‘And around her yellow head…there are twelve stars, twelve of them. I counted them, and I know how to count to twelve. And all around her body, almost all the way down to her feet, are beams of light all made of gold. And the chorus girl is crushing the serpent with her feet. And on the back of the banner… because they turn it around, you know…they turn it around to show you the other side…’ The cart jerked and bounced, but his voice, in spite of his state of euphoria, remained firm and confident. ‘On it is a golden eagle with wings spread, and on its chest is the coat of arms of Hapsburg, Austria, and Lorraine. The right claw grips the sceptre and the sword, the left claw grips the orb with the cross of the priests…’ he hacked and spat. The phlegm flew to the dirt road. Giulia sat on the box, wedged between the steward and the demijohn of wine, the official excuse for the trip. ‘What none of you know is that the coat of arms…that coat of arms contains the heraldic crests of all the empire’s kingdoms and fiefdoms…Now, I say, the second escutcheon from the left…no, from the right…is the crest of Lombardy–Venetia, and we’re not fooling around.
