Solomon's Throne (45 page)
Joao laughed. “When you are grown and running the business, you may make those decisions. But I am done with that life, Quico. I am content.”
They stopped at the wall where many years before a young Father Eduardo had been confronted by a man in black about a dead Templar. That life seemed to have belonged to someone else. And yet it was that day, and that life, that had led to this young man next to him. To his beautiful wife and three young daughters at home in their large home overlooking the river. Ah, God indeed moved in mysterious ways.
“Come, let us sup. I am famished, and this inn has very good bread. Maybe we shall take a loaf home to your mother, what do you think?” He began to walk along the top of the wall, arms out for balance.
Quico laughed, shaking his head at his father’s exuberance and love of life. “I think, Papa, that you are
doido
, crazy!”
THE END
THE HOARD OF THE DOGES
by Jennings Wright
Available soon!
Venice, Italy
1125 AD
“Y
ou should have seen it,
signore
, truly, you would have marveled!” said Doge Domenico Michele to his oldest friend, Pepe Dandolo. The thirty-fifth Doge of Venice, newly returned from the Holy Lands and the First Crusade with the Venetian fleet, continued, “We could not contain all the plunder in the holds of the ships! And there was that fat William, Prince of Galilee or some such title, begging me—begging me, I tell you!—to help them attack Tyre. Out of the goodness of my heart, of course!” He laughed heartily and guzzled wine from a silver goblet. They were sitting in the Doge’s private study, a warm, wood paneled room. Rich jewel toned tapestries hung on the walls, and an elaborately carved winged lion presided over the room from the stone fireplace.
“The goodness of your heart has been known to be expensive,” observed Dandolo dryly.
“Oh, indeed, and it proved as much once again. Not only did we receive the majority of the plunder from the conquest, but they have given us what amounts to free reign in the entire Kingdom of Jerusalem, a quarter of the city of Acre, twenty-one villages in Tyre… And no taxes!” He laughed again. “Apparently, I can be quite persuasive.”
Dandolo smiled. “And yet you did not return to Venice with ships overflowing with riches, my friend.”
“T’would have been impossible to bring it all and yet still carry the men, who were, of course, most anxious to return to hearth and home. And it was also unnecessary. Venetian influence continues to grow, but that influence is expensive to maintain, and we were stretched thinly while I was away with the fleet. There is much unrest everywhere these days.” He took a long draw from his wine, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “However much the Patriarch and William wish to believe it, the Holy Lands are not secure, and the sultans will fight to regain it. Our fleet conquered Samos, Lesbos… we even destroyed Rhodes on our return voyage, but the Greeks are resentful, as always. We must keep a military presence in the territories, and quickly colonize our new holdings in the Kingdom and Levant.”
The Doge walked across the polished floor, his soft shoes barely making a sound. A middle aged man, but full of vigor, he had the swarthy complexion of a sailor from his time with the fleet. His dark hair had only a few strands of gray, and his patrician nose and high cheekbones gave him an unmistakable air of authority. He stopped at the window and looked out at the newly restored Church of St. Mark.
“So then, where is it?” Dandolo finally asked.
Michele turned and looked at him, then waved his arms in an expansive gesture. “It is everywhere. I have left some of it everywhere we have influence. It will be under the control of the doges, allowing us to protect and defend and grow Venice in a way not dreamt of before.”
“You will not keep some for your family? For all of our families?” Dandolo asked. The aristocratic families of Venice had ruled the city-state among themselves for generations, and their wealth had grown along with hers.
“Bah!” retorted Michele. “Have you not enough gold, Pepe?” He sipped his wine, and looked at his friend shrewdly over the edge of the goblet. “What we have now, my friend, is better than gold. Who do you suppose I will send to our new territories, to Acre and Jerusalem and Tyre? To rebuild Rhodes? It will be you, my brother, Giovanni Barbagio… It will be our families who will have a mill and a market in every town. It is the great Venetian families who will serve as magistrates and governors. It is we who will have
land.
More land than you can fathom.” He grinned at his friend.
“I see that you do not yet comprehend. Ah, it is to be expected, you have not traveled to the Aegean, to the Holy Lands. But so you shall. I will, I believe, appoint you as the Overseer of these islands we have recently conquered. Then you will perceive things differently, I’ll wager! And you will see why we have need of the funds that the plunder will provide.” He drained his cup and set it on the hearth. Dandolo stood and bowed.
“Come, let us dine. My wife has arranged quite a feast for us, and we shall toast once again to Venice and her might.” They headed toward the sound of merry voices down the long hallway as they exited the study.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
B
orn and raised in Rockledge,
Florida, Jennings spent her early years reading anything she could get her hands on, when she wasn’t spending time in and on the water. She won a prize in the 6th grade for her writing.
Jennings attended the University of Tampa, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, and almost enough credits for B.A.s in both English and History. She spent time over the years doing various kinds of script doctoring, business writing, editing, and teaching writing, but mostly having and raising her family, homeschooling her children, owning and running a business with her husband, and starting a non-profit to Uganda.
Thanks to a crazy idea called NaNoWriMo, Jennings got back into creative writing in 2011 and hasn’t stopped since. She’s written three novels and a screenplay, with more ideas on the drawing board. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, a political writer, and two children, and travels extensively.
Email:
[email protected]