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The Devil In The Convent
- Thread starter Velut Luna
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Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 32
32
After this night of fire, and a day at the office without being able to do a thing because my thoughts keep racing back to the events of the previous day, I return home, start up the computer,- not without some fear, and reopen the file of the manuscript ....
Die XX, Mensis Julii, Anni MDLXXVII
20th July 1577
Educta de carceribus ....
Brought up from the dungeons ...
Inquisitor- 'Eulalia, I don’t want to be forced to subject you to torture again. You’ve got to tell us without any reservations how and why the attempt was made on the life of the Abbess Constanza.'
Eulalia- 'I’ll talk, please don’t torture me anymore. What happened was that we nuns in the Convent were so distressed by the painful, tragic events of that night’s killing spree, we were in despair.
She’d lost her lover, and I’d lost my two cousins, Antonio Mariconda, Prince of Garagusa, murdered by Domenico Lagni, Prince of Caposele, who’d in turn been assassinated by my cousin Alfonso, the first Prince of Mariconda and brother of Antonio.
Orsoletta believed she was guilty for having started off the scandal when she discovered the secrets of her mistress Mother Lucia, she couldn’t stop weeping; and finally the Abbess, wanting to atone for the sacrilege that had been committed and purify the Convent stained by sin and blood, imposed endless fasting and penances.
The rest of the nuns, who didn’t know the facts, but saw the peace of the cloister was disturbed by desolation and restlessness, were coming up with cruel suspicions, conspiracy theories and conjectures, which only increased the disorder and fear of further harassment by the Abbess.
But then other events intervened a few days later to make the atmosphere in the convent still more toxic. After the bell was ringing for Matins, Lavinia Pignatelli came into my room while I was with Agnese and Tullia Sanseverino, to tell me that he had discovered that Livia, the other servant of the abbess, with her lover in her cell.
We rushed to see what was happening, and, looking through the keyhole, saw Livia in the throes of in a bestial orgy with her lover, who was enjoying every part of her.
At the sound of footsteps in the corridor, we fled, but Lavinia, intent on watching the show, wasn’t so sprightly, and, hiding behind the purest innocence, invited the abbess herself to see what her maid was doing with her lover. The abbess was about to intervene but Lavinia suggested a different strategy to avoid the scandal of finding a man who’d spent the night in the Convent.
But you may get a more accurate account of these details of the story from Lavinia and Livia,
I only knew that the young man spent all the day hiding in Liva’s room, and that during the night he was taken out by the garden gate. A few days later came the news that the young woman was found murdered in the vicinity of his home. By now I’d come to suspect that the Abbess Constanza herself was no stranger to this murder, she was a principal actor, and this presented a serious danger to the whole Convent.
The abbess herself was very agitated, subjecting us all to continuous harassment, imposing continuous prayer and penance. The climate became absolutely unbearable, all the nuns were mourning the loss of peace and hoping that somehow everything would end soon. Then I was warned by Agatha, another servant of the Abbess, that she was in poor health, not taking food and coughing all the time. I told her that it was necessary to take steps to cure her, and gave her the vial with the medicine ... '
Inquisitor- ‘“The poison” you mean! '
Eulalia- 'When used in small doses it’s a good medicine to cure many illnesses. You can ask Agata - immediately after she gave this medicine to the Abbess she got better and resumed coming down to the refectory for meals .'
Inquisitor- 'Go and fetch the maid Agatha to give evidence for the defence!.'
He’s addressing two hooded men.
The two return, but there’s no Agata. They speak to the Inquisitor, who summons the Notary, they go away for a while, then return to the interrogation room.
With a serious look and frowning,
Inquisitor- 'Eulalia, the testimony in your favour from the servant Agata will not be heard because, overwhelmed by remorse for having poisoned the Abbess, she has taken her own life in the prison. We have been to see, and just now we found her hanged on the hook that kept her chained up. You’d better tell everything you know, because you now have on your conscience the responsibility for this suicide! '
Eulalia- 'No! Poor Agata was not responsible for anything! I went into the Abbess’s room myself after she’d had another coughing fit and seizure. To avenge the humiliation of her suspicions about the love I felt for Agnese and Tullia, I administered a whole flask of poison, and next day the abbess was found dead! '
Inquisitor- 'At last you have admitted your crime. Now, if you’re to earn forgiveness for your sins, you'll have to reveal any further secrets of the wicked life of this desecrated Convent!'
32
After this night of fire, and a day at the office without being able to do a thing because my thoughts keep racing back to the events of the previous day, I return home, start up the computer,- not without some fear, and reopen the file of the manuscript ....
Die XX, Mensis Julii, Anni MDLXXVII
20th July 1577
Educta de carceribus ....
Brought up from the dungeons ...
Inquisitor- 'Eulalia, I don’t want to be forced to subject you to torture again. You’ve got to tell us without any reservations how and why the attempt was made on the life of the Abbess Constanza.'
Eulalia- 'I’ll talk, please don’t torture me anymore. What happened was that we nuns in the Convent were so distressed by the painful, tragic events of that night’s killing spree, we were in despair.
She’d lost her lover, and I’d lost my two cousins, Antonio Mariconda, Prince of Garagusa, murdered by Domenico Lagni, Prince of Caposele, who’d in turn been assassinated by my cousin Alfonso, the first Prince of Mariconda and brother of Antonio.
Orsoletta believed she was guilty for having started off the scandal when she discovered the secrets of her mistress Mother Lucia, she couldn’t stop weeping; and finally the Abbess, wanting to atone for the sacrilege that had been committed and purify the Convent stained by sin and blood, imposed endless fasting and penances.
The rest of the nuns, who didn’t know the facts, but saw the peace of the cloister was disturbed by desolation and restlessness, were coming up with cruel suspicions, conspiracy theories and conjectures, which only increased the disorder and fear of further harassment by the Abbess.
But then other events intervened a few days later to make the atmosphere in the convent still more toxic. After the bell was ringing for Matins, Lavinia Pignatelli came into my room while I was with Agnese and Tullia Sanseverino, to tell me that he had discovered that Livia, the other servant of the abbess, with her lover in her cell.
We rushed to see what was happening, and, looking through the keyhole, saw Livia in the throes of in a bestial orgy with her lover, who was enjoying every part of her.
At the sound of footsteps in the corridor, we fled, but Lavinia, intent on watching the show, wasn’t so sprightly, and, hiding behind the purest innocence, invited the abbess herself to see what her maid was doing with her lover. The abbess was about to intervene but Lavinia suggested a different strategy to avoid the scandal of finding a man who’d spent the night in the Convent.
But you may get a more accurate account of these details of the story from Lavinia and Livia,
I only knew that the young man spent all the day hiding in Liva’s room, and that during the night he was taken out by the garden gate. A few days later came the news that the young woman was found murdered in the vicinity of his home. By now I’d come to suspect that the Abbess Constanza herself was no stranger to this murder, she was a principal actor, and this presented a serious danger to the whole Convent.
The abbess herself was very agitated, subjecting us all to continuous harassment, imposing continuous prayer and penance. The climate became absolutely unbearable, all the nuns were mourning the loss of peace and hoping that somehow everything would end soon. Then I was warned by Agatha, another servant of the Abbess, that she was in poor health, not taking food and coughing all the time. I told her that it was necessary to take steps to cure her, and gave her the vial with the medicine ... '
Inquisitor- ‘“The poison” you mean! '
Eulalia- 'When used in small doses it’s a good medicine to cure many illnesses. You can ask Agata - immediately after she gave this medicine to the Abbess she got better and resumed coming down to the refectory for meals .'
Inquisitor- 'Go and fetch the maid Agatha to give evidence for the defence!.'
He’s addressing two hooded men.
The two return, but there’s no Agata. They speak to the Inquisitor, who summons the Notary, they go away for a while, then return to the interrogation room.
With a serious look and frowning,
Inquisitor- 'Eulalia, the testimony in your favour from the servant Agata will not be heard because, overwhelmed by remorse for having poisoned the Abbess, she has taken her own life in the prison. We have been to see, and just now we found her hanged on the hook that kept her chained up. You’d better tell everything you know, because you now have on your conscience the responsibility for this suicide! '
Eulalia- 'No! Poor Agata was not responsible for anything! I went into the Abbess’s room myself after she’d had another coughing fit and seizure. To avenge the humiliation of her suspicions about the love I felt for Agnese and Tullia, I administered a whole flask of poison, and next day the abbess was found dead! '
Inquisitor- 'At last you have admitted your crime. Now, if you’re to earn forgiveness for your sins, you'll have to reveal any further secrets of the wicked life of this desecrated Convent!'
Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 33
33
What’s this page? It’s not one of those that I photographed, the handwriting is different, it’s not mirror-writing, it’s not in code ...
... It’s not true what the Inquisitor was saying, I didn’t commit suicide. While I was imprisoned in the cell two hooded brutes came in. I knew that they’d come to rape me again, and that’s what they did for over two hours, destroying my entire body with their bestial violence. Then a third hooded man came in, in a black, floor-length cassock, with a red cross on the chest and one on the hood. He didn’t speak, but nodded to the two, pointing with his left hand up to a hook fixed on the wall, to which was attached a collar on a chain. The two men lifted me off the ground, connected the last link of the chain to the hook, and then continued to rape while I struggled for breath - yet it lasted all night, as the collar wasn’t completely constricting my throat, so it gave more time for my poor flesh to endure terrible suffering ...
How did they come to be here between the photographs of the pages of the manuscript? It’s Agata's tormented soul who’s recorded these characters, by channelling an image onto the memory of my computer - and now it’s clear, the Notary was the murderer who prowled around the invisible walls of the Convent!
Eulalia- 'Yes I'll talk, but don’t torture me, I can’t stand the pain your hellish instruments cause in me.'
Inquisitor- 'If you continue with your story, we will not resort to torture.'
Eulalia- 'I suspected that Abbess Constance's illness was caused not only by her remorse for the murder of the young lover of her servant Livia, but also by poison that was in the water served to her at dinner by the same Livia, and that Livia had been induced to do this by Lucia and Euphrasia. After the events of that night they’d been constantly reproached and oppressed by the Abbess, always relegated to the most humiliating tasks, degrading them for their noble ancestry. I made use of the poor Agatha to investigate, she told me that my suspicions were correct, that Livia had often met Lucia, and the next day the abbess felt weak, and breathless with coughing, she couldn’t eat, and was forced to stay in her apartment, so she could no longer rule the Convent.'
Inquisitor- 'So according to you, Lucia and Euphrasia actually made an attempt on the life of the Abbess?'
Eulalia- 'I can be sure, because the other nuns couldn’t put up with the climate of oppression that the Abbess had created in the life of the Convent. Surveillance by the older nuns kept them from maintaining relationships with their lovers - every young nun in the community was accompanied in the parlour by an older one, who listened to their conversations, preventing any exchange of messages, making appointments, or conspiring. They’d formed a party against the Abbess, and against me, thinking that I was responsible for having tipped off the Abbess so she discovered the scandal of Euphrasia and Lucia’s affairs, and this had caused the death of four young people.'
Inquisitor- ‘Take Mother Eulalia into her cell and take care that she doesn’t try to commit suicide - we’ve already lost one important witness today. Two soldiers are to be posted guarding the cell to prevent anyone from approaching, Notary, you arrange surveillance rounds inside and outside the cell.
That will be all for today, it’s past the time allowed for canonical interrogations. Tomorrow we’ll resume the process by questioning Livia, Lavinia and, again, Euphrasia and Lucia. Notary, make a copy of the minutes of the interrogation of Eulalia, so we can sign it, and that will form the documentation of the case and enable us to table new charges to add to the list, as if that wasn’t long enough already!’
What a nightmare, these innocent nuns, all involved in shady dealings, in prostitution, in bringing shame to their bodies, in jealousy, revenge, attacks and assassinations. I think I’ve opened a Pandora's box from which demons are jumping out who've been hidden in these pages for more than four centuries. It’s not just 'ù rriavule' in here, there’s a whole legion!
All the documents kept in the Episcopal archives were burned by the Theatine fathers when Francesco II di Borbone fled from Naples as Garibaldi's soldiers approached. Garibaldi was notoriously anticlerical, he hoped to get his hands on incriminating documents against the Church so he could eliminate the major obstacle to uniting the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the constituting Kingdom of Italy under the rule of the House of Savoy.
Into those fires went all the court records of the persecution of witches in Benevento, the proceedings against alleged heretics, against those who were accused of spreading plagues, against poor, innocent girls who couldn’t defend themselves from accusations that they’d used the evil eye on lovers who’d betrayed them, or from the jealousy of wives, girlfriends or rival lovers of betrayer men – it was an expeditious way to eliminate competition, for the bitches from whom they'd stolen the bone.
33
What’s this page? It’s not one of those that I photographed, the handwriting is different, it’s not mirror-writing, it’s not in code ...
... It’s not true what the Inquisitor was saying, I didn’t commit suicide. While I was imprisoned in the cell two hooded brutes came in. I knew that they’d come to rape me again, and that’s what they did for over two hours, destroying my entire body with their bestial violence. Then a third hooded man came in, in a black, floor-length cassock, with a red cross on the chest and one on the hood. He didn’t speak, but nodded to the two, pointing with his left hand up to a hook fixed on the wall, to which was attached a collar on a chain. The two men lifted me off the ground, connected the last link of the chain to the hook, and then continued to rape while I struggled for breath - yet it lasted all night, as the collar wasn’t completely constricting my throat, so it gave more time for my poor flesh to endure terrible suffering ...
How did they come to be here between the photographs of the pages of the manuscript? It’s Agata's tormented soul who’s recorded these characters, by channelling an image onto the memory of my computer - and now it’s clear, the Notary was the murderer who prowled around the invisible walls of the Convent!
Eulalia- 'Yes I'll talk, but don’t torture me, I can’t stand the pain your hellish instruments cause in me.'
Inquisitor- 'If you continue with your story, we will not resort to torture.'
Eulalia- 'I suspected that Abbess Constance's illness was caused not only by her remorse for the murder of the young lover of her servant Livia, but also by poison that was in the water served to her at dinner by the same Livia, and that Livia had been induced to do this by Lucia and Euphrasia. After the events of that night they’d been constantly reproached and oppressed by the Abbess, always relegated to the most humiliating tasks, degrading them for their noble ancestry. I made use of the poor Agatha to investigate, she told me that my suspicions were correct, that Livia had often met Lucia, and the next day the abbess felt weak, and breathless with coughing, she couldn’t eat, and was forced to stay in her apartment, so she could no longer rule the Convent.'
Inquisitor- 'So according to you, Lucia and Euphrasia actually made an attempt on the life of the Abbess?'
Eulalia- 'I can be sure, because the other nuns couldn’t put up with the climate of oppression that the Abbess had created in the life of the Convent. Surveillance by the older nuns kept them from maintaining relationships with their lovers - every young nun in the community was accompanied in the parlour by an older one, who listened to their conversations, preventing any exchange of messages, making appointments, or conspiring. They’d formed a party against the Abbess, and against me, thinking that I was responsible for having tipped off the Abbess so she discovered the scandal of Euphrasia and Lucia’s affairs, and this had caused the death of four young people.'
Inquisitor- ‘Take Mother Eulalia into her cell and take care that she doesn’t try to commit suicide - we’ve already lost one important witness today. Two soldiers are to be posted guarding the cell to prevent anyone from approaching, Notary, you arrange surveillance rounds inside and outside the cell.
That will be all for today, it’s past the time allowed for canonical interrogations. Tomorrow we’ll resume the process by questioning Livia, Lavinia and, again, Euphrasia and Lucia. Notary, make a copy of the minutes of the interrogation of Eulalia, so we can sign it, and that will form the documentation of the case and enable us to table new charges to add to the list, as if that wasn’t long enough already!’
What a nightmare, these innocent nuns, all involved in shady dealings, in prostitution, in bringing shame to their bodies, in jealousy, revenge, attacks and assassinations. I think I’ve opened a Pandora's box from which demons are jumping out who've been hidden in these pages for more than four centuries. It’s not just 'ù rriavule' in here, there’s a whole legion!
All the documents kept in the Episcopal archives were burned by the Theatine fathers when Francesco II di Borbone fled from Naples as Garibaldi's soldiers approached. Garibaldi was notoriously anticlerical, he hoped to get his hands on incriminating documents against the Church so he could eliminate the major obstacle to uniting the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to the constituting Kingdom of Italy under the rule of the House of Savoy.
Into those fires went all the court records of the persecution of witches in Benevento, the proceedings against alleged heretics, against those who were accused of spreading plagues, against poor, innocent girls who couldn’t defend themselves from accusations that they’d used the evil eye on lovers who’d betrayed them, or from the jealousy of wives, girlfriends or rival lovers of betrayer men – it was an expeditious way to eliminate competition, for the bitches from whom they'd stolen the bone.
Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 34
34
Die XXI, Mensis Julii, Anni MDLXXVII
21st July 1577
Eductae de carceribus ....
the two nuns brought up from the dungeons ....
Inquisitor- 'Give your names!'
