"Cesare, you have no greater admirer than I, but this procrastination is unworthy of your military genius." "We must advance on Florence." "As I said, Vitelli, I will move against the Florentines only if they reject my demands." "Three hundred thousand ducats and the freedom to move my troops through their territories." "The fact that they have not responded is an insult to you and the pope." "To do anything less than a full siege shows weakness." "The signory are the ones who procrastinate, hoping that King Louis will march over the Alps and south to Naples, towing me along." "Duke Pandolfo Petrucci of Siena." "We will use timed pressure to force the signory to accede to our behest before the French arrive." "I salute the man who has rid our peninsula of both Ludovico and Caterina Sforza." "I salute you, Pandolfo, who holds his seat of power longer than any other duke in Italy." "And I have not done so with idle talk." "Too true, too true." "You come before me in humble desperation to sign a treaty of alliance and gain my protection." "Desperation?" "This is an alliance of equal advantage to us both." "How so?" "Montepulciano is claimed by you and Florence." "Yet their claim has the support of France." "You need me to intercede with my friend Louis or to crush the Florentines in combat." "And you need me to frighten the signory into cooperating with your plans to subdue the Romagna." " Without my munitions..." " Ah, your time is up." "Sign the treaty." "I eagerly await to see which of us will break this alliance first." " Ready the papal guard." " To go where, Your Grace?" "No place, yet." "I want the noise of us preparing for war to be so loud that it resonates as far north as the ears of Niccolo Machiavelli." "Florence will once more go deaf to the name of Borgia." "The night sky will be illuminated with fire from my cannons and echo with the gallop of a thousand horses." "And then Florence will be yours." "Cesare will attack Ravenna." "That is the bold move." "No." "Cesare will attack Pesaro." "That is the smart move." "He will attack Florence." "Cesare has made a pact with Siena." " How do you know this?" " I am the vice chancellor." "Borgia would never tell him." "Sansoni must have a secret ally in the Borgia household." "We will end up like the Orsini if we cannot do the same." "Gentlemen, while my benefactor Cardinal della Rovere continues to serve as papal legate to France, he has instructed me to ally with you, the great Colonna family." "Now I will be your secret ally." "All I ask is..." "Do you know how many troops are currently in Cesare's employ?" "Time for the consistory." "I will come with you and stand by your side." "Since my father's return my role in the Vatican has diminished." "I am, once again, nothing but a wife." "Today is my presentation, so I must appear without a husband." "Besides, while Angela visits Aunt Juana in Spain," "I trust only you to care for the children." "Carlo Canale, warden of Terra Nuova." "Carlo, in our ongoing effort to improve the administration of Rome, we asked Lucrezia to thoroughly examine our papal prisons." "You have been quite successful, old friend." "If success can be measured in profit." " Profit is one of the goals, Holiness." " Tell us, why do we imprison men?" "To deprive miscreants of liberty as punishment for wrongdoing." "Excellent." "So, then why do you allow murderers and thieves to leave Terra Nuova at night?" "Because they have purchased passes, but must return at dawn." "In between they commit more crimes." "Privileges have always been allowed for those who can afford them." "As of this day, the sale of passes and privileges is no more." "Prisoners must fear time spent in Terra Nuova." "And what of my income?" "You dare to whine to the supreme pontiff of the Universal Church about your petty, insignificant needs?" "We speak of justice!" "Be gone, Canale." "We will close our eyes and when we open them, you will be gone." "He is dead." "Mama?" "Mama, I have come with some terrible news." "Oh, Lucrezia." "Lucrezia, this is Teofilo." "Your Highness, I am honored." "Your Grace." "I warned you, Chancellor." "Support my campaign to secure the Papal States or be trampled by the hooves of my stallion." "Cesare, appointed officials do not rule absolutely." "Any contract with you must be deliberated upon." "No." "Your government has never been my friend." "An insult they will regret till the end of days." "The signory are afraid that you will turn into a tyrant." "I do not conquer to tyrannize, but to destroy tyranny." "Yet