Murcia, Kingdom of Castile, November 1513
Gulls flapped around the docks, as they squalled loudly, and of course, left
other signs of their presence. Catalina, with her nose upturned and armed with a thick parasol, leisurely strolled down the freshly scrubbed pier. Anchored, and moored to the pier was a large carrack, the
Santa Barbara. From the undamaged hull, it had obviously yet to see combat, yet, it had just returned from a rather important voyage, nonetheless. She, her ladies, and of course Maria de Salinas, who had finally recovered from her traumatic stillbirth, made their way to where the gangway met with the pier. As they stood quietly for a moment, a grizzled old man, with a rather conspicuous cap on his head trundled down the gangway, swearing at a seagull as he shooed the bird away. Some of the younger ladies giggled at this, and Catalina could not bring herself to lecture them on the impropriety of doing so, for she herself found it quite humorous. Still, she inclined her head slightly, hoping to bring some measure of dignity to the situation,”Captain Velazquez, I presume?”
The Captain flushed clearly embarrassed, and he bowed as deep as his aged body would allow,”
Si, Infanta, it is I. Forgive me for my uh… outburst, these gulls have all but driven me mad.”
Catalina dismissed the apology with a wave,”It is nothing Captain, tell me, what is the state of your
Milanese cargo?”
Velazquez responded with an almost toothless grin,”Quite well milady, it was obtained with little issue outside of Lucca.”
“Ah good, I trust that it shall soon be unloaded?”
“Yes of course.”
What they had spoken of was not cargo in the strictest sense of the word, yet was an important arrival, nonetheless. She soon came to meet said
cargo, which consisted of a tall bear of a man, whose bristles of black hair were underneath a hat, and despite his youth, he sported a full beard. By his side was a stout blonde woman and behind her a thin, older lady, who fixed a protective gaze upon her as they all walked down the gangway. Catalina curtseyed to the group,”I am glad to see that you have arrived safely, Duke Francesco, and I see that your wife Duchess Bona is already with child.”
The young couple blushed, and the older woman smirked, replying on their behalf,”Yes, my daughter and son-in-law have already done their duty to Bari and Milan.”
“That is well Duchess Isabella, for I plan on helping the Sforza reclaim their rightful lands one day.”
Bona looked to the woman who would be their hostess,”And we are very grateful for your help Infanta Catalina, I can only hope that my family will prove useful to you.”
Yes, you shall, Catalina mused,
They shall be most useful to me indeed.