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.Slowly, the King took his gaze from his brother and transferred it to his newborn daughter, and there it remained, rapt, for the rest of the service.Not soon enough, the rites were over, and deafened by clanging bells, I waited for my carriage to return me to Valsain and the Queen.A golden carriage rattled Up; its curtain was pushed aside.Dona Juana's face, framed in black and white by the nun's habit she has taken to wearing, appeared at the window."Sofonisba, will you join Us?"A footman opened the heavy golden door.Inside sat Dona Juana and dona Eufrasia, no less beautiful now that she has returned to court.Across from them, like a great sow settled comfortably in a mud puddle, sat Inquisitor-General Valdes, a sweet smile on his fleshy face.He patted the cushioned seat with heavily ringed fingers."Sit, my dear.Sit."I sat, immediately sinking toward his spicily perfumed bulk."We were just speaking of you," said Dona Juana.The Inquisitor-General nodded."I have been to see the Pope."I stared.Michelangelo was dead, as was Tiberio.What could they possibly want? Had the King told his sister that he had inquired into Tiberio for me? What harm could she do to me and to the Queen with this information?"His Holiness much admires the portrait you have done of our Queen," said the Inquisitor-General."He wishes to commission you for another."I tamped back my astonishment."I would be honored.As soon as Her Majesty is well.""Oh, her mother assured Us she would be well soon enough.Good breeders run in the family." He folded his hands over his belly, his slow respirations whistling through his nose."Catherine had a brood of what, seven? My Lady should be able to have a son soon."I glanced out the window as we passed the city walls and turned onto the road that ran alongside the aqueduct.My Lady could not eat or drink or sit Up in bed, and they had her pregnant with a new child.With a grunt, the Inquisitor-General shifted in his seat, sending me sliding even closer."Did you ever hear what became of the Sistine Chapel, my child?"I caught my breath.Dona Juana smiled mildly."I believe she has not.""They decided not to destroy it." The Inquisitor-General massaged the flesh bulging over the back of his collar."At least not Until it is decided if the changes sufficiently improve the work.""Changes?""A painter was commissioned." The Inquisitor-General quietly burped into his fist."To paint clothes Upon the nakedness of the men in The Last Judgment.The ceiling is next.""Someone is going to tamper with the Maestro's work?""Tamper?" Dona Juana raised her brows, noting the rise in my voice."Improve it, most of Us would say.Michelangelo was too stubborn to do it on his own, endangering the entire painting.And so was that lover of his.He said he would die rather than lay a brush to it."I opened my mouth and then shut it before Tiberio's name could escape.She gazed at me, filing away my reaction for future Use."And this was after the judge had been good enough to let him go after he'd denounced Michelangelo's homosexual leanings.Bold, considering they still had evidence against him.What became of that Unfinished statue, Inquisitor-General? Do you know?""I could not say.It was of no value, ruined as it was.Ground Up for paving, I suppose."I stared at my clenched hands.Dona Juana chuckled."They have a nickname for the painter they found to do the work on the Sistine Chapel--'Il Braghettone.' Now remind me again what that is Italian for?"I swallowed."The Breeches-maker."Dona Eufrasia tittered."Do you remember the name of this man?" I asked.Dona Juana shrugged."Someone Unimportant.A Daniele somebody.A friend, obviously, who cared little about his own reputation, since painting loincloths does not exactly further one's career."Was this "Braghettone" Daniele da Volterra? I had met him at the Maestro's house--a self-effacing, kind man, and faithful follower of the Maestro.Tiberio said he had been one of those who had stopped Michelangelo from destroying the statue.Poor signore Daniele.He would be a laughingstock amongst the other painters in Rome, known for daubing breeches onto naked men, yet he had done this to save the frescoes.A bee flew in through the window.The Inquisitor-General paddled the air, squealing, as Dona Juana swung at it with her Bible.She killed the offending insect, but not before it had stung dona Eufrasia on the hand [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]