Free The Bloodletter's Daughter by Linda Lafferty Page A

displayed a belligerent choler that endangered all near to him.
    At least King Rudolf was more eccentric than macabre and his tempers were short-lived, blessed be, thought his minister. It could be worse. His ancestor, Juana La Loca, had kept the dead body of her consort with her for years, caressing and sleeping with the decomposing corpse. Certainly it was best not to have a rotting corpse at court and a queen who made love to it, especially with the Turkish sultan Suleiman waging war and demanding tribute in the southern regions. Still, the nagging problem of the bastard son had to be addressed.
    “Last night, my lord, Don Julius attacked his own servant with a knife and thrust the blade through the man’s hand. He has been detained by the authorities and rests in a guarded room in the courthouse.”
    The king’s face contorted, but he said nothing. Rumpf waited silently, hoping the king would gain control of his temper before he spoke.
    Then Rudolf exclaimed, “Damn that bastard! Damn him and his brothers and sisters, all six bloody bastards! Well, set him free at once, by my order.”
    Rumpf lowered his voice. He was nearly whispering. “This act was the culmination of a night of debauchery, Your Majesty. Don Julius is reported to have taken two whores into the streets and performed his sordid business in front of a crowd of drunken louts, who cheered him on. His servant tried to pry him from the thighs of the prostitutes and throw clothes on his naked back. The man received this unmerited assault as thanks from your son. He nearly bled to death, but a barber-surgeon in the crowd rushed to stanch the bleeding.”
    The king said nothing. He remembered the one afternoon years ago when he had struck his son, the day he had found him trying to decipher the Coded Book of Wonder. He thought how his young son had been intrigued by the workings of clocks and other mechanisms such as music boxes and windup toys.
    Perhaps it was this instinct for logic and order that had led Giuglio to study the incomprehensible text of the mysterious Coded Book of Wonder.
    Why had he lost his temper that day? The memory from seven years ago still gnawed at the king.
    What had happened to that boy with the curious mind, the intellectual? The king had pinned all his hopes and pride on his eldest son, the handsome boy who had inherited the good looks of his mistress.
    And now...his son had grown cantankerous and fat, gorging himself on cakes and ale, ordering outrageous repasts from the palace kitchens, one after another, each more sumptuous: game, hams, ducks, pies, cheeses, and fancy Viennese pastries, laden with butter and heavy cream. At night, he whored and gambled, came home staggering drunk, and brutally attacked his servants.He had disgraced himself in the streets and taverns of Prague and now Vienna.
    How the boy had disappointed him! He was now twenty and Rudolf could make no more excuses for his outrageous behavior. His appearance, fleshy and swollen-eyed, disgusted his father. What had happened to the sea-green eyes, the color of Venetian glass, he had inherited from his mother? Submerged now in his swollen face, like raisins stuck deep in risen dough.
    Had the boy no shame?
    The minister dared to touch the king on the sleeve. Rudolf’s eyes focused on the light pressure of his hand.
    “Your Majesty,” Rumpf said in a quiet but urgent tone. “We must do something immediately or your son will be assassinated or worse.”
    “What do you propose, Minister Rumpf?”
    The minister clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.
    “The asylum.”
    “Never! Not that nightmare we witnessed! Mention this to me again and I will have you dismissed.”
    The minister sighed. “Then, if he cannot be confined to an asylum, Your Majesty, you will likely see your own son murdered by one of your subjects. Or perhaps your brother Matthias will use him as an excuse to seize the crown. No Viennese citizen would oppose Matthias if your son continues his