Free Siege by Jack Hight Page B

Giustiniani palace. In the courtyard of the palazzo , the steward of the house greeted Longo with a mixture of joy and surprise.
    ‘Welcome home, Master Longo – praise God that you are alive! We had feared the worst after your long absence. Will you be staying the night? May I bring you food, wine?’
    ‘No, Jacomo, thank you,’ Longo said. ‘Bring me a horse, and two more for Tristo and William. We will be riding on to the villa immediately.’
    ‘To the villa!’ Jacomo’s eyebrows rose in alarm. ‘Shall I send a messenger ahead of you so that all will be ready when you arrive?’
    ‘That will not be necessary. I expect we will ride faster than any messenger.’ Jacomo wrung his hands. He was obviously anxious to warn the villa chamberlain, Nicolo, of Longo’s arrival. Longo wondered what Nicolo was up to. Making trouble as usual, no doubt.
    The villa lay just three miles outside the city, set in the foothillsoverlooking Genoa and surrounded by fields and vineyards. They reached Longo’s lands shortly after nightfall and tied their horses off in the vineyards behind the villa. The vines, to Longo’s satisfaction, had thrived while he was away, but they occupied only a small portion of his mind now. ‘Quiet,’ Longo warned Tristo and William. ‘Let us see what my good chamberlain Nicolo has been up to in my absence. Tristo, I give you leave to stay in your cottage tonight. I will see you on the morrow.’ Tristo moved away quietly towards his cottage, while Longo and William proceeded on foot towards the villa.
    The villa was well lit, and as they approached, Longo and William could hear laughter and music. They saw no one as they crept through the vineyard, save for one drunken reveller stumbling off into the vines to urinate and singing loudly:
Give me a girl to call my own,
Yes give me a girl I pray.
Give me a wench to ply my bone,
For which I’ll gladly pay!
    The villa was surrounded by a wall some six feet high. Longo mounted it and pulled William up after him. From there, they could see the run of the gardens: fountains, carefully tended paths, hedges and people everywhere. Longo’s servants were stumbling about the grounds, singing bawdy songs and entertaining a host of overly made-up, buxom women in garish clothes – many of them whores, no doubt. Here and there men were slinking off into the hedges, pulling women after them. The festivities extended to the villa proper, where Longo’s personal musicians had been recruited to provide music and were busy churning out local folk tunes on their viols, lutes and recorders.
    Longo and William dropped to the ground, and Longo led the way through the drunken revellers. At the steps of the villa, one of the musicians recognized Longo and, turning palest white, dropped his instrument and hurried off into the darkness. Oneby one, the other musicians also stopped playing, and as the music faded, all eyes turned to Longo. Gasps filled the silence. One of the more drunk men bent over and vomited. A portly man carrying a bottle of wine exited the villa singing and, upon seeing Longo, froze. ‘ Merda !’
    ‘Good-evening, Anselmo. I see you are having quite a celebration.’
    ‘Yes, My Lord,’ Anselmo mumbled. ‘It is Candlemas, My Lord. And, and …’ A flash of inspiration came into the drunken man’s eye. ‘And, we were drinking to your safe return!’
    ‘Of course. Where is Nicolo?’
    Anselmo swallowed hard. ‘I believe he’s in your bedroom, My Lord.’
    Longo nodded. ‘Anselmo, clean this mess up. William, stay here and keep an eye on him and the others. Don’t let them drink any more wine. Feel free to carve up any man who disobeys you.’ William drew his dagger and leered wickedly at Anselmo. Longo strode into the villa entrance hall, up the curving marble staircase and into his bedroom. He found Nicolo in bed, naked, with two equally naked, voluptuous young women feeding him grapes.
    ‘Who dares disturb me!’ Nicolo roared as he sat