your actions echo otherwise." "The duke of Siena is a cruel and selfish despot." "In your eyes, yes, because he is your enemy." "But you forget." "I am the man that freed Florence from Savonarola, birthing your republic." "Now I will liberate the rest of Italy by whatever means necessary." "Tell your masters, time no longer works in their favor." "You have three days to agree to my terms or the members of your signory will burn in the same square where Savonarola was roasted." "Your Grace, a word alone?" "There are rumblings from Forli." "A possible mutiny by your Gascon troops." "You must head north at once, to silence the dissent." "You cannot afford to have Florence learn of this internal unrest." " Who rallies my men against me?" " Pierre d'Archambaud." "Complaining that you wallow in palatial decadence with the use of their wages." "The conspirators plan to seize the rocca until you agree to share your wealth." "They claim that which does not exist." "The papal coffers are empty." "And without those ducats from Florence, I will soon be destitute." "We ride to Forli." "The Gascons are too vicious to defeat head-on." "Victory will only come by unraveling them." "Tell my generals that upon my arrival, I wish to review my army's elite units." "And ready the gravediggers." "Repeat for me what I have taught you." "To become a true iettatore, I must unleash extreme emotion, jealousy, envy, malice, toward the soul I wish to curse." "The freshness and the quality..." "That merchant." "He once sold me a rotten tomato." "And when I complained, he called me a stupid vulva." "I hate him." "And so?" "I will go to him, moisten my eyes, gaze directly into his, speak slowly, inhale, exhale." "Use my breath to remove his." "You look ill." " What?" " You do not look well." "You sweat." "You breathe in odd gasps." " Do I?" " Your head aches." "A searing pain which increases intensely as it spreads down your neck." "Pounding, burning, settling right here." "Look." "Are you going to buy something or not?" "You stupid vulva!" " I guess I did not hate him enough." " Come here!" "In nomine Patris et Filii..." "Lucrezia, what you saw in my villa, let me be the first to tell Cesare." "Yet another secret, Mama?" "Carlo Canale was a man of principle uncorrupted by the temptations of a greedy world." "He..." "He was..." "Holiness, you suffer from a condition known as comitialibus." "Call it by its true name: epilepsy." "Is this illness treatable?" "We have only begun to understand its intricacies." "Not long ago, epilepsy was considered demonic possession." "For now, bed rest and warm liquids should restore you." "Opiates to sleep." "I thought I left this affliction behind in Monte Cassino." "You have convulsed before?" "My uncle, Calixtus sat on Saint Peter's throne very late in life." "A brilliant man, far greater than me." "He too suffered from this affliction." "Turning slowly into a darker shadow of the man he was." "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come," "Thy will be done on Earth..." "He's dying." "How many days will you and Cesare remain alive once another man, della Rovere, is pope?" " The Holy Father will recover." " Until he does you must assume command." "I will assume nothing." " Attention!" " Attention!" "Forward march!" "Inwards... move!" "You have been told that Cesare Borgia steals your salaries, that Cesare Borgia cares solely about Cesare Borgia." "Only he who puts his own life in danger knows the value of a life." "I have killed, I have bled." "I know well your worth and paid accordingly." "So why have none of you received your due?" "D'Archambaud thieves your ducats." "Lies!" "The Catalan has sent nothing!" "I speak the truth and will leave myself exposed." "Will the bailiff of Dijon do the same?" "Seize the traitor!" "A broken riding mule that will take you over the Alps and back to France." "For sustenance you will eat only bitter crow's meat." "General di Naldo will accompany you to ensure your safety and properly explain your treachery to King Louis." "No!" "Niccolo Machiavelli, secretary of the Ten and chancellor of the Florentine Republic." "Perfect timing, Chancellor." "I traveled to Rome, at top speed, only to find that you had departed." " Then I rode here to Forli." " Hoping to find me dead at Gascon hands." "Oh, no, on the contrary." "We, Florentines, are in awe of the way you handled the mutiny." "So, the signory has agreed to contract you as condottiere for 300,000 ducats." "Cesare..." "And I will be granted unrestricted passage throughout your