“Ah, the good doctor! Yes, he has been making a stir. For a long time before he came, as well. New dyes, new medicine, some of it coming through Venice, and getting richer by the day, so we hear.”
Magda preened. “Also, he has spoken with many artisans and master dyers and apothecaries here in Venice, and we have begun to make deals for the new processes they will be trying.”
“We think a lot of them will be ordering things from our list as well,” added Sharon.
“Ah. Then perhaps we will want to organize a collegamento and send a ship to some of the places—” began Luzzatto. But Cavriani cut him off in a sing-song voice:
“Oh, you who follow in little boats . . .”
Luzzatto gave him a half-glare. Cavriani waved him down. “Please, please, no offense! I am here to consult, maestro, so let me consult.”
Luzzatto held up a hand. “Fine. But—please—keep the crazy schemes to a minimum.”
Cavriani harumphed. “He’s going to tell you what they call me,” he said to Sharon.
” ‘Crazy Giuseppe.’ ”
Cavriani harumphed again, and louder. “Yes, yes. But you’ll notice they don’t call me ‘bankrupt Giuseppe.’ Or even ‘poor Giuseppe.’ ”
“Granted,” Luzzatto admitted. “But I hear the Christian God has a special providence for the incurably mad.”
“Luck is where you go looking for her. And if I choose to go looking for her in places where no one else is looking, who is the crazy one, eh?”
Luzzatto rolled his eyes. “Was I mad myself, to invite him?” To Sharon and Madga: “Ladies, I will allow that Messer Cavriani is very good. But I will advise you to leave him to risk only his own money on the more insane ventures. Yes, he does well, but he’s not always so lucky, and it’s only the big wins he brings home that keep him ahead.”
“Risk, that’s the thing.” Cavriani turned visibly more serious. “But if the ladies wish to be safe and secure, I can do those kinds of deals as well. To tell the truth, they’re the deals we make the money on, to risk on the crazy ventures. And I do come out ahead more often than I come out behind, or I wouldn’t still be in business. I wouldn’t be the first Cavriani to get put behind a desk somewhere and left in charge of ordering the wherewithal for more capable Cavrianis.”
Sharon found herself smiling at the byplay. “Gentlemen, assume that we are prepared to run perhaps a few risks. What do you propose?”
“Ah, now that’s proper talk!” Cavriani actually rubbed his hands. Sharon was beginning to realize that beneath the unprepossessing exterior lurked the soul of a ham actor. “First, do I understand that you have the radio between here in Venice and the Baltic?”
Sharon and Magda looked at each other. That was supposed to be a secret. It was Sharon’s turn to roll her eyes. Magda just looked pained.
Cavriani went on: “Please, please! It’s all in confidence here. I assure you that the Cavrianis have ways of knowing things that are beyond the grasp of the miserable Spanish and French heretics. Not to mention the pitiful Venetians, who are long past their prime.” He gave Luzzatto the kind of raised-eyebrow look that Sharon had only seen before in the movies. Bad movies. “The Jews are another story; they will naturally know also. They are an especially clever people. Why else would they have attached themselves to you so readily? So there’s no danger there of idle words slipping.”
Now he sighed, histrionically. “A pity they are all condemned to everlasting torment, of course. It grieves me to think of my good friend Benjamin Luzzatto, his flesh torn for eternity by hot pincers in the hands of demons— But!” Again, that histrionic sigh, coupled with outstretched hands. “What can you do? These are a stubborn folk as well as a clever one, and insist on denying the Savior.”
Throughout, Luzzatto had simply smiled serenely. Sharon had the feeling this was an old game between the two of them. She also had the feeling that Cavriani wasn’t lying at all when he referred to Benjamin as “his good friend.” For reasons she couldn’t begin to explain, she was starting to like Cavriani. Whether that was because of the ham acting or despite it, she wasn’t sure.