It is so, Don Marco. When I was most ill and convinced there was no other possible hope of cure.

And you believe it was the humors from our rats that has saved you?

I cannot say with certainty. However, I would very much like to experiment with the same remedy on others who are afflicted, if you would be willing to provide me with more rats.

Don Marco shook his head. The Archbishop has requested the same of us, but I cannot condone these requests, he said. Besides, as blessed as these creatures are, they carry a risk all of their own.

How so, Don Marco?

Of the three brothers we have lost in the past two weeks, two of them have been the keepers of the rats.

Are you sure it is not coincidence?

They both fell within days of assuming their post, he said, and he viewed me with great puzzlement. How can it be that the same sacred animal that offers protection from the pestilence can also be the agent of its spread, good doctor?

It is a paradox, I agreed.

There has to be meaning behind it, Don Marco said. I have to believe that the Lord blessed San Giovanni with these creatures for more than simply the salvation of us inconsequential brothers.

What more, then?

Don Marco did not answer me directly. We will move the animals somewhere farther from their keepers, he said. However, Doctor Pasqua, I am most reluctant to share these sacred creatures with you or the Archbishop. It cannot be what God has intended for them.

I understand.

In truth, I have practiced medicine for long enough to realize that fate plays a far greater role in the recovery of a patient than any single remedy. However, I cannot help wonder how much the humors from those rats contributed to my survival. I would have liked to experiment on other sufferers. But Don Marco appeared resolute, so I did not persist. Instead, I turned my inquiries to another issue that was heavy on my mind.

Don Marco, you know the Archbishop well, do you not? I asked.

I would not necessarily say so, he said. However, being as old as I am, I have known Archbishop Valente for a very long time. Since he was just a young priest serving under the Archbishop who reigned even before his predecessor. When that grand palace of his was only a glint is his eyes.

The Archbishop is a stern and pious man, I said, choosing my words carefully.

Yes, he is, Don Marco agreed. He is also cunning and ruthlessly ambitious.

The abbot’s candor surprised me. I was emboldened to speak more freely. I told Don Marco about the rumor the Archbishop had conveyed to me regarding Jews and their possible involvement in the deliberate spread of this pestilence.

But our Savior was a Jew Himself, Don Marco said.

Indeed. I am not convinced that the Archbishop believes the rumors of the Jews’ involvement to be true.