The Art of Power and Love ( A Medici Masters of Florence the Magnificent fanfic)

Chapter 16

It was clear that Contessina wasn't going to survive the year. Until her final days she kept fighting and being the strong woman she had been all her life.
She asked for forgiveness to Giacomo for her old choices and he forgave her.
She repented her sins and quietly fell to the eternal sleep in a rainy day of October.

All Florence stopped to mourn her and give her the right tribute, then the Medici started to entertain the city as it always did to strengthen their position.
Guglielmo was banished from the family's households but earned some money to keep his mouth shut about what happened.
Ginevra didn't feel save not even when he was far away. The other servants liked him more than they ever liked her and their disappointment was clear.
The capricious young Clarice was by their side: she disagreed welcoming Giacomo into their family and wanted to know what happened, sometimes using her children to earn what she wanted.

"This place makes you too stressed. You deserve some break far away from this palace" Giacomo suggested while he and Ginevra were sitting in Lorenzo's study, discussing about the tragedy the three of them were involved to.
Although few months passed, she still felt very bad about that.
"I wish it never happened".
Giacomo brushed a hand on her shoulder "You drive every man insane, but it's not your fault".
He thought to get an approving smile from Lorenzo, who instead shot him a bad look.
"And you know it well? Did she drive you insane too?".
"No, I'm perhaps one of the few men immune to her charm".
"And how is it?" Lorenzo challenged him.
"I love someone else, and yes desperately, although it's been years I didn't see her" Giacomo sighed "And I feel responsible too for what happened. That idiot thought that you were no more a rival since you married and are busy with your kids. Until I came out of the shadows and we faced the consequences".
"Please, stop talking about it" Ginevra begged.
Lorenzo leaned forward to touch her hand "But he's right. You don't look well and I don't know how to help you. Tell us what it is that you want".
"I can take you in the countryside for some weeks if you want" Giacomo offered.
The woman moved her eyes between the two men, whom she never imagined could get along, but there they were, collaborating to help her.
"I don't think the countryside could help. There's so much to do here and being busy will help me. Plus you are still training to become a guard, Giacomo, I don't want to be a delay. So let's forget what happened and move on. This is what I want. But it doesn't mean you should stop working together".
"Tell it to him, when he'll forget that I'm not Carlo" Giacomo mused earning another cold glance from Lorenzo.

New parties for the wealthy families were made in the Medici palace. Giving all the servants a lot of work to do.
Giacomo became officially one of the guards and was equally busy.
The most elegant and expensive party was also for celebrating little Piero's first birthday.
The servants were dying watching the many sweet dishes and cakes they could never taste nor ruin.
"You! Come here now!".
Clarice stormed suddenly into the kitchens early in the morning.
Ginevra understood she was pointing at her. Those around her were speechless and watched her silently approaching carefully the lady.
"Move!" She raised her arm to order her to walk in front of her.
When they were out of the sight of the servants, Clarice wreaks.
"I can't bear it anymore. I want you away from my family" she said furiously "And don't look at me in that way! You know what's your crime. My husband loves you, we always knew this. And I've been silent for all this time, knowing that is not unusual that men keep their mistresses. But now it's too much. He said your name. When he visits me at night I hoped that at least then he would notice me, but no, he said your name! He used my body and screamed your name!".
Ginevra turned pale. She was speechless. She knew she was innocent, but in front of such a deep desperation she just wished she could help that woman somehow.
"I can't live anymore with you under the same roof. I can't have another child knowing that it was conceived with the fantasies of you into my husband's mind. Leave. This is an order".
Clarice walked away before she could let her escape her tears, leaving Ginevra broken.
Nobody could be blamed, but she could imagine the sorrow of that young woman. She was just a teenage when she was forced into the marriage and she hoped that giving Lorenzo some heirs would have attracted his affection too. Instead he only loved his sons, but never cared of his poor wife.
And Ginevra wished that all his attentions and the care he showed since she was attacked in the cellars, would have been given to Clarice.

Giacomo said nothing when she told him the news. He helped her packing and gave her the keys of his adoptive parents' house, but didn't dare to comment.
Ginevra was grateful for that silence. She always wanted to leave without being noticed.
She stepped out of the palace and welcomed the warm sun on her skin. She felt ready to a new start.
She chose to stop in the cathedral for praying, but it just helped Lorenzo catching her up.
"Where do you think you're going?" He took her bags away from her hands.
"Your wife ordered me to leave" she said quietly, hoping he wouldn't make a scene into a church, although it was deserted.
"She can't decide on this matter" he said angrily "You won't leave without my permission. And I will  never give this permission. I'll deal with my wife but now you come back".
"Is this your order? I can't decide about my life? You forbid me to leave?".
"You don't want to leave" he smiled dryly letting her bags down out of her reach "It's because of that crazy woman that I had to marry. I will send her away, some weeks far from here or in a convent will make her feel better".
"She's not crazy. It's this situation that it's insane" Ginevra inhaled deeptly to try to be patient "She is right to be upset. She's human, she just wants to be loved by you, but you use her for making heirs and say my name while doing that".
He gaped at her like she just slapped him, but he recollected himself promptly "Of course I do. I feel disgusted of myself, but that's my duty as husband. And I never stopped imagining you or otherwise I wouldn't be able to stay in the same bed with her".
Ginevra gasped feeling her head spinning at his words spoken as if it was the most natural thing in the world "I must leave".
"You must not" he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall making her gasp. She was trapped. His body kept her pinned against the cold stones.
His eyes widened when he realized what he did. He retreated a bit, without letting her go.
He pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her heavy breaths full of fear "Can't you see?" He searched for her eyes "I could persuade you to be mine, to spend the nights with me. I could force you to love me. But I don't do that. Because I love you too much and I respect you. It would be easy to make you mine, to take you until I get tired of this. Instead I can just crave for you forever like you're the most beautiful apple on the top of a high tree that I can just admire and I will never be able to pick. Forgive me if I'm just human and so weak. Forgive me if I love you and I can't love my wife".
He stepped back completely broken.
She was totally confused by the whole situation. She thought for a moment he would have kissed her, instead he seemed unreachable. They were all suffering in the same way and she just wished that it could stop someday, instead of getting worse.

She obeyed when he asked her again to go back to the palace with him.
He soon found his wife while the party just began and cleared things with her in front of Ginevra. It was humiliating for all of them.
Clarice said nothing, but her spite was clear on her face.
To make things worse, Lorenzo catched up one random girl of his many admirers, admirers just because he was the most popular and richest man in Florence, and left with her.
Ginevra glanced at Clarice, who avoided to look at her, but she couldn't deny they were drowning into the same sorrow.