City of Secrets by Mary Hoffman

law.’
    â€˜Ah, what exactly had the man done?’ asked Rinaldo.
    â€˜He was a debtor,’ said Antonio grimly. ‘Many of his creditors were there in the court and he had no means of settling what he owed them.’
    â€˜And what happens to him now?’
    Antonio shrugged. ‘He leaves the city, dressed only in what he stands up in and carrying no luggage. His house and any goods are now confiscated and the city sells them to pay his debts.’
    â€˜But he is free to go? He does not go to prison?’
    â€˜It is our tradition,’ said Antonio. ‘The public humiliation and renunciation of his goods are sufficient punishment for a proud Padavian.’
    Rinaldo repressed a shudder. Born the younger son of a lesser branch of the great di Chimici family, he had always feared poverty. He could not get the picture of the man in his underwear out of his mind.
    â€˜But I expect his wife has salted away some small amount of money and goods,’ Antonio was saying, ‘and will follow him out of the city.’
    Rinaldo felt a momentary regret. If he ever lost his cardinal’s robes and hat, there would be no loyal woman waiting to help him start a new life.
    â€˜It seems a lenient punishment,’ was all he said.
    â€˜Well, enough of debtors,’ said Antonio. ‘You said in your message that you had urgent business to discuss with me.’
    Rinaldo was shocked by Antonio’s bluntness. Brought up in courts and palaces, he had limited experience of bluff craftsmen like the Padavian Governor. His idea of a ruler was someone like his cousin Fabrizio or, in spite of his hatred for her, the old Duchessa of Bellezza. People with elaborate clothes and elegant manners who took care to hide their ruthlessness with expensive perfumes and flowery speeches. He wasn’t used to someone of Antonio’s directness and he wondered if there really was any more to him than there seemed.
    The Cardinal took a parchment from his scrip and offered it to the Governor.
    â€˜You have perhaps heard of the new laws drawn up by my cousin, the Grand Duke of Tuschia?’ he said.
    â€˜Which ones?’ asked Antonio. ‘I have heard that the Grand Duke has been most active in writing new laws since he inherited his father’s title.’
    â€˜Grand Duke Fabrizio refers to the laws against magic,’ said Rinaldo rather frostily.
    Antonio looked serious.
    â€˜I hope you will agree,’ continued Rinaldo, ‘that the superstitious practices carried out in many of our cities and in the countryside are quite contrary to the teachings of the Church.’
    As a matter of fact, Antonio did agree. He was a moderniser who had turned his back on the old goddess religion of the lagoon which had spread across Talia. Unlike many influential Talians who practised the two religions concurrently, Antonio loathed anything that smacked of the occult. Even the frescoes in his Hall of Justice annoyed him, with their astrological symbols and allegories.
    â€˜Go on,’ he said, casting his gaze over the parchment.
    â€˜It is a list of interdictions,’ said Rinaldo. ‘They forbid citizens from taking part in any supernatural practices – using or purchasing spells, enchantments, hexes, or consulting practitioners of magical arts. Citizens must also not purchase, own or consult books containing such dangerous gibberish or, of course, print them.’
    â€˜Of course,’ muttered Antonio.
    â€˜And anything hinting at goddess-worship is to be rooted out. It has undermined the authority of the True Church for far too long.’
    â€˜And the penalties?’ asked Antonio, skimming through the parchment to the end.
    â€˜There can be only one penalty for heretical practices,’ said Rinaldo. ‘Death.’
    *
    Matt had passed an exhausting morning before he was allowed to escape to the University’s Refectory for lunch. After being put under the care of Biagio,