territories?" "The signory has no better friend than Cesare Borgia." " At first light, we leave for Pesaro." " Pesaro?" "Not Pesaro." "Pesaro can provide us with a a port, and the chance to expel the last remaining Sforza duke, Giovanni." "My sister's first husband." "That impotent fool." "There is no word on the pope's condition." "This convulsion could be insignificant or it could be something far worse." "I will bring Laura to him." "She will enliven his spirit." "You've forgiven His Holiness for the brutal death of our cousin?" "The more I try to hate Rodrigo, the more I'm ravaged by love." "You lie." "You are plotting some treachery." "Revenge is not the answer." "Should you not be tending to your pregnant Silvia?" "Or are you too busy following papal commands to ever take initiative?" "You confuse neutrality with inaction." "Patience is a virtue." "This is our problem." "You accept the status quo too easily, so we Farnese go nowhere." "I am not certain where Cesare is." "Some say Forli, some Pesaro." "He must keep us better informed." "Talk with him." "He listens to you." "I will." "But, Papa, I can do more." "You have said repeatedly that in your absence, I ran the Vatican with expertise." "If you are ill, let me carry some of your burden." "Darling girl, I dream only of the day when you and Cesare will rule in my place." "But solidifying this goal is a bloody business." "And your soul must be spared any of the sins we will be forced to commit." " We came as soon as we heard." " Oh!" "My sweet daughter." "You have grown." "Papa." "May we speak in private, Rodrigo?" "Come, sister." "We will watch birds." "I have a brand-new spyglass." " Holiness..." " Be silent, Gacet, and go." "You are better?" "For now." "I feel as if I'm under someone's curse." "My Rodrigo." "Have you come to gloat over the ruin of the man who executed your cousin?" "Or have you run out of ducats?" "I come neither in avarice nor anger." "I would never forgive myself if something terrible happened to you and I was not here..." "holding your hand." "You hurt us to the quick." "Walking out." "Ignoring our missives." "I was wrong to do so." "Mea culpa." "We are capable of forgiveness but not of further heartbreak." "Until you can prove your true intentions, you may bring Laura back to live in the Apostolic Palace." "But we will not share this bed." " How was Milan?" " In a panic." "Ludovico Sforza has broken free from his dungeon and moved north to the Alps." "He has captured Como with the help of 9,000 Swiss mercenaries financed by Emperor Maximilian." " And France does what?" " She mobilizes." "The king's marshal, Trivulzio, orders the French and Gascon soldiers under your charge to join him." "We will depart at once." "Great Borgia, he, Trivulzio, does not want you to accompany the army." "I know well the danger in which I stand." "I will no longer depend on promises, be they royal or papal." "I, alone, will erect my empire." "How many Spaniards and Italians remain with us?" " Three thousand." " Not enough to attack Pesaro." "Shit!" "Who?" "Lorenz Beheim." "Humanist, physician and astrologer." "Your Grace, astrology is an unprovable field." "This man philanders with the true science of astronomy, hiding behind vague forecasts of determinism." "Fortuna has brought me this far." "I cannot ignore the celestial map any more than the ones that you draw." "I must decide whether to continue my campaign or change course." " Which way does fortune's wheel spin?" " You are a Virgo?" "Yes." "I am more viper than Virgo." "Your true path will be revealed at the point of eternal origin." "You must return to Rome." "Why are we summoned, Vice Chancellor?" "I don't know." "I thought Borgia included you in his many plans." "He is like the Tiber." "At any given moment, one is uncertain which direction he will follow." "He will not discuss the war between Sforza and the French or Cesare's crusade across the Papal States." "Nor the true nature of the Holy Father's own illness." "Borgia clearly is once again addicted to vitriolo." "No, it is something else." "Diego Lopez de Haro, envoy of Spain." "Holy One." "The explorer Cristoforo Colombo has returned from another journey to the New World." "His discoveries are most promising." "May I introduce Yuisa, born on the island of Hispaniola." "A gift to you from King Ferdinand." "She has learned to speak our language." "My, my, so colorful." "Should she not be naked?" "She is a true believer in Christ, but not yet baptized." "His most Catholic Majesty asks you, Holy One, to save this heathen