Considering that these