Chapter 26: The Doge's Palace
I look around me in awe. We are on a tour of the state apartments of the Doge's Palace. We emerge from the chamber with ceiling panels depicting scenes of the good governance of the Republic, the renowned masterpieces of Veronese, and head for the Chamber of the Great Council.
It's known by reputation throughout the city though few get the chance to see it. La Contessa's ballroom is splendid but this is opulence on a different scale, on the scale of a nation state. It's allegedly the largest room in the whole of Europe, which I can believe. La Contessa belongs here. It embodies the magnificence of La Serenissima as a wealthy Republic built on the trade passing through its canals. Here are the walls painted with episodes of Venetian history, the ceiling depicting the classical virtues and the frieze of the portraits of the Doges by Tintoretto. I gaze from wall to ceiling, and back to wall again, mesmerised by the glowing colours.
I'm suddenly brought back down to earth.
"Stop staring at the murals, slave, and pay attention," snaps La Contessa.
"Will you move into the Doge's Palace, madam?" asks Julia.
"No, Palazzo Cavalli is my home. But now I have two palaces in Venice to run, not to mention my civic duties, so you will be kept busy my maid. I can keep the palace's staff here, but I still need to reorganise my household to accommodate my new responsibilities."
A group of us gather around La Contessa in the Chamber of the Great Council. There's old Lucio, Julia looking stunning in a sumptuous damask dress, myself in mistress's livery and Becky with no clothes on. La Contessa finds it amusing to parade the girl around the Doge's Palace naked, claiming it will set the tone for her reign. There's also Lucretia and Viola in extravagant wigs, opulent gowns and heavily made up, openly flaunting their transvestism.
"I think the palace staff may be in for a shock, my dear," says Lucretia.
"There is a new regime in the palace, and they will have to do their new mistress's bidding," asserts La Contessa. "Now I have brought you here to assign your new roles. Lucio, I want to place you as administrator and procurator of the Doge's Palace. I need somebody I can trust to investigate how everything is working and suggest what changes are needed to meet with my particular requirements."
"Thank you, madam."
He looks both surprised and thrilled at his new appointment, "It's generous of madam to offer these new responsibilities, and I promise I will not let you down."
"Lucretia, I want you to be in charge of the civic finances. I need you to investigate how the former Doge built up so much debt, and your advice on what actions to take to avoid such a thing happening again. The Council cannot act against me. They still owe me a considerable sum of money; I have merely cancelled interest payments to give them a respite in return for their support in electing me the new Doge."
"Yes, I will poke around into everything, my dear."
"Yes, I know I can count on you. Viola, I want you to be in charge of the Republic's moral welfare. It amuses me to have a sodomite in charge of that."
"Oh, thank you! You can trust me to uphold the moral affairs of Venice in an appropriately debauched manner, madam."
"Julia, my position will mean you will have extra responsibilities. You will stay my trusted and loyal servant, but I need you as my secretary and confidante, so I propose to appoint new maids to take over your domestic duties. There will be things you miss, I know. But you must not take this as a slight, my maid. You will be in a position of power, and will have to keep close at all times."
"I'm honoured, madam. I only ever wanted to serve you."
Turning to me she says, "Now, you will continue to be my slave and will need to be available to amuse me whenever I require. However, I consider your talents to be wasted on polishing my boots, whatever erotic pleasures you may get from the task. I want to make use of your knowledge of the arts so I will make you my advisor on these matters."
I'm astonished. I can barely believe the offer La Contessa has made.
