Come Twilight (55 page)

T
ext of a summons from Idelfonzuz I, known as The Warrior, King of Aragon and Navarre, son-in-law of Adelfonzuz VI, King of León and Castile, to Germanno, Comide Ragoczy at Burgoz.

To the most excellent foreigner, Germanno, the Comide Ragoczy, currently resident at Burgoz, the felicitations of Idelfonzuz called The Warrior, who bids you leave Burgoz and travel to Toledom, for such is my pleasure.

I have been informed that you have experience with Moors and Jews, that you speak their languages and know something of their ways. Those from Burgoz who know you and have given you high praise have said you have conducted various negotiations with Moorish traders on behalf of Christians, and that neither the Christians nor the Moors have had reason to complain of your dealings. I am also told that you have been in the lands to the east of Egypt, and therefore have seen the heart of the followers of Mohammed; many of the Moors in this land cannot say as much, which surely should earn the respect of those Moors with whom you have contact here.

Now that Toledom is once again in Christian hands, it behooves me to put all the knowledge I possess to bringing this place to order with as little new disruption as may be managed, for now that this city is mine, I seek to have peace restored here so that I may continue the great work
of Adelfonzuz of León and Castile, and secure all of the Spanish territory for Christians.

You may aid me in this effort, and to that end, I ask you to make your skills and knowledge available to me as shortly after your arrival as is practical. I have included the order of safe passage to ensure you are not delayed in your travels. I will authorize you funds to purchase any reasonable supplies for the journey, and give you the right to requisition quarters with any Christian between here and Burgoz. You are to retain soldiers to escort you. You may be relieved of all anxiety that anyone will deny you service, for it is given to my benefit. Should you encounter any opposition to my commands, discover the instigator of that opposition and inform me of the miscreant after you are come.

When you have arrived in this city, you may select from many fine houses where you may begin a household. As a member of my Court, you will be allowed to choose from any of the houses left empty by the Moors who have fled Toledom; the only cost for you will be the cost of occupancy—the house itself will be my pledge of support to you. I will not require you to have servants accompany you, for that would slow your travels and give you more risks of losses and delays. There are slaves in plenty here, and experienced servants eager for new masters now that the Moors no longer rule there.

Once you have made yourself a life to your liking, then I will ask that you help me to deal with serving out justice to the people of Toledom, and so that the Moors and Jews do not suffer overmuch, I will designate you to attend to them, and to be certain that their needs are met and they are given every chance to conduct themselves appropriately in a Christian court of judgment. Surely it must not be said of us that we came only to end the upholding of the right.

I want to give them no occasion to rise against me now that this city is secure. At the same time, I want to be certain that the laws of the city are enforced with all rigor. Let the Moors and Jews show themselves willing to accept Christian rule, and let them give fealty to me, and they will go as honorably as any Christian priest. My soldiers are under order to leave the women of Toledom alone—they will have opportunities aplenty for venting their lusts when we begin the campaign for Zaraguza in the spring. It should ease our occupation of this city if the Jews and Moors know they need not fear for their women.

My later plans will demand more effort from you; Zaraguza is just
the beginning of my plans to see Spain free of Moors from Aragon to Gadiz. The Comide of Barzeluna is willing to aid us in driving the Moors from all of Gotalunya, and the new Comide of Portugal will also lend support to this cause. I will explain all to you upon your arrival here. Suffice it to say that I am not going to rest content until I am certain that I have done all that may be done to secure these lands. Once all of Spain is again in Christian hands, the divisions of the lords may be settled in a mutually satisfactory manner. In this, I have the support of the Comide of Barzeluna, who defends all of Gotalunya from the Moors, as well as other enemies.

In the name of Santiago, amen. Do not linger upon receiving this, but hasten to obey. You are not my vassal, but you are a nobleman and you live or die at my desire. It is to our mutual benefit that you serve me in this; if you are prompt in your coming, I will uphold my promise and reward you handsomely for it, beyond what I have already pledged to you. Therefore, with the prospect of such favor awaiting you, I look to see you here before the Nativity.

