Alchemy, page 48
‘Esther,’ I began, ‘I—’
‘Don’t,’ she said, laying a hand on my arm. ‘Please. I can guess at what you want to say, Bruno. I have seen it in the way you look at me.’
‘I have not met a woman like you in a long time,’ I said.
She lowered her eyes. ‘And you are a remarkable man. Everyone says so. But my path is fixed. If I had been willing to acknowledge it sooner, perhaps none of this would have happened.’
A taut silence unfolded. I could hear my blood pulsing in my ears. Eventually I nodded.
‘You will marry Benjamin, then?’
‘Yes. It’s time. I had delayed because I felt I had a duty to my father, but also because I was unsure.’
‘Unsure about him?’
‘Unsure if it was really my choice, or merely what I knew was expected of me. But after everything we’ve been through, I’ve come to see that Benjamin is as much a part of my family as my own sisters.’
I fixed my eyes on the trees. ‘And is that – forgive me, but is that what you desire in a husband?’
She paused before answering. ‘I know now what it is to be the object of someone’s ardent passion,’ she said. ‘It’s not what the poets would have you believe. I’d rather have something steady and true, that will last. Look, here is my father.’ She removed her hand from my arm and stepped away; I felt the finality of it.
I glanced up to see Rabbi Loew making his way through the headstones. He caught sight of us and paused for a moment, as if he divined the nature of the conversation. He lowered his head before David’s grave for a silent prayer, then put an arm around Esther’s shoulders.
‘You should be resting, my dear,’ he said, in a tone of gentle rebuke, before turning to me. ‘Have you made up your mind about staying in Prague, Bruno? Will you take the Emperor’s offer?’
‘I told him I will let him know by tomorrow,’ I said as we walked towards the gate. ‘I needed time to think.’
‘It’s a prestigious position,’ he said. ‘And we would like to see more of you, wouldn’t we, Esther? I know Benjamin is eager to show you his cubiculum and his light shows too.’
I wondered if Benjamin would be so keen to share his work with me if he guessed at my feelings for his wife-to-be.
‘Is he still developing his Golem puppet?’ I asked.
‘I made him put it away in the attic of the synagogue, until the times are more receptive to that story,’ he said with a sad smile. When we reached the street, he drew me into one of his exuberant hugs. ‘Thank you for all you have done,’ he said fiercely in my ear.
‘I wish it had been more,’ I mumbled into his coat. He held me for a moment longer, then gave me a hearty thump on the back.
‘We’ll see you later for supper, my friend,’ he said as they walked away, Esther leaning heavily against him. At the gate of the cemetery, she turned and held my gaze.
Let her go, I told myself. It was my fate, it seemed, to fall for women who could not be mine, and if I stayed in Prague, I would need to learn to be satisfied with friendship, to her and Benjamin. For all that, it might be good to live in a place where I could count on friends. But there were enemies here too: San Clemente and his men, not to mention the possibility that Ottavio and Katherina Strada might eventually return from banishment. Rudolf was, after all, notoriously capricious.
If I took the job as librarian, how long would it last? Would I become like the Stradas, like Ziggi Bartos or John Dee, jostling to keep myself in Rudolf’s favour, one eye constantly over my shoulder to see who was coming up behind me, fearful of being pushed out by a new favourite? I had no wish to become ensnared in court politics; I had seen too often where it could lead. Nor could I stop turning over in my mind that last conversation with John on the subject of home. Despite Montalcino’s threats, I was not convinced that the Inquisition still cared all that much about me beyond his personal vendetta, and Italy was a big place. I would be forty soon; I wanted to see Nola again, and Monte Cicada. Vesuvius, Capri and the sunlight on the Bay of Naples.
I laid a hand briefly on David’s headstone and looked up at the last streaks of pink and gold fading over the rooftops of the Jewish Town. As I walked towards the cemetery gate, I took Rudolf’s silver token from my purse and flicked it high in the air, watching it spin, glinting, waiting to fall, the outcome still unknown.
Keep Reading …
Don’t miss the other books in S J Parris’s Giordano Bruno series!
ENGLAND, 1583.
IN ELIZABETH’S ENGLAND, TRUE FAITH CAN MEAN BLOODY MURDER …
Oxford, 1583. A place of learning. And murderous schemes.
The country is rife with plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and return the realm to the Catholic faith. Giordano Bruno is recruited by the queen’s spymaster and sent undercover to expose a treacherous conspiracy in Oxford – but his own secret mission must remain hidden at all costs.
A spy under orders. A coveted throne under threat.
When a series of hideous murders ruptures close-knit college life, Bruno is compelled to investigate. And what he finds makes it brutally clear that the Tudor throne itself is at stake …
Order Heresy now
ENGLAND, 1583.
