I, Mona Lisa Read Online Free PDF

that love Giuliano feared.
    Now, staring at his distracted brother, Giuliano straightened and cleared his throat. “I am going,” he said, rather loudly, “to Rome.”
    Lorenzo lifted his brows and his gaze, but the rest of him did not stir. “On pleasure, or on some business I should acquaint myself with?”
    “I am going with a woman.”
    Lorenzo sighed; his frown eased. “Enjoy yourself, then, and think of me suffering here.”
    “I am going with Madonna Anna,” Giuliano said.
    Lorenzo jerked his head sharply at the name. “You’re joking.” He said it lightly, but as he stared at Giuliano, his expression grew incredulous. “You
must
be joking.” His voice fell to a whisper. “This is foolishness. . . . Giuliano, she is from a good family. And she is
married
.”
    Giuliano did not quail. “I love her. I won’t be without her. I’ve asked her to go with me to Rome, to live.”
    Lorenzo’s eyes widened; the letter slipped from his hand and fluttered to the floor, but he did not retrieve it. “Giuliano . . . Our hearts mislead us all, from time to time. You’re enthralled by an emotion; believeme, I understand. But it will ease. Give yourself a fortnight to re-think this idea.”
    Lorenzo’s paternal, dismissive tone only strengthened Giuliano’s resolve. “I’ve already arranged the carriage and driver, and sent a message to the servants at the Roman villa to prepare for us. We must seek an annulment,” he said. “I don’t say this lightly. I want to marry Anna. I want her to bear my children.”
    Lorenzo leaned back in his chair and stared intently at his brother, as if trying to judge whether he were an impostor. When he was satisfied that the words had been meant, Lorenzo let go a short, bitter laugh. “An annulment? Courtesy of our good friend Pope Sixtus, I suppose? He would prefer to see us banished from Italy.” He pushed himself away from his desk, rose, and reached for his brother; his tone softened. “This is a fantasy, Giuliano. I understand that she is a marvelous woman, but . . . she has been married for some years. Even if I
could
arrange for an annulment, it would create a scandal. Florence would never accept it.”
    Lorenzo’s hand was almost on his shoulder; Giuliano shifted it back, away from the conciliatory touch. “I don’t care what Florence will or won’t accept. We’ll remain in Rome, if we have to.”
    Lorenzo emitted a sharp sigh of frustration. “You’ll get no annulment from Sixtus. So give up your romantic ideals: If you can’t live without her, have her—but for God’s sake, do so discreetly.”
    Giuliano flared. “How can you speak of her like that? You know Anna; you know she would never stoop to deception. And if I can’t have her, I won’t have any other woman. You can stop all your match-making efforts right now. If I can’t marry her—”
    Even as he spoke, he felt his argument fail. Lorenzo’s eyes were filled with a peculiar light—furious and fierce, verging on madness—a light that made Giuliano think his brother was capable of malevolence. He had seen such a look in Lorenzo’s eyes only rarely—never before had it been directed at him—and it chilled him.
    “You’ll do what? Refuse to marry anyone at all?” Lorenzo shook his head vehemently; his voice grew louder. “You have a duty, an obligation to your family. You think you can go to Rome on a whim, passour blood on to a litter of bastards? You would stain us with excommunication? Because that’s what would happen, you know—to both of you! Sixtus is in no mood to be generous to us.”
    Giuliano said nothing; the flesh on his cheeks and neck burned. He had expected no less, though he had hoped for more.
    Lorenzo continued; the hand that had reached for his brother now became a jabbing, accusatory finger. “Do you have any idea of what will happen to
Anna
? What people will call her? She’s a decent woman, a good woman. Do you really want to ruin her? You’ll take