The Rising Storm

the neighbourhood of forty-five.'

By a swift calculation Roger arrived at 8s. as against ?2, but Signor Pisani was continuing:

'In spite of that he has succeeded in extinguishing our National Debt, and by allowing free trade in corn he has brought its price down to a level which enables us to live cheaper here than in any other part of Italy. Moreover, he is always devising new ways to encourage trade and agriculture. Recently he has offered a gold medal every year for the proprietor who plants the greatest number of new olive trees, and the plantings of the winner this year exceeded forty thousand.'

With a shake of his head Roger took up the Chianti flagon to refill the glasses, and said: 'Really, in view of all this, despite the antagonism he has aroused among the priesthood, I cannot conceive why he is not more generally regarded with affection by his people.'

His informative host sank his deep voice to a lower note. 'I feel sure, Monsieur, that you will not repeat me, but His Highness has one failing which would render him obnoxious to any race. He is the most furtive and suspicious man that ever was born. I am told that at times he even deceives his most intimate advisers, and 'tis certain that he sets spies upon them. Not content with that, he sets spies upon the spies. His secret police are legion, his curiosity unbounded, and he is for ever prying into the private affairs of every official or person of any consequence at all in the whole country.'

'When he learns that they have committed some fault does he act the tyrant?' Roger enquired.

'Nay; as a ruler he is remarkable for his humanity. He has much improved the dispensation of justice, abolishing the courts of the feudal lords, and securing for the meanest of his subjects the right of appeal to the highest tribunal. He has also done away with torture and reformed the prison system. But no one likes the thought that their every act is spied upon and reported.'

'What sort of a man is he personally?' said Roger, now working round to the matter that particularly interested him. 'Is he easy of access?'

'By no means,' came the prompt reply. 'He works too hard to be able to give the time to appear in public except on State occasions. And his natural secretiveness provides a bar against his indulging freely in social intercourse with his nobility. He is most autocratic in tem­perament, believing that the people are quite incapable of reforming themselves, and that their condition can only be bettered by divine inspiration interpreted through their rulers. That, too, is the main­spring of all his religious reforms, as he regards himself as established by God to be the guardian and tutor of his people. Yet, pious as he is by nature, he does not deny himself mistresses.'

'That was also the case with the bigoted James II of England,' Roger smiled, 'and of Louis XIV of France, even when he was in the toils of the Jesuits.'

'True!' laughed the fat Signor Pisani. 'But did you set eyes on our Grand Duchess you would hardly blame His Highness for his infidelities. She is, as you may know, a Spaniard, and sister to die newly enthroned King Carlos IV. A plainer gawk of a woman 'twould be hard to find; she is as yellow as a lemon and pimply at that; so 'tis not to be wondered at that her husband prefers the beds of other ladies, and in particular that of the beautiful Donna Livia.'

'Is this favourite mistress a noble lady or a courtesan?'

'She is an opera singer, and her voice, while good, is the least of her charms. She has Titian hair, green eyes and a figure ... Ah!' Lacking words to describe it Signor Pisano could only break off and kiss the tips of his fingers with a loud smacking sound in an attempt to show his appreciation.

'Is she accepted by the Grand Duchess and given apartments in the palace, as was Madame du Barri at the Court of Louis XV ?' Roger asked.

'His Highness's religious scruples do not permit him to acknow­ledge her openly,' Pisani grinned, 'so she lives in a house of her own near the Palazzo Pitti, and he goes there to sup with her most nights of the week, except Fridays and Sundays. But the Grand Duchess is so tolerant of her husband's weakness that she often visits his favourite as an escape from her own loneliness. She is a great needlewoman and frequently takes her embroidery round to Donna Livia's house, to work upon it there in the afternoons.'

Roger regarded his fat landlord with a new interest, and said: 'You will, I trust, forgive me, Signor Pisani, if I remark that for an ordinary citizen you seem peculiarly well acquainted with the secrets of the Court.'

The Tuscan laughed again. 'That is easily explained, Monsieur. It so happens that I have long enjoyed the friendship of Herr von Streinefberg, who is His Highness's confidential secretary.'

'I wonder, then,' said Roger with appropriate diffidence, 'if I might trespass on your good nature to arrange for me to meet Herr von Streinefberg ? I have some business to transact while in Florence, in which I am certain his good offices could be of great assistance to me.'

'I would do so willingly, were it possible; but unfortunately my friend left here for Vienna only a few days since on urgent business connected with the Emperor Joseph's illness.'

'With whom then would you suggest my getting in touch with the object of securing His Highness's interest in my affairs?'

Signor Pisani considered for a moment, then he said: 'Monsignor Scipione Ricci enjoys his dubious confidence more than any other man. He has apartments in the Pitti, so I suggest that you should go there and secure an interview with him through one of his secretaries; or, better still, his major-domo, Signor Zucchino. The latter is not a particularly pleasant person, but he has his master's ear, and will, I am sure, pass you in if you grease his palm with a couple of sequins.'

Roger thanked his new friend and, as the bottle was now empty, bade him good night; then went upstairs, well pleased with the informa­tion he had gained at so little cost, to spend an hour with Isabella before going to bed.

The following morning by nine o'clock he was at the Pitti Palace, enquiring for Signor Zucchino. At first he had some difficulty in making himself understood, as he spoke no Italian, and French proving useless, he had to do his best with Latin and the smattering of Spanish he had picked up from Isabella. But at length he was conducted through a maze of lofty corridors to a little room equipped as an office, where, behind a desk littered with bills, a small man clad in black velvet was sitting.

Having bowed to him Roger opened the conversation in French, and, to his relief, found that the major-domo spoke sufficient of that language to understand him. He gave his name as Monsieur le Chevalier de Breuc, and said that he had just arrived from the Court of France upon business which he wished to discuss with Monsignor Ricci.

Signor Zucchino's sharp black eyes appraised Roger quickly, then he enquired the nature of die business.

On Roger declaring that it was a strictly confidential matter, the major-domo showed signs of hauteur; but when his visitor gently clinked the gold in his breeches pocket and, producing two pieces, slid them under a paper on the corner of the desk, his manner changed at once.

In halting French he said that his master was, unfortunately, absent in Pisa, but would be back in Florence the following day, and he would do his best to arrange an audience.

Roger then handed him a slip of paper on which he had already written his name and address; and, on the major-domo promising to communicate with him, took his leave.

Now that he had a free day before him he was extremely anxious to take advantage of it to see the most outstanding of the many art treasures in Florence, so immediately he got back to his lodgings he consulted with Isabella on this project. As they occupied separate rooms, and her servants now referred to her as Madame Jules, no one there had sugges­ted by as much as the lift of an eyebrow that she was not his sister-in-law; and they decided that there could be no risk of her identity being discovered if she went out, provided she wore a mask.

By half-past ten Hernando had secured a carozza for them, and, leaving Quetzal in his care, they set off like a young honeymoon couple to see the sights of the city. First they paid tribute to the Venus de Medici, as the Venus de Milo was then called, and they agreed that no copies that either of them had ever seen did justice to the supreme beauty of Cleomenes' original. Then they devoted most of the rest of the day to the magnificent collection of pictures in the Grand Duke's residence, the Pitti Palace, which was always open to the public.

Roger had long been interested in paintings, but the Raphaels, Titians, Rubenses and Correggios aroused his enthusiasm for the art to a degree that it had never previously reached, and he declared that afternoon that when they had a home of their own they must certainly start a collection, however modest its beginnings might have to