Niccolo Rising (92 page)

Their twined hands fell apart, and became memory. Nicholas moved to her side and they waited. Someone lifted the curtain. She didn’t know what to expect. Then she smelled the perfume: harsh, expensive, disturbing; and knew what she had given up; and to whom; and why.

And then she walked forward and smiled; for she was a merchant.

THE HOUSE OF NICCOLÒ SERIES
BY
DOROTHY DUNNETT

NICCOLÒ RISING

Bruges, 1460. Street smart, brilliant at figures, adept at the subtleties of diplomacy and the well-timed untruth, Dunnett’s hero Nicholas rises from wastrel to prodigy in a breathless adventure that wins him the hand of the most powerful woman in Bruges—and the hatred of two powerful enemies.

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THE SPRING OF THE RAM

Backed by none other than Cosimo de’ Medici, Nicholas sails the Black Sea to Trebizond, last outpost of Byzantium, and the last jewel missing from the crown of the Ottoman Empire. But trouble lies ahead. Nicholas’s stepdaughter has eloped with his rival in trade: a Machiavellian Genoese who races ahead of Nicholas, sowing disaster at every port.

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RACE OF SCORPIONS

At the age of 21, Nicholas finds himself in limbo. His beloved wife is dead, his stepchildren have locked him out of the family business, and his private army is the target of multiple conspiracies. And both contenders for the throne of Cyprus—the brilliant Queen Carlotta and her sexually ambivalent brother James—are demanding his support.

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SCALES OF GOLD

As unknown enemies conspire against him in Venice, Nicholas embarks for the fabled, gold-rich land of Africa, where the risks are unnumbered and the rewards beyond measure.

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THE UNICORN HUNT

Intent on expanding his empire and with ancient scores to settle, Nicholas sets up business in Scotland. But soon events impel him back across the continent, in search of the wife who may be carrying his child.

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TO LIE WITH LIONS

As three courts vie for his allegiance, Nicholas finds himself embroiled in furious combat with his estranged wife for the future of their young son.

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CAPRICE AND RONDO

From the ice-locked port of Danzig to the perfumed gardens of the Crimea, Nicholas undertakes a passionate venture to consolidate his fortune, protect his friends, and make peace with his past.

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