had been with the excellent impression she had made on his guests, particularly the Medici. “They are envied, but they will always hold the power in this city as long as they wish to, wife. Remember it. Having the friendship of the Medici is no small thing.”
    “I am glad to have pleased you, Sebastiano,” Bianca told him.
    “You will come to my bedchamber in an hour,” he said, and then left her.
    “
Madre di Dios!
I had hoped to be spared tonight,” Bianca said when he had left.
    “You were with him almost all of your wedding night,” Agata noted. “Did you not enjoy his passion?”
    “He is a monster,” Bianca replied. “Do you think my mother will come tomorrow? I very much need to speak with her.”
    “Perhaps,” Agata said, and she gave her mistress a small goblet of wine to calm her nerves. Taking a man for the first time was always difficult and especially for a girl who had been as sheltered as the Pietro d’Angelo daughters. In time, Bianca would get used to her husband’s attentions. She might even come to enjoy them. Many women did.
    When the hour struck, she escorted her mistress to her husband’s apartment, where Guido awaited to take his new mistress to the bedchamber.
    Entering, Bianca was shocked to see a naked woman in her husband’s bed. Was this his mistress? She turned to leave, but his sharp voice stopped her.
    “Remove your robe, and come here to me,” he said. He was standing naked by the blazing fireplace.
    Bianca shrugged the garment off and walked over to him. “Who is that woman, Sebastiano?” she asked him.
    “Her name is Nudara, and she is my slave,” he said.
    “I did not know you kept slaves in this house, Sebastiano. My family does not keep slaves. It is a cruel practice,” Bianca responded.
    “Slaves are a necessary part of my household,” he answered her. “It is not your duty to criticize how I manage it. Nudara pleases me well.”
    “I had been told that you keep a mistress, Sabina Cadenza. Have you disposed of her for this slave girl?” Bianca inquired, unable to keep the scorn from her voice.
    He heard it, and slapped her lightly on her cheek. “Be careful,
cara mia
,” he warned her. “I would hardly dispose of a woman who brings me public prestige among my peers. I have married you to burnish my reputation even further, but my appetites are large and varied. They must be serviced in private. Those appetites are in Nudara’s keeping. She is most diligent in her duties,” he said with a chuckle. “Now get into bed with her, Bianca. I will bring us all some wine and join you.”
    “She wants to disobey you, my lord,” Nudara said in her smoky voice. “Do you not want to come and lie with me, pretty mistress? I will make you as happy as I do my master. We only need to learn what pleases you.” Her tone was sweet, but Bianca heard the poison beneath the dulcet murmur.
    Before Bianca