were only sepulchral spaces and draughts to meet him.
When he reached Signor Maleovelli’s study, he lowered himself onto his haunches beside one of the ornamental chairs that dotted the corridor and manoeuvred as close to the door as he could. It was ajar, and from within the room the voices carried clearly.
‘You’ll have to watch her carefully, Gia. But I want you to keep a distance – make sure you have an alibi. If she’s caught, I don’t want you involved.’ A shadow crossed the doorway. Signor Maleovelli had moved to the fire. Baroque peered around the corner carefully. Giaconda sat in a chair, Jacopo was adding more wood to the grate and, as he’d surmised correctly, Signor Maleovelli had made his way to the mantelpiece.
‘Do you trust her, Papa?’
‘No,’ scoffed Signor Maleovelli. ‘But I think tonight we played a card she did not expect. She will not risk Pillar. You were right to suggest we take him into our … care, cara mia. It showed great foresight.’
‘She talked about him in her sleep, even through the drugs – him and the dead boy, Dante. Over and over, she called for them.’
‘And yet she hasn’t mentioned either since?’
‘Not to me.’
‘Jacopo?’
‘No. She does not talk to me unless she has to. Puttana,’ said Jacopo and moved away from the fire. He fell into one of the chairs. Baroque wished he could grind his fist into his face.
‘So, Papa, you’re happy to accept Lord Waterford’s offer?’
Baroque’s ears pricked up. He knew that Waterford had been at the casa earlier that evening and shared a private meal with the Maleovellis. Excluded, Tarlo had spent more time in the workshop with him.
‘Happy?’ Signor Maleovelli made a noise in his throat. ‘Sì and no,’ he said.
‘What are you displeased about? He is going to make you Doge once Dandolo dies –’
Baroque did not hear the next part as his brain whirled. Doge! The ambassador was supporting Maleovelli to be Doge? Why? It didn’t make sense. What did he have to gain? All too soon it was explained.
‘I am not happy with the price we have to pay for an honour that, by rights, should be mine anyway. We worked hard for this. All of us. We put ourselves at risk. What have Farrowfare done? Sat back and waited. They back me because they know I have won. If I give them what they want, what is of value to me as well, then my victory will not be the same.’ He sighed. ‘No, despite what we’ve promised Lord Waterford. The second rule of power is to never surrender your most potent weapon to your enemy.’
‘What’s the first?’ asked Jacopo.
‘Do not hand it to a friend either. You destroy it. I don’t think we’ll be handing Tarlo over to anyone.’
So, he would exchange Tarlo for the Dogeship. Baroque had been right about the ambassador. Waterford had known what Tarlo was for a long time – probably since that day he found him snooping outside the workshop. But how could he give Maleovelli the Dogeship? What was Farrowfare up to?
Baroque recalled the talk in the tavernas, the mutterings among the soldiers. The Ottomans were stirring, Konstantinople, one of Serenissima’s most lucrative and important allies, with a colony of Serenissians situated right in its heart, was under threat. Why would the Ottomans move against Serenissima when, for years, they had existed in beneficial peace? But if another foreign power was behind the Ottomans’ push into the Mariniquian Seas, then it all made sense. Baroque chewed his lip. What if Farrowfare was that power? Making friends in Serenissima while stirring her enemies in the colonies, and all the while seeking to disrupt the leadership in order to claim the Estrattore. This was deeper and darker than even he anticipated. Waterford and his people were playing an extremely dirty and dangerous game. And trapped in the middle was Tarlo. She was a valuable piece in this political contest. Too valuable, it seemed, for the Maleovellis to surrender.
‘Why not, Papa?’ asked Giaconda. ‘If she’s gone, then we cannot be held to account for anything she has done. It will be like getting rid of the evidence. No-one can accuse us without proof.’
‘Cara mia, use your head. According to Waterford, Farrowfare has already taken extraordinary steps against Serenissima. Without our government even being aware, or the Cardinale, they’ve made allies of the Jinoans, the Kyprians and the Kretans and managed to incite them against us. It’s going to be hard enough to