(to the nuns tending to Della Rovere) You may leave us, Sisters.
There is no need for last rights, but your prayers will be welcomed. (they start to leave, Della Rovere tries to speak) Hush, Cardinal- I will attend you.
NNun
Cardinal- (Cesare shuts the door in their faces)
And you, Sisters, let us hear your prayers. (kneels next to Della Rovere as the latter watches him) Don't worry- if you're not dead by now, you will live. Your tongue will be swollen for days- no talking, I'm afraid. All of your prayers must be silent ones. (he bathes Della Rovere's brow) Altar boys and cantarella- neither can be trusted. But, you must know by now, Cardinal, there is no hiding place. Even here, in the depths of the Umbrian olive groves, we will find you. (pause) The French army is ensnared in Naples, the French King is ill with the Neapolitan disease, God is in His Heaven- and the Pope on his seat, in Rome. And, my plea to you, Cardinal, is still the same: work with us, not against us. (leaves)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Ambassador. (walks past to the Papal Throne, humming to his grandson)
FAFrench Ambassador
(bows) Your Holiness. (he is forced to wait longer than usual, as the Pope walks slowly in a rocking motion to keep the baby calm)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
There we go! that's nice, isn't it? (sits down with the baby held to his chest) So, how can we be of assistance?
FAFrench Ambassador
(stands up, rather loudly) The whereabouts of Alf-
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(gestures for him to keep his voice down) Shhhh! Pion isimo!
FAFrench Ambassador
(more quietly) Alfonso of Naples is still at large. (the Pope pretends to look surprised) We have reason to believe that he infected his own city with the pestilence that plagues it.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Oh- but how could that concern us? We would have the Ambassador gently remind the King, that Naples has the habit of rejecting those who would conquer it. (the baby begins to fuss) The Moor, the Turk, the Norman- shhhh (quiets the child) Why should the French be any different?
FAFrench Ambassador
But, Your Holiness invested King Charles with-
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
SHHHH! Pion isimo! (to the baby) It's all right, darling, it's all right. (to the Ambassador. sharply) We granted the King his wish- Naples. He has Naples; he regrets that fact. That is his tragedy, and not ours! (the baby starts to fuss again) And now you've woken the child; shame on you, Ambassador! (walks past him, to the baby) Shh-shh-shh, it's all right, it's just the nasty Ambassador. Let's go and find your mama.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
So... Cardinal Della Rovere is still alive.
I would... hardly call it living.
(snidely) You need lessons in killing, Brother.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Enough! (pause) And King Charles of France, what of him?
(smiles) He has been struck with the Neapolitan disease.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(nods) As we had hoped. So... Now, is the time of reckoning, for those who betrayed us.
What- the Vitelli, the Orsini, the Sforza?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
All the great families of the Romagna and the Papal States. Our task... is vengeance. We believe that the Cardinals will now, from henceforth, do our will- but now it is time to make sure their families feel the wind of our displeasure.
"'Vengeance is mine', sayeth the Lord."
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(smiles and shakes his head) Vengeance... will be ours. (looks at both of his sons) We shall subdue the arrogance of those Papal States, one by one by one. We will force them back into the arms of Rome. But, above all, the Sforzas... their betrayal of our Papacy shall be avenged.
By whom? (indicates Juan contemptuously) This headless cock? (Juan lunges at him, Rodrigo forces them apart and cuffs them around the heads)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
WILL YOU STOP THIS DISCHORD?!! (gestures forcefully at them) WE ARE FAMILY! WE ARE ONE! And, we will only triumph AS ONE! (long pause) For, we have a second task -it is called renewal. We would restore Rome to its' former glory. Under the Borgias, it shall shine, as it did beneath the Caesars. But, if we are to achieve this greatness- your birthright- it will be together. As one! As family. Now, let me hear you speak that word. (takes Juan's wrist and holds his hand to his own) Give me your hand, Cesare. (Cesare does so, reluctantly, and Rodrigo holds it to his and Juan's) Family.
(slightly hesitant) Family.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
...Family.
(watching Lucrezia's baby sleep) Can I hold him?
And wake him? That would be cruelty indeed.
I must hold you, then. (he hugs her) Tell me again, my love- who was his father?
(smiles sadly) A groom, Paolo. But I called him Narcissus, so divine was his face.
(smiles up at him) You have read your romances, dear Brother; you must know that such a love is impossible.
Impossible loves- I am very much afraid they can become an addiction.
... There is one your heart must find room for, Cesare. One you must love before you can love anyone.
And, that one would be?...
(squeezes his hand) Yourself.
(dressed as Minnerva at a Roman masquerade) Juno.
(dressed as Juno) Well spotted, Julia Farnese. (they dance) And, you are?...
You may call me Minnerva.
(smirks slightly) Oh, and to think- you were Venus, once.
And, I soon may be a vestal virgin. (Vanozza chuckles)
You fear for the constancy of your lover's affections?
And, if I may be so bold... I would ask for your advice.
When his eye wanders, as it did from me to you?
No. And, if you would take my advice... don't do as I did; rage, remonstrate, play the wounded wife.