Lavinia- 'Lavinia Pignatelli'
Livia- 'Livia Filomarino'
Inquisitor- 'We warn you to give full and truthful testimony of all the relevant facts, otherwise this Holy Tribunal will be forced to employ torture to obtain the information necessary to complete the proceedings of this inquisition.'
Inquisitor- 'Lavinia, you found out about the plot to enable Livia to enjoy sex with her lover in her cell, would you tell us how it came about that you discovered this?'
Lavinia- 'I was passing along the corridor that leads from the novices’ dormitory on my way to Mattins, when I saw a light coming from under the door of Sister Livia’s cell, and out of curiosity I looked through the keyhole.
I realized Livia was in the arms of her lover, so I went to report what I saw to Mother Eulalia. I’ve nothing else I can tell you.'
Inquisitor-'Lavinia Pignatelli, don’t try to hide the truth, we already know how much of this is fact, and how much of what you’re saying is less than the whole truth. What were you doing in the corridor before Mattins, when you should have still been meditating in your cell?'
Inquisitor (addressing the two hooded brutes) - 'Put her on the spiked rollers!'
(1e1) (refer back to the second manuscript).
From the second manuscript (1e1)
Stripped naked, the liar is positioned stretched out on the table with the spiked rollers. She's grasped her by the wrists and ankles, and dragged back and forth so she's rubbed by the tips of the spikes. The body-parts of this young and comely whore are massaged by the tips of the spikes for a period of half an hourglass (about 15 minutes).
Inquisitor (addressing the brutes) - 'Bring her here to continue the interrogation.'
Inquisitor- 'It was nice, your massage? It will have reactivated the circulation of your blood, we’re hoping it’s brought the circumstances back to your mind... '
Lavinia- '... I just remember everything accurately now!'
Inquisitor- 'Notary, these systems are an effective treatment for amnesia! Lavinia’s going to speak now with nothing to hide.'
Lavinia- 'The night before discovering Livia with her lover in her cell, I’d stayed a long time in Camilla’s cell. To get back to my cell without passing through the dormitory, and fearing that the Abbess had arranged some surveillance, I had to go a long way round the buildings on the ground floor of the convent. As I was passing one of the gates, I was surprised to notice that it wasn’t bolted and could be opened. I thought it must have been left open for some reason, I looked all around to see if there was anyone waiting near the gate, but I saw and heard nothing.
I conceived a desire to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to sneak out to the house of Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, a young Florentine gentleman, whom I’d loved to distraction ever since he began visiting the parlour, and I eagerly awaited a time when we could meet. I realized that he too loved me, and my heart was torn with desire.
So I tucked up my veil to form a turban on my head, took off my nun’s gown, and just kept on the green silk shift that we wear on our bodies, with pants that reach below the knee, so it looked like the costume worn by the heralds of arms who march before the Spanish Viceroy in great ceremonies. Pulling the gown over my shoulders like a mantle, I set off with pleasure and delight, excited by anticipating the surprise I’d give my lover.
I reached the house and knocked on the door. A page answered, I said that I had to speak to the lord, he soon returned and told me to enter. In the glow of a candle Pierfrancesco didn’t recognize me, and was a little embarrassed to be faced by such a handsome herald! I was shaking like a leaf at the audacity of my prank.
When he held the light closer to my face he recognized me and asked, amazed, 'There's a fire in Convent?' _ 'Fire, yes indeed there’s fire!' I brought my hand to my chest for the agitation that had seized my heart, and fell into his arms. 'Ah Lavinia! Lavinia! You are bound by your vow, what will happen if anyone gets to know about this - your escaping from the Convent and coming into my house? We’ll both be convicted, jailed, then publicly executed!' At these words, I fainted.
I woke up naked in his arms, as he kissed my breasts and then between my thighs, I repaid the kisses to my ardent lover, we joined our bodies in perfect love. We didn’t spent a lot of time in love-making, Pierfrancesco took me back to the convent in the middle of the night to prevent anyone from discovering my escape. When we came to the gate it was still open, we walked in through the cloister.
I was close to collapsing with the thrill, he picked me up and carried me into the most hidden corner of the garden. The moon was shining in the sky, lighting my angelic face, my half-naked breasts, white as snow. We forgot where we were and embraced again. Pierfrancesco put his hand on my private parts, stripping me swiftly. As the starry night sky illuminated our hugs and kisses, he stifled my cries of pleasure – the girl who’d given him her virginity!
Dawn was breaking when Pierfrancesco, after our last kiss, left the convent by the garden gate. Drunk with these sensual pleasures, I went to retire to my cell. I passed close to the gatekeeper’s lodge. Euphrasia was on surveillance duty that night, and she came looking. Thinking I’d been discovered, I pulled my veil over my face and walked back the other way, but Euphrasia followed me calling “Livia!” She held her lantern up to my face, I slapped her face, we fell into such a fight that we tore our veils and habits. But fearing a scandal that could have destroyed us both, we parted and fled in opposite directions.
It was then that I passed near Livia’s cell, and saw the light gleaming under the door, and when I peered through the keyhole I saw the lovers and realized that the gate had been left open to let in Livia's lover. I went to Mother Eulalia’s cell to tell her about my discovery of this illicit entry by the lover of the servant-girl Livia. '
34
Die XXI, Mensis Julii, Anni MDLXXVII
21st July 1577
Eductae de carceribus ....
the two nuns brought up from the dungeons ....
Inquisitor- 'Give your names!'
Lavinia- 'Lavinia Pignatelli'
Livia- 'Livia Filomarino'
Inquisitor- 'We warn you to give full and truthful testimony of all the relevant facts, otherwise this Holy Tribunal will be forced to employ torture to obtain the information necessary to complete the proceedings of this inquisition.'
Inquisitor- 'Lavinia, you found out about the plot to enable Livia to enjoy sex with her lover in her cell, would you tell us how it came about that you discovered this?'
Lavinia- 'I was passing along the corridor that leads from the novices’ dormitory on my way to Mattins, when I saw a light coming from under the door of Sister Livia’s cell, and out of curiosity I looked through the keyhole.
I realized Livia was in the arms of her lover, so I went to report what I saw to Mother Eulalia. I’ve nothing else I can tell you.'
Inquisitor-'Lavinia Pignatelli, don’t try to hide the truth, we already know how much of this is fact, and how much of what you’re saying is less than the whole truth. What were you doing in the corridor before Mattins, when you should have still been meditating in your cell?'
Inquisitor (addressing the two hooded brutes) - 'Put her on the spiked rollers!'
(1e1) (refer back to the second manuscript).
From the second manuscript (1e1)
Stripped naked, the liar is positioned stretched out on the table with the spiked rollers. She's grasped her by the wrists and ankles, and dragged back and forth so she's rubbed by the tips of the spikes. The body-parts of this young and comely whore are massaged by the tips of the spikes for a period of half an hourglass (about 15 minutes).
Inquisitor (addressing the brutes) - 'Bring her here to continue the interrogation.'
Inquisitor- 'It was nice, your massage? It will have reactivated the circulation of your blood, we’re hoping it’s brought the circumstances back to your mind... '
Lavinia- '... I just remember everything accurately now!'
Inquisitor- 'Notary, these systems are an effective treatment for amnesia! Lavinia’s going to speak now with nothing to hide.'
Lavinia- 'The night before discovering Livia with her lover in her cell, I’d stayed a long time in Camilla’s cell. To get back to my cell without passing through the dormitory, and fearing that the Abbess had arranged some surveillance, I had to go a long way round the buildings on the ground floor of the convent. As I was passing one of the gates, I was surprised to notice that it wasn’t bolted and could be opened. I thought it must have been left open for some reason, I looked all around to see if there was anyone waiting near the gate, but I saw and heard nothing.
I conceived a desire to take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to sneak out to the house of Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, a young Florentine gentleman, whom I’d loved to distraction ever since he began visiting the parlour, and I eagerly awaited a time when we could meet. I realized that he too loved me, and my heart was torn with desire.
So I tucked up my veil to form a turban on my head, took off my nun’s gown, and just kept on the green silk shift that we wear on our bodies, with pants that reach below the knee, so it looked like the costume worn by the heralds of arms who march before the Spanish Viceroy in great ceremonies. Pulling the gown over my shoulders like a mantle, I set off with pleasure and delight, excited by anticipating the surprise I’d give my lover.
I reached the house and knocked on the door. A page answered, I said that I had to speak to the lord, he soon returned and told me to enter. In the glow of a candle Pierfrancesco didn’t recognize me, and was a little embarrassed to be faced by such a handsome herald! I was shaking like a leaf at the audacity of my prank.
