Siege

'To Genoa!' the assembled men replied in chorus as they stood and drained their glasses. The toast marked a fitting conclusion to the dinner, and afterwards Grimaldi led them outside to the gardens behind the palazzo, where his private musicians played by torchlight under a star-strewn sky. Braziers filled with warm coals had been set up at frequent intervals to ward off the night chill, and the guests moved amongst them in the shadows, discussing politics and drinking chilled sweet wine.

Longo had hardly stepped outside when he was cornered by Leontarsis. 'Signor Giustiniani, allow me to again express my thanks for your offer of aid.'

'No thanks are needed,' Longo replied. 'My fellow Genoese may not see it, but the fight against the Turks is our fight as much as it is yours. Either we fight them now, or we fight them later; but fight them we will.'

'I agree entirely,' Leontarsis said. 'If you could only persuade a few of your more powerful countrymen to join you, then the emperor would be most appreciative. He would compensate you accordingly.'

'If I could persuade them, then I would, with or without compensation. Besides, I do not need your money. Nor do many of the men here.'

'Money is not what I offer.' Leontarsis pointed to Sofia, who stood nearby in earnest conversation with several men. 'You have surely noticed the Princess Sofia. She is beautiful, is she not?'

'What are you saying?'

'The emperor feels that the Princess Sofia would make an appropriate match for a man who truly helped our city in its time of need.'

'I see,' Longo replied. He knew that this was how marriages were arranged, but still, he felt a stab of jealousy at the thought of this woman being sold off to one of his countrymen. 'And what does the princess think of such an arrangement?'

'What the princess thinks is of no importance,' Leontarsis replied.

'Indeed?' It was Sofia. Neither Leontarsis nor Longo had noticed her approach. 'Is that why you thought not to tell me that I have been placed on the market for the highest bidder?'

'I was only following the emperor's orders, Princess,' Leontarsis said. Then, recovering himself, he added more confidently, 'Why do you think that he agreed to allow a woman on this trip in the first place? Surely you did not think that it was your political skills that were desired?'

'As you said, what I think is of no importance,' Sofia replied, her voice quiet but hard. 'But I will tell you what I know, Leontarsis. I am a princess of the royal family, not a slave to be sold, not by you. If you offer me up as a prize again, you will regret it.' She turned and strode away into the darkness.

'I am sorry you had to witness that, signor,' Leontarsis said. 'But my offer stands.'

'I am not a mercenary to be bought,' Longo replied curtly. 'Good-night, Ambassador.'

Longo walked away, looking for Sofia. He found her alone, nearly hidden in the shadows at the edge of the torchlight.

'Have you come to inspect your merchandise?' Sofia asked, her eyes flashing with anger.

'I am engaged to marry another, but even if I were not, my sword is not for sale, even for so high a price,' Longo told her. 'If my presence grieves you, I will withdraw.'

'No, stay,' Sofia replied more softly. 'It is not you that I am angry with, Signor Giustiniani. Indeed, I should be thanking you for what you did tonight. I apologize for my rudeness.'

'You have no need to apologize. I understand that it is not an easy thing to be married against one's will.'

'You are a man, signor. What can you know of such things?'

'Sometimes men are not so free to choose. We are all of us compelled by duty.'

Before Sofia could reply, Grimaldi appeared, seeming to materialize out of the darkness. 'There you are, Signor Giustiniani,' he said. Turning to Sofia, he bowed low. 'Princess Sofia. It is an honour to meet you face to face.'

'Princess, this is Signor Grimaldi, the father of my intended,' Longo told Sofia, who curtsied.

'I am sorry, Princess,' Grimaldi said, 'but the evening is nearly over and I must take Longo away from you. He must rise early tomorrow to wait on my daughter. He is taking her on a voyage to my family's home in Bastia, on Corsica. Longo has business there.'

'Corsica is near Rome, is it not?' Sofia asked.

Longo nodded. 'With a favourable wind, it is only a half-day's sail from Corsica to Ostia, the port of Rome.'

'Then if it is not too much of an imposition, I wonder if you could carry me, Leontarsis, and our servants to Rome when you sail for Corsica. We travelled overland from Venice, and our ship is meeting us in Rome. I am eager to arrive there as soon as possible, and I do not relish the prospect of another overland trip. I am told that the roads to Rome are thick with bandits.'

Longo looked to Grimaldi.

'Of course,' Grimaldi said. 'I am sure Longo would be delighted to be of service, and my daughter will be honoured to meet you. Now, if you will excuse us, Princess.'

'It was a pleasure meeting you, Signor Grimaldi,' Sofia said. 'Until tomorrow, Signor Giustiniani.'

Sofia moved away, rejoining the party. Longo turned in the opposite direction, towards the stables, but Grimaldi held him back. 'A moment, signor,' he said. The old man looked hard into Longo's eyes. 'Be careful, Signor Giustiniani. It would be wise to watch your step around the princess during your voyage to Rome.'

'Surely you do not doubt my intentions, nor the honour of the princess.'

'I do not doubt your honour; but I saw you with the princess, and I do not doubt my eyes, either,' Grimaldi replied. 'Good-night, signor. I will see you tomorrow.' The pre-dawn air was thick with chill fog when Longo rode into the courtyard of the palazzo Grimaldi the next morning. His stomach – usually so calm, even on the eve of battle – was knotted tight. It twisted still further when he saw Julia – thin and frail, dressed in a tightly corseted blue velvet dress that emphasized her budding breasts – and helped her into her carriage. The tension in his belly seized his throat when he arrived in the courtyard of the Fregoso palace and saw Sofia emerge, ravishing in a green cloak, a long divided skirt and high riding boots. Longo got down from his horse and offered Sofia a hand into the carriage, but she only laughed. 'I wish to ride,' she told him. 'I have yet to see much of the city.' And with that, she swung herself into the saddle of one of the horses that had been prepared for the Greek ambassador's retinue. Leontarsis, grumbling about how his old joints hurt in the morning damp, gladly took Sofia's place in the carriage.

The sun rose above the hills behind them, burning off the morning mist and warming the chill air as they rode the short distance to the docks. Sofia smiled and laughed, asking the names of buildings and plazas. She seemed more alive than she had the night before, totally at ease in the saddle. Her buoyant spirits lifted Longo's mood, and soon he too was smiling, the knots in his stomach loosening. By the time they reached the docks and loaded all of the baggage aboard la Fortuna, the chilly dawn had transformed into a glorious winter morning. Longo gave the order to make way and left one of his men at the wheel, while he went forward to stand at the rail with Sofia, Julia and Leontarsis. They glided across the bay of Genoa under a favourable wind, the ship cutting confidently through the short, choppy waves.

'The trip should be a quick one with this following wind,' Longo told them. 'We will sail down the Genoese coast, past the Arno river in Florence, and should reach Corsica well before nightfall. We will stay at my family home in Bastia and then sail on to Ostia the next day. You should be in Rome by tomorrow afternoon.'

'I have never heard of Bastia,' Sofia said. 'What is it like?'

'It is a small town, built on the steep, rocky coast of Corsica. The island itself is under the control of a group of Genoese traders called the Maona, and each of the great Genoese families has representatives amongst them. Corsica has been Genoese for almost two hundred years, although you would never know it. The people are still as desperate for independence as ever.'