Scarlatti inclined his head. “You will hear for yourselves: I have pledged it.”
“So,” Ettore Colonna said with relish, “we will have Signora Fer- rugia and this Maurizio Reietto to perform tonight?” As Scarlatti nodded, Colonna beamed and clapped his hands for servants. “Wine! Bring us wine! We must celebrate this extraordinary evening. A toast to Maestro Scarlatti and his musicians!”
Two footman appeared almost before the echoes of Ettore Co- lonna’s clapping died away. Both bore a tray with four goblets upon it, and both hurried up to Colonna to proffer their wine. One of the two frowned at the other, but the other stood his ground.
“An embarrassment of riches,” Ettore Colonna cried as he reached for two goblets, holding one out to Ragoczy.
Ragoczy held up his hand as Scarlatti took a goblet for himself, “I thank you for your kindness, and I most assuredly wish every success to Maestro Scarlatti and you. But I do not drink wine.”
Text of a declaration by Niklos Aulirios, submitted to the Magisterial Court of Roma.
Under pain of perjury, and with an oath before God for the salvation of my soul, I declare that the following items are true.
Item One: That I am Niklos Aulirios, native of Greece.
Item Two: That I was personal bondsman to the Roman noblewoman Atta Olivia Clemens, a widow, from the day she acquired my bond until the hour of her death in December of 1658, when the holocaust at Villa Vecchia exploded, collapsing one wing of the building upon her.
Item Three: That in her Will, she named me as her sole heir, as she lacked sons or nephews or cousins to whom she could bequeath her properties; no other blood relative was named in her Will for any purpose whatsoever.
Item Four: That, in accordance with her stated wishes recorded in her Will, I have striven to maintain her properties in the manner she wished.
Item Five: That I have not profited from the sale or other disposition of any of her lands or other goods, livestock, or chattel that would diminish the sum of her estates.
Item Six: That I have not sought to defraud any man of any inheritance legitimately made, nor do I do so now.
Item Seven: That I have authorized my late employer’s blood relation, Ferenc Ragoczy, Conte da San-Gerrnain, to represent my position in this test.
Item Eight: That Ferenc Ragoczy, Conte da San-Germain, although a blood relation of Atta Olivia Clemens, has made no claim and will make no claim on her estate, as testified to in the declaration appended to this one.
Item Nine: That I uphold my claim to the estate which was legally left to me; it is my contention that any claim upon this estate is the result of fraud and unworthy of consideration by the Magisterial Court, or any other legal body.
Item Ten: That I proclaim my rectitude in this, and I pray before Almighty God that the truth of my claim prevail.
Duly submitted Niklos Aulirios Witnessed by Padre Orlando Rastrello Notary, Gesuita
Sworn to on the 2nd day of March, 1689, at Senza Pari, provincia di Roma, in the presence of Ferenc Ragoczy, Conte da San-Germain.
5
It was a perfect note: a pianissimo B-flat, pure and high, floating over the soft pizzicato of the strings. Giorgianna Ferrugia spun the note out, then cleanly dropped an octave-and-a-third, ending the song as the orchestra sobbed out a G-minor chord. There was a moment of silence and then applause filled the Santa Cecilia hall; she acknowledged it with a curtsy and a slight smile, then she walked off the stage, into the wings and Ragoczy’s arms.
“They adore you,” he whispered as he kissed her, her brocaded taffeta skirts rustling against the silk of his justaucorps; the brim of his hat cast their faces into shadow.
She lingered in their kiss, making the most of it, then stepped back as the applause grew more insistent. “They will want an encore,” she said, tweaking the lace of her corsage, taking care not to shift her jeweled necklace.
“Then you must give them
“So,” Ettore Colonna said with relish, “we will have Signora Fer- rugia and this Maurizio Reietto to perform tonight?” As Scarlatti nodded, Colonna beamed and clapped his hands for servants. “Wine! Bring us wine! We must celebrate this extraordinary evening. A toast to Maestro Scarlatti and his musicians!”
Two footman appeared almost before the echoes of Ettore Co- lonna’s clapping died away. Both bore a tray with four goblets upon it, and both hurried up to Colonna to proffer their wine. One of the two frowned at the other, but the other stood his ground.
“An embarrassment of riches,” Ettore Colonna cried as he reached for two goblets, holding one out to Ragoczy.
Ragoczy held up his hand as Scarlatti took a goblet for himself, “I thank you for your kindness, and I most assuredly wish every success to Maestro Scarlatti and you. But I do not drink wine.”
Text of a declaration by Niklos Aulirios, submitted to the Magisterial Court of Roma.
Under pain of perjury, and with an oath before God for the salvation of my soul, I declare that the following items are true.
Item One: That I am Niklos Aulirios, native of Greece.
Item Two: That I was personal bondsman to the Roman noblewoman Atta Olivia Clemens, a widow, from the day she acquired my bond until the hour of her death in December of 1658, when the holocaust at Villa Vecchia exploded, collapsing one wing of the building upon her.
Item Three: That in her Will, she named me as her sole heir, as she lacked sons or nephews or cousins to whom she could bequeath her properties; no other blood relative was named in her Will for any purpose whatsoever.
Item Four: That, in accordance with her stated wishes recorded in her Will, I have striven to maintain her properties in the manner she wished.
Item Five: That I have not profited from the sale or other disposition of any of her lands or other goods, livestock, or chattel that would diminish the sum of her estates.
Item Six: That I have not sought to defraud any man of any inheritance legitimately made, nor do I do so now.
Item Seven: That I have authorized my late employer’s blood relation, Ferenc Ragoczy, Conte da San-Gerrnain, to represent my position in this test.
Item Eight: That Ferenc Ragoczy, Conte da San-Germain, although a blood relation of Atta Olivia Clemens, has made no claim and will make no claim on her estate, as testified to in the declaration appended to this one.
Item Nine: That I uphold my claim to the estate which was legally left to me; it is my contention that any claim upon this estate is the result of fraud and unworthy of consideration by the Magisterial Court, or any other legal body.
Item Ten: That I proclaim my rectitude in this, and I pray before Almighty God that the truth of my claim prevail.
Duly submitted Niklos Aulirios Witnessed by Padre Orlando Rastrello Notary, Gesuita
Sworn to on the 2nd day of March, 1689, at Senza Pari, provincia di Roma, in the presence of Ferenc Ragoczy, Conte da San-Germain.
5
It was a perfect note: a pianissimo B-flat, pure and high, floating over the soft pizzicato of the strings. Giorgianna Ferrugia spun the note out, then cleanly dropped an octave-and-a-third, ending the song as the orchestra sobbed out a G-minor chord. There was a moment of silence and then applause filled the Santa Cecilia hall; she acknowledged it with a curtsy and a slight smile, then she walked off the stage, into the wings and Ragoczy’s arms.
“They adore you,” he whispered as he kissed her, her brocaded taffeta skirts rustling against the silk of his justaucorps; the brim of his hat cast their faces into shadow.
She lingered in their kiss, making the most of it, then stepped back as the applause grew more insistent. “They will want an encore,” she said, tweaking the lace of her corsage, taking care not to shift her jeweled necklace.
“Then you must give them
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