When he held the light closer to my face he recognized me and asked, amazed, 'There's a fire in Convent?' _ 'Fire, yes indeed there’s fire!' I brought my hand to my chest for the agitation that had seized my heart, and fell into his arms. 'Ah Lavinia! Lavinia! You are bound by your vow, what will happen if anyone gets to know about this - your escaping from the Convent and coming into my house? We’ll both be convicted, jailed, then publicly executed!' At these words, I fainted.
I woke up naked in his arms, as he kissed my breasts and then between my thighs, I repaid the kisses to my ardent lover, we joined our bodies in perfect love. We didn’t spent a lot of time in love-making, Pierfrancesco took me back to the convent in the middle of the night to prevent anyone from discovering my escape. When we came to the gate it was still open, we walked in through the cloister.
I was close to collapsing with the thrill, he picked me up and carried me into the most hidden corner of the garden. The moon was shining in the sky, lighting my angelic face, my half-naked breasts, white as snow. We forgot where we were and embraced again. Pierfrancesco put his hand on my private parts, stripping me swiftly. As the starry night sky illuminated our hugs and kisses, he stifled my cries of pleasure – the girl who’d given him her virginity!
Dawn was breaking when Pierfrancesco, after our last kiss, left the convent by the garden gate. Drunk with these sensual pleasures, I went to retire to my cell. I passed close to the gatekeeper’s lodge. Euphrasia was on surveillance duty that night, and she came looking. Thinking I’d been discovered, I pulled my veil over my face and walked back the other way, but Euphrasia followed me calling “Livia!” She held her lantern up to my face, I slapped her face, we fell into such a fight that we tore our veils and habits. But fearing a scandal that could have destroyed us both, we parted and fled in opposite directions.
It was then that I passed near Livia’s cell, and saw the light gleaming under the door, and when I peered through the keyhole I saw the lovers and realized that the gate had been left open to let in Livia's lover. I went to Mother Eulalia’s cell to tell her about my discovery of this illicit entry by the lover of the servant-girl Livia. '
Last edited by a moderator:
t
Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 35
35
Inquisitor- 'So, Lavinia, instead of preserving your virginity for the Love Supreme, you threw it to the winds! How many times did you meet Pierfrancesco? '
Lavinia- ‘He never appeared again in the parlour! My heart was broken, I’d been seduced and abandoned after giving him my most precious asset ...'
Inquisitor- 'The grace that you stole from Him to whom you made your vows didn’t help your lover. Pierfrancesco de’Medici and Ferdinando Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni killed each other in a duel, but the scandal was quickly hushed up by each of their families, and now you’ve told us the reasons that led to this double bereavement in the highest nobility of our country!'
Lavinia- 'Pierfrancesco, my sweet love, light of my eyes, then you didn’t abandon me! You were slain by that vile, lewd Ferdinando whose seductions I’d rejected! Poor girl, my destiny is the most miserable in the world ... to one I gave my love, yes, I committed sin with him, the other one I refused with contempt, trying to be virtuous, but the result was the same for both of them - death!'
Inquisitor- 'Your destiny, Lavinia, will be much more miserable than you can ever imagine!'
Inquisitor- 'Take her down to her cell and keep her guarded so that this whore too doesn’t attempt to commit suicide before she pays the penalty for her sins! Notary, please arrange the guard duty - at this rate we’ll need a whole garrison! '
Inquisitor, addressing the hooded brutes - 'Bring out the murderer, Livia the bitch!'
Inquisitor- ' Livia, you are accused of being the chief agent in the murder of Abbess Constanza. At first we first thought you were pressed to do it by Mother Eulalia, but now we know it was Mother Lucia who incited you, we’ve been told how and why you were led to commit this criminal act. '
Livia- 'Mother Lucia came up to me one day, after the Abbess Constanza had imposed yet another fast in atonement for our sins, and she said: 'What’s the matter with you? For some time you’ve not been the woman you once were, I can see the change in your eyes! As for those gifts you get from Paolo, that handsome young man who comes into the parlour to meet you, don’t you worry, I'll give you enough money to make his just a few farthings!
Curse the greed of our relations, that got us thrown alive into this grave! And now we’ve the added insult of our stupid Abbess making us observe constant vigils as if we were the worst reprobates in all Naples. Enjoy your youth, and if the Abbess oppresses you can I help you evade her surveillance!'
Attracted by this promise, and aroused by my desire to meet Paolo, I thanked Mother Lucia and asked how I could give her some proof of my gratitude, then she added: 'The Abbess is in the grip of religious dementia, she keeps subjecting herself to fasting and self-denial, supposedly for the good of the whole community. I’ve got a potion that will calm her down, the balm you see in this vial has miraculous properties, it is sufficient for you to just add a few drops to her drinks every day and you’ll get the desired result! '
In the evening I administered the potion to the Abbess, and in a few days the mood of the Superior began to change, and I received the prize for my cooperation.
I was informed by Euphrasia, who for that week on duty at the gatehouse, that Mother Lucia had sent a message to Paolo inviting him to come and spend a night in the convent. It would be okay as long as he came down to leave an hour before Mattins and I locked the door. Euphrasia did lock all the doors except the one by which Paolo would come in.
Wallowing lust and in the wildest of orgies we didn’t notice how the time was passing, nor evn that the bell for prayer had already rung - that had already finished when I heard a loud knock at the door. I didn’t answer, but the Abbess spoke, commanding me to open it, saying she knew what was happening, that I’d kept Paolo concealed, but she’d come to rescue me from the compromising situation, to avoid scandal. I opened the door to the Abbess Constanza and she entered without a word of reproach.
Paolo was immediately discovered hidden behind a curtain, he knelt at the feet of the Abbess, entreating her to let the guilt for the crime fall him, to spare me the punishment that would be my fate. The handsome, athletic appearance of Paolo confounded the Abbess, and his prayers touched her heart. She ordered him to remain hidden all day, adding: 'Nothing will be done to Livia, she is under my protection as are all the other sisters, and I'll look after the honour of the Convent. I'll come and collect you late tonight so you can get out without causing a scandal for the Convent.' Constanza shut the door with a double-locking key. After the evening Angelus she went to the cell and escorted him to the exit. After a few days I was informed that Paolo had been murdered by some thugs outside the door of his own house. This fact prompted me to double the dose that I was adding to the Abbess’s drinks.'
Inquisitor- 'Well! Two murderers, two principals, a double effect, an assured result! '
35
Inquisitor- 'So, Lavinia, instead of preserving your virginity for the Love Supreme, you threw it to the winds! How many times did you meet Pierfrancesco? '
Lavinia- ‘He never appeared again in the parlour! My heart was broken, I’d been seduced and abandoned after giving him my most precious asset ...'
Inquisitor- 'The grace that you stole from Him to whom you made your vows didn’t help your lover. Pierfrancesco de’Medici and Ferdinando Pisacane, Duke of San Giovanni killed each other in a duel, but the scandal was quickly hushed up by each of their families, and now you’ve told us the reasons that led to this double bereavement in the highest nobility of our country!'
Lavinia- 'Pierfrancesco, my sweet love, light of my eyes, then you didn’t abandon me! You were slain by that vile, lewd Ferdinando whose seductions I’d rejected! Poor girl, my destiny is the most miserable in the world ... to one I gave my love, yes, I committed sin with him, the other one I refused with contempt, trying to be virtuous, but the result was the same for both of them - death!'
Inquisitor- 'Your destiny, Lavinia, will be much more miserable than you can ever imagine!'
Inquisitor- 'Take her down to her cell and keep her guarded so that this whore too doesn’t attempt to commit suicide before she pays the penalty for her sins! Notary, please arrange the guard duty - at this rate we’ll need a whole garrison! '
Inquisitor, addressing the hooded brutes - 'Bring out the murderer, Livia the bitch!'
Inquisitor- ' Livia, you are accused of being the chief agent in the murder of Abbess Constanza. At first we first thought you were pressed to do it by Mother Eulalia, but now we know it was Mother Lucia who incited you, we’ve been told how and why you were led to commit this criminal act. '
Livia- 'Mother Lucia came up to me one day, after the Abbess Constanza had imposed yet another fast in atonement for our sins, and she said: 'What’s the matter with you? For some time you’ve not been the woman you once were, I can see the change in your eyes! As for those gifts you get from Paolo, that handsome young man who comes into the parlour to meet you, don’t you worry, I'll give you enough money to make his just a few farthings!
Curse the greed of our relations, that got us thrown alive into this grave! And now we’ve the added insult of our stupid Abbess making us observe constant vigils as if we were the worst reprobates in all Naples. Enjoy your youth, and if the Abbess oppresses you can I help you evade her surveillance!'
