Page 309 - The Grotesque Children's Book

Chapter 43.

Lapis Lazuli

Zaccario had sensed Allori was about to pay him a visit. Allori’s desperation was
palpable and stank from a thousand yards away. Zaccario could see as clearly as any man
working in I Magistrati that the ceiling wouldn’t be finished in time; that is, not unless desperate
measures were taken. This tasty scenario presented Zaccario with a mouthwatering opportunity.
Zaccario was not a gambling man. He was the kind of nervous individual who purchases every
possible type of insurance policy that he could find -- or create. That is to say, Zaccario spied on
his fellow Italians, and squirrelled away their dirty and clean secrets in case he needed leverage
or defense one day. Defense?, you astute readers observe, the word is blackmail. Indeed it is.
Zaccario’s squirrellings were insurance policies in the form of ruinous gossip, or proof of
slander, or in the case of Allesandro Allori, illegal trafficking of semi-precious stones, especially
lapis lazuli.

SIDEBAR. Lapis Lazuli is semiprecious stone valued for its deep blue
color, used in Medieval and Renaissance painting as a source of blue
pigmentation. “Lapis” is the Latin word for “stone”; “Lazuli” comes from the
same Arabic root as does “azure” -- it means “blue color.” In Allesandro Allori’s
day, blue was a difficult pigment to come by, and lapis became an extraordinarily
expensive commodity, costing at time more than gold, ounce for ounce. In its
natural state, Lapis lazuli contains gold-colored flecks. These flecks are often
likened to stars in the sky.

Zaccario had paid a few tight-lipped merchants to report back to him any breeches of
ducal tariffs, providing Zaccario a handy list of many many punishable offenses. Allesandro
Allori had committed only one of them: not declaring full value of his buying and selling of
lapis lazuli; but one was enough. Just one ducal offense, if reported, would ruin Allori, and send
his wife and nine children headlong onto the street. It was classic power which Zaccario
wielded: find out a secret scandal which a wealthy head of state was eager to suppress in
advance of negotiating of a business deal. Elegant, mused Zaccario, and very effective.

“How much do you need, Allesandro Allori?” asked Zaccario.

“It’s hard to know,” fretted Allori. “It’s possible yours will be the last money I shall ever
receive, so it might need to last me the rest of my life.”

“Allesandro. Some advice. When you’re asking for a loan from someone, do not divulge
the fact you think you’ll never earn any more money. It’s harder for the lender to be convinced
of the wisdom of the transaction, and causes him to feel the need to --”

“Oh don’t be coy, Zaccario. I understand that you need to charge me a higher interest
rate because the risk is greater. But there’s a limit beyond which I can’t go. I would think that
ten percent interest rate fair, and fifteen percent untenable. Somewhere between those numbers
lies your tipping point and my salvation.”

309