soul." "Ego te baptizo in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti." "Rise, child of God." "No, no, no." "Stop." "You commit sacrilege." "This is the tonic which will rejuvenate Borgia's health." "We are curious about this continent across the Great Ocean." "Tell us of your tribe." "Of your family." "We don't have buildings like this." "Our boats are smaller." "My people are so much... newer." "Simpler." "Simpler." "The weather is warmer and the soil is..." "I don't know the word." " Uh, It..." "Ita." " What is ita?" "It's like red but different." "My Jesus." " What are you doing?" " An offering to King God." "That is... generous of you, Yuisa, but our Savior is an immaterial being." " He does not care for vanity." " And you?" "Would you accept a gift of my joy?" "I am less perfect than He." "How beautiful." "Accepting trinkets from the native?" "You once accepted emeralds from Fabrizio Colonna." ""To refuse would have been an insult."" "Yuisa." "You say that Pesaro cannot be taken with current troop levels?" "We need to employ more men, Santidad." "At least 10,000." "To recruit that many fierce and brave Italians will take time." "Which we no longer have now that Ludovico Sforza engages the French." "His victory will strengthen Giovanni Sforza's rule in Pesaro." "Will the people of Milan accept Ludovico's return?" " Did they not share his ousting?" " For a short time." "But the governor appointed by France has proved to be far worse than Duke Ludovico." " We must, instead, attack Florence." " No." "Pesaro can be taken." "Giovanni Sforza lacks fortitude in battle." "A tyrant is defeated once he loses the enthusiasm of his subjects." "That is why d'Archambaud's mutiny failed and why Milan wavers." "The duke of Pesaro can be beaten from within." "I do not need 10,000 men..." "but only ten." " You think I should not attack Pesaro." " That is not what I want to say." " Then why hesitate?" " Because what I ask is difficult." "Command me." "I will obey." "Spare the life of Giovanni Sforza." "We Borgia have already killed him once by destroying his reputation." "And what would you have me do with him?" "Banishment?" "Imprisonment?" " Show Giovanni Christ's mercy." " Christ's mercy?" "And where will I find that rare gem?" "In your own heart." "Or in mine, which loves Jesus in every way." " Ah, so you're a Christian then?" " My faith in Christ is absolute." "My faith in Christianity is less certain." "I can only feel the love of Christ through you." "Cesare..." "We must move past these romantic feelings." "Why?" "Because we never share them at the same moment, and because I have recommitted myself to my vow of marriage." "A vow you made to punish yourself, convinced that you were undeserving of happiness." "Circumstances have changed." "I now have a faithful husband, two loving children." " I am happy." " That is the lie you tell yourself." "Your current husband is still a depraved cretin" " who stifles you in his embrace." " Cesare" "No, I will not promise to spare your former husband's life." " Your Grace, I present to you an envoy..." " Later." " I bring a petition from Duke Ercole." " I do not care, sirrah." "You will wait." " You have not met the native girl?" " No." "You should fuck her." "Only you, Giulia, would talk to me of fucking another woman while I'm fucking you." "Well then, fuck me, General." "Ah!" "Oh..." "Oh, God!" "Now I see why Vannozza Catanei chooses a younger man." " What?" " I thought you knew." "Every corner of Rome is gossiping." "Your mother shares her bed with a peasant boy, equal in your age." "What?" "Oh." "Well, oh." " Where is he?" " Who?" " The peasant boy." " You will not harm Teofilo." "Harm?" "I will castrate him." "He is only using you for his own benefit while soiling my name." "Soil the name of Borgia?" "And do you think me so ridiculous that I cannot tell when someone genuinely loves me?" "Can you not let me be happy?" "Lucrezia is happy." "You are happy." "Therefore so am I." "But if this peasant breaks your heart, his happiness will be short-lived." "If you are to walk in Rome, then you must do so as a proper Roman lady." "Will this bring me closer to Christ?" "I have still not met our Savior." " You wish to meet with Jesus Christ?" " Yes." "Well first, you must be presentable." "Women must wear a chemise for modesty, and a kirtle to support your form." "Aah!" "That hurts, Giulia." "Constant pain." "I'm sorry?" "That is what being a Roman lady costs." "A surge of pain, then a throbbing ache, the heart swells..." "Ah, here you are." "Yes." "Just