The Ghost of Hannah Mendes (41 page)

For many weeks, he hesitated. But then an event occurred that finally changed his mind
.

Brianda was with child
.

At long last, he agreed
.

We began to wind up our affairs, deciding that in twelve months’ time, we should find ourselves on the road again, this time toward true freedom
.

In due course, Brianda was delivered of a lovely baby girl, who brought great joy to all our hearts. At Diogo’s insistence, she was named Gracia
.

It was only a few weeks later that Diogo came down with that same strange fever that had killed his brother. He burned for three days and three nights, as Brianda and I took turns wetting his forehead with cool linens dipped in ice water. On the fourth, he seemed to improve. He sat up in bed and sipped a bowl of sweet almond broth. But as night fell, the fever returned and a swelling began in all his limbs, turning the joints blue
.

He was dead before the morning sun broke through the clouds again
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May G-d spread wings of comfort over him, and may the Garden of Eden be his everlasting reward
.

There are many moments in a person’s life when he feels the great hand of destiny has slapped him down, but only a few when the great heel of fortune uses its full weight to grind his body and spirit utterly into the dust
.

This was such a moment. For within six years I had lost both husband and dearest friend, my only helpmates and shields from the terrors of a world suddenly revealed to me in all its poisonous horror; a world closing in on me and all those I loved
.

How I wanted to take to my bed, to weep and refuse to be consoled! Never in my life did I wish more to be allowed the womanly liberty of nervous collapse, of using the excuse of my sex to claim the right of incompetence. I wanted some protector to rise like a mythic hero from the dark shadows, surprising me with his strength and intelligence, the brilliance of his ability to rebuild from the splintering shards of my life something whole and firm
.

I could not comfort Brianda. I could not even stand to be in the same room with her, so panic-stricken and hysterical was she, moaning to all who would listen that the King’s Imperial Guard would at any moment knock on our doors and drag us off to the Inquisition
.

And then Diogo’s will was read
.

He left a startling amount for charity, the income of which was to be distributed yearly in three equal parts to dower orphans, help prisoners, and clothe the naked. To Brianda, he left the return of her dowry and whatever allowance I thought best
.

As for the rest, he left it all to me, in trust for his daughter, Little Gracia. Since half the company was already mine because of Francisco’s will, I was now solely in charge
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And thus, I became the administrator of the greatest fortune in Europe
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It was the exact opposite of all I wanted
.

And yet, I could not but hear the voices of Francisco and Diogo urging me on, flinging over me the great mantle of their work to save our people through our wealth. I straightened my slim, womanly shoulders, and walked out of the great pink marble hall to my carriage. All the ride home, I clasped my hands and prayed, asking for the wisdom and guidance of my G-d and my ancestors
.

Time heals no wounds. On the contrary, the longer the days stretch between the last living contact with one’s beloved, the more the longing to see him grows. And yet, I could not but feel that all that had happened, that great turning of the wheels of fate, had done all it could to prepare me for the greatest task any woman had ever been asked to undertake
.

I knew I was ready
.

31

Roth, Cecil
, Doña Gracia of the House of Nasi, The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1948; 1977.

Fresh proceedings against Diogo for heresy had perhaps been in contemplation at the time of his death, being delayed only in order to collect overwhelming evidence. From the point of view of the imperial treasury, they would obviously have been lucrative, for a condemnation on this charge entailed automatically the confiscation of a man’s entire property….

It did not seem equitable that his death should involve the emperor in loss; and posthumous proceedings were therefore opened against him. Doña [Gracia] fought courageously against the danger, piling up evidence of his unimpeachable orthodoxy, bringing witnesses to prove his Christian zeal, placating the officials with gifts of money, using every possible expedient and sparing no reasonable expense; there was obviously no other course that could be taken, save to accept defeat and confiscation…
.

Manuscript pages, unbound, circa 1610-1620. Hidden in the binding of a book taken from Caceres to Venice.

W
hat else could I do? I paid. One hundred thousand florins. A loan without interest to the Emperor, they called it
.

All charges were dropped
.

There was no question, of course, of my leaving Antwerp now, with so much to be arranged, so much to oversee. But G-d in his mercy prepares the cure before He creates the illness. Just when I began to truly despair, I looked across the dinner table to find the solution smiling at me. Joseph
.

He had grown from a gangling, shy, sweet-tempered young boy to a tall, handsome man of acute intelligence and immeasurable charm. He had long been involved in helping Diogo administer the House of Mendes and was not only completely versed in our commercial dealings, but privy to the complex secret dealings upon which so many lives depended
.

Realizing that our relations to the royal family must be sweetened, I sent him to live at Queen Mary’s court in Brussels. He soon became adept at jousting, hunting, swordsmanship, and courtly dancing. He and the Queen’s nephew, Maximilian, soon became boon companions. Having prepared the ground, I then joined him
.

How can I make you envision my arrival in Brussels to the resplendence of the royal court? I was still young, still greatly admired for my enormous wealth and not unpleasing person. They paid me court, those endless stream of royal cousins, untitled and titled noblemen, men who saw in me a womanly body, larger houses, and lesser thrift. I accepted their gifts; the poorly worked jewels, the illuminated manuscript of the Book of Matthew; the awful poetry and the endless bunches of dying flora! I smiled. I served tea. I flattered them enough to have them leave in good spirits, yet not enough to encourage their imminent return. It was like a fencing match, I told Joseph. The object was to neither mortally wound, nor jump back in defense over the castle parapet
.