Attracted by this promise, and aroused by my desire to meet Paolo, I thanked Mother Lucia and asked how I could give her some proof of my gratitude, then she added: 'The Abbess is in the grip of religious dementia, she keeps subjecting herself to fasting and self-denial, supposedly for the good of the whole community. I’ve got a potion that will calm her down, the balm you see in this vial has miraculous properties, it is sufficient for you to just add a few drops to her drinks every day and you’ll get the desired result! '
In the evening I administered the potion to the Abbess, and in a few days the mood of the Superior began to change, and I received the prize for my cooperation.
I was informed by Euphrasia, who for that week on duty at the gatehouse, that Mother Lucia had sent a message to Paolo inviting him to come and spend a night in the convent. It would be okay as long as he came down to leave an hour before Mattins and I locked the door. Euphrasia did lock all the doors except the one by which Paolo would come in.
Wallowing lust and in the wildest of orgies we didn’t notice how the time was passing, nor evn that the bell for prayer had already rung - that had already finished when I heard a loud knock at the door. I didn’t answer, but the Abbess spoke, commanding me to open it, saying she knew what was happening, that I’d kept Paolo concealed, but she’d come to rescue me from the compromising situation, to avoid scandal. I opened the door to the Abbess Constanza and she entered without a word of reproach.
Paolo was immediately discovered hidden behind a curtain, he knelt at the feet of the Abbess, entreating her to let the guilt for the crime fall him, to spare me the punishment that would be my fate. The handsome, athletic appearance of Paolo confounded the Abbess, and his prayers touched her heart. She ordered him to remain hidden all day, adding: 'Nothing will be done to Livia, she is under my protection as are all the other sisters, and I'll look after the honour of the Convent. I'll come and collect you late tonight so you can get out without causing a scandal for the Convent.' Constanza shut the door with a double-locking key. After the evening Angelus she went to the cell and escorted him to the exit. After a few days I was informed that Paolo had been murdered by some thugs outside the door of his own house. This fact prompted me to double the dose that I was adding to the Abbess’s drinks.'
Inquisitor- 'Well! Two murderers, two principals, a double effect, an assured result! '
Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 36
36
Inquisitor, addressing the hooded brutes - 'Take this bitch down to the dungeons and bring up the other two, Euphrasia and Lucia'
Eductae de carceribus ...
Inquisitor- 'We wouldn’t cease to be amazed at the vileness that has got into this Convent, if we weren’t so certain that the devil is at work and has come to live amongst those who were supposed to be in holy enclosure! Lucia Frezza, there was no limit to the lust for killing that invaded your mind by the work of the devil. I dare say you yourself are the evil one personified. Before your interrogation will be subjected to cleansing. '
Lucia - 'No! Please! No! Not the water-torture, please not that!'
Inquisitor, addressing the hooded brutes - 'Take her into the washing-cell!'
Ripping off the cloth that barely covers my nakedness, the four brutes grab me by my legs and arms and lay me down sideways on a plank, with my legs spread apart and my arms outstretched in the form of a cross, attached to chains that are stretched between the walls of the cell.
Two of them shove a tube into my throat and secure it with a leather strap tied behind my neck, the other two shove a big, curved, metal tube up my arse – it comes from a barrel placed high up on a tripod.
One of them opens the taps and a foul-tasting liquid pours into my throat – I’m soon choking, coughing, vomiting, I’m soon struggling to catch my breath between swallowing the mixture of water and castor oil that flows into my stomach, while the same brew flows through my arse into my bowels.
To make my humiliation more cruel, one of the brutes moves the tube about in my arse, another dilates my pussy with the horrible pear, operating the screw, while the other two grab my breasts in their hands and milk me like a cow.
I’m sweating, yet my body is gripped by chills, every muscle’s tense in my desperate attempts to resist the flow of liquid which is now expanding my stomach and abdomen, slowly but inexorably invading my bowels, while the additional torment of sexual stimulation disrupts the rhythm of contraction in my throat, forcing me to swallow more and more.
Painful seizures of my stomach, gasping breath, my belly’s swollen like a wineskin now, not a single drop more can it hold, I can’t breathe any more, my face is turning purple from asphyxiation, my eyes feel as if they’ve squirted out of their sockets, I’m starting to pee uncontrollably, I'm about to lose consciousness...
Inquisitor - 'Enough! Remove the pipes!'
Vomit, piss, I expel all the liquid from the mass that I’ve got in my guts - for a time that seems eternal, I’m subject to this brutal humiliation devastating my bowels.
I struggle frantically for a little air through bouts of vomiting, I’m sweating from every pore of my skin, cold chills and contractions grip every muscle, my vision’s becoming blurred, I’m exhausted, losing consciousness...
I’m revived with several buckets of cold water, now I’m hanging by my ankles upside down. From my mouth I expel the last gush of vomit, more bucketfuls wash away the filth. If I’d had the devil in me, I’d surely have shitted him out with all the other contents of my bowels.
Released, I drop to the ground. They carry me helpless into the next cell, where the Inquisitor is waiting for me to continue my interrogation.
I’m wet all over, naked and trembling, as if liquid ice was flowing instead of blood in my veins. I’m kneeling on a bench with arms raised high above my head, hands clasped, while the brutes are still whipping me to rouse me from oblivion ...
Inquisitor - 'Lucia, we can wash out of your body every trace of the demon that’s lurking in it, but we can’t tear it out of your soul, even if you've still got a soul, if you still won’t cooperate by confessing all your sins.
There is another means, but it can only save the souls of those who can still earn forgiveness, who without it would become the prey of the Evil One: I speak of Holy Exorcism, but we cannot administer it to you for your ill-fortune, because your actions were voluntary, in that you plotted the murder of Abbess –a crime as heinous, if not worse, than those committed at the court of the Emperor Caligula!
Confess your crimes, and this holy tribunal will be able to exercise such mercy as it is permitted to dispense.
Why and how did you plan the poisoning of the Abbess Costanza? '
36
Inquisitor, addressing the hooded brutes - 'Take this bitch down to the dungeons and bring up the other two, Euphrasia and Lucia'
Eductae de carceribus ...
Inquisitor- 'We wouldn’t cease to be amazed at the vileness that has got into this Convent, if we weren’t so certain that the devil is at work and has come to live amongst those who were supposed to be in holy enclosure! Lucia Frezza, there was no limit to the lust for killing that invaded your mind by the work of the devil. I dare say you yourself are the evil one personified. Before your interrogation will be subjected to cleansing. '
Lucia - 'No! Please! No! Not the water-torture, please not that!'
Inquisitor, addressing the hooded brutes - 'Take her into the washing-cell!'
Ripping off the cloth that barely covers my nakedness, the four brutes grab me by my legs and arms and lay me down sideways on a plank, with my legs spread apart and my arms outstretched in the form of a cross, attached to chains that are stretched between the walls of the cell.
Two of them shove a tube into my throat and secure it with a leather strap tied behind my neck, the other two shove a big, curved, metal tube up my arse – it comes from a barrel placed high up on a tripod.
One of them opens the taps and a foul-tasting liquid pours into my throat – I’m soon choking, coughing, vomiting, I’m soon struggling to catch my breath between swallowing the mixture of water and castor oil that flows into my stomach, while the same brew flows through my arse into my bowels.
To make my humiliation more cruel, one of the brutes moves the tube about in my arse, another dilates my pussy with the horrible pear, operating the screw, while the other two grab my breasts in their hands and milk me like a cow.
I’m sweating, yet my body is gripped by chills, every muscle’s tense in my desperate attempts to resist the flow of liquid which is now expanding my stomach and abdomen, slowly but inexorably invading my bowels, while the additional torment of sexual stimulation disrupts the rhythm of contraction in my throat, forcing me to swallow more and more.
Painful seizures of my stomach, gasping breath, my belly’s swollen like a wineskin now, not a single drop more can it hold, I can’t breathe any more, my face is turning purple from asphyxiation, my eyes feel as if they’ve squirted out of their sockets, I’m starting to pee uncontrollably, I'm about to lose consciousness...
Inquisitor - 'Enough! Remove the pipes!'
Vomit, piss, I expel all the liquid from the mass that I’ve got in my guts - for a time that seems eternal, I’m subject to this brutal humiliation devastating my bowels.
I struggle frantically for a little air through bouts of vomiting, I’m sweating from every pore of my skin, cold chills and contractions grip every muscle, my vision’s becoming blurred, I’m exhausted, losing consciousness...
I’m revived with several buckets of cold water, now I’m hanging by my ankles upside down. From my mouth I expel the last gush of vomit, more bucketfuls wash away the filth. If I’d had the devil in me, I’d surely have shitted him out with all the other contents of my bowels.
Released, I drop to the ground. They carry me helpless into the next cell, where the Inquisitor is waiting for me to continue my interrogation.
