When Leonardo came to he was laid on the floor, his hands bound behind his back and tied to a wooden stake that ran the length of his body. His head throbbed. He tried to look up to see where he was, but as he was trussed up like a pig on a spit, his visibility extended as far as the end of his feet in one direction and no further than a stone wall in the other. Struggling to find a better view, he attempted to pivot to one side when the night was shattered by the high-pitched wail of a woman’s screams from within the Sala delle Asse.
‘You are my mistress!’ shouted Il Moro. ‘Not some common w***e who opens her legs for any old bastard!’ Two guards gripped an arm each as Il Moro punched Cecilia in the mouth. Blood oozed from a split lip.
‘My Lord, I beg you, Leonardo never laid a finger o
