Page 320 - The Grotesque Children's Book

Chapter 48.

The Bow and Dart

Santi expected Allori not to show up, and simultaneously expected him to be waiting in a
dark shadowy corner, a menacing hat pulled down over his eyes. Or perhaps there was some
third scenario which Santi could not anticipate: some surprise celebration for him, perhaps, with
Allori’s friends all pitching in to buy gifts, wine and food; or perhaps the dire opposite: some
stealthy man wearing black robes, pressing a sharp stiletto into his ribs, killing him instantly and
then feeding him to the wild dogs who roam the streets of Florence....

The shadow-corner scenario turned out to be correct. There in a far, dark corner sat
Allori, nervously sipping from some wooden tankard. Allori looked up from his drink, not a
little startled, so lost had he been in his own thoughts. “Santi!” he shouted. “You showed up! I
didn’t think you would.”

“I could go away. I left my father sleeping; I can’t stay long.”

“Of course. Pull up a chair. Let us talk about how to get you some money.”

It was noisy in the Bow and Dart, very noisy and crowded, which is why Allori had
chosen it. Santi sat down next to Allori. “I can’t see why you’d want to help me, Master Allori.
I’m here out of curiosity, not out of any real sense that you want to help me.”

“I want to help both of us. You and I both knew we’re very unlikely to finish the ceilings
on time; the Duke is unlikely to pay us, Santi. We’re going to have to take our pay from him.”

“You mean...steal from him?” This Santi had not anticipated. “That’s what you mean by
calling us peers later this afternoon. Peers because we’ll both be convicted criminals side by side
on the gallows.”

“No. There’s someone else I think we can get to confess to the crime even though we
were the ones who committed it.”

“I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

“And I haven’t told you what we must do. So, drink up and listen.”

Santi drank up and listened.

“We’re going to steal the queen’s jewels, you and I.”

Santi spat out his drink. Allori shot a paranoid look around the tavern, then, back to
Santi, said, “Gently, gently, Santi. If you don’t like this plan, I won’t make you do it. But listen
with an open mind. There’s a box, a large octagonal box, in the private chamber of the Duchess.
The outside of the chamber is guarded, but the inside itself is not. If we can get you into the
room, it’s just a matter of opening the jewel box’s drawers.”

“You make it sound like it’s easy getting into the room.”

“It is. I get into it every day.”

320