Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 74
Galileo remained at the Rome College for two weeks and delivered four lectures. During this time, he and Stefano met more than once in the huge library of the university. In the tradition of all public libraries, books here were chained to the shelves to prevent theft, long enough to comfortably read at the table. The scientist often used some tome, explaining the details of his theory.“I am sure, my friend,” he said, poking his finger at the parchment pages, “that the universe has no edge, and it is all evenly filled with stars. There are a lot of them, and the distance to them is huge. It is a pity that not everyone shares my opinion.“What do you care about everyone, professor?”- Of course, I don't care what the ignorant think, but I appreciate the opinion of every thinking person. I have a colleague, the German Johannes Kepler, who is very clever, I tell you. So, he, like me, believes that the Sun is at the center of the world, that the planets, due to their natural properties,
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 75
Andrea Calvo was in euphoria: the adamant Clarice, who had rejected his advances for so long, finally gave in and agreed to meet him in one of the upper rooms of the tavern. However, he had no doubt that sooner or later this would happen - among the many girlfriends, Calvo was considered an irresistible gentleman.Approaching the "Golden Trout", Andrea felt a joyful excitement. He entered the inn, looked around, and went to the counter where Clarice was. She smiled shyly and glanced up at the ceiling. Calvo nodded almost imperceptibly and moved to the stairs leading to the second floor, and the girl slipped into the kitchen, from where she could also go upstairs.Rising, Andrea stepped into the corridor, dimly lit by an oil lamp on the table, and looked around. At the same instant, one of the doors opened slightly, and a whisper was heard:- Here!Feeling sweet excitement, he hurried to the call and entered the room. There was total darkness here. Calvo looked around, trying to get hi
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 76
It was necessary to find a way out that would allow them to stay with Lucrezia and save the child. Stefano puzzled for a long time, but did not think of anything better than to turn to a spiritual mentor for help. Of course, not the most pleasant solution, but what to do ...“Hmm, unexpectedly,” muttered Father Bernardo, after listening to the confession of the ward. – How did it happen?“I love her so much that I completely lost my head.“Oh, these women are an eternal devilish temptation... It’s not so terrible that you broke your vow of chastity, my son, but that you never told me about it in confession. If the principal finds out...“Sinful,” Stephanio whispered repentantly.“And what are you going to do now?”“Maybe to renounce the dignity?”Who are you trying to fool? Father Bernard was angry. “You know very well that you cannot become a layman.Stephanio hung his head. He understood that the mentor was right, dignity is forever. But someone inside him, as if observing what was
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 77
A day later, he was called to see Roberto Bellarmino. This was the first time this had happened in all his years of study, and as he climbed the stairs, Stefano wondered what could have been the reason. Has he finally been noticed?In the office, besides the owner, were Bernardo Villardi and, oddly enough, Andrea Calvo. All three of them stared gloomily at the newcomer.“Lock the door, Signor Nadio,” ordered the rector, “and come here.” Closer please.Stephanio approached in bewilderment. It seems that this meeting does not bode well.“Signor Calvo claims that you stole the emerald ring from him. What do you think?"So that's the thing! This puppy set it all up on purpose!"“That is not so, Your Eminence,” Stephanio tried to keep his voice as firm as possible.“So you haven’t seen the ring and don’t know anything about it?”- I didn't say that. On the third day, I really found an emerald ring, but I found it, not stole it.“Rare luck,” the cardinal chuckled. - And where did you deign
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 78
They lived in different rooms, but they invariably spent their nights together. However, in the morning, before the arrival of the maid, Lucretia always returned to her bedroom, where Mario's small bed stood next to her bed.The kid was taught to call his father uncle. Stefano did not imagine how painful it would be for him to hear such an appeal. But he could not change anything and was glad at least that both - both Lucretia and Mario - were nearby.The son grew by leaps and bounds. By the age of six, to the great surprise of his father, he showed artistic abilities and an interest in painting. The boy sat at the table for hours, painting landscapes, portraits and still lifes.Stephanio was puzzled. He perfectly remembered how, a hundred years ago, his little son François was addicted to the same thing."What is this, a coincidence? Or is there something in my nature that gives my children a love of painting? What a strange joke of nature."He hired teachers, including an artist, an
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 79
As soon as he got out of the Old Oak, Stephanio jumped on his horse and galloped towards him. With every moment it became more and more difficult to stay in the saddle, the street blurred before his eyes, passers-by seemed to increase in size, and only by a huge effort of will he reached the inn, ran up to the second floor and locked himself in his room.Quiet joy seized him, he fell on the bed and began to look at the beams of the ceiling, feeling how he was filled with inexplicable bliss. Here the walls shook slightly, someone walked around the room, again and again, but this did not frighten him. On the contrary, he loved these incomprehensible creatures, loved everything that was around, he wanted to go downstairs and kiss the owner, go out into the street and hug everyone he met. Peace and happiness filled the soul, overflowing.And yet his mind was clear enough to understand: all this is just a consequence of the drunk elixir. You can’t run anywhere, you just need to lie down an
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 80
The new Pope was much younger than his predecessor and led a much more open lifestyle. He gave receptions and large audiences, so Stefano often saw him. The pontiff was a tall, dark-haired man with regular features, a mustache and a small graying beard. He carried himself with exceptional dignity and elegance, knew theology perfectly, could speak long and beautifully on theological topics, and even wrote poetry.More than once, looking at him, Stephanio thought:"How easy it is to touch this person and become the Pope yourself. He is quite young, active, I would be comfortable in his body. But how interesting is it to get everything ready without going your way to the top?"But one day a simple thought interrupted all thoughts on this topic: having moved to the Pope, he would lose Lucrezia and Mario. "No, that's completely impossible. I have to get the power myself."Stephanio went to all the open receptions that the Pope gave, kept close to him and tried in every possible way to attr
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 81
Andrea Calvo did not even want to think that Nagyo would become Bishop of Trevia. On the contrary, he decided to apply for this place himself and turned to the Vincini family for support. Those, mindful of the future relationship, promised to help.Very soon, Stefano became aware that a wealthy banking family was busy with the bishopric, which he considered almost his own. He made inquiries and quickly learned that Andrea Calvo, his old enemy, was behind it."Hasn't he calmed down? No, it can't be a coincidence. Of course, he knew that I was aiming for this place, and decided to get ahead of me. Well, we'll see."Despite the fact that Stefano had good patrons - several cardinals and Francesco d'Este, who had recently become the Duke of Modena and Reggio, promised him support - he was well aware that it would be difficult to cope with such a family as Vincini.At the next meeting with Roberto, who was late in Rome on business of the bishopric, Stephanio asked if he had met with Calvo.