meridian_rose

Title: Through All Hardship We Endeavour
Fandom: Da Vinci's Demons
Characters/Pairings: Girolamo Riario/Lucrezia Donati
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 16k
Prompt: For the

smallfandombang round five
Summary: Pre-canon, fork in the road AU. "I will assume the risk," Riario said boldly….. and, with sudden inspiration that he would later wonder at, "Give me Lucrezia to be my wife."
When Alessandro threatens Francesco's daughters in order to take his place, Riario's desire to protect his cousins leads him to make a desperate bargain. He will wed Lucrezia and raise Amelia as if she were his own child.
Lucrezia's initial hatred of Riario begins to wane as he tries to prove his affection for her, and her companionship and compassion affect him in a positive way. The path to love and redemption however does not run smooth.
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply. Off-screen miscarriage, canonically abusive parent.
Beta: many thanks to

zeph317toho. All remaining errors or inconsistencies are my own.
Artwork: Lovely banners (and the separator icon) provided by knowmefirst who kindly stepped in as a last minute pinch hit artist :) At LJ and to follow at AO3
(If you're coming to the fic from the artwork please be aware this is not a Leo/Lucrezia fic; 99% pre-canon, 99% Riario/Lucrezia, 1% potential Riario/Leo/Lucrezia hinted at.)

Also @ AO3
This is Part Two of Two. Go to Part One of Two at DW/@LJ

Lucrezia began attempting to woo Nardo. They knew what traits attracted him, knew that the mauve dress she wore would draw his eye, knew that the breathless innocence she affected would be compelling.

"What do you say of me?" Riario asked as they met in her chambers one morning. Lucrezia was preparing to again catch Nardo's eye, spritzing herself with the same perfume his wife had worn before he’d been widowed several years ago.

"I mention how proud I am of you," she said, "even though your ambitions keep you from me and leave me lonely. I damn you with faint praise that he will pat himself on the back for seeing through. He thinks I am a peach, ripe for plucking."

"Plucking," Riario said firmly, "is not part of the plan."

She kissed him in reassurance. "You will not allow that to happen."

*

The scheme worked perfectly. Lucrezia was duly admitted to the count’s bedchamber. She opened the window and placed a candle there when she was ready for Riario to come to her rescue, and he left his place near the gates and stormed in. With his sword in hand, and a guard close behind him, Riario bellowed his credentials and received little resistance from the household staff.

He quieted as they reached the corridor and he counted the doors, bursting in as they reached the fifth one.

Lucrezia, sitting on the bed, gasped. Nardo stared at him, surprise and anger turning to fear.

Riario glared at them, letting Nardo see the barely restrained rage on his face. He said, in a low voice that was almost a snarl, "You dare to bed my wife? You, the paragon of Rome?"

The count shook his head. "No, no, she seduced me —"

"How dare you accuse my wife of treachery," Riario shouted, advancing on the count, sword pointed at the man’s chest. "She is an innocent. If anyone is guilty of corruption here, it is you."

"Look here, Riario," Nardo blustered. "The Holy Father —"

"The Holy Father himself blessed our union! Do you think he will accept your feeble excuses as to how you attempted to despoil it?"

There was real fear in the man’s eyes now, but when he spoke his voice was steady. "Please," he said, and Riario had to admire how he managed to hold onto his dignity despite his terror. "There must be some way to overcome this misunderstanding."

Riario nearly snapped that this was no misunderstanding, but he remembered in time that this was his cue. He looked to Lucrezia. "Put your cloak on," he said. "I will deal with you when we get home."

She whimpered and moved to obey.

To the count he said, "There is only one thing I will accept from you. The letter from Versailles."

It was a gamble, but their spies had reported that in the count’s possession was a particular letter that could be used as blackmail against him, or as leverage against the French noble he’d been conspiring with.

The count pretended ignorance.

"What a pity it is that I shall have to kill you," Riario said, "or at least drag you before the Holy Father to give an account of your actions. It will distress me to bring my shame to light, but I shall, for you shall pay the greater price. My uncle will take my side, for I am the wronged party and I will have no choice but to demand satisfaction."

Finally Nardo gave in. There was a hiding place beneath a floorboard and soon Riario had the letter tucked into his jacket.

With a curt nod, Riario put one arm around Lucrezia and walked her out of the house.

Not until they were safely in the carriage and on their way home did she drop her demure act.

"You were magnificent," she said.

"Without you it would not have been possible. You were marvellous." He studied her. "Did he touch you?"