UNDER ELIZABETH’S RULE, LOYALTY IS BOUGHT WITH BLOOD
An astrological phenomenon heralds the dawn of a new age and Queen Elizabeth’s throne is in peril. As Mary Stuart’s supporters scheme to usurp the rightful monarch, a young maid of honour is murdered, occult symbols carved into her flesh.
The Queen’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham, calls on maverick agent Giordano Bruno to infiltrate the plotters and secure the evidence that will condemn them to death.
Bruno is cunning, but so are his enemies. His identity could be exposed at any moment. The proof he seeks is within his grasp. But the young woman’s murder could point to an even more sinister truth …
Order Prophecy now
ENGLAND, 1584.
IN THE PURSUIT OF POWER, NOTHING IS SACRED …
Summer, 1584. The Protestant Prince William of Orange has been assassinated by a fanatical Catholic, and there are whispers that Queen Elizabeth will be next. Fear haunts the streets of London, and plague is driving many citizens away.
Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, chooses to remain, only to find that someone is following him through the city. Confronting his stalker, he realizes it is the woman he once loved – she is on the run, having been accused of murder.
Bruno travels to Canterbury to help clear her name, and also on behalf of Sir Francis Walsingham. The Queen’s spymaster has long suspected Catholic influence in the ancient centre of pilgrimage, and instructs Bruno to work to expose any enemy plots.
As Bruno begins his hunt for the real killer, he is drawn into the heart of a sinister conspiracy hiding in the shadow of England’s holiest shrine …
Order Sacrilege now
ENGLAND, 1585.
IN ELIZABETH’S ENGLAND THERE IS NO GREATER CRIME
August, 1585. England is on the brink of war …
Sir Francis Drake is preparing to launch a daring expedition against the Spanish when a murder aboard his ship changes everything.
A relentless enemy. A treacherous conspiracy.
Giordano Bruno agrees to hunt the killer down, only to find that more than one deadly plot is brewing in Plymouth’s murky underworld. And as he tracks a murderer through its dangerous streets, he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the future of England itself.
Order Treachery now
PARIS, 1585.
UNITED BY FEAR. DIVIDED BY BLOOD.
A KING WITHOUT AN HEIR
Heretic-turned-spy Giordano Bruno arrives in Paris to find a city on the edge of catastrophe. King Henri III lives in fear of a coup by the Duke of Guise and his fanatical Catholic League, and another massacre on the streets.
A COURT AT WAR WITH GOD
When Bruno’s old rival, Father Paul Lefèvre is found murdered, Bruno is drawn into a dangerous web of religious politics and court intrigue. And watching over his shoulder is the King’s mother, Catherine de Medici, with her harem of beautiful spies.
A DEADLY CONSPIRACY IN PLAY
When murder strikes at the heart of the Palace, Bruno finds himself on the trail of a killer who is protecting a terrible secret. With the royal houses of France and England under threat, Bruno must expose the truth – or be silenced for good …
Order Conspiracy now
ENGLAND, 1586.
TWO QUEENS. ONE THRONE. A CONSPIRACY TO MURDER.
A TREASONOUS CONSPIRACY
Giordano Bruno, a heretic turned spy, arrives in England with shocking information for spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. A band of Catholic Englishmen are plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and spring Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison to take the English throne in her place.
A DEADLY TRAP
Bruno is surprised to find that Walsingham is aware of the plot and is allowing it to progress. He hopes that Mary will put her support in writing – and condemn herself to a traitor’s death.
A QUEEN IN MORTAL DANGER
Bruno is tasked with going undercover to join the conspirators. Can he stop them before he is exposed? Either way a queen will die; Bruno must make sure it is the right one …
Order Execution now
About the Author
No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller S. J. Parris is the pseudonym of the author and journalist Stephanie Merritt. It was as a student at Cambridge researching a paper on the period that Stephanie first became fascinated by the rich history of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe. Since then, her interest has grown and led her to create this series of historical thrillers featuring Giordano Bruno, which has now sold over one million copies.
Stephanie has worked as a critic and feature writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines, as well as radio and television. She has also written the contemporary psychological thrillers While You Sleep and Storm under her own name. She currently writes for the Observer, and she lives in Surrey.
www.sjparris.com
/sjparrisbooks
@thestephmerritt
ALSO BY S. J. PARRIS
Heresy
Prophecy
Sacrilege
Treachery
Conspiracy
Execution
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
S. J. Parris, Alchemy
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‘Don’t,’ she said, laying a hand on my arm. ‘Please. I can guess at what you want to say, Bruno. I have seen it in the way you look at me.’
