The lackey stood beside him bedecked in the House of Durazzo colors, as he had stood there a thousand times before. Two burly guards in almost matching livery of the same House flanked the door through which he would soon walk, as he did a thousand times before. And on the other side of that door... Well, hopefully there would only a dozens or so of Them today. Two and twenty days past, only five came to pester him. He was out of that room before Sext. It was a wonderful day. He felt twenty years younger bounding out of that room and retreating into things that matter - politics. Real politics. Genoa politics. Not... that and not Them.
Giovanni Battista Durazzo let loose a little self-pitying sigh and gestured. The guards opened the door. The lackey came out with his staff, struck it three times into the tiles and announced the former Doge of Genoa. Durazzo went into the audience chamber, past the bowing courtiers and ascended his not quite throne chair. The majordomo approached on his sinister side.
"How many?"
"Six and twenty, your Excellency."
The former Doge of Genoa suppressed a shudder, just. And felt all of his seventy plus years.
"Who is the first?"
"The nephew of the Cardinal of Lucca."
Where not at least twelve people watching him, the former Doge would have rubbed the bridge of his nose. But Doges, even former Doges, of the Most Serene Republic of Genoa did not do that sort of thing. So he gave a brave nod instead.
In was brought in a mincing little man who flattered him for what seemed to be eternity. Eventually the small creature got to the nut of it, some scheme to send ships and men to some distant shore of Africa, with much profit to be had and little to no risk. Which meant there would be blood. The former Doge of Genoa did not mind blood much. To sit in the chair he sat meant he had to spill it. That was the price of holding power and any who thought otherwise were saints or fools. The former Doge was head of the House of Durazzo and he had spilled much blood for his family. And he would gladly spill more, if there was true profit in it. This... did not qualify. The former Doge willed himself to smile and refused the man with all the Italian bending skill the Genoese dialect could offer.
Exit one small creature, enter next.
Thus the former Doge's day went, with a parade of seekers of fortune at his own expense, with only short breaks to take in Prime and Terce prayers. Sext came and went, and still They came. And now Nones approached. As did the majordomo with a list of still more names.
"Your niece, your Excellency, and an English baronet."
"Which niece? Which English baronet?"
"Olympia, and the English gentleman goes by Sir Augustin of St. Ives."
That sounded strange and wrong already, and they were not yet even there to make their case. Then again, Olympia came from the side of the family that... well, best not to get into that. Let us just say, for now, her father may or may not have gone mad from an affliction born of the pursuit of Venus and treated by mercury.
The former Doge gave another brave nod.
Olympia marched inside, dressed in a blend of male and female dress. The former Doge's cousin, and now Cardinal clucked at that, which made the former Doge smile. Durazzo were not utterly debased perverts such as Medici, but neither were they prudes, or at least they should not have been. If Olympia chose to walk about with a sword and man's doublet, hose and boots, then so be it. Her companion by comparison was a mild fellow, larger than Olympia, but slightly stooping and thereby appearing to be near enough her height. He was clearly nervous. That was a welcome change as well. Most of the parade of seekers of Durazzo fortune were bold as brass.
"Darling niece Olympia, so good to see yet once more, and you as well, a, uh, gallant gentleman. What do you wish of the House of Durazzo?"
Olympia looked to her companion. He blinked. She put a hand at the small of his back, and he seemed to draw strength from it, for he squared his shoulders and made eye contact with the former Doge.
"Five sea going ships with holds big enough to carry the gold from the mines of King Solomon."
The words were uttered in Tuscan, a dialect far harsher to the ears of denizens of the Most Serene Republic than their own. There was also the trouble of the man's other accent, ugly and too English. And so the full import of the words was not felt by all natives as quickly as it should have been, and the shock those words brought came in lapping waves to the men and women in the room as each ciphered out the bold words of Olympia's companion.
The former Doge stared at the Englishman, then at his niece, then at his courtiers and then he thought. Cardinal Durazzo was going mad in silence, and only held his tongue because this was the chamber of the former Doge and he was here as a guest and observer and could not speak until he was bade. Still, that courtesy would hold only for so long, and the pressure of all those eyes of the court upon him made the former Doge speak only to buy time to formulate his real response:
"You mean to find Solomon Islands?"
At this the Englishman merely nodded. The former Doge expected more. The other seekers he had suffered today spoke in far bigger volume and would have layered him with hot promises at any pause. But this one... The courtiers began to murmur and former Doge found it necessary to gesture them to silence. He still could not understand what was standing before him, a charlatan, a madman or...?
"Only one man found - or rather stumbled into - the fabled isles. And he was unable to find them again on any of his return voyages," said the former Doge carefully.
"I can, and will," answered the now bold Englishman and added nothing more.
A charlatan, a madman, or...? Or...?
"You may speak now, cousin," said the former Doge most slowly.
Cardinal Durazzo cleared his throat. It was like uncorking a bottle of sparkling wine. A sparkling wine gone sour and used only to clean weapons with which to torture heretics:
"This madman will next tell you he can find Atlantis or Australia!"
At this the Englishman grew hot and felt the need to react, "Australia is not..."
"... a real place. It is a myth. We are here to talk of the fabled, but much real, isles of King Solomon. And Sir Augustin was an apprentice of great Galileo and learned much from him," interjected Olympia quickly, much too quickly.
That explained the shit Tuscan accent to the former Doge. That now blind heretic was cooped up under house arrest in Florence. The Englishman must have visited him there. And, come to think of it, did not Olympia last draw her gold by being spy for Medici in that once great city?
"Galileo, eh? Another madman," smirked the Cardinal.
At this the Englishman grew hotter still and his eyes flashed thunder. But up came Olympia's arm and settled on his lower back and she purred with the purest Genoese:
"They called Columbus mad."
"And they were right," bellowed the Cardinal. "He was mad. He mistook Haiti for India!"
Olympia favored the Cardinal with a small smile, and the fool did not understand why.
"You would call Genoa's greatest native son 'mad,' cousin?" said the former Doge almost evenly.
And now, and only now, did the Cardinal blanch. "I only meant..."
"The Great Columbus made Spain the richest and most powerful empire in the world. Spain, cousin, not us." There was much bitterness there, but not whole truth. For Genoa could, at times, almost rightly, be almost thought of as part of the Spanish Empire, in all but name. She was a Spanish bride, of sorts. Or concubine, or whore, if you were not from the Most Serene Republic and wished to quarrel with those who were. Genoese bankers helped Spain and in return... well, some relations are far more complex than words in any mortal language can transcribe.
But in the meantime, the words of the former Doge and his tone meant the Cardinal could not speak more on the matter and could nothing but bow and let the matter lie, and this he did, though all nearby could hear his teeth grind.
"But, dearest niece and gallant baronet," continued the former Doge, almost evenly still, "Columbus only required three ships to find the New World, not five. And so you will get three as well."
