Page 217 - The Grotesque Children's Book

Chapter 22.
Joanna of Austria

Joanna of Austria wasn't happy that her husband had taken on a mistress, let alone such a
beautiful and adorable one. Bianca de’ Whatever-Her-Name-Was was hard to dislike. She was
always cheery, and she had a voracious appetite and aptitude for culture and literature,
particularly for the theatre. But it was hard on Joanna to watch her husband so infatuated with
Bianca, and so indifferent to his own wife. Francesco and Bianca were like, were like two young
puppies in a barn, tussling and yipping with uninhibited joy in each other's company. They
clearly made each other happy.

She, Joanna of Austria, on the other hand, she knew her role in Francesco's life wasn't to
bring him joy, but to bring him property, good relations with the Emperor, working capital, and a
son (also known as property). Francesco didn't speak German, or at least not very well, and
Joanna of Austria herself wasn't much of a yip-in-the-barn kind of person, so she understood and
accepted her somber, joyless, privileged, pampered life. There were worse lives to live.

Still, when Francesco finally became Grand Duke in 1574 and one of the first projects he
undertook was to build the Casa di Bianca Cappello...it was a bit much.

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