Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende Read Free Book Online

holiness the pope was allowed to leave his refuge in Sant’Angelo castle, but he was arrested, and received the same treatment as a common prisoner. His pontifical ring was taken from him, and soldiers guffawed as he was given a kick in the seat that drove him to his knees.
    Benvenuto Cellini could be accused of many things, but he was not one to forget a favor, which is why when the Mother Superior of the convent visited him to tell how a young Spanish officer had saved her congregation and had stayed on for weeks in the building to defend them, the renowned artist had wanted to meet him. Hours later, the nun accompanied Francisco de Aguirre to the palace. Cellini received him in one of the salons in the Vatican, amid piles of debris and furniture gutted by the marauding mercenaries. The two men exchanged brief, courteous greetings.
    Then Cellini, who never beat about the bush, asked point blank, “What would you like, signor, in exchange for your courageous intervention?”
    Red with anger, Aguirre instinctively put his hand to the grip of his sword. “You insult me, señor!” he exclaimed.
    The Mother Superior stepped between them with all the weight of her authority, and separated them with a contemptuous gesture. This was no time for posturing. She was a member of the family of the Genoese condottiere Andrea Doria; the Mother Superior was a woman of fortune and breeding, accustomed to command.
    â€œEnough! I beg you to forgive this unintentional offense, Don Francisco. We are living in bad times; blood has flowed and terrible sins have been committed; it is not strange that good manners have been relegated to a secondary importance. Signor Cellini knows that you did not defend our convent out of any thought of reward but, rather, because you have a righteous heart. The last thing he wishes is to insult you. We would consider it a privilege if you would accept a sign of our appreciation and gratitude.”
    The Mother Superior gestured to the sculptor to stand back, took Aguirre by his sleeve, and led him to the far end of the salon. Cellini could hear them whispering for a long time. When his limited patience was wearing thin, they returned, and the Mother Superior presented the request as the young officer, with his eyes on the tips of his boots, sweated.
    And that is why Benvenuto Cellini obtained authorization from Pope Clement VII—before he was sent into exile—for Francisco de Aguirre to marry his first cousin. The stunned young Basque ran to his friend Pedro de Valdivia to tell him the news. His eyes were moist and his giant’s voice was trembling; he could not believe such a miracle.
    â€œI am not sure that this is such great news, Francisco,” Valdivia protested. “You collect conquests the way our holy emperor collects clocks. I cannot imagine you as a husband.”
    â€œMy cousin is the only woman I have ever loved! The others are faceless creatures who exist only for a moment, and only to satisfy the appetite the Devil placed in me.”
    â€œThe Devil is responsible for many different appetites in all of us, but God gives us the moral fiber to control them. That is what makes us different from animals.”
    â€œYou’ve been a soldier all these years, Pedro, and you still believe we are different from animals,” Aguirre joked.
    â€œI have no doubt at all. Man’s destiny is to rise above the beasts, to lead his life according to noble ideals, and save his soul.”
    â€œYou frighten me, Pedro. You talk like a priest. If I did not know you for the man you are, I would think that you lack the primordial instinct that drives all males.”
    â€œI have no shortage of that instinct, I assure you, but I do not allow it to determine my behavior.”
    â€œI am not as noble as you, but I am redeemed by the chaste and pure love I feel for my cousin.”
    â€œI would say you have a small problem there, which is that you are going to