make some further excuse.
But he was gone. On the south bank of the Arno, near the Porta San Niccolo, Ezio found the bleak place where the bodies were arranged next to a huge gaping pit. Two sorry-looking guards, raw recruits by the look of them, patrolled nearby, dragging their halberds as much as carrying them. The sight of their uniforms aroused Ezio's anger, and his first instinct was to kill them, but he had seen enough of death that day, and these were just country boys who'd stumbled into uniforms for want of anything better. It caught at his heart when he saw his father's and his brothers' bodies lying near the edge of the pit, still with their nooses round their scorched necks, but he could see that, once the guards fell asleep, as they surely soon would, he could carry the corpses to the river's edge, where he had prepared an open boat which he'd loaded with brushwood.
It was about the third hour, and the first faint light of dawn was already bleaching the eastern sky by the time he had completed his task. He stood alone on the riverbank, watching as the boat bearing his kinsmen's bodies, all aflame, drifted slowly with the current towards the sea. He watched until the light of the fire flickered away into the distance.
He made his way back to the city. A hard resolve had overcome his grief. There was still much to do. But first, he must rest. He returned to the watchman's shack, and made himself as comfortable as he could. Some little sleep would not be denied; but even as he slept, Cristina would not leave his thoughts, or dreams.
He knew the approximate whereabouts of the house of Annetta's sister, though he had never been there, or indeed met Paola; but Annetta had been his wet-nurse, and he knew that if he could trust no one else, he could trust her. He wondered if she knew, as she must, of the fate that had befallen his father and brothers, and if so, whether she had told his mother and sister.
He approached the house with great care, using an indirect route, and covering the distance where he could by running at a crouch over rooftops in order to avoid the busy streets where, he was sure, Uberto Alberti would have his men searching. Ezio could not rid himself of the thought of Alberti's treachery. What faction had his father referred to on the gallows? What could induce Alberti to bring about the death of one of his closest allies?
Paola's house lay in a street just north of the cathedral, Ezio knew. But when he got there, he didn't know which it was. There were few signs hanging from the fronts of the buildings here to identify them, and he could not afford to loiter in case
he was recognized. He was about to depart when he saw Annetta herself, coming from the direction of the Piazza San Lorenzo.
Pulling his hood down so that his face was shadowed, he made his way to meet her, making himself walk at a normal pace, trying as best he could to blend in with his fellow citizens as they went about their business. He passed Annetta herself, and was gratified that she did not give any sign that she had noticed him. A few yards on, he doubled back and fell into step just behind her.
'Annetta -'
She had the wit not to turn round. 'Ezio. You're safe.'
'I wouldn't say that. Are my mother and sister.?'
'They are protected. Oh, Ezio, your poor father. And Federico. And -' she stifled a sob, '- little Petruccio. I have just come from San Lorenzo. I lit a candle to San Antonio for them. They say the Duke will be here soon. Perhaps -'
'Do my mother and Maria know what has happened?'
'We thought it best to keep that knowledge from them.'
Ezio thought for a moment. 'It is best so. I will tell them when the time is right.' He paused. 'Will you take me to them? I couldn't identify your sister's house.'
'I am on my way there now. Stay close and follow me.'
He fell back a little, but kept her in sight.
The establishment she entered had the grim, fortress-like facade of so many of the grander Florentine buildings, but once inside, Ezio was taken aback. This was not quite what he had expected.
He found himself in a richly decorated parlour of great size, and high-ceilinged. It was dark, and the air was close. Velvet hangings in dark reds and deep browns covered the walls, interspersed with oriental tapestries depicting scenes of unequivocal luxury and sexual pleasure. The room was illuminated by candlelight, and a smell of incense hung in the air. The furniture mainly consisted of deep-seated daybeds covered with cushions of the costly brocade, and low tables on which there were trays bearing wine in silver carafes, Venetian glasses, and golden bowls of sweetmeats. But what was most surprising were the people in the room. A dozen beautiful girls, wearing silks and satins in green and yellow, cut in the Florentine fashion but with skirts slit to the top of the thigh, and plunging necklines that left nothing to the imagination except the promise of where it should not venture. Around three walls of the room, beneath the hangings and tapestries, a number of doors could be seen.
Ezio looked round, in a sense not knowing where to look. 'Are you sure this is the right place?' he asked Annetta.
'Ma certo! And here is my sister to greet us.'
An elegant woman who must have been in her late thirties but looked ten years younger, as beautiful as any principessa and better dressed than most, was coming towards them from the centre of the room. There was a veiled sadness in her eyes which somehow increased the sexual charge she transmitted, and Ezio, for all else that was on his mind, found himself stirred.
She extended her long-fingered, bejewelled hand to him. 'It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Messer Auditore.' She looked at him appraisingly. 'Annetta speaks quite highly of you. And now I can see why.'
Ezio, blushing despite himself, replied, 'I appreciate the kind words, Madonna -'
'Please, call me Paola.'
Ezio bowed. 'I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to you for extending your protection to my mother and sister, Mado - I mean, Paola.'
'It was the least I could do.'
'Are they here? May I see them?'
'They are not here - this would be no place for them, and some of my clients are highly placed in the city's governance.'
'Is this place then, forgive me, but is it what I think it is?'
Paola laughed. 'Of course! But I hope it is rather different from those stews down by the docks! It is really too early for business, but we like to be ready - there's always the chance of the occasional caller on his way to the office. Your timing is perfect.'
'Where is my mother? Where is Claudia?'
'They are safe, Ezio; but it's too risky to take you to see them now, and we mustn't compromise their security.' She drew him to a sofa and sat down with him. Annetta, meanwhile, disappeared into the bowels of the house on some business of her own.
'I think it will be best,' Paola continued, 'for you to leave Florence with them at the earliest opportunity. But you must rest first. You must gather your strength, for you have a long and arduous road ahead of you. Perhaps you'd like -'
'You are kind, Paola,' he interrupted her gently, 'and you are right in what you suggest. But just now, I cannot stay.'
'Why? Where are you going?'
During their conversation Ezio had been growing ever calmer, as all his racing thoughts came crashing together. At last he found himself able to shrug off his shock and his fear, for he had come to a decision and found a purpose, both of which he knew were irrevocable. 'I am going to kill Uberto Alberti,' he said.
Paola looked worried. 'I understand your desire for vengeance, but the Gonfaloniere is a powerful man, and you're not a natural killer, Ezio -'
Fate is making me one, he thought, but he said, as politely as he could, 'Spare me the lecture,' for he was bent on his mission.
Paola ignore him and completed her sentence: '- but I can make you one.'
Ezio fought down suspicion. 'And why would you want to teach me how to kill?'
She shook her head, 'In order to teach you how to survive.'
'I'm not sure that I need any training from you.'