Idelfonzuz the Warrior

King of Aragon and Navarre

By the hand of Fre Jimeno

Carried by Toedonadoz, Knight

at Toledom on the 21
^st
day of September in the 1116
^th
year of Christian
Salvation

The sound of his boot-heels was loud on the marble floor of the primary reception room; a fountain in the courtyard behind them softened the noise with a constant musical chuckle. The scent of lemon trees sweetened the afternoon breeze. It was warm for late November, and the light lay brightly golden over the hills; Toledom basked in it, although it clearly revealed the scars of war on walls and buildings. In the markets the last of the slim harvest was being sold to the highest bidder and to the forces of Idelfonzuz of Aragon and Navarre who were beginning to enjoy the fruits of their victory as well as the advantages of their occupation.

“I hardly recognize the place, with all that has been done to it. The street is no longer as it was, either,” said Germanno, Comide Ragoczy in Byzantine Greek as he went into the next room. “Ah. This is more familiar.” He had been surprised that his old house was still standing—although much modified by subsequent owners—and his inspection of it was reassuring and startling by turns. “It is half again as large as what I had built, five hundred years ago.”

Behind him, Ruthor nodded. “At least it is not a ruin.” He paused, glancing at the fireplace. “That should be cleaned and inspected before anything is burned. You do not know that it is safe.”

“I was thinking the same thing.” He passed through the room into a gallery that had not existed the last time he left this house. “I like the columns: red granite—and it is pleasant to be open to the garden. At mid-summer this must be a welcome haven from the heat.”

“It is also good that the garden is walled,” said Ruthor, looking beyond the courtyard to the stretch of trees and shrubs beyond. “And, if it comes to that, the outer gates are very imposing.”

“I thought so, too,” said Germanno. “What building did they take down to make this garden?” Before Ruthor could answer, he said, “It was that grain emporium, was it not? Yes, that and the barn of that carter.” He smiled. “The garden is much handsomer, and longer, than either of the buildings were.”

“That it is,” said Ruthor, shading his eyes against the sun. “A fine place, this.”

“It is,” said Germanno. “The emporium was no great loss, but the carter had a family—” His expression darkened.

“After five hundred years or so, I doubt anyone remembers them,” said Ruthor pointedly. “They surely must have scattered when the Moors came.”

“Very likely,” said the Comide, his voice level as he glanced at Ruthor.

“Yes. As my family certainly was when I had been away from Gadiz for several centuries,” Ruthor said in a tone to match Germanno’s.

Germanno nodded once. “At least we came to Burgoz from the Breton March port of Noirmoutier. Little as I like traveling by water, I am less eager to go through Chimena’s territory, even now. Who knows what has happened there.” He paused in the door that led to a wing of the house he had never seen before. “This must have been the women’s quarters. You see those screens.”

Ruthor paused at the mention of her name. “Do you think Chimena is still there? It is almost four hundred years since you saw her.” He saw Germanno glance away. “Aragon is in the territory she held, is it not?”

“Yes, a portion of it is,” said the Comide. “The rest is in Gotalunya, in the Comidie of Barzeluna. I must assume that she is where she was before, since she was disinclined to travel. I have no sense of her True Death, although it is remotely possible that she could die and I not know of it; the bond of blood with us has never been strong. I must admit I am curious about those around her, and I worry that there may be far too many of them by now. But I am not going to ask Idelfonzuz if he knows anything of a group of vampires in his kingdom.”

“He might be offended,” said Ruthor automatically.

“Or worse,” said Germanno, and did not elucidate.

Ruthor came to the doorway and peered in. “That pool is very nice.”

“If I can line its bedding with my native earth, I will keep it; I would like to have such a bath. If you will discover how it is fixed in the foundation and if there is room for my native earth?” He left the wing and went toward the corridor that had led to his laboratory. “I hope they have not ruined it.”

“Why should they?” Ruthor asked, his curiosity piqued.

“I have no notion. I have not set foot in this city since we left almost five hundred years ago. It is unknown to me now.” He went down the corridor carefully, as if to reassure himself that he had chosen the right direction. When he reached the door he opened it carefully, troubled by what he might find beyond. “By all the forgotten gods,” he murmured as the door swung back, revealing a chamber with a ceiling higher than the rest of the roof with a circular staircase of metal leading up to a high balcony under a skylight hatch that now stood open. “An observatory.”