I’m wet all over, naked and trembling, as if liquid ice was flowing instead of blood in my veins. I’m kneeling on a bench with arms raised high above my head, hands clasped, while the brutes are still whipping me to rouse me from oblivion ...
Inquisitor - 'Lucia, we can wash out of your body every trace of the demon that’s lurking in it, but we can’t tear it out of your soul, even if you've still got a soul, if you still won’t cooperate by confessing all your sins.
There is another means, but it can only save the souls of those who can still earn forgiveness, who without it would become the prey of the Evil One: I speak of Holy Exorcism, but we cannot administer it to you for your ill-fortune, because your actions were voluntary, in that you plotted the murder of Abbess –a crime as heinous, if not worse, than those committed at the court of the Emperor Caligula!
Confess your crimes, and this holy tribunal will be able to exercise such mercy as it is permitted to dispense.
Why and how did you plan the poisoning of the Abbess Costanza? '
another great segment...
Tree
Tree
Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 37
37
I haven’t got even the strength to move my lips to utter a word or a groan, and my body’s still being shaken with violent tremors like an earthquake, shaking every bone, seizing every muscle. I’ve barely the strength to lift my eyes to the Inquisitor. His gaze meets mine, his eyes are cold and penetrating as they stare at me.
We remain like this through a few seconds that seem an infinity...
Inquisitor- 'Untie her, let her sit up. Here, take a woollen cloak – and here’s a loaf of bread, and some mulled wine.'
He approaches, taking off his coat and putting it on my shoulders, wrapping around my still wet body. I feel his warmth, his smell, not unpleasant, it's the smell of a man.
Inquisitor- 'Go away, leave us alone, Mother Lucia wants to talk to me.'
Silently, they all leave the room. I’m sitting on the bench with my head lowered, eyes to the ground, clutching his cloak round my body, still trembling like a leaf ...
Inquisitor- 'Lucia, Lucia, I beg you to speak. I too am compelled to carry the weight of this cross, this painful task is tearing apart my soul, but I have the holy duty to snatch your soul from the claws of the Devil - even if I cannot save your life, I must do everything that my priestly vows require of me to save you from the fires of hell.'
His voice is warm, persuasive, no longer harsh in tone, none of the roughness he used before. He comes close, sits at my side, I let my head fall on his shoulder, crying silently, but as if speaking.
A few minutes pass, then he gets up, goes to the door and admits a nun who brings me a winter dress, although it’s July, I put it on and sit down again. He comes and hands me bread, a cup of hot wine.
As I drink it - it’s a sweet wine with spicy citrus flavor - and I eat a piece of bread, the judges, notaries and others all enter the room.
Inquisitor, addressing those present - 'Now Mother Lucia will confess her sins publicly. It is our duty to listen in silence and respect her confession.'
I swallow the last bite of bread, take a last sip of wine. With my head bowed, my hands clasped, my voice still trembling ...
Lucia- 'I am stained with horrible sins, but now I want to get rid of all the evil that has oppressed my heart. After that night of horror, Euphrasia and I, we didn’t know what would give us peace, our hearts were broken by the deaths of our lovers, our souls full of resentment against the Abbess and our rivals, Eulalia and Agnes, who plotted the murder of the two young men. We came to the decision to implement the most savage vengeance of which we would be capable, we looked for help from our companions who, like us, had secret lovers among the nobles who frequented the parlour. We spread the rumours that new disasters and new punishments were hanging over us, that the Abbess, Eulalia and Agnes were responsible for all the oppressions that were imposed on us, and so we sowed the seeds of our downfall and that of others.
Among the first who entered into this conspiracy were Beatrice Moccia and Caterina Barile, and they were among the most enterprising in seeking ways for us to free ourselves. Beatrice advised us to escape from the Convent, Caterina thought that instead of acting secretly, dignified resignation would succeed in deflating the zeal of the Superior, the plots of our rivals and the nosiness of the other nuns. But I was thirsting for revenge and didn’t listen to Beatrice or Caterina’s advice.
At that meeting we made our resolution to set things in motion. I said: “Friends, certainly escaping from the Convent would seem a good solution, but there’s the risk that we’ll just be locked up again in this prison by the cruelty of our relatives, or if we were to throw ourselves into the arms of men, abandoning all scruples of conscience, we’d multiply our misfortunes a hundredfold – just as happened to poor Minoccia Minutolo who tried to leave the Convent of Somma (Somma Vesuviana a village near Naples) and was taken and handed over to the Inquisition, which condemned her to life imprisonment.
But if we stay here without taking any action, secretive and resigned, that won’t cure our wounds – it won’t even protect us from the plots that the Abbess and our rivals are weaving against us. And there isn’t the least hope that the Abbess will want to ease with time, rather in her zeal she’d urge the others who seem to be animated by the armies of the purifying fire and the sword of St. Michael the Archangel.
We have to aim right at the target, arm ourselves with courage, and make no delay, because as long as the Abbess stays alive we cannot hope to sleep soundly nor have any happy days. She has witnessed our disgrace - and even the servant Agatha was a witness to these facts, we must also think about her.
So don’t waste time on useless discussions - our fate is in their hands, and to get it back we just have to make an attempt on their lives in order to save ours.' There was a brief discussion and we agreed to implement the plan without any delay. We parted, and each went back to her cell. Alone with Euphrasia I said: 'To terminate the life of the Abbess, give me the mediaction that the Roman physician dispensed for you, Livia will take care to administer it, I know how to make her do it, she burns with passion for Paolo, we’ll try and bring them together.' I worked on Livia, promising to convey her gifts to Paolo and to arrange a way so she could satisfy her desires. She accepted and administered the drug to the hated Abbess.'
Inquisitor- 'What was the nature of this medication?'
Lucia- 'No one knows the composition of it, not even the Council of Poisons, established in Naples by the Spanish Viceroys, has been able to discover the formula for the drug, nor even who could produce it. I just know that its effect is foolproof and it leaves no trace in anyone who takes it, so as to make it impossible to discover the crime.'
Inquisitor- 'Continue your confession.'
Lucia- 'The night that Livia met her lover Paolo, Euphrasia ran into Lavinia who was on the way back to her cell. Fearing that her new lover could be betraying her with the young and comely Lavinia, she came up to me agitated with suspicion, and told me what had happened. I wasn’t at all surprised, so I calmed Euphrasia, telling her that Lavinia had other reasons to leave the convent, not to meet the young Frederico with whom Euphrasia had fallen in love, but the handsome Pierfrancesco, and she wouldn’t tell anyone else about her nocturnal adventure.
‘But I'm worried instead about that silly Livia, she’s still keeping Paolo in her cell' I said, and we went to the serving-girl’s cell, but the bell was ringing for Mattins, the sisters were coming down for the prayers, and then we saw the Abbess looking through the keyhole at her servant’s orgies, so we didn’t hang around, we went down to Mattins.'
37
I haven’t got even the strength to move my lips to utter a word or a groan, and my body’s still being shaken with violent tremors like an earthquake, shaking every bone, seizing every muscle. I’ve barely the strength to lift my eyes to the Inquisitor. His gaze meets mine, his eyes are cold and penetrating as they stare at me.
We remain like this through a few seconds that seem an infinity...
Inquisitor- 'Untie her, let her sit up. Here, take a woollen cloak – and here’s a loaf of bread, and some mulled wine.'
He approaches, taking off his coat and putting it on my shoulders, wrapping around my still wet body. I feel his warmth, his smell, not unpleasant, it's the smell of a man.
Inquisitor- 'Go away, leave us alone, Mother Lucia wants to talk to me.'
Silently, they all leave the room. I’m sitting on the bench with my head lowered, eyes to the ground, clutching his cloak round my body, still trembling like a leaf ...
Inquisitor- 'Lucia, Lucia, I beg you to speak. I too am compelled to carry the weight of this cross, this painful task is tearing apart my soul, but I have the holy duty to snatch your soul from the claws of the Devil - even if I cannot save your life, I must do everything that my priestly vows require of me to save you from the fires of hell.'
His voice is warm, persuasive, no longer harsh in tone, none of the roughness he used before. He comes close, sits at my side, I let my head fall on his shoulder, crying silently, but as if speaking.
A few minutes pass, then he gets up, goes to the door and admits a nun who brings me a winter dress, although it’s July, I put it on and sit down again. He comes and hands me bread, a cup of hot wine.
As I drink it - it’s a sweet wine with spicy citrus flavor - and I eat a piece of bread, the judges, notaries and others all enter the room.
Inquisitor, addressing those present - 'Now Mother Lucia will confess her sins publicly. It is our duty to listen in silence and respect her confession.'