"He kissed my lips, once," she said. "I would not allow it to go further."

Riario leaned over and claimed her lips. He would be happier when she did not stink of that perfume, but beneath the wretched scent and the dress he’d come to hate, she was still his. She was not only his wife but his partner, and he would be wise never to underestimate her.

Already the thought was forming that this might be a tactic they could use again and while he detested the thought of another man pawing at her, this had been more successful and achieved without bloodshed, than any other plan they’d come up with would have been. He sat back in his seat, pondering.

"I did it for you," she said, as if reading his thoughts. "For us."

"I would not tolerate it otherwise."

He didn’t want to tolerate it at all, but Riario had long ago learnt that he would always be called upon to make sacrifices.

*

For a time they worked together, playing the game on the few occasions it seemed necessary. Riario’s anger at nearly being cuckolded did not have to be faked, despite his pleasure at their successes.

To Riario’s disgust, however, there came a time when Lucrezia had to at least pretend to get into bed with someone in a literal sense.

"You will not threaten him the way you have threatened others," she said. "Gabrielli has many allies in Rome. He is old and stubborn and he will not be blackmailed. But the whore I spoke with assures me that he is a braggart who will tell her all manner of secrets before he takes her. Then he lasts mere minutes before falling asleep. I will be persuaded to go his room, where I can slip him some drugged wine. Let him think he has succeeded in bedding me and I shall hear everything before he falls asleep."

"Why can't the whore get us the information?" Riario asked, beside himself at the idea of letting his wife come so close to being sullied.

"What you want to know is not for her ears," Lucrezia pointed out, "and her asking about such matters would arouse his suspicion. My position allows me to know something of politics. He will want to display his own knowledge to me."

Riario was still against it, but he needed the information Gabrielli possessed. Every other tactic had failed, and at Lucrezia’s increasing pleas to assist him, and his father's continued badgering, he reluctantly acquiesced.

"Remember you are my wife," Riario said, voice taut with emotion as he embraced her.

"Girolamo," she soothed, caressing his cheek. "Gabrielli is old and grey and rotund. Do you think he could turn my head?"

"It is not your head I am concerned with. If he forces himself upon you –"

"Sssh," Lucrezia said. "I know how to take care of myself. I always carry the dagger you gifted me on my birthday. I am yours and none shall come between us."

*

Within the week, Gabrielli had taken the bait and whisked Lucrezia off to his quarters.

Lucrezia returned with a long list of secrets she’d heard from Gabrielli’s lips. Riario passed the information along to his father, making plans of his own from what he’d heard, and keeping back a choice morsel or two in case he needed to impress Sixtus on short notice in the future.

When Lucrezia had bathed, Riario went to her room.

"Tell me everything that happened."

"He kissed me," she said. "He caressed me through my clothes. I stroked his ego and pretended my ignorance so he would tell me of his cleverness in the deals he has made. As the drug took effect he spilled his secrets and his movements became as clumsy as his words. He stuck one wretched hand below my dress and squeezed my breast, but no more than that."

Riario was breathing hard, one hand fisted at his side.

"I swear to you," she said. "He passed out soon after. I undressed him, threw the bedcovers over him so that he can tell himself he completed the act. I rinsed out the goblet before I left. We have what we wanted."

"I never want any other man to touch you." Riario's voice was a low, dangerous growl.

"I know. I did what I had to, no more. I saw no other way. But don’t let us talk of it further. I know you want to make love to me now, and I want that too." She dropped the towel, leaving her naked before his eyes.

Riario made fierce love to her, licking and kissing at every inch of her body, reclaiming her as his. She was his wife, his lover, his beloved one. He was ashamed that he'd found it necessary to allow her to come so close to being bedded by anyone else, furious at his father’s demands that pushed them to such desperate measures, but, more than anything, he was inflamed with jealousy and sought to take back full possession of Lucrezia.

"I will never leave you," Lucrezia said later, kissing his shoulder and running her fingers along his hair, his chest, palming his torso. "I will always come back to you."

Riario swallowed. "Ensure you do."

"You don’t need to threaten me," she said with a touch of warning in her voice. "I love you. Let that be enough."

He closed his eyes, inhaled the sweet scent of her. "Perhaps we should leave Rome," he said. It wasn’t the first time he’d broached the subject. "Amelia might be happier in the countryside."

"We both know your ambition will not suffer you to live as a peasant farmer," Lucrezia said gently, "and that your father’s wrath would seek us out and destroy us if we attempted such a thing. And my father is still imprisoned here. I do not want to leave."