“So it is,” said Ruthor, astonished by the discovery. “What an extravagant addition. The former owner must have been a wealthy and educated man.”

“Or he employed a teacher,” said the Comide, assessing the room with narrowed eyes. “You see that there are pigeon-holes in the north wall for scrolls, and chains by that book-rest, so there were Arabic and Roman books here.” He looked about, a wistful turn to his mouth. “A pity I will not have more time to use this place.”

“Do you think you will not?” Ruthor asked in some apprehension.

“Idelfonzuz did not order me here so that I could study the stars,” said Germanno.

“You are to assist in the running of his Courts,” said Ruthor, sounding unconvinced.

“So he has told me. I am sure there is more to it,” said the Comide.

“But if he expects you to deal with the Moors and the Jews, would not this room serve that purpose admirably? Could you not show that it would increase your acceptance by their learned men? Most of them would be pleased to have such a place as this in which to work.” Ruthor pointed to the high desk against the south wall. “If you offered the opportunity to study here to many of the scholars in the city, might not you earn the respect and trust you need to fulfill the King’s mandate? Your library could be brought here, as an added incentive.”

“It is possible, but that will depend on the King,” said Germanno, making himself turn away from the wonderful transformation of his long-ago laboratory. “My books are the least of it; I will need to have at least half the rooms suitably furnished. That means in Roman fashions, or Frankish ones. Idelfonzuz would not appreciate divans and carpets in the Moorish style.” He shook his head as he closed the door. “Perhaps I can use the observatory to explain my nighttime habits. It will be more readily understood why I am up late if this room is known.” Going back down the corridor, he added, “It would be wise to do a full inspection of that room.”

“Why? Does anything seem amiss?” Ruthor was troubled by this remark. “Do you suspect something has been done to the room?”

“No, but I remember the scorpion, and I would not like to have such a surprise again.” He paused, listening to the fountains. “Be sure the water flowing in the wells is wholesome. A few of the cisterns in the city had dead rats sunk in them, as a departing token of the Moors who have gone. Those who have stayed may still ally themselves with those who left, and seek to do mischief to all of those here with Idelfonzuz.”

Ruthor stopped still. “If you are so apprehensive about such ruses, how can you enjoy your homecoming?”

“But this is not a homecoming,” said Germanno, Comide Ragoczy rather sharply, going on in a gentler tone, “it is a return, and one that has been long in coming. I would be soft-witted if I mistook this place for the one we left so long ago; think of all the work that must be done on Villa Ragoczy in Roma. This is not much different, except that it appears never to have fallen to ruin.” He resumed walking, this time bound for the part of the house that once held his library, and faced a solid wall of jasper and malachite. “I want to know what is on the far side of this wall. Then tomorrow morning, when it is appropriate, I will dispatch you to Idelfonzuz to tell him the house suits me very well.”

“Because it is your house. You had it built,” Ruthor said, annoyed and not knowing why he was so.

“The King does not know that,” the Comide said gently. “He will want to be thanked for his magnanimity.”

“Which you will do,” said Ruthor, smiling in spite of himself.

“Of course.” He went back to the courtyard where the larger fountain splashed over large white stones into a large marble basin. “If the wells have not been tampered with, you may start hiring servants tomorrow; do not hesitate to pay well for quality. I would prefer not to purchase any slaves unless it is absolutely necessary. Find me good servants and offer them decent wages; a bit above the usual, but nothing so high as would imply we are naive in such matters. If those you hire have families, offer a little extra for housing, and make the servants’ quarters available to those who are alone in the world.” He paused, staring in the inlaid frieze of
Qran
text that filled the wall of the main reception room. “
Peace be upon you, for you have endured patiently; how splendid a recompense is paradise,
” he read aloud, translating. “From the
Chapter of Thunder,
I think. Noble sentiments, and yet I would rather have a painting of the city. Shameful in Moorish eyes, but tempting to me.”