“I bet you'd love it now,” he said.
As he escorted her down the stairway toward the banquet room where they were to dine, she said, softly, looking into his eyes with love: “You are a devil, Cesare, you've made me all wet.”
As they descended, she added: “Perhaps he'll go silly with the first glass.”
“One can always hope,” Cesare answered, smiling.
But it took more than one glass to put young Alfonse in a stupor. As soon as his glass was half-empty, Lucrezia had it solicitously refilled. The meal progressed; there was music and talk and laughter among the dozen or so guests. There were toasts and good wishes and sly winks from the Pope at his daughter, as if wishing her fun in bed tonight.
Throughout the evening, Cesare's eyes met those of his sister. Sometimes he would nod at her husband's glass to indicate it might be topped up just a shade. Over the dessert, with Lucrezia almost in despair, Alfonse became very talkative? he was usually rather silent? and the sign gave her hope.
Servants carried away the debris of the meal and Alfonse suggested quietly that they retire, but not so quietly that some of the surrounding guests were not forced to suppress grins of amusement to say nothing of more embarrassing indications of envy.
“Oh, but we haven't heard the other orchestra, yet,” Lucrezia insisted smoothly. “It's a beautiful orchestra. It will make a fitting goodnight.”
Alfonse sat back, slightly disappointed, but prepared to wait for something that he knew was inevitably his.
Lucrezia filled his glass again.
“What excellent wine,” she said, and took a sip.
The suggestion produced the desired effect. Alphonse automatically picked up his own glass, sipped it and then emptied it in three long gulps. It was quietly refilled.
As the “other orchestra” began to play? in a manner which hardly justified her description? Alfonse seemed to grow silent. A little later he made a slight effort at conversation with his neighbor, but then his head sank down, he gave a little belch and his eyes glazed over slightly.
Cesare smiled to himself. His clever sister. No difficulty at all.
But Alfonse came drunkenly to. He caught hold of Lucrezia's arm and stood up, lurching a little.
“Well… we… must… retire,” he said, slurring each word and waiting for long concentrated pauses.
Those other guests who had heard stood up politely and Lucrezia, so as not to make a scene, found herself obliged to stand up, make her excuses and retire with her drunken husband who hadn't once released his hold on her arm. She was quite taken aback by the sudden reversal of her plan. One minute he'd looked as if he'd have to be carried to bed, the next he'd made a comeback like some punchdrunk fighter who won't go down.
On Cesare the effect was even worse. He saw the image of his night's exhilaration slipping away. No other woman would do. He loved his sister, had more feeling for her than for any other woman, and he had to unite with her tonight.
Thinking furiously, he waited for them to reach the doors of the banquet hall. None of the other guests seemed inclined to leave so early.
Cesare stood up.
“If you'll excuse me father…”
“What, my son? we have some saucy dancing to follow. Why, it's not yet midnight.”
“I'm sorry father, but I have a bad head. I got a knock in Naples, you know, and they've been recurring, these headaches, ever since.”
“My poor boy. We'll have the physician in first thing tomorrow.. ”
“Oh, it's nothing serious, father…”
“And you'd better have one of the servants get you something.”
The Pope called to an attractive female servant, who had ceased to be a virgin the moment he'd discovered that she was one.
“Carlotta, the Duke needs a brew for his head.”
The woman moved off to obey and Cesare took his leave of the guests and followed her. The plan had fallen into his lap if the drink had caught up on Alfonse as much as he thought it should have done by now.
He caught the girl, walking through the corridors, and took her by the arm. She turned toward him, smiling. She was a well-known libertine and Cesare remembered that he'd yet to try her.
He talked to her quietly for a few minutes, explaining that his sister did not want to sleep with her newlywed in his drunken state but could hardly refuse. He outlined a brief plan and slipped an emerald ring into her. hand. She held his fingers suggestively and he. whispered in her ear that he would like to see her the next day. That seemed to satisfy her more than the ring had, and she followed him as he walked quickly through the various chambers and up the broad steps to Lucrezia's temporary apartment.
At the top of the stairs, Lucrezia was almost supporting Alfonse, whose eyes were half closed, but whose arms were mechanically mauling her while his face nuzzled at hers.
Cesare slowed down and motioned to the servant, Carlotta, who grinned as she moved up. Lucrezia saw them coming and, at a sign from Cesare, pushed open the door to her apartment and moved in, rather awkwardly as Alfonse was trying to kiss her breasts and get his hand up her skirt at the same time.
When Cesare and his companion reached the door, Lucrezia had already maneuvered her part-conscious husband into the bedroom. He had succeeded in getting his hand up her skirt and was rummaging between her thighs as they staggered toward the bed. He pulled her onto the bed as they reached it and her skirt fell up over her hips as she landed beside him. He began to kiss her passionately and she pulled away saying, loudly, to ensure that it got through to him:
“Wait, darling. Let me undress.”
He didn't seem to hear. His hand mauled between her legs, exposing all that was there to the eyes of the two watchers at the door. Lucrezia pulled away from him by main force and he rolled onto his side and lay there muttering to himself, reaching blindly toward her figure which he could probably only vaguely see.
Cesare gave his companion a push and she slipped into the room, pulling off her clothes. As she moved in, Lucrezia moved out.
Brother and sister waited long enough to see the unabashed servant stripped? and very comely, Cesare thought, reserving his true appreciation for the morrow? and settling down to undress Alfonse who slobbered over her naked body. She was hoping he was just conscious enough to get it stiff and stick it in her. She liked the idea of being rammed by young gentry and her hands skillfully teased his prick up to more than life size as she undressed him.
Cesare and his sister made their way quickly to his own apartments. When he had locked the door behind them they both burst into helpless laughter which shook them for several minutes.
“How brilliant, Cesare… brilliant!” Lucrezia gasped at last. “But supposing he sobers up?”
“If he does he'll find himself in bed with a maid who'll tell him he dragged her there. He'll be so confused he won't even dare mention it to you. You can say you put him to bed and told the maid to look in later to see if he was all right.” He paused. “If he doesn't come to, you'll have time to join him before the morning, and he'll think that he had you before he passed out.”
“Brilliant, brilliant? but I'd hate him to have had a servant girl and think that it was me? a poor level of performance.”
“I'll let you know how you compare tomorrow,” he said.
“Why you diablo, you've got her into your bed for tomorrow night? What about me?”
“You'd better make peace with your Alfonse.”
“Cold-hearted brute. You don't care for me one jot.”
She came toward him, mock-pouting through her smile and he grabbed her and kissed her as if he wanted to push her mouth through to the back of her head. She opened her mouth under his pressure and, squirming at him, began to undo his doublet.
“I can't wait, darling. God he got me all excited for you with his mauling!”
Cesare stripped rapidly and Lucrezia tore off her astonishingly few garments.
“You should have been a gypsy,” he said, and the thought reminded him of another liaison not yet exhausted.
