Francesca Read Free

Boscoso. Show this ducal family the caliber of Florentine maidens. You are certain to win the heart of the duke’s son. The old man has promised as soon as his son is wed, he will abdicate in his son’s immediate favor. You will be a
duchessa
, Francesca!”
    “A horse fair is what you are sending me into,” she replied, but her tone was less strident and more thoughtful.
    “What do you mean, we are sending you into a horse fair?” Orianna demanded.
    “Are not three fresh young mares being brought to Terreno Boscoso to see which one pleases the duke’s stallion?” Francesca responded.
    Giovanni Pietro d’Angelo burst out laughing, and he laughed so hard tears fell from his eyes.
    His wife, however, exhibited shock. “Francesca! What an indelicate thought. I hope you will not voice such sentiments aloud in Terreno Boscoso.”
    A mutinous look crossed Francesca’s beautiful face. “I did not say I was going anywhere,” she murmured.
    The silk merchant shot his wife a hard look, silently warning her that she should say nothing more. Orianna pressed her lips together as her husband spoke again. “Of course you will go,
cara
. It doesn’t mean you have to stay. But you will spend an adventurous summer away from your family. You will not have to go to our villa in the Tuscan hills to be bored or aggravated daily by your siblings.
    “You will have a splendid new wardrobe, so that not only will your natural beauty outshine the other two girls, but your clothing will as well. I shall send you with an impressive train of men-at-arms in livery to escort you, a priest, two maids to serve you, and two nuns from your mother’s favorite convent to chaperone you. You will have two horses of your own, which we will choose together, and a casket full of jewels.
    “This is a great honor Lorenzo di Medici has offered you, Francesca. You will represent our city of Florence. Even you must admit that you must wed, and at fifteen you are just on the cusp of becoming too old to be desirable.” He chuckled at the flash of anger that crossed her face. But then, unable to help herself, Francesca smiled ruefully. “Remember, if this young man proves unsuitable I will bring you home again, but God only knows where we will find a husband for you then. You have frightened away every suitable man from Florence and a hundred leagues around, my daughter.”
    “Can I have a stallion,
Padre
?” Francesca asked sweetly.
    “Perhaps two geldings,” he counteroffered. “A stallion might prove too intimidating and difficult to handle.”
    She nodded her agreement.
    “Would not a lovely white mare be suitable?” Orianna ventured, hoping as she spoke that her suggestion would not prove cause for argument.
    “It is a lovely thought,
Madre
, but I am not docile and neither should my horse be,” Francesca answered in a nonconfrontational tone.
    “Do you have a preference among the priests?” her father asked her.
    “Bonamico is too old for such a journey,” his daughter answered. “Father Silvio is the youngest among them. He could make the journey easily and he is most amusing.” She turned to her mother. “Will you obtain the two nuns from the convent of Santa Maria del Fiore,
Madre
? I’m certain the Reverend Mother knows which of her sisters would be suitable.” Francesca gave her mother a small smile. “Hopefully they will not be too dull,” she concluded.
    “Then you will go?” Orianna asked nervously.
    “Of course I will go,
Madre.
A summer away in a new place will hopefully be entertaining, and I can return in the autumn.”
    “
If
I find the young man unsuitable,
cara
,” her father reminded her.
    “Of course he is unsuitable if his father has to send away in order to find a wife for him,” Francesca said, laughing. “He will be a tall gawk of a boy with pimples who will stutter. It will be amusing, and my new clothing and jewelry are a good incentive for me to go. You are thoughtful,
Padre,
to allow me this respite