‘I have not met a woman like you in a long time,’ I said.
She lowered her eyes. ‘And you are a remarkable man. Everyone says so. But my path is fixed. If I had been willing to acknowledge it sooner, perhaps none of this would have happened.’
A taut silence unfolded. I could hear my blood pulsing in my ears. Eventually I nodded.
‘You will marry Benjamin, then?’
‘Yes. It’s time. I had delayed because I felt I had a duty to my father, but also because I was unsure.’
‘Unsure about him?’
‘Unsure if it was really my choice, or merely what I knew was expected of me. But after everything we’ve been through, I’ve come to see that Benjamin is as much a part of my family as my own sisters.’
I fixed my eyes on the trees. ‘And is that – forgive me, but is that what you desire in a husband?’
She paused before answering. ‘I know now what it is to be the object of someone’s ardent passion,’ she said. ‘It’s not what the poets would have you believe. I’d rather have something steady and true, that will last. Look, here is my father.’ She removed her hand from my arm and stepped away; I felt the finality of it.
I glanced up to see Rabbi Loew making his way through the headstones. He caught sight of us and paused for a moment, as if he divined the nature of the conversation. He lowered his head before David’s grave for a silent prayer, then put an arm around Esther’s shoulders.
‘You should be resting, my dear,’ he said, in a tone of gentle rebuke, before turning to me. ‘Have you made up your mind about staying in Prague, Bruno? Will you take the Emperor’s offer?’
‘I told him I will let him know by tomorrow,’ I said as we walked towards the gate. ‘I needed time to think.’
‘It’s a prestigious position,’ he said. ‘And we would like to see more of you, wouldn’t we, Esther? I know Benjamin is eager to show you his cubiculum and his light shows too.’
I wondered if Benjamin would be so keen to share his work with me if he guessed at my feelings for his wife-to-be.
‘Is he still developing his Golem puppet?’ I asked.
‘I made him put it away in the attic of the synagogue, until the times are more receptive to that story,’ he said with a sad smile. When we reached the street, he drew me into one of his exuberant hugs. ‘Thank you for all you have done,’ he said fiercely in my ear.
‘I wish it had been more,’ I mumbled into his coat. He held me for a moment longer, then gave me a hearty thump on the back.
‘We’ll see you later for supper, my friend,’ he said as they walked away, Esther leaning heavily against him. At the gate of the cemetery, she turned and held my gaze.
Let her go, I told myself. It was my fate, it seemed, to fall for women who could not be mine, and if I stayed in Prague, I would need to learn to be satisfied with friendship, to her and Benjamin. For all that, it might be good to live in a place where I could count on friends. But there were enemies here too: San Clemente and his men, not to mention the possibility that Ottavio and Katherina Strada might eventually return from banishment. Rudolf was, after all, notoriously capricious.
If I took the job as librarian, how long would it last? Would I become like the Stradas, like Ziggi Bartos or John Dee, jostling to keep myself in Rudolf’s favour, one eye constantly over my shoulder to see who was coming up behind me, fearful of being pushed out by a new favourite? I had no wish to become ensnared in court politics; I had seen too often where it could lead. Nor could I stop turning over in my mind that last conversation with John on the subject of home. Despite Montalcino’s threats, I was not convinced that the Inquisition still cared all that much about me beyond his personal vendetta, and Italy was a big place. I would be forty soon; I wanted to see Nola again, and Monte Cicada. Vesuvius, Capri and the sunlight on the Bay of Naples.
I laid a hand briefly on David’s headstone and looked up at the last streaks of pink and gold fading over the rooftops of the Jewish Town. As I walked towards the cemetery gate, I took Rudolf’s silver token from my purse and flicked it high in the air, watching it spin, glinting, waiting to fall, the outcome still unknown.
Keep Reading …
Don’t miss the other books in S J Parris’s Giordano Bruno series!
ENGLAND, 1583.
IN ELIZABETH’S ENGLAND, TRUE FAITH CAN MEAN BLOODY MURDER …
Oxford, 1583. A place of learning. And murderous schemes.
The country is rife with plots to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and return the realm to the Catholic faith. Giordano Bruno is recruited by the queen’s spymaster and sent undercover to expose a treacherous conspiracy in Oxford – but his own secret mission must remain hidden at all costs.
A spy under orders. A coveted throne under threat.
When a series of hideous murders ruptures close-knit college life, Bruno is compelled to investigate. And what he finds makes it brutally clear that the Tudor throne itself is at stake …
Order Heresy now
ENGLAND, 1583.