No? So, what is the goddess Juno's advice?
He is Janus tonight, is he not? He looks both ways. Allow him his fancy- let him look both ways. But, be sure one of those gazes falls on you.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(finds Vittoria back in her disguise, restoring the ancient Roman art works) Do you never rest? (Vittoria smiles) Where do you sleep?
VVittoria
(grins) Under silk covers, last night.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(chuckles, shakes his head) On a normal night.
VVittoria
On a straw bed, on a studio floor.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(crouches next to her) So, you know the streets of Rome- the slums, the tennants- you live among the common people.
VVittoria
I am one of them, Your Holiness.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(strokes her ear) Hmm- not for long, I would hazard, knowing your talents.
VVittoria
... Does the Pope of Rome not know his flock?
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(sighs and looks around)... You see the gilded cage we live in. We meet with princes and pergunters and prelates, and... very few of the common people. (pause, kisses her head) We might... need your assistance. (Cardinal Sforza appears behind them and clears his throat, the Pope stands up) Ah, Cardinal Sforza! Come to view our... Roman treasures? (gestures around them)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(surprised) Ah- the Cardinal is an expert in such matters?
The Cardinal has seen Donatello's David, and marveled at the source of its' eros. Now, he knows.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
And, the Cardinal thinks there may be scandal, perhaps?...
(stiffly) The Cardinal does not care. What the Cardinal does care about are the Vatican finances.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Ah- yes. (to Vittoria) You will excuse us, young maestro.
(sharply) You mock me, fair lady.
VVertrice
If I did, forgive me- kind sir.
VVertrice
Vertrice. (smiles and takes his arm as they walk through Rome) I mistook you for a client! A girl has to work.
Must you so debase yourself?
VVertrice
If I do not lift my skirts, I starve.
Better to starve, surely.
VVertrice
What, like the rest of Rome? (gestures at some of the commoners) They were fed yesterday, but today they starve.
But, there is such wealth and evidence here, my lady- how could anybody starve?
VVertrice
There is wealth, of course- but, we starve. Whilst Lucrezia Borgia dines on a silver plate. With a fork. You have heard of a fork, Paolo?
VVertrice
Well, it's all the rage, now- and I'll bet Lucrezia Borgia dines with a fork of solid gold.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Cardinal Versucci
CVCardinal Versucci
Your Holiness. (they sit)
RBRodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI
(smiles) You have been in charge of the Office of Public Works for how many years?
CVCardinal Versucci
(smiles) Oh, for as long as I have been a Cardinal, Your Holiness.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Mmm-two decades? (Versucci nods, chuckles) After which time the orphans of Rome find themselves destitute. (Versucci's smile vanishes) And, the Cardinal has built himself how many palaces?
CVCardinal Versucci
... Three.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
You see the irony there?
CVCardinal Versucci
... The poor will always be with us, Your Holiness.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(scoffs) The poor- like the pigeons! (storms down the hall, Versucci hastily follows)
CVCardinal Versucci
I- I beg your pardon, Your Holiness-
RBRodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI
Does the Cardinal believe the pigeons will always be with us?!
CVCardinal Versucci
Is this a riddle? (the Pope whirls around and points at him)
RBRodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI
We will have curatorial funds used for their declared purposes! Money destined for the poor should GO to the poor! (walks on into the next room, where Julia Farnese is sitting at a desk) So, we will have you go through the last two decades of your accounts, with one we have designated to supervise them: the Lady Julia Farnese. (puts his hand on Julia's shoulder)
CVCardinal Versucci
(offended) What Your Holiness proposes is unthinkable!
RBRodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI
What- that moneys destined for the poor should go to the poor?
CVCardinal Versucci
That a woman should have access to curatorial accounts. (Rodrigo looks expectantly at Julia)
(mockingly, looking away from Versucci) Can a woman not count? Add, subtract?
CVCardinal Versucci
Count her children, perhaps. (Julia spins around and glares at him)
(coldly) There's a new method, Cardinal. Devised by the Florentine bankers. (Versucci scoffs, Julia gets up and approaches him) It is called double-entry bookkeeping... and it proves a valuable tool in tracing all missing funds.
RBRodrigo Borgia/ Alexander VI
So, the Cardinal shall help you in your efforts to source those missing funds- while we shall attend to another matter of worrisome import. (leaves)
CVCardinal Versucci
(bows, seething) Your Holiness.
(returns to her apartments after her midnight meeting with Paolo) Is he sleeping, nurse? (pulls back the curtains around her son's bed to reveal Cesare sitting next to it)
(mildly disapproving) He did miss his mother.
No, Brother. (closes the curtains, walks around the cradle) But, this child has a father.
Not yet, but I know those who would.
(sighs, sprawls over her own bed) My husband whipped him. My brother would flay him.
Cesare Borgia': Which is why you go out hooded.
At night, like a phantom. (pause, she sighs, Cesare looks down) Cesare, he suffered for me in absolute silence. He would've died for me. The least I can do is let him see his child-
(smiles slightly)... I did. Perhaps, I do.
(stands, approaches her) Then you must see him.
