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Papal chambers. Lucrezia’s apartment was next to the Pope’s chambers, because the
Pope wanted her near him. After Lucrezia fell asleep, Doudu left her room and went
noiselessly through the short corridor that separated Alexander’s bed from hers. He knew
nobody would question him even if they saw him. After all, was he not the special guest
of the Pope? Don Michelotto had instructed everyone to allow him to do as he pleased,
go where he wished and do whatever he liked. Nobody, on the pain of death, was to say
a word to him or disturb him in any way. At night, Doudu had made a habit of slipping
out and jogging around the Vatican, whenever he could. At first, he drew open stares
especially from soldiers and priests who had never before seen a Negro. But they soon
got used to him, and looked away whenever he was around. They had been told that
merely staring at him and making him uncomfortable could get them into trouble.
When Doudu got into the Pope’s bedroom, Ferdinand was deep in sleep and
snoring loudly. The eunuch immediately put his nostrils to work, and had no difficulty
in sniffing out the location of the ivory cup in the drawer. He found the drawer locked,
but by sniffing out the alcohol on the key, he also quickly discovered the locker in which
Ferdinand hid the key. He removed the ivory cup, placed it in its special box, and made
for the door. He stopped, removed the ivory from the box, placed it in the bag slung
across his shoulder and left Ferdinand’s apartment.
The moon was like a slice of lemon in the dark sky, as Doudu walked briskly to the
stables. He soon found Lucrezia’s strongest horse and mounted it, riding it quietly out
of the Vatican. As soon as he got into the center of Rome, he knew he was in danger of
being attacked because he looked different. But he covered his body almost completely
in his large shirt and loose pants. A small hat concealed his shaved head, and he wore a
mask that further made it difficult to immediately recognize the color of his skin. He rode