to take it
again, he invited his daughter Lucrezia to join him there and be present
at the rejoicings held in honour of his resuming its possession.

Lucrezia's readiness in giving way to her father's wishes brought her a
new gift from him: this was the town and territory of Sermoneta, which
belonged to the Caetani. Of course the gift was as yet a secret, because
the two owners of the seigneury, had first to be disposed of, one being
Monsignore Giacomo Caetano, apostolic protonotary, the other Prospero
Caetano, a young cavalier of great promise; but as both lived at Rome,
and entertained no suspicion, but indeed supposed themselves to be in
high favour with His Holiness, the one by virtue of his position, the
other of his courage, the matter seemed to present no great difficulty.
So directly after the return of Alexander to Rome, Giacomo Caetano was
arrested, on what pretext we know not, was taken to the castle of Sant'
Angelo, and there died shortly after, of poison: Prospero Caetano was
strangled in his own house. After these two deaths, which both occurred
so suddenly as to give no time for either to make a will, the pope
declared that Sermoneta and all of her property appertaining to the
Caetani devolved upon the apostolic chamber; and they were sold to
Lucrezia for the cum of 80,000 crowns, which her father refunded to her
the day after. Though Caesar hurried to Rome, he found when he arrived
that his father had been beforehand with him, and had made a beginning of
his conquests.

Another fortune also had been making prodigious strides during Caesar's
stay in France, viz. the fortune of Gian Borgia, the pope's nephew, who
had been one of the most devoted friends of the Duke of Gandia up to the
time of his death. It was said in Rome, and not in a whisper, that the
young cardinal owed the favours heaped upon him by His Holiness less to
the memory of the brother than to the protection of the sister. Both
these reasons made Gian Borgia a special object of suspicion to Caesar,
and it was with an inward vow that he should not enjoy his new dignities
very long that the Duke of Valentinois heard that his cousin Gian had
just been nominated cardinal 'a latere' of all the Christian world, and
had quitted Rome to make a circuit through all the pontifical states with
a suite of archbishops, bishops, prelates, and gentlemen, such as would
have done honour to the pope himself.

Caesar had only come to Rome to get news; s