And just as I began feeling the smugness of victory, I realized that the enemy had changed the rules of the battle and the object of victory. Before I realized what was happening, the light of avid interest began to shine on my daughter, my Reyna
.

She was like some rare flower, her graceful head blooming on the gleaming white stem of her fresh, lovely body. People remarked that her blue eyes were like the sky over the deep blue Mediterranean. Others compared her golden-red hair to that of Isabella, little realizing my revulsion at the thought of any connection, however flimsy, between my child and the Catholic Queen who had caused our people so much grief
.

Her charming smile, her little ivory hands, the smoothness of her alabaster brow…the praise was endless. I was confused at first, as perhaps a mother with a daughter so newly emerged from childhood can claim her right to be. I allowed myself to savor the praise as a sculptor savors gushings over the form released from stone by his skillful chisel. But soon I awoke, understanding how all this flattery once again placed us in mortal danger
.

It was not unheard of for monarchs to simply take charge of the promising, wealthy offspring of members of court, bringing them up and disposing of their matrimonial futures as they would gifts at their disposal, to be conferred at will upon anyone who had gained their favor. Through my contacts and Joseph’s, we were able to convey in the strongest possible terms that any such attempt would be viewed with extreme disfavor, backed by the considerable resources of the House of Mendes
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Thus, tactics changed again. It was decided to allow the maiden to be wooed
.

I see her now in my mind’s eye, seated demurely in our salon, her dainty hands twisting the folds of her blue gown as the men lean in toward her with cunning smiles. Her face, confused, already glowing with the reflected light of male approval. For I am sure among the dozens were several honestly smitten, who gave no thought to the rich wrappings that would accompany such a prize, even if their parents did
.

It was, and is, my great fortune to have been blessed with a child of great good humor and calm nerves. She did not complain, taking it in with the wonder of Columbus gazing at the sudden appearance of a world he had hitherto not known existed
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Some were honest, handsome of face and form; kindly and possessing great wealth and position of their own. Still, as I explained to her, marriage to any Old Christian was out of the question. Reyna, having received at my hands the same education my mother had given me, did not have to be told why
.

Gradually, the ranks thinned. Only one would not be put off. His name was Don Francisco d’Aragon, a bastard of the Aragonese royal house. He was in good favor with Queen Mary and the entire royal house, having distinguished himself in his zeal in investigating the crimes of New Christians. Indeed, years before (for he was a man of an age more fitting to be my father than my daughter’s husband) he had accompanied the Empress Isabella herself on some state journey
.

You might imagine, my children, my joy in contemplating such a match for my only daughter! I nevertheless was forced to entertain him on a number of occasions, though I made sure Reyna, who found him odious in the extreme, was spared such ignominy. When his persistence forced me to stretch my ingenuity to the extreme, I decided to return to Antwerp in great haste, putting as much distance between us as possible
.

When d’Aragon found himself unable to breach our gates at will, he went directly to Charles to press his suit. Through Joseph and his well-placed spies, I learned that he had proposed the following: 200,000 ducats to our impecunious Emperor from my daughter’s wealth if the marriage took place!

Charles wrote immediately to Queen Mary, insisting that she arrange it, promising her a quarter of the spoils for her own needs
.

Then began a series of meetings I shall not forget. Queen Mary, Regent of the Netherlands, deputy to the Emperor, driving up to our home in Antwerp and seating herself in our salon
.

“A little refreshment, Your Majesty?”

The golden plates, the rich cakes, the hot brew. Her smile, her words of praise for Reyna, her desire, as one who was as fond of her as her own mother, to see her settled well. The wonderful opportunity to marry with such royal favor a man of such impeccable renown
.

“Sugar, Your Majesty?”

“What is your answer then, Doña Beatrice? Shall this wonderful match not be immediately taken advantage of?”

“My dearest Queen, may our close relationship allow me to speak with candor?”

A gracious incline of the royal head
.

“Your Majesty, permit me to say that I would truly prefer to see my child dead and buried than married to an opportunistic, elderly vagabond who is old enough to be her grandfather!”

It was a shame, the next day, that urgent business called the Queen from our company and back to court
.

The letters from Charles to the Queen Regent, and d’Aragon to Charles, continued, full of eager suggestions. The mother’s consent, d’Aragon advised, was of no importance whatsoever. Why not simply choose the day and time and send the Imperial Guard to accompany the bride there safely?

Do so and the merchant class of Antwerp, whose taxes fill your coffers, will rise and leave as one man, the Queen’s advisers pointed out to her, an impression that Joseph no doubt had some part in creating
.

Perhaps then, a ball. Invite the Mendes women to court here in Brussels, where they shall be my honored guests until such time as I shall find it in their best interests to permit them to leave….

Unfortunately—as I explained to my Queen in letters written on parchment and sealed with wax—my health did not permit me to accept her gracious invitation. Indeed, as the invitations mounted, I realized my health would never permit a journey in that direction
.

I held out as long as I could
.

The next time the royal messengers arrived at our door in Antwerp, they found the house empty of its inhabitants
.

I had begun my next journey, escaping with Reyna, Brianda, and Little Gracia to Venice
.

32

“Good news?” Janice looked up from the brilliant pages of her glossy magazine into her mother’s distant smile.

“Wonderful!” Catherine said hoarsely. “Can you bring me a drink of water, please?”

Janice hurried to pour some into a tall glass, cradling her mother’s head as she drank in long, painful gulps. She finished less than half before impatiently waving Janice away.