Free The Royal Succession by Maurice Druon Page B

And Marie found herself alone with the fat banker with the dark complexion, the fleshy mouth and the closed eye, who, strange as it might seem, was her uncle.
    The two horses left .the courtyard and the roaring of the broken-winded nag could be heard growing fainter; it was the last sound of Cressay moving out of Marie's ken.,
    'And now, - let us eat, my child. And while we dine, we don't weep,' said Tolomei.
    He helped the girl take off the cloak which was suffocating her;
    Marie looked surprised' and grateful, for it was the first mark of attention, or even of simple courtesy, she had been shown for many weeks.
    'Ah, some of my cloth,' thought Tolomei when he saw the dress she was wearing.
    The Lombard was an Oriental spice merchant, as well as a banker; the stews into which he elegantly plunged his fingers, the little pieces of meat he removed so delicately from the bone, were impregnated with exotic, appetizing flavours. But Marie showed little appetite and barely helped herself to the dishes of the first course.
    `He's at Lyons,' said Tolomei, raising his left eyelid. `He cannot leave there for the moment, but he is thinking of you all the time and is completely faithful to you.'
    `He's not in prison?' asked Marie.
    'No, not exactly. He's shut up, but it has nothing to do with you, and he is sharing his captivity with such important people that we have no cause to fear for his safety; everything inclines me to believe that he will come out of the church, where he now is, more important than when he entered it.'
    `The church?' asked Marie.
    `I cannot tell you more.'
    Marie did not press him. The idea of Guccio being shut up in a church with people who were so important that their names could not be mentioned was a mystery that was quite beyond her. But there had already been in Guccio's life many mysterious circumstances, indeed they were part of the admiration she felt for him. The first time she had seen him, had he not just returned from England on Queen Isabella's service? Had he not since then been twice long absent so as to travel to Naples in the service of Queen Clemence, who had given him the relic of Saint John the Baptist she wore about her neck? `I shall call our child Jean or Jeanne and people will think it's because of my elder brother.' If Guccio were shut up at the present moment, it must again be in the service of some queen. Marie was astonished that, mingling with so many powerful princesses, he should continue to prefer herself, a poor country girl. Guccio was alive, Guccio loved her; no more was needed to restore her pleasure in life, and she began to eat with all the appetite of a girl of eighteen who had been travelling since dawn.
    Tolomei, who knew how to talk easily to the mightiest barons, to peers of the realm, to jurists and archbishops, had for long been unaccustomed to conversing with women, particularly one so young. They did not say much to each other. The banker gazed with delight on this niece who had fallen to him from the sky and who pleased him mor e each moment.
    `What a pity,' he thought, `to place her in a convent! If Guccio had not shut himself up in the Conclave, I would send this pretty child to Lyons; but what would she do all alone there and without protection? And, by the look of things, the cardinals, as far as one can see, show no signs of yielding. Or should I keep her here to await my nephew's return? That's what I should like to do. But no, I can't; I asked Bouville to do something for her; what sort of figure would I cut if I took no account of the trouble he has taken? And, moreover, if the Abbess is a cousin of the Cressays, and the fools should take it into their heads to ask her for news? No, we must not lose our head too. She will go to the convent ... . but not for all your life,' he said, continuing aloud. 'There's no question of making you take the veil. You must accept these months of seclusion without too much complaint; I promise you that, when your child is