I swallow the last bite of bread, take a last sip of wine. With my head bowed, my hands clasped, my voice still trembling ...
Lucia- 'I am stained with horrible sins, but now I want to get rid of all the evil that has oppressed my heart. After that night of horror, Euphrasia and I, we didn’t know what would give us peace, our hearts were broken by the deaths of our lovers, our souls full of resentment against the Abbess and our rivals, Eulalia and Agnes, who plotted the murder of the two young men. We came to the decision to implement the most savage vengeance of which we would be capable, we looked for help from our companions who, like us, had secret lovers among the nobles who frequented the parlour. We spread the rumours that new disasters and new punishments were hanging over us, that the Abbess, Eulalia and Agnes were responsible for all the oppressions that were imposed on us, and so we sowed the seeds of our downfall and that of others.
Among the first who entered into this conspiracy were Beatrice Moccia and Caterina Barile, and they were among the most enterprising in seeking ways for us to free ourselves. Beatrice advised us to escape from the Convent, Caterina thought that instead of acting secretly, dignified resignation would succeed in deflating the zeal of the Superior, the plots of our rivals and the nosiness of the other nuns. But I was thirsting for revenge and didn’t listen to Beatrice or Caterina’s advice.
At that meeting we made our resolution to set things in motion. I said: “Friends, certainly escaping from the Convent would seem a good solution, but there’s the risk that we’ll just be locked up again in this prison by the cruelty of our relatives, or if we were to throw ourselves into the arms of men, abandoning all scruples of conscience, we’d multiply our misfortunes a hundredfold – just as happened to poor Minoccia Minutolo who tried to leave the Convent of Somma (Somma Vesuviana a village near Naples) and was taken and handed over to the Inquisition, which condemned her to life imprisonment.
But if we stay here without taking any action, secretive and resigned, that won’t cure our wounds – it won’t even protect us from the plots that the Abbess and our rivals are weaving against us. And there isn’t the least hope that the Abbess will want to ease with time, rather in her zeal she’d urge the others who seem to be animated by the armies of the purifying fire and the sword of St. Michael the Archangel.
We have to aim right at the target, arm ourselves with courage, and make no delay, because as long as the Abbess stays alive we cannot hope to sleep soundly nor have any happy days. She has witnessed our disgrace - and even the servant Agatha was a witness to these facts, we must also think about her.
So don’t waste time on useless discussions - our fate is in their hands, and to get it back we just have to make an attempt on their lives in order to save ours.' There was a brief discussion and we agreed to implement the plan without any delay. We parted, and each went back to her cell. Alone with Euphrasia I said: 'To terminate the life of the Abbess, give me the mediaction that the Roman physician dispensed for you, Livia will take care to administer it, I know how to make her do it, she burns with passion for Paolo, we’ll try and bring them together.' I worked on Livia, promising to convey her gifts to Paolo and to arrange a way so she could satisfy her desires. She accepted and administered the drug to the hated Abbess.'
Inquisitor- 'What was the nature of this medication?'
Lucia- 'No one knows the composition of it, not even the Council of Poisons, established in Naples by the Spanish Viceroys, has been able to discover the formula for the drug, nor even who could produce it. I just know that its effect is foolproof and it leaves no trace in anyone who takes it, so as to make it impossible to discover the crime.'
Inquisitor- 'Continue your confession.'
Lucia- 'The night that Livia met her lover Paolo, Euphrasia ran into Lavinia who was on the way back to her cell. Fearing that her new lover could be betraying her with the young and comely Lavinia, she came up to me agitated with suspicion, and told me what had happened. I wasn’t at all surprised, so I calmed Euphrasia, telling her that Lavinia had other reasons to leave the convent, not to meet the young Frederico with whom Euphrasia had fallen in love, but the handsome Pierfrancesco, and she wouldn’t tell anyone else about her nocturnal adventure.
‘But I'm worried instead about that silly Livia, she’s still keeping Paolo in her cell' I said, and we went to the serving-girl’s cell, but the bell was ringing for Mattins, the sisters were coming down for the prayers, and then we saw the Abbess looking through the keyhole at her servant’s orgies, so we didn’t hang around, we went down to Mattins.'
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Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Devil in the Convent 38
38
Tengo 'e chiuove 'nfronte...
(Someone’s hammering nails in my head!)
Luna- 'Chiudete 'e llucerne... c'a cerevella è nu sfuoglio 'e cepolla...'
('Turn the lights off ... my brain feels like a pickled onion ...')
Male voice- 'Signs of life are returning!'
Another male voice- 'Miss! Miss! Wake up! Wake up, don’t go to sleep again!'
Luna- 'What?'
Male voice- 'Wake up!'
Luna- 'Where am I?'
Male voice- 'It's all right!'
I feel naked, warm dry hands are massaging my abdomen, pressing rhythmically above my pubes and laterally over my ovaries, some other hands are shaking my hips and pressing the region of my kidneys. I feel something shaking my wrists and ankles, something else that’s slipped in the middle of my chest between my breasts, it’s slid under my left breast, lifting it, then runs to the side. The blinding light prevents me from seeing, I can just perceive shapes, faces, green overalls.
Male voice- 'She’s made it!'
Luna- 'Made what?'
I'm scared.
Another male voice- 'The oxygen levels have increased, the heartbeat is strong ...'
Female voice- ‘Try hard, doctor, courage!'
Luna- 'What's happening?'
Instinctively wrap my legs ...
Luna- 'What have I got in ...?'
Female voice- 'A catheter'
Luna- 'And in the ...?'
Female Voice- 'A probe'
Male voice- 'We've had to do a gastric lavage [stomach pump], there was a bad toxicity, poisoning. What did you eat yesterday? '
Luna- 'Yesterday? I ate ...? I don’t know ...! Yesterday I ate ...? Yesterday ...? '
I sense the presence of needles in my left arm, drip-bottles are hanging above me...
Luna- 'But where am I?'
Male voice- 'In the recovery room, in the Accident and Emergency Department. The ambulance came to pick you up last night from your home after you called your friend'
Luna- 'My friend who?'
Female voice- 'Eulalia.'
Luna- 'I phoned her?'
Male voice- 'She’s still confused. Can you feel any pain?'
Luna- 'As if you’d kicked me in the stomach!'
Another male voice- 'Be careful. We could do an ultrasound scan.’
Male voice- 'Miss, could you manage to drink this detecting fluid, so we can examine your liver?'
Luna- 'My liver? why? '
Male voice- 'Your liver parameters are altered, we need to understand if there are problems ...'
Luna- 'I don’t want to drink anything!'
I’m beginning to see something, the doctor’s face, the other people that are around me, gentle voices, smiles.
A nurse has not stopped massaging legs and feet for a moment. I don’t remember anything about what might have happened before, I’m at square one, everything’s just beginning now.
They cover me with a green sheet, a light blanket.
Doctor- 'Doctor, there are two people here now who will ask you a few questions.'
Luna- 'Two who?'
Doctor- 'An Investigating Magistrate and a Woman Police Officer.'
Luna- 'What do they want? I'm not a criminal! '
Doctor- 'Of course not, but while the medics were at your home giving first aid, you were talking about a murders, about poison.'
Luna- 'Murders? Poison? I do not know anything! '
Enter two nice ladies, one in uniform, smiling at me.
Magistrate- 'Good morning Doctor, are you feeling better now?'
Luna- 'Better? Ask the doctor if I’m better, I'm more dead than alive!'
Official- 'Doctor, you are definitely a lot better, last night I was with the medics at your home and we didn’t have much hope of saving you, but the doctors performed a miracle ...'
Luna- 'Miracle, yes, a miracle!'
Magistrate- 'The Officer's report shows that among the words you spoke several times were “poison” and “murders”, indeed you said, “It's he, he’s the murders!” and then "No poison, no".
Was there someone with you in your home before you started feeling bad?'
Luna- 'Someone? Yes! No one! '
Official- 'I was close to you while you were on the ground and you said, : ' E' vulite accire 'a tutte nuje!' (And you all will kill all of us!)
Who were those people who wanted to kill you, and who were the others? '
Luna- 'Kill me? Yes! Who wanted to kill me? Ah! Yes! The Notary! '
Official- 'You also said “The Notary”. Who is this Notary?'
Luna- 'I don’t know, I never saw him.'
Magistrate- 'But if you aren’t in your home where you are?'
Luna- 'At my house.'
Magistrate- 'The Notary was at your home and did not show up? Who was with the Notary? '
Luna- 'The Bishop.'
Official- 'The Bishop?'
Luna- 'No it was not the Bishop, was the Vicar.'
Magistrate- 'But, Doctor, which people visited you?'
Luna- 'Those!'