Riario wondered how much hold Francesco had over Lucrezia. Sixtus allowed her to visit him once in every two months, and the first visit had left Lucrezia relieved and happy. Since then, however, she came back withdrawn from her excursions. She would say that the twins were more alike than either cared to admit. After the last visit, Riario had found her weeping in her bedchamber, and it took him several minutes to get any sense from her.

"You and Amelia are all I have in this world," she'd whispered, holding onto him as if she feared being torn from his grasp. "All that I care about."

He'd kissed her, comforted her as best as he knew how to, and in the morning she was calmer. She'd downplayed her emotions, dissembled on the subject of Francesco, and said merely that he demanded things of her that she was in no position to give.

Riario always hoped that, if it came to it, Lucrezia would choose him over her father, but he couldn't be sure. Blood was a powerful motivator, as he well knew. They were both of them trapped here by their kin as well as their own desires and ambitions.

"I do not wish to leave either," Riario admitted with a sigh. Lucrezia sought his mouth, kissing him long and hard. Trapped, but not alone. He tried to tell himself this was all part of their plans: his father’s plans, Francesco’s plans, God’s plan, Lucrezia’s plan, his own schemes. He would do whatever seemed most right and most necessary in order to bring things to fruition.

So long as he had Lucrezia, he could survive almost anything.

*

Riario was on a diplomatic mission to Naples which was not going well, and he was in an ill temper when a messenger approached him with greetings from Rome.

"Yes?" Riario snapped at the man.

The unfortunate man lowered his gaze.

"Sir, I have a message for you." He handed it over. "You are to read it at once," he went on and as Riario’s eyes narrowed, the man added, "It concerns your wife."

Riario tore open the scroll. He felt the blood drain from his face as he read the urgent missive. He sank onto the nearest chair.

"Sir? I’m to await a response," the man said wretchedly.

Riario nodded, swallowed before he could answer. "I shall return with you, at once," he said.

*

Lucrezia was alive and that was the important thing. She looked so frail, skin almost as white as the pillows against which she lay, but she was alive. Riario knelt at the bedside, clutching at her hand. He pressed his lips to her fingers over and over, noting the chill of her flesh.

She reached out one hand and brushed her fingertips against his cheek. "Girolamo. You didn’t have to come home."

"Of course I did." He released her, went to close the door, and then returned to sit on the edge of the bed. He kissed her forehead. "How could I not?"

"I’m sorry," she said.

Riario shook his head. "What happened?" The message had been vague on the details beyond ‘gravely ill’ and the less than comforting ‘physician is cautiously optimistic about her survival’.

"I wasn’t even sure," she said, "until after you’d left for Naples. I thought it would be a surprise when you came home, to tell you that I was pregnant."

He took her hand as she blinked away tears.

"I have heard the servants say there was a lot of blood," Lucrezia went on unsteadily. "There was talk of my receiving last rites. I mercifully remember little."

Riario clutched at her fingers, angry he had not been here, horrified that the message had been right. He’d almost lost her.

"They say I will live."

"Thanks be to God," Riario said, almost by rote. He was still stunned. It was all he could do to hold himself together and not upset Lucrezia while she was already infirm.

"But — " she bit back a sob.

"But what?"

"The physician said I will never bear a child. I’m sorry, Girolamo. We were to have a child and now we shall never do so." She began weeping.

Riario’s heart sank, not for the same reason Lucrezia was weeping, but because of the guilt he felt. This was his fault. He had almost murdered her, taking her to his bed and impregnating her. If she had died, it would have been because he had bedded her. He would have been widowed, left to raise Amelia alone, more bereft than ever before, and all because he’d dared to love Lucrezia with his body as well as his heart and mind.

Or could it be punishment for her coming so close to breaking their marriage vows, using her body to seduce men other than her husband? His punishment too, for allowing it; he ought to be glad he still had her at all.

He pushed these dark thoughts aside, seeking to comfort Lucrezia as best he could.

"I’m sorry," he said. "I’m so very sorry, my love." He leaned over, kissing her forehead again, lifting her delicate body against his and cradling her as she sobbed. He had to force himself to lessen his grip lest he bruise her, though he wanted only to clutch at her and never let her go.

A child of his own. An heir. It had never been something he'd considered and now it was no use thinking on it. Still, he couldn't help but question if he would have been a good father. He loved Amelia but she was not a baby, had not needed much care. A baby might have made things difficult; men were inclined to complain how their wives seemed to love them less once they had children to tend.

