Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex Page A

could not decide what she wished to see most, the lady or the famed painting of her by the Magistro. She decided that she would neither rest nor leave Milan until she had seen both. She sent her own servants to inquire discreetly, but all palace lips were sealed on the subjects of mistress and painting. She made up her mind to ask Ludovico himself to arrange a viewing of one or both, though it would require extraordinary gumption. But the opportunity to do this was not forthcoming.
    She had not had a single moment alone with Ludovico since he tried to invade her bed in Pavia. He had departed the next day to attend to the details of the celebrations in Milan, leaving Beatrice and Isabella to be entertained by Galeazz, who spent two uninterrupted days in their company. Like wild children, ignoring the cold, they rode through the hunting parks of Pavia, where Galeazz let loose his best falcons for Beatrice’s pleasure. Though he flirted with Isabella, he paid particular attention to Beatrice, indulging her desires to ride, to hunt, to explore the grounds, and to chatter, to the point of exhaustion. He made wordplay with both sisters, making a fierce debate about the higher qualities of the legendary knights Rinaldo and Orlando, until they were almost out of breath. But there was a particular quality to his demeanor with her sister. Isabella had the distinct impression that, despite the fact that Galeazz was to eventually marry Ludovico’s daughter, Bianca, he was trying to make Beatrice fall in love with him. She could not tell whether Beatrice was profoundly glad to find a friend at court who could hunt and ride as well as she, or if she was succumbing to his more romantic efforts. An odd situation, she thought, and one to keep an eye on.
    Private moments with Ludovico were further sabotaged when Francesco showed up again in Milan wearing his mask, trying to mingle anonymously in the crowd of thousands. Ludovico recognized him and sent a message for him to join them at their table for dinner. Francesco, of course, could not refuse. He joined the party, sitting beside her at table while hundreds of Milanese peasant girls dressed in Sforza scarlet and blue performed folk dances for their pleasure. He joined his wife in her bed, too, which she welcomed. Yes, she had taken quickly to the marriage bed, and who would not, with the way that he caressed her for long hours, whispering hot words of his desire for her into her ear. She had grown accustomed to his warm body beside her and his habit of rousing her out of her sleep and coaxing her into meeting his lusts. She certainly did not wish for this to change.
    Francesco would not give a good reason why he appeared on the scene in disguise except that in light of his relations with the Most Serene Republic of Venice, he wished to act discreetly and diplomatically, while still not missing the monumental occasion of his beloved sister-in-law’s wedding. Isabella had no choice but to accept his explanation, though when Francesco had ever acted diplomatically, or when he had formed this great love for Beatrice, she did not know. It was like Galeazz’s courtly love for Beatrice, manifesting out of nowhere and, as far as Isabella could see, for no good reason. Would the captain general of Milan’s army actually try to entertain himself with Ludovico’s wife? Isabella had no answer to these questions, nor could she figure out the situations. But she was confident that with time, all would reveal itself.
    F RANCESCO remained in Milan for the first day of the jousting contests. His brother Alfonso led the Mantuan contingency, twenty knights wearing green and gold, the colors of the House of Gonzaga. The tournaments would last for three days, attracting knights from all over Italy, festively dressed for the prince’s wedding, and bearing the heralds and crests of their states. Even their horses were costumed, wearing horns to make them appear like deer and unicorns. Ludovico’s riders