After some further conversation with his Majesty, I retired to a hotel and effected a transformation which gave me the appearance of a respectable upper servant, such as a steward or valet, in an Italian noble family. Thus attired, I made my way round to the Salvatierra Palace, and sent up my name to his Eminence as Jacopo Luigi.
‘I doubt if his Eminence will receive you to-night,’ the porter informed me. ‘A case of exquisite cameos of untold value has just arrived for his collection—a gift from some great personage, I believe; and his Eminence is hard at work unpacking them.’
I had my own suspicion as to the source of this truly regal offering, and felt more than ever uneasy as to the lawfulness of my proceedings.
However, it was not long before a message came down that I was to go up and wait upon his Eminence at once.
I found the Cardinal absorbed in the inspection of his newly arrived treasures. Holding a delicate camel’s-hair brush in one hand, he was going over the cameos, carefully removing every speck of dust and holding them up to the light in search of possible blemishes.
His Eminence was a tall, stately personage, refined and ascetic in feature, with a faded blue eye which fell on me with an expression of the most complete indifference.
‘You are Jacopo Luigi,’ he observed, glancing towards a letter which lay open on a pier-table. ‘My nephew, Count Baldachino, recommends you to me very strongly. He says’—the Cardinal interrupted himself to scrutinise a fresh gem with the minutest care—‘he says that you are thoroughly discreet and faithful. You understand the particular necessity for discretion in my service, no doubt?’
He took his eye off the cameo for an instant, to dart a glance at me, so keen and penetrating that it was as if a hidden man had suddenly sprung to the window and looked out. Before I could respond, the Cardinal’s back was turned to me again, and he was dusting away harder than ever.
‘I perfectly understand, Eminence,’ I muttered.
‘That is quite right, then. I take you into my service. At a salary of 800 lire. Introduce yourself to the master of my household.’