UNDER ELIZABETH’S RULE, LOYALTY IS BOUGHT WITH BLOOD
An astrological phenomenon heralds the dawn of a new age and Queen Elizabeth’s throne is in peril. As Mary Stuart’s supporters scheme to usurp the rightful monarch, a young maid of honour is murdered, occult symbols carved into her flesh.
The Queen’s spymaster, Francis Walsingham, calls on maverick agent Giordano Bruno to infiltrate the plotters and secure the evidence that will condemn them to death.
Bruno is cunning, but so are his enemies. His identity could be exposed at any moment. The proof he seeks is within his grasp. But the young woman’s murder could point to an even more sinister truth …
Order Prophecy now
ENGLAND, 1584.
IN THE PURSUIT OF POWER, NOTHING IS SACRED …
Summer, 1584. The Protestant Prince William of Orange has been assassinated by a fanatical Catholic, and there are whispers that Queen Elizabeth will be next. Fear haunts the streets of London, and plague is driving many citizens away.
Giordano Bruno, radical philosopher and spy, chooses to remain, only to find that someone is following him through the city. Confronting his stalker, he realizes it is the woman he once loved – she is on the run, having been accused of murder.
Bruno travels to Canterbury to help clear her name, and also on behalf of Sir Francis Walsingham. The Queen’s spymaster has long suspected Catholic influence in the ancient centre of pilgrimage, and instructs Bruno to work to expose any enemy plots.
As Bruno begins his hunt for the real killer, he is drawn into the heart of a sinister conspiracy hiding in the shadow of England’s holiest shrine …
Order Sacrilege now
ENGLAND, 1585.
IN ELIZABETH’S ENGLAND THERE IS NO GREATER CRIME
August, 1585. England is on the brink of war …
Sir Francis Drake is preparing to launch a daring expedition against the Spanish when a murder aboard his ship changes everything.
A relentless enemy. A treacherous conspiracy.
Giordano Bruno agrees to hunt the killer down, only to find that more than one deadly plot is brewing in Plymouth’s murky underworld. And as he tracks a murderer through its dangerous streets, he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the future of England itself.
Order Treachery now
PARIS, 1585.
UNITED BY FEAR. DIVIDED BY BLOOD.
A KING WITHOUT AN HEIR
Heretic-turned-spy Giordano Bruno arrives in Paris to find a city on the edge of catastrophe. King Henri III lives in fear of a coup by the Duke of Guise and his fanatical Catholic League, and another massacre on the streets.
A COURT AT WAR WITH GOD
When Bruno’s old rival, Father Paul Lefèvre is found murdered, Bruno is drawn into a dangerous web of religious politics and court intrigue. And watching over his shoulder is the King’s mother, Catherine de Medici, with her harem of beautiful spies.
A DEADLY CONSPIRACY IN PLAY
When murder strikes at the heart of the Palace, Bruno finds himself on the trail of a killer who is protecting a terrible secret. With the royal houses of France and England under threat, Bruno must expose the truth – or be silenced for good …
Order Conspiracy now
ENGLAND, 1586.
TWO QUEENS. ONE THRONE. A CONSPIRACY TO MURDER.
A TREASONOUS CONSPIRACY
Giordano Bruno, a heretic turned spy, arrives in England with shocking information for spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. A band of Catholic Englishmen are plotting to kill Queen Elizabeth and spring Mary, Queen of Scots, from prison to take the English throne in her place.
A DEADLY TRAP
Bruno is surprised to find that Walsingham is aware of the plot and is allowing it to progress. He hopes that Mary will put her support in writing – and condemn herself to a traitor’s death.
A QUEEN IN MORTAL DANGER
Bruno is tasked with going undercover to join the conspirators. Can he stop them before he is exposed? Either way a queen will die; Bruno must make sure it is the right one …
Order Execution now
About the Author
No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller S. J. Parris is the pseudonym of the author and journalist Stephanie Merritt. It was as a student at Cambridge researching a paper on the period that Stephanie first became fascinated by the rich history of Tudor England and Renaissance Europe. Since then, her interest has grown and led her to create this series of historical thrillers featuring Giordano Bruno, which has now sold over one million copies.
Stephanie has worked as a critic and feature writer for a variety of newspapers and magazines, as well as radio and television. She has also written the contemporary psychological thrillers While You Sleep and Storm under her own name. She currently writes for the Observer, and she lives in Surrey.
www.sjparris.com
/sjparrisbooks
@thestephmerritt
ALSO BY S. J. PARRIS
Heresy
Prophecy
Sacrilege
Treachery
Conspiracy
Execution
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower
22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5H 4E3, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
India
HarperCollins India
A 75, Sector 57
Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India
www.harpercollins.co.in
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
S. J. Parris, Alchemy
