AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Having a great time.”
“Good.” Franco squeezed his shoulder. “Let’s get them upstairs. Time to get started. This is the most important night of their lives.”
Franco rose, eyeing thegabellottiaround the table. Each looked up at him, dressed in his best clothes, dark eyes animated in the candlelight. The meal was over, except forlimoncellomade from his lemons andcassata, a delicious ricotta sponge cake topped with red and green sugary icing and candied fruits.
“Gentlemen, this will not be a meeting like the others, when we talk business after dinner. Tonight is a ceremony. You will be formally initiated into our Fiorvanti clan, ourcosca.”
The men straightened, their gazes riveted on him. Franco could see their respect for him had grown after the destruction of Baron Zito’s estate and all that happened thereafter.
“I am thecapo di tutti capi, the boss of this clan, and my twin brother is my underboss. I’m responsible for running thecosca, this clan gathered here and now, and you are each thecapoof your family. I base this structure and nomenclature on my research into ancient Romans, whoconquered our beautiful island.” Franco had written his speech after studying in Baron Moravio’s library. “It’s fitting to harken back to the Roman Empire because it dominated through strength, honor, and loyalty.”
Heads nodded around the table, solemn.
“You are men of honor. You will tell no one about what goes on here. This isomertà, our code of silence, but it’s more than mere silence.Omertàis the quality of beingomu, as we say, a man.”
Roberto nodded, and his intense expression pleased Franco.
“These precepts aren’t new to you. They’re the way you’ve been conducting yourselves asmafiosimen, bold, daring, and strong. We’re not lawless, but we don’t follow the corrupt laws of the colonizers and nobility. We make our own laws and follow them. You will give me your obedience, your loyalty, and this family will always be there for you. If you should perish, this family will be there for your family. You can rest assured while you live, even thereafter. You’ll never lose your place at this table, unless you breach the oath you are about to swear.”
Two men made the sign of the cross.
“I will begin our ceremony with my twin, Roberto Fiorvanti. Roberto, please stand up.”
Roberto rose uncertainly.
“We all revere our patron saint.” Franco reached into an envelope on the table, withdrew a picture of Saint Rosalia, and held it up. “Roberto, let me have your hand.”
Roberto extended his hand, palm down, but Franco turned it over, then picked up a knife and pricked Roberto’s index finger, forming a droplet of blood.
Franco turned it so the blood dripped onto Saint Rosalia’s picture, obliterating her face. “Roberto, repeat after me: I, Roberto Fiorvanti, swear an oath of loyalty to our clan tonight.”
Roberto repeated the first sentence.
“I promise to serve our clan in any way I am told, and to respect the men of honor in our clan above all others.”
Roberto repeated the second sentence.
“I swear that I will prove my honor and respect for our clan byomertà, my absolute silence about our family to those outside the clan.”
Roberto repeated the third sentence.
“I promise to place our clan even above the saints in heaven, Jesus Christ, and God himself.”
Roberto repeated the fourth sentence.
“The oath I swear tonight is sacred, and if I breach it or disobey, I deserve death.”
Roberto repeated the final sentence.
“Roberto Fiorvanti, I accept the sacred oath you make tonight, on penalty of death.” Franco held the bloodied picture to the candle and watched it burn. Charred paper fluttered to the table. “Roberto, you may sit down.”
Roberto did, and Franco summoned the next man and administered the oath, then the next. Each swore his oath without hesitation, and his demeanor changed as he was elevated fromgabellottoto man of honor. After the ceremony was finished, Franco dismissed the men, and Roberto escorted them downstairs with a new somberness.
Franco went to the balcony and looked at the magnificentgiardino, inhaling the perfume of the lemons. The scent filled his lungs, and he savored the moment. The night sky was black and dense, and the moon didn’t seem impossibly far away, shining its dark brilliance on lemon groves stretching beyond the horizon. He was exactly where he had always wanted to be, in the prime of his manhood. He stood above, at the apex of his career, the master of the Conca d’Oro.
Roberto materialized at his side, uncharacteristically silent.
Franco looked over. “Robo, I will swear your men in at a later time.”