(sprawls over the bed next to her) Once, and only once. Just... tell me what to do.
Find us a room, where we can spend one night together away from prying eyes-
(meets her eyes) One night. You promise?
(pause) Go to our mother's house, tomorrow evening. She needs to see her grandchild, does she not?
Who walks with me?! (they don't answer; he breaks into a run, turns a corner and sees another cloaked man ahead of him) I mean you no harm, kind sir, whoever you may be! (he tries to flee but is caught by the other two men, who drag him forward; the third man removes his hood, revealing himself to be Juan)
Suicide. A sin even a Pope can't forgive. (puts a noose around Paolo's neck and tightens it) Because dead men can't confess.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(trying to console Lucrezia, who is in deep mourning after Paolo's "suicide" and is refusing to nurse her crying son) Please talk to me, my love. You are the light of my life... the light of this family's life. If that light goes... (clutches her hand, worried)
... I would ask just one thing of you, Father.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Anything.
(looks him straight in the eye) Permit my Paolo a Christian burial.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(closes his eyes quickly) He is a suicide- it is impossible. (Lucrezia sits up, holding a scrap of paper)
This note was pinned to his sleeve. (Alexander takes it and examines it)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
Yes. A suicide note-
(angrily) But he could not read or write Father! (Alexander looks up at her, startled) My Paolo could not even pen his own name. (long pause)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
... So, it was murder. (pause) Where is the murderer?
...Too close for comfort.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(sighs angrily) I will not have this family at war with itself!
(coldly) And I would have my Paolo saved, from the fires of Hell.
(nods resignedly)... And your infant must... feed.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(curtly) Have you come to confess? (Juan comes over to his chair, kneels and puts his arms around his father's shoulders)
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(sharply) For what?!
... For my sister... and for her loss.
RBRodrigo Borgia/Alexander VI
(takes Juan's hand in his own) You... will choose a bride, in your ancestral homeland, Spain. You will travel there... And you will become the Borgia... that I always hoped you would be! (shoves Juan's hand aside and storms out)
(to Caterina and Giovanni Sforza) And, if the King decides to ride north, your armies would ride with his?
Yes- in return for a certain consideration.
And, this... consideration? (he attempts to drink, but Caterina takes the glass from him)
His cannon. (the French commanders chuckle)
(smirks) You would have him leave his cannon to the Sforza armies?!
Not every piece. But, enough to defend our castle at Forli- to replicate the great fortresses of France.
(looks up after a moment)...Giovanni Sforza.
GSGiovanni Sforza
(gestures to Caterina) And my cousin, Caterina Sforza, Your Majesty.
You have many cousins, I am told. (takes a cup of wine) Are they all impotent, like you? (the French laugh)
GSGiovanni Sforza
That is a vile Borgia slander- perpetrated by the Pope himself.
(grins) Which is why you are here, of course- you would have a taste of vengeance. The Italian appetite for vengeance astounds even us, Lord Sforza-
(steps forward) the Italian appetite for vengeance may be boundless, Majesty, but happily for you, the Spanish appetite for war is not. (Charles stares at her, intrigued)
TTaxidermist
He's ordered the evacuation of Naples.
So, the King will travel with his own troops, yes? (the taxidermist nods, Micheletto removes his knives from the paper)
TTaxidermist
The Sforza armies, too.
... It will take days to gather such an army- three, at least. So, I must hurry. (hangs a large pouch of money in front of the drawing, then heads for the door) This is for your retirement.
TTaxidermist
(bows and clasps his hands) Thank you- thank you.
(warningly) And, for your silence. (the taxidermist hastily nods, Micheletto walks out)
(fully armored) You make a manly figure on your horse, Cardinal- but the French cannon will soon break down your walls, and you will be impotent in the face of them. (Giovanni Sforza smirks)
(calmly) My walls may yet prove stronger than you think, my Lady.
FSFrench soldiers
Part for the King! The King! Make way! (Charles, fully armored but still sick, rides out to join them)
(coldly) We have Italian friends, Cardinal Borgia, but our business... is all French.
To gain entry to the city of Rome. The easy way... or, the hard. You have decorate the walls of Rome with flags and pennants- to welcome us, I presume?
(smirks) Your Highness is indeed welcome... to march on, past Rome.
(furious) I warn you, Cardinal: I shall RAZE your city! Take terrible revenge on YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND THE PAPACY ITSELF!
My cannon will gain me entry! Twelve hours, I have been assured, to batter down those walls!
... Perhaps my cannon will make their statement, first.
CANNONS, FORWARD! (the "cannons" are rolled into the attack position)
(to herself) How did they manage to?...
(looking equally worried) Our battle line is still forming, my Liege.
I must compliment Your Highness on his ingenuity. Chained cannonballs can take apart a regiment, like... a knife through butter. (Charles looks away) Are you not well, Your Highness?
We have the Neapolitan fever.
(nods) Perhaps battle should wait, then- until his full health returns. Or, perhaps he should trace his gracious path home- to fair France. (turns and rides back inside the gates)
Do I give the signal, my Liege?
Do I look like a fool, General?!