Riario hoped he would have found it in himself to be a kinder father than Alessandro could have ever been, but he couldn't help but feel that if Lucrezia had lost all interest in him, an heir would have come at a high price.

Worst of all he'd almost lost his wife, could have lost her as she'd birthed the child. That was too high a cost. Riario would have cursed God Himself if He had seen fit to take away the only woman Riario would ever love.

His beloved Lucrezia. As if anything mattered except her.

When her tears subsided, he lay her back down. He passed her a cup of water. She took a few sips and then, as he took the cup back, wiped at her face with her fingers.

"I could not bear to lose you," Riario said when she seemed ready to listen. "I love you more than I can say in mere words. I did not expect, when we wed, to have your love, though I longed for it. I certainly did not expect children. You may feel this loss greatly, and that we will never have a child together saddens me, but I confess that so long as I have you, I need nothing else. I shall always adore you, and that is enough. And we have Amelia to take care of; perhaps, many years hence, she will have a child of her own, and we shall dote upon it as if we were proud grandparents."

She nodded, a sad smile quirking her lips. "You are not angry with me? You will not cast me aside now that I am barren?"

How could she even think such a thing!

"Why would I be angry? I feel only relief that I return to find you alive," he said. "Lucrezia. I love you. Nothing can change that. I could never cast you aside!"

He would not speak of his guilt and risk upsetting her further. He would pray and he would find solace, but he would not show Lucrezia his fears. He kissed her lips, ran his fingers down her cheek.

They talked for a short time longer, but she was still exhausted and he was tired from his race home, and they were both emotionally overwrought. As such, he soon left the room and headed out, needing food and sleep.

He thought Lucrezia would mourn for a little while but that she would recover, knowing she had not lost all of her worth with her womb. He would try to spend some time with her and Amelia, distract Lucrezia's thoughts, remind her of his love for her.

For his own part, he had spoken the truth; the lack of an heir could be suitably mourned for, but his relief at Lucrezia's survival surpassed all else.

*

Almost five years had passed since Riario had wed Lucrezia, and Amelia was growing up into a lovely young woman. Riario knew her best hope of happiness was to be removed from Rome and Sixtus's reach, though Lucrezia would miss her dearly. Now more than before, he felt a pang at what might have been, if he and Lucrezia could have had a child of their own. He could only hope that his companionship alone would be enough of a comfort for her.

So Riario arranged a potential match for Amelia. The man's family was noble enough to satisfy a count, but not so much that they could be any threat to him. They publicly supported Rome and the Pope, but had no strong allegiances either way.

"Their estate is further away than I had hoped," Lucrezia said. "And Amelia is still so young."

"Far enough away to keep her safe," Riario countered. "If she dislikes the man, the marriage will not go ahead, I promise."

Amelia took to Giovanni; he was handsome enough, and gentle-mannered, and his main concern was with the horses he bred, rode, and raced. Amelia liked riding and thus they bonded.

After the wedding, Riario and Giovanni stood on top of the hill overlooking his family's estates.

"It's a fine place, is it not?" Giovanni asked, flushed with excitement and wine.

Riario nodded. He put one hand on Giovanni's shoulder and squeezed. "It is. But if you harm Amelia, or let her come to harm, I swear I will burn down this entire valley. It will become a desert fit only to be the graveyard for every last member of your family."

Giovanni swallowed, thrown by the threatening words delivered in such a conversational tone. "I love her."

"You are both very young," Riario said. "You are apt to mistake lust for love. Love is not a fleeting moment of wonder at the sight of beauty. Love is something that grows over time, as you face both good and bad times together. To not endeavour alone in this world is the greatest gift love gives us. A whore will give you pleasure for a night. A wife will support you throughout your entire life."

Giovanni nodded. "I will take care of Amelia," he promised.

"See that you do," Riario said, loosening his grip. "Remember that I have the Holy Father's ear and the Papal Army at my back."

"That's one of the reasons father was so keen for me to wed Amelia," Giovanni said in agreement. "We are kin to the Papal Nephew now and we will always honour that. And of course, if we were in need of assistance…"

Riario nodded. The boy wasn't as dense as he seemed. "I will do anything to protect my family," he said, with a smile that promised both protection and punishment, whichever was deserved.

On their return to Rome, Riario gave Lucrezia an anniversary gift, a sapphire necklace that was worthy of a queen. She ran her fingertips over the myriad jewels after he placed it around her neck.

