Villa Pindemonte, 5 April 1848, Early Morning (continued)
Ferdinando appeared to be lost in thought, therefore Camillo di Cavour opened the dance:
"As good as you have proven to be on the battlefield, I feel compelled to say that you're even more skilled in the realms of politics and diplomacy. You have landed at least two good blows, while sparring with Monsignor Corboli Bussi, and this is no little praise, since the Monsignore is recognized by all as a very canny and experienced diplomat. The days when the court of Turin danced at the tune of the Nuncio and the Societa' di Amicizia Cattolica are finally over, and not a day too early in my opinion. I thank Your Highness for starting my day on such a high note.
"Careful, Camillo. This is just one of the first skirmishes, and sparring with the Catholic Church any mistake is going to cost a very high price. This said, I must admit that I feel reasonably proud of myself too, and this does not happen every day. It looks like today is going to be a day for celebration and revels, taking into account the midday event in which my sister will play the lead role. From now on, you will address me as Ferdinando, whenever we are in private. I am getting tired with all these "Your Royal Highness" and "Your Lieutenancy", and I want to be able to relax at least when I am a trusted friend. It's a small gift, but as I said to the Monsignore, war is a costly business."
For once, the Count was left without words.
"Ferdinando, today you have given me two gifts, and the second was even greater than the first: being called by you a "trusted friend" is worth more to me than any title or recompense." There was a suspicious glint in Cavour's eyes, but it went away quickly, and the Count continued: " Let me give you a brief report about yesterday night at Villa Borghi: it was an interesting pageant from any point you look at it, and if I have to deal with these characters for years to come, I will not fear boredom. For a starter, your sister threw the divine right of kings on the ground, and stomped on it with her dainty feet."
"She did what?" Ferdinando was aghast.
"When she met the Sicilian delegates, Prof. Stabile, recognizing her, started to kneel. Your sister stopped him immediately, saying that the crown would be offered to her by the elected parliament of a free people, and she would never ask any of her subjects to kneel in front of her. It was her first master coup, by which she immediately won the hearts of the Sicilian delegation, but she has a second one in her sleeve for today. I will not disclose it to avoid ruining her surprise, but you will like it. Let me tell you that I have had nothing to do with any of her moves yesterday, but I have no more any doubt that she is going to be a splendid Queen. I'm also pleased to tell you that Henri d'Orleans is already playing his role of Prince Consort like a professional.
With your agreement, I will ask Pier Carlo Boggio, one of my best journalists, to write a piece about the offer of the crown, and to report also the words your sister spoke. They cannot be kept a secret anyway: I can bet the Sicilians are already writing home, telling the story, therefore let us use it for out purposes too. The reactionaries are not going to love us whatever we do, but we may score a few good points among liberal and democrats."
"It looks like my sister has grown a lot, since she married Henri, and went to live in Algiers. I agree with you, the cat will be out of the bag anyway, and it can help us to show that the Savoy Queen is a woman of the modern times, not mired in the past. Is everything ready for the offer of the crown?
"Everything is ready, of course. There will be the offer of the crown, a review of Sicilian volunteers, and then a collation will be served here at Villa Pindemonte. Everything is also ready for the opera performance that our friends from Venice has so kindly organized, as well as for the dinner and the ball which will follow. After the collation, everyone will move to Villa Borghi."
"A day for celebration and revels indeed. Tell me more about yesterday night. How was the mood at Villa Borghi?"
"Pretty good, I would say. There was a sense of easy camaraderie, even if these people were coming from very different parts of Italy, and also from different social backgrounds. Giuseppe Mazzini was very busy pontificating all the night: the man should have taken Holy Orders. No need to bore you to death by recounting his homily, but there is a single sentence that has been haunting me all the night. He said that in Paris maybe one man in fifteen is allowed the electoral franchise, but that the number of men who subscribe to a newspaper is at least 5 or 6 times larger, and if we consider the coffee houses, the wine shops and so on, probably two third of the men are interested in politics, and eager to discuss them. I am a newspaper editor, and I know his numbers stand up, even in normal times. Given the current events, I am sure that they should be revised sharply upwards. However, and to my shame, I never consciously noted the huge disparity between the many who are interested in politics and the few who are entitled to cast a vote. Something must be done, unless we plan to build a house on a foundation of sand."
Cavour took a breath and a sip of coffee before continuing:
"Princess Belgioioso has confirmed to me that the Milanese delegation will be on its best behavior, which is a nice thing to know. I am not really surprised: things are going really well, and besides the victory at Goito, there are a couple of other very good things which have happened: the Most Serene Republic, for one, which is to your credit, and the kingdom of Sicily, where the credit goes to Prince Settimo. I do not know him personally, but Scialoia speaks very well of him. The Grand Duke of Tuscany has come down clearly on our side, notwithstanding the displeasure of the Church: I spoke at length with Marquis Capponi and Baron Ricasoli, and we left on best terms. Tuscany will support our strategy. Finally Ferdinando Carlo of Parma decided to grace our evening at Villa Borghi, possibly to impress the delegations from the Cispadanian duchies, but he failed on all fronts: the most kind remark made about him was "popinjay". It might be worth giving you a warning, though: your sister has met Cristina Belgioioso, and the two of them are fast friends now, on first name terms. Be warned, Ferdinando: whatever one of those ladies will not think of, the other will."