Page 288 - Revelation

Svetlana de Rohan-Levashova. Revelation

added: – I wanted to have a word with you about something important for me,
Madonna, and I would rather do it in an atmosphere more pleasing to you.

A servant entered and, on making a low bow, began to try the first dishes. I felt
really sorry that I did not have the famous Florentine herbal poison with me! It was
painless and tasteless and could not be detected. This poison worked in a week. It killed
princes and kings and, of course, it would calm down the mad Pope forever!!!
I would never have believed that I could reflect on a murder so easily. My heart
slowly turned to stone, leaving just a tiny place place for justice. I lived to destroy him,
and it did not matter how.

Anything would do. The main thing was to kill Caraffa in order that innocent
people stopped suffering and this blood-thirsty and wicked man never again set foot on
land. Therefore I sat now beside him, accepted his treating with a smile and chatted on
different subjects... at the same time intently looking for any weak point that would give
me an opportunity to get rid of his "holy" presence at last...
It was the very middle of dinner and we were still pleasantly "discussing" some
rare books, music and art, as if he did not have a very serious aim, because of which
he invited me to his rooms in such an improperly late hour.
It seemed that Caraffa sincerely enjoyed our conversation, as if he absolutely
forgot about his "especially-important" aim. One has to do him justice. He was,
indisputably, the most interesting interlocutor... if one could forget what he was in
reality... In order to stifle an increasing alarm that grew in my heart I joked as much
as possible. Caraffa merrily laughed at my jokes and told his in reply. He was
courteous and pleasant, but despite his society gallantry I felt that he also tried to
pretend... Although Caraffa’s self-control was truly blameless, the feverish brilliance
of his black eyes made me understand that everything was coming to a head at last...

The air around us "crackled" with increasing expectation. The conversation gradually
became petty, coming to the exchange of simple polite remarks. At last Caraffa began.
– I found your grandfather’s books, Madonna. But they did not have the
knowledge I am interested in. Do I need to ask the same question, Isidora? You do
know what I am looking for, don’t you?
That was exactly I had expected...

– I cannot give you immortality, Your Holiness; just as I could not teach you how
to achieve it. I don’t have this right... I am not free in my desires...
Of course, it was a barefaced lie. But was there really any other way?! Caraffa
perfectly knew that and, certainly, he was going to break me again... He needed the
ancient secret that my mother left me before she died more than anything in the world.
And he was not going to retreat a single step. It was again somebody's turn to pay
dearly for my silence.

– Think, Isidora! I don’t want to do you harm! – Caraffa whispered with
insinuating voice. – Why don’t you wish to help me?! I don’t ask you to betray your
mother or Meteora. I only ask you to teach me what you know! We could rule the world
together! I would make you the queen of queens! Think, Isidora...
I understood that right now something very bad would happen, but I simply did

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