"Oh, Girolamo. It is too much."

"Nothing is too much for you," he said. "I don’t know who or what I would be without you, how I could survive this world alone."

She blinked away tears and kissed him.

"Did I ever thank you for begging your father to spare our lives?" she asked, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Because I am grateful, every day. For you to offer to wed me, giving up your own chance of happiness was such a sacrifice."

"It was no sacrifice," he assured her, holding her close.

"You could not know that at the time."

He smiled. "I had faith."

It had worked out better than he’d ever imagined possible. A loving wife, a partner in his ambitions, Amelia safe and happy, such affection as he’d never dreamt of. Surely he was truly blessed. At that moment, Riario wanted for nothing.

That was before either of them ever heard the name Leonardo da Vinci. The name of the artista who would challenge everything Riario had ever believed. The man who would change everything.

*

Lorenzo was trying so hard to get Lucrezia into his bed that it was laughable. She almost pitied Clarice. So far Lucrezia had been saved by Riario's abrupt entrance into the dining room as Lorenzo tried to molest her there, had spilled her drink all over them both on another occasion to have an excuse to leave Lorenzo's clutches, and once feigned a headache.

Finally, when he grew impatient Lucrezia pretended to give in to his advances and let him take her to his room where she drugged him, as she had done to Gabrielli so many years ago. As Lorenzo snored, she searched his private chambers.

"It would help if I knew exactly what I was looking for," she complained later. "I begin to think the Book of Leaves is a myth."

Riario shrugged. He believed in the existence of the Book.

And then there was Leonardo.

Lorenzo thought him clever, Riario thought him arrogant, and Lucrezia thought him lovely. What she felt for the artista was not the same as what she felt for Riario, but something stirred in her when she looked at him.

They suspected Leonardo of having Lorenzo's confidence, and arcane knowledge of his own besides. Lorenzo had offered to have Leonardo paint her and while he was doing so, Lucrezia had tried to seduce Leonardo too.

He sketched her with an intense look that seemed to gaze into her soul but, despite his obvious lust for her, he'd refused her advances.

"Am I not beautiful?" she asked when he found an excuse to move away from her, circling around the room and attempting to shield himself with a paintbrush. It was rather adorable. Leonardo’s mouth dropped open.

"You are radiant," he’d replied. "But you belong to another."

"Are you afraid of Riario?"

"No!" Whether that was bravado or stupidity, she couldn’t tell. "But aren’t you already sleeping with Lorenzo? Unless he and your husband intend to duel to their mutual deaths, I dare not risk putting myself in bed with you all!"

So Lorenzo was indeed claiming he'd slept with her. Riario would find an excuse to kill him for that sooner or later, unless diplomacy demanded he take other payment as recompense.

"In bed with us all," Lucrezia said. "What an idea!"

He’d meant it as a joke but she'd pondered it ever since.

Tonight Lucrezia stood in front of the mirror, making tiny adjustments to her gown. Riario entered the room and moved to stand behind her, pressing a kiss to one bare shoulder. Lucrezia smiled.

"Do not crease my dress," she teased. "Leonardo will certainly notice any imperfection."

"How goes your seduction of the artista?" Riario asked.

"He will capitulate," she told Riario. "It may take slightly longer than anticipated. Leonardo has a little more self–control and sense of self–preservation than I was led to believe."

Riario moved to the sideboard and poured two glasses of wine. "I have faith in your talents."

"He intrigues you too, doesn’t he?" There was something seductive in her tone.

"Indeed." Riario sighed. "If only he could be brought to Rome and work with us instead of against us."

Lucrezia nodded. They both knew Leonardo had aligned himself with Florence and would not easily be persuaded otherwise.

*

That night Riario lay alongside Lucrezia, clutching her hand in his. He had been seething from Lorenzo's barely veiled taunts and allusion to serpents, but his anger had been offset by his meeting with the famed Leonardo.

"He is truly charming, isn't he?" Riario mused.

"Leonardo?"

"Mmm. Come with me tomorrow. Your presence may win him over."

"Of course."

*

Leonardo's eyes widened as Riario dismounted and waited for Lucrezia to do the same. The chest of gold Riario's guards placed in front of the artista barely held his attention.

"I didn't realise you would be bringing your wife," Leonardo said, shifting his weight uneasily between his feet and flicking glances over at the device hidden beneath the canvas sheet.

"Lucrezia is my partner in all things," Riario said.

