Thank you, Your Grace. I have been more fortunate than most.

So it would seem. Would you care to elaborate on the secrets of your recovery?

There is no secret, Your Grace, I said, and explained how I had contracted the skin form of the pestilence, which had spared my lungs. I described how I had applied the time-honored traditions such as balancing humors and applying salves, but I made no mention of Jacob or his family.

The Archbishop grew impatient. Tell me, then, who was this Jewess who was at your bedside when my priests came for you?

She is no one. An errand girl. Her father is a colleague.

A doctor? A Jewish doctor?

A physician, yes. Doctor ben Moses. But he is merely an old acquaintance.

Surely you must realize it is against the law for a Jewish doctor to treat a Christian? the Archbishop said.

I do. He did not treat me.

It is not only illegal. It is blasphemous.

Your Grace, I also treated myself with a remedy that is most extraordinary, I said, as I was most anxious to direct his attention away from the involvement of Jacob or his family.

What is it?

The blood of the rats. From the San Giovanni Monastery.

You drank rat’s blood? he asked as he stood in outrage. What kind of pagan ritual is that? It reeks of Satanic worship.

These are no ordinary rats. These are the creatures I described to you and Doctor Volaro. The ones blessed with the ability to ward off the pestilence.

No animal is blessed, let alone a lowly vermin!

Not blessed by God, of course. But somehow they possess the ability to resist this illness like no other creature alive. Ask Don Marco. He will tell you the same.

The Archbishop sat down and brought the handkerchief back to his mouth as he considered my argument. Are there more of these vermin at the monastery? he asked.

I believe so, I said, sheepish for having betrayed the confidence of a friend.

This is most unusual. I will speak with Don Marco.

My legs were growing weak from standing, but the Archbishop seemed in no hurry to dismiss me.

What of the Jews, Doctor Pasqua? he asked.

What of them, Your Grace?

You said the rats of San Giovanni were the only creatures who escaped the plague, and yet clearly so, too, did this Jewish physician and his spawn. What about other Jews?

They are as susceptible as anyone else. I hear the losses in their community are as great as ours.

Their losses? The Archbishop grunted. These infidels live off of our good grace. By our protection. And what do they provide us in return? Do they contribute to our harvest? Do they build our houses? Do they worship our God? No! At most, they lend us their money and charge us usury in exchange for our Christian charity.

I had to bite my tongue so as not to point out that the Jews were banned from participating in guilds or most other forms of commerce.