two girls chattering." " Thank you, Imelda." " Yes, Eminence." " My love." " Xandro." " He is ready." " He?" "I can feel him." "He must be a male." "He's so obstinate." " I will not let you down this time." " No." "You have not." "Cannot." "Alessandro, come see the new crib I have purchased, please." "Silvia is not well." "Her body is in labor, but the child will not birth." "I do not understand." "The pregnancy has been healthy." "Where are those doctors whom I pay in excess?" "They can do no more." "The affliction lies deep in the womb." "The sole option left to us is not permitted by the Church." " Which option is that?" " A new means of childbirth, invented by a Swiss pig gelder." "With a single incision, he saved the life of both his wife and child." "I have summoned him on your behalf." "To cut into the flesh of the living or the dead is a mortal sin." "I will not permit such blasphemy in my house." "Alessandro." "De Lorqua and Vitelli are in there with Cesare?" "Yes." "You said we need only ten men to take Pesaro." "Detail your plan." "My plan must remain unspoken for now." "To trust is to tempt betrayal." "That is all." "Fortuna, before I act, I need to know that you favor my strategy." "Send a sign." "Your Grace, Ambassador Collenuccio has been waiting for three days." "Not now, Agapito." "I cannot stomach any more diplomats, not until the tempest in my brain subsides." "Hear only this:" "Though presently employed by Ferrara," "Collenuccio is a native of Pesaro who fled the abuse of Giovanni Sforza." "And thus bears a grudge which must be satiated." "Yes." "Yes, Fortuna." "Yes." "Ambassador Pandolfo Collenuccio, envoy from Ferrara." " Your Grace." "Duke Ercole d'Este..." " Has nothing to fear." "I have no intention of conquering Ferrara." " Our two duchies will harmonize." " My master will be most pleased." "Speaking of masters, both current and past, you were once intimate with Giovanni Sforza." "The duke of Pesaro and I had a bitter parting." "I thought it better to resign." "He thought it better to imprison me and seize my lands." "Then we are well met." "I seek to strip Sforza of his lands." "Bring me ten brave and trustworthy men from Pesaro who share in our mutual hatred of Giovanni." "I could give you many more than ten." "Ten suffices." "And in as many days, you will witness the end of Sforza." "They remind me of us at that age." "Innocent, until they eat a sour apple from the Tree of Knowledge." "Then they will be riddled with guilt." "The world is not so absolute." "If it were, Laura and Pier Luigi would not be playing right now." "Both you and Rodrigo broke your vow of celibacy." "A wayward priest is nature's norm." "But to mutilate the human body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, is a mortal sin." "Mama is right about this surgery." "If the pig gelder fails, Silvia and the baby will die." "Then we will have shed blood on our hands and sin blackening our souls." "Where is it written that this is a sin?" "Why would God want us to watch those we love die without our trying to save them?" "We risk our souls." "So what?" "Better that than standing at a tomb lost in regret." "When does the gelder arrive?" "Cesare!" "Let us ride." " I knew the evening smelled of primrose." " You go to Pesaro?" " Yes." " With only ten men?" "Yes." "Your secret plan." "You plan, Papa plots, and I rot!" "Your voice will wake the dead." "My voice once commanded the living." "But now I atrophy, an unused muscle in the Borgia body." " What has your husband done?" " This is not Alfonso's fault." "This is Rome." "Cesare, I cannot travel backwards in time to the sweet, complacent Lucrezia." "My life, I must do something with my life." "Who understands such impatience better than I?" "Take me with you." "Is that what you want?" "Lucrezia, soon you'll have all you desire." "In the interim, you would do our family a great service by looking after Mama." "I fear this Teofilo is a wolf hiding beneath sheepskin." "He's harmless." "And besides, I am glad for Mama." "How often does a woman have a lover of her own choosing?" "But does he love her?" "Use your idle hours to find out." "Invite them both to dinner." "Who understands true love better than you?" "Bishop de Grassis?" "I have come to make Holy Confession." "Duke of Pesaro, you may confess to me." "Guards." "Guards!" "Stop yelling." "You cannot arrest me nor hurt me." " I evoke the right of sanctuary." " A heathen cannot evoke sanctuary." " You do not even believe in God." " What I believe matters not." "What you