"I would usually find that progressive and admirable," Leonardo said. "But I cannot condone it today."

"Why not?"

Leonardo took a few steps forward, beckoning Riario to do the same. He and Lucrezia approached and the three huddled together as Leonardo spoke softly.

"Look, I'm not going to take your gold. I've pledged myself to Lorenzo and Florence. I fully intended not to give you my invention but to demonstrate it. On you. It's a modified cannon. And if you were killed, well, that would be unfortunate for you." Leo gave an cheeky grin, which faded rapidly as he went on, "And if you survived, which I'd calculated pretty good odds if you'd remained near your horse, you'd know not to try and buy me off again."

Riario stared at him. "I see. And you're telling me this because?"

"Because I can't in good conscience harm your wife!" Leo ran sweaty hands over his hair.

"You are a good man," Lucrezia said. "Come with us, Leonardo. Rome can offer you more than Florence ever can."

"I can't. So, um, I'm going to go and sabotage my invention so that nobody dies, but when the cannon doesn’t work, Lorenzo's going to be pissed at me…and I might have to take you up on that offer then, actually. Fuck me." Leonardo chewed at his lip.

Lucrezia leaned over to Riario and whispered. He nodded.

"We can give you another way," Riario said. "But on the understanding that you owe us at the very least, the chance to sit down with you and have you hear us out. If we pool our knowledge, the Book of Leaves may come into our possession much sooner than if we block each other at every turn."

"Just a conversation?" Leonardo looked over at the hillside.

"Yes. I gather that Lorenzo is watching you," Riario said.

"Yes."

"Then let us give him a show." Riario stepped forward and punched Leonardo in the face. Lucrezia gave a gasp. Leonardo staggered back, clutching his nose. He shot Riario a look of surprise. Riario winked.

"You will keep your vile fingers off my wife," Riario roared, his voice echoing throughout the valley. "Your supposed genius and the fact you hide behind Lorenzo's skirts are the only things stopping me from cutting out your heart! You will receive no gold from Rome, artista, until you issue me a full apology and make recompense."

He gestured. The gold was gathered up. He grabbed Lucrezia's arm, steered her towards her horse. Then he turned back to Leonardo.

"We will be in touch," he said softly, before spitting at Leonardo's feet and striding back to his horse.

*

"That was quite the sacrifice you made," Lucrezia said when they were safely alone in an inn outside of Florence. Did Leonardo even know what damage Riario had done to his own reputation; if he did, it might earn the artista's respect.

"I had little time to come up with a better plan." Riario toyed with a length of his hair, distracted.

Lucrezia moved to press herself against his side. "He owes us now. And I may have an idea how to win him over," she said softly. She’d seen the look in Riario’s eyes when he'd been face to face with Leonardo. She had to be gentle though. Riario would not be pushed. "Leonardo’s desires are not limited to women."

"So I’ve heard."

"He looks at me with longing," Lucrezia said. She ran one hand along Riario’s sleeve. "He looks at you that way too."

She held her breath.

Riario stared at her for a long moment before he answered, amused, "You think he desires me?"

"You are very attractive."

"And you would have me attempt to seduce the artista?"

Not when that would look like a trap. They needed Leonardo to come to them.

"No. I want you to allow Leonardo to seduce you."

He scoffed, saw she was serious and began laughing for almost a full minute. Lucrezia stepped aside, placed her hands on her hips and waited for him to gather his wits.

Riario shook his head. "You want Leonardo to be fucking both of us?"

"You want him, don’t you?"

For a moment she thought she’d miscalculated, had read Girolamo wrong for the first time in years. Then he nodded slowly.

"I am ashamed to admit that I do."

Lucrezia leaned in and pressed a kiss to his neck. "Do not be ashamed. He is desirable. I would give you permission to not only be seduced but to bed him. If, that is, you would also give it to me."

"He is the one man I might allow to touch you, so long as I am given the same leeway," Riario allowed. "God help me."

Lucrezia wasn't finished though. "But more than that, we would not take him to bed alone. I want him in our bed, Girolamo, with both of us."

"All three of us?"

"Yes! Imagine it!"

"He would be ours," he said, desire colouring his voice. "Our artista."

"Yes," Lucrezia said, and she wrapped her arms around her husband. She sought his lips, kissing him hard. Together they had faced great trials and come out stronger. She believed that this, that Leonardo, might be the crowning glory to their blessed union. "You. Me. Him. We would be invincible."

Riario kissed her back. "Yes," he said. "Oh, my darling, yes. We will."