Philip might have my hair, but he had Matthew’s smile.
“Exactly right.” Matthew nodded at his son with approval and returned Philip to his bouncy chair. Rebecca looked at Matthew with a frown, slightly irritated at having been left out of the boys’ discussion. Matthew obligingly whispered in her ear as well, then blew a raspberry on her belly.
Rebecca’s eyes and mouth were round, as though her father’s words had impressed her—though I suspected that the raspberry might have something to do with it, too.
“What nonsense have you told them?” I asked, attacking a potato with a peeler. Matthew removed the two from my fingers.
“It wasn’t nonsense,” he said calmly. Three seconds later the potato was entirely without skin. He took another from the bowl.
“Tell me.”
“Come closer,” he said, beckoning to me with the peeler. I took a few steps in his direction. He beckoned again. “Closer.”
When I was standing right next to him, Matthew bent his face toward mine.
“The secret is that I may be the head of the Bishop-Clairmont family, but you are its heart,” he whispered. “And the three of us are in perfect agreement: The heart is more important.”
Matthew had already passed over the box containing letters between Philippe and Godfrey several times.
It was only out of desperation that he riffled through the pages.
“My most reverend sire and father,”Godfrey’s letter began.
“The most dangerous among The Sixteen have been executed in Paris, as you
ordered. As Matthew was unavailable for the job, Mayenne was happy to oblige, and
thanks you for your assistance with the matter of the Gonzaga family. Now that he feels
secure, the duke has decided to play both sides, negotiating with Henri of Navarre and
Philip of Spain at the same time. But cleverness is not wisdom, as you are wont to say.”
So far the letter contained nothing more than references to Philippe’s political machinations.
“As for the other matter,” Godfrey continued,“I have found Benjamin Ben-Gabriel
as the Jews call him, or Benjamin Fuchs as the emperor knows him, or Benjamin the
Blessed as he prefers. He is in the east as you feared, moving between the emperor’s
court, the Báthory, the Drăculeşti, and His Imperial Majesty in Constantinople. There are
worrying tales of Benjamin’s relationship with Countess Erzsébet, which, if circulated
more widely, will result in Congregation inquiries detrimental to the family and those we
hold dear.
“Matthew’s term on the Congregation is near an end, as he will have served his half
century. If you will not involve him in business that so directly concerns him and his
bloodline, then I beg you to see to it yourself or to send some trusted person to Hungary
with all speed.
“In addition to the tales of excess and murder with Countess Erzsébet, the Jews of
Prague similarly speak of the terror Benjamin caused in their district, when he
threatened their beloved rabbi and a witch from Chelm. Now there are impossible tales of
an enchanted creature made of clay who roams the streets protecting the Jews from those
who would feast on their blood. The Jews say Benjamin seeks another witch as well, an
Englishwoman who they claim was last seen with Ysabeau’s son. But this cannot be true,
for Matthew is in England and would never lower himself to associate with a witch.”
Matthew’s breath hissed from between tight lips.
“Perhaps they confuse the English witch with the English daemon Edward Kelley,
whom Benjamin visited in the emperor’s palace in May. According to your friend Joris
Hoefnagel, Kelley was placed in Benjamin’s custody a few weeks later after he was
accused of murdering one of the emperor’s servants. Benjamin took him to a castle in
Křivoklát, where Kelley tried to escape and nearly died. “There is one more piece of
intelligence I must share with you, father, though I hesitate to do so, for it may
be nothing more than the stuff of fantasy and fear. According to my informants,
Gerbert was in Hungary with the countess and Benjamin. The witches of Pozsony have
complained formally to the Congregation about women who have been taken and tortured
by these three infamous creatures. One witch escaped and before death took her was
able only to say these words: ‘They search within us for the Book of Life.’”
Matthew remembered the horrifying image of Diana’s parents, split open from throat to groin.
“These dark matters put the family in too much danger. Gerbert cannot be allowed
to fascinate Benjamin with the power that witches have, as he has been. Matthew’s son
must be kept away from Erzsébet Báthory, lest your mate’s secret be discovered. And we
must not let the witches pursue the Book of Life any further. You will