believe does." "Will you defy the precepts of your faith by denying the safety of a soul?" " Are you here to kill me?" " No." " What is that sound?" " Giovanni, can you hear?" "Our people cheer their love for you." "Cesare Borgia?" "Continue, Galeazzo." "The people..." "Wish to shower you with gold." "Come into the courtyard." "I would not go if I were you." "You're a lascivious tyrant, despised by every beggar, merchant, soldier and priest." "Do you really believe that they suddenly hail you?" "This is a trap, one which I have set." "Sending ten of your disgruntled minions to stir up the crowd against you." "The moment you step into that courtyard, instead of gold, you will be showered by daggers and axes." "You'll be hacked to pieces by the good people of Pesaro." "Go to the piazza." "Offer my gratitude." "Say I am devising ways to decrease their taxes and will address them tomorrow, from my balcony." " I say again, they adore you." " Do as I command." "Do not worry." "I'm as well versed in the anatomy of men as I am in beasts." "Are you familiar with Galen's De Naturalibus Facultatibus Libri Tres?" "Yes, but Galen is sadly out of date." "It's ready." "Konrad, what have I said?" "Every instrument must be clean." "He is my wife's nephew and an idiot." "I've done what you asked." "She is sedated." " What if Silvia wakes?" " She will." "In more pain than you or I know." "Konrad will restrain her." "Do not worry." "He will be gentle." "Or he will be bludgeoned." "And our chances of success?" "The chances are greater that only the child will survive." "To wait here is best." "The sights are not pleasant." "Your agony will increase Silvia's." "I will hold her hand." "Merciful God, forgive me." "The mob sounds angry." "Where is Galeazzo?" "Pandolfo Collenuccio." "My brother is dead." "I am lost." "What will I do?" "Since you cannot change the way you govern, Giovanni," "I suggest you change the people whom you govern." "Gather yourself new subjects." "You jest while I sweat?" "Please, Cesare." "Friend, Lord, save me." "I will." "Rise." "In this disguise, you depart at once for the harbor, where a light bark will carry you to Ferrara." "You live only through the kind heart of my sister Lucrezia." " Lucrezia." " Disappear, you dick-less wonder." "A boy." " How is Silvia?" " She sleeps content." "Science, Alessandro, is a miracle." "I have the love of two miracles." "Pier Luigi and now Paolo." "No man could ask for more." "Chosen friends, beloved family, tonight we welcome Teofilo and Yuisa." "So, tell us, young man." "How did you and Vannozza meet?" "I work in the Catanei Vineyard." "Plucking from your own vine?" "My three dead spouses were all too ripe, Rodrigo." "You should understand the need for a fresh start." " Where is your family from?" " I was born near the Campo dei Fiori." "A brutal neighborhood." "But thanks to the Holy Father, order prevails." "I have watched every execution since your election." "The Saw, the Pope's Pear, the Jaws of Anguish." "I will never forget the glorious sight of that traitor Savelli." "Eyes gouging from his sockets." "True Roman justice." "I cheered." "I did not know that such cruelty exists." "Only when necessary." "Primi, a pappardelle." "The recipe imported from my homeland Naples." "Teofilo, Yuisa, these days we use a fork." "See?" "That is enough." "First an interrogation and then a lecture." " Mama, I wanted only..." " To embarrass us?" "Come, we will dine at home." "Come." "The pasta does pair nicely with the wine." "Agapito, I value your opinion." "Listen to this." ""The cities I have conquered are like a rotted tree." "Riven by corrupt leadership, ready to fall with the first strike of lightning." "I am that lightning." "Illuminating a new era of freedom of justice."" " The people of Pesaro will be uplifted." " I was wrong to spare Giovanni Sforza." "He will be trouble in the future." " You wish to see me, Great Borgia?" " Yes." "I have a surprise for you." "I know you have reached the limits of your pursuit to understand the human body." "Topographic anatomy enabled me to render only man's shape." " Not truly examine his inner workings." " Well, now you can dig deeper." "The only piece missing is his cock." "I am... most grateful." "I will not squander this opportunity." "Do not worry." "More bodies will come." "Ready?" "Out." "Cesare has taken Pesaro." "Mark my words." "What has happened to your first husband will not happen to me." "I love you, Lucrezia." "But your brother's cruelty knows no bridle." "If he comes at me again, I will kill him."