Page 2 of The Medici Return

“It is where most of my family is centered. I wished to consult with them.”

“How is your leader, the doge?”

“He is well. He sends his regards.”

Julius chuckled. “We doubt that. Instead, he surely wishes us to be dead and gone.”

He stayed silent, because the observation was correct. The pope and the Venetians were not friends.

“We have always wondered,” Julius said, “what would happen when we arrive at the gates of Heaven, finally facing St. Peter.”

Giuliano imagined that awkward scene in his brain.

Julius motioned with a wrinkled hand. “We would say to him that we have done more for the church and Christ than any pope before us. We annexed Bologna to the Holy See. We led an army and beat the Venetians. We jockeyed the Duke of Ferrara. We drove the French out of Italy, and we would have driven out the Spaniards too, if the fates had not brought us to this state of physical decline.”

No doubt.

“We have boxed all the princes of Europe by the ears. We havetorn up treaties and kept great armies in the field. We have covered Rome with palaces. We owe nothing to our birth or youth, for we were old when we began. Nothing to popularity either, for we are hated all around. Then we would say to Peter that all this is the modest truth, and that our friends in Rome call us more god than man.”

“And hope Peter is not offended,” he added.

Julius chuckled. “To be honest, we hope he is.”

The bravado was consistent with all he knew about this forceful, ruthless, violent man who, for the past nine years, had kept Italy in war and turmoil. But Julius had also brought order to Rome and had elevated the papacy to the dominant political and military force of Italy. He had a keen eye for the arts as well, developing close friendships with Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael, however confrontational those relationships might have been. He’d established the Swiss Guards, commissioned a magnificent ceiling in the Sistine Chapel, founded the Vatican Museums, and begun the construction of what he wanted to be the greatest basilica in the world dedicated to St. Peter.

Amazing accomplishments.

“You know we have the same first name,” Julius said. “We were born Giuliano della Rovere. But I have not been called that in a long time. It means ‘youthful.’ We still think of ourselves as youthful.”

“Death seems not to favor you,” Giuliano said.

A smirk came to the thin lips. “There was a time, Medici, when we rode our horse right up the Lateran stairs and tethered him to our bedroom door. We were a rock. We knew no fear or irresolution. Difficulties only roused us to work harder. We think it all consistent with our family crest. An unbending oak.”

They were alone, inside Siena’s grand cathedral. A favorite of Julius’, if his spies were to be believed. His brother, a cardinal, and his cousin, a priest, were close with Julius. So he’d utilized both as intermediaries to request an audience. He’d expected an unequivocal no—after all, the Medicis had been persona non grata for a long time. No one wanted to be seen or associated with the family. Anyone caughtscheming with them would be punished by death, and one man had lost his head. So he’d been surprised when the pope had accepted the offer to talk. But not in Rome. Instead, a neutral site.

Siena.

Which had made him wonder. What did this man want?

“We are aware,” the pope said, “of your admirable character, your generosity and sympathetic nature. We are told that you oppose violence and cherish honesty. You are a fair and capable man. But you are the third son. The firstborn is dead. The second a cardinal. So it fell to you to head your family. That is a rare opportunity.”

He agreed.

“We also are aware of your ambition. You want back what Piero the Unfortunate lost.”

He’d been instructed to be direct. “I also want the Spanish gone from Florentine territory.”

“Agreed. Now we will tell you what we want.”

Giuliano waited.

“Money.”

The request was not unexpected.

The church had long been corrupted by gold and silver.

“Though we have been careful with our household,” Julius said, “mindful of our resources, when we assumed the papacy there was enormous debt thanks to our predecessor.”