Magistrate- 'Those who? Are you sure you don’t use drugs? Doctor, is there any evidence?'
Doctor- 'Absolutely no evidence.'
Official- 'Doctor, had you taken part in a drug party, a party where you took any drugs?'
Luna- 'Drugs? What are you on about? '
Official- 'We’d say that you were in the company of someone who, perhaps without your knowing, got you to take some drug.'
Luna- 'No, I was alone, I only drank a little drop of hot tea because I felt a little pain in my abdomen.'
Official- 'Maybe you’re starting to remember. Tell us, Doctor, who were the others who were going to be killed?'
Luna- 'Euphrasia, Agnes, Eulalia ...'
Official- 'Who they are?'
Luna- 'The others sentenced to death ...'
Magistrate- 'Condemned? Who has sentenced them to death? '
Luna- 'The Vicar!'
Magistrate- 'The Vicar? And for what did the Vicar condemn you all to death?'
Luna- 'For poisoning the Abbess!'
Magistrate- 'What Abbess?'
Luna- 'The Abbess Constanza, Constanza Mastrogiudice!'
Magistrate- 'But if someone has murdered the Abbess, they’d be tried in the Assize Court, not by the Vicar like you’re saying!'
Luna- 'Scusate fatemi capì che nun ce capisco 'cchiù!'
( 'I'm sorry, that’s all I know, I can’t understand anything else!')
Doctor- 'The Doctor is still stressed, very weak. It’s advisable to postpone the interrogation, she can’t cope this barrage of questions that are so disturbing, all this talk of murders, the death penalty, of prelates, abbesses, notaries, poisoning ... '
Luna- - 'Giusto Dottore, nun j'e 'a faccie 'cchiù!'
('Right, Doctor, I can’t!')
Magistrate- 'Doctor, when you're sure you’re feeling better, tell the doctor that you want to talk.
We'll come right away, meanwhile we’ll start an investigation.'
38
Tengo 'e chiuove 'nfronte...
(Someone’s hammering nails in my head!)
Luna- 'Chiudete 'e llucerne... c'a cerevella è nu sfuoglio 'e cepolla...'
('Turn the lights off ... my brain feels like a pickled onion ...')
Male voice- 'Signs of life are returning!'
Another male voice- 'Miss! Miss! Wake up! Wake up, don’t go to sleep again!'
Luna- 'What?'
Male voice- 'Wake up!'
Luna- 'Where am I?'
Male voice- 'It's all right!'
I feel naked, warm dry hands are massaging my abdomen, pressing rhythmically above my pubes and laterally over my ovaries, some other hands are shaking my hips and pressing the region of my kidneys. I feel something shaking my wrists and ankles, something else that’s slipped in the middle of my chest between my breasts, it’s slid under my left breast, lifting it, then runs to the side. The blinding light prevents me from seeing, I can just perceive shapes, faces, green overalls.
Male voice- 'She’s made it!'
Luna- 'Made what?'
I'm scared.
Another male voice- 'The oxygen levels have increased, the heartbeat is strong ...'
Female voice- ‘Try hard, doctor, courage!'
Luna- 'What's happening?'
Instinctively wrap my legs ...
Luna- 'What have I got in ...?'
Female voice- 'A catheter'
Luna- 'And in the ...?'
Female Voice- 'A probe'
Male voice- 'We've had to do a gastric lavage [stomach pump], there was a bad toxicity, poisoning. What did you eat yesterday? '
Luna- 'Yesterday? I ate ...? I don’t know ...! Yesterday I ate ...? Yesterday ...? '
I sense the presence of needles in my left arm, drip-bottles are hanging above me...
Luna- 'But where am I?'
Male voice- 'In the recovery room, in the Accident and Emergency Department. The ambulance came to pick you up last night from your home after you called your friend'
Luna- 'My friend who?'
Female voice- 'Eulalia.'
Luna- 'I phoned her?'
Male voice- 'She’s still confused. Can you feel any pain?'
Luna- 'As if you’d kicked me in the stomach!'
Another male voice- 'Be careful. We could do an ultrasound scan.’
Male voice- 'Miss, could you manage to drink this detecting fluid, so we can examine your liver?'
Luna- 'My liver? why? '
Male voice- 'Your liver parameters are altered, we need to understand if there are problems ...'
Luna- 'I don’t want to drink anything!'
I’m beginning to see something, the doctor’s face, the other people that are around me, gentle voices, smiles.
A nurse has not stopped massaging legs and feet for a moment. I don’t remember anything about what might have happened before, I’m at square one, everything’s just beginning now.
They cover me with a green sheet, a light blanket.
Doctor- 'Doctor, there are two people here now who will ask you a few questions.'
Luna- 'Two who?'
Doctor- 'An Investigating Magistrate and a Woman Police Officer.'
Luna- 'What do they want? I'm not a criminal! '
Doctor- 'Of course not, but while the medics were at your home giving first aid, you were talking about a murders, about poison.'
Luna- 'Murders? Poison? I do not know anything! '
Enter two nice ladies, one in uniform, smiling at me.
Magistrate- 'Good morning Doctor, are you feeling better now?'
Luna- 'Better? Ask the doctor if I’m better, I'm more dead than alive!'
Official- 'Doctor, you are definitely a lot better, last night I was with the medics at your home and we didn’t have much hope of saving you, but the doctors performed a miracle ...'
Luna- 'Miracle, yes, a miracle!'
Magistrate- 'The Officer's report shows that among the words you spoke several times were “poison” and “murders”, indeed you said, “It's he, he’s the murders!” and then "No poison, no".
Was there someone with you in your home before you started feeling bad?'
Luna- 'Someone? Yes! No one! '
Official- 'I was close to you while you were on the ground and you said, : ' E' vulite accire 'a tutte nuje!' (And you all will kill all of us!)
Who were those people who wanted to kill you, and who were the others? '
Luna- 'Kill me? Yes! Who wanted to kill me? Ah! Yes! The Notary! '
Official- 'You also said “The Notary”. Who is this Notary?'
Luna- 'I don’t know, I never saw him.'
Magistrate- 'But if you aren’t in your home where you are?'
Luna- 'At my house.'
Magistrate- 'The Notary was at your home and did not show up? Who was with the Notary? '
Luna- 'The Bishop.'
Official- 'The Bishop?'
Luna- 'No it was not the Bishop, was the Vicar.'
Magistrate- 'But, Doctor, which people visited you?'
Luna- 'Those!'
Magistrate- 'Those who? Are you sure you don’t use drugs? Doctor, is there any evidence?'
Doctor- 'Absolutely no evidence.'
Official- 'Doctor, had you taken part in a drug party, a party where you took any drugs?'
Luna- 'Drugs? What are you on about? '
Official- 'We’d say that you were in the company of someone who, perhaps without your knowing, got you to take some drug.'
Luna- 'No, I was alone, I only drank a little drop of hot tea because I felt a little pain in my abdomen.'
Official- 'Maybe you’re starting to remember. Tell us, Doctor, who were the others who were going to be killed?'
Luna- 'Euphrasia, Agnes, Eulalia ...'
Official- 'Who they are?'
Luna- 'The others sentenced to death ...'
Magistrate- 'Condemned? Who has sentenced them to death? '
Luna- 'The Vicar!'
Magistrate- 'The Vicar? And for what did the Vicar condemn you all to death?'
Luna- 'For poisoning the Abbess!'
Magistrate- 'What Abbess?'
Luna- 'The Abbess Constanza, Constanza Mastrogiudice!'
Magistrate- 'But if someone has murdered the Abbess, they’d be tried in the Assize Court, not by the Vicar like you’re saying!'
Luna- 'Scusate fatemi capì che nun ce capisco 'cchiù!'
( 'I'm sorry, that’s all I know, I can’t understand anything else!')
Doctor- 'The Doctor is still stressed, very weak. It’s advisable to postpone the interrogation, she can’t cope this barrage of questions that are so disturbing, all this talk of murders, the death penalty, of prelates, abbesses, notaries, poisoning ... '
Luna- - 'Giusto Dottore, nun j'e 'a faccie 'cchiù!'
('Right, Doctor, I can’t!')
Magistrate- 'Doctor, when you're sure you’re feeling better, tell the doctor that you want to talk.
We'll come right away, meanwhile we’ll start an investigation.'
I think Ms. Luna needs help. Perhaps she should be committed admitted to Dr. Rodent's Insane Asylum Psychiatric Clinic...
t
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Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
Yupar
Regina Iudaeorum
I should c it earlier for my manips
Velut Luna
Sibilla Cumana
we have some nicer possibilities....................only for the better ones
but it is Luna's home..................I'm only a honorable guestyou know how to make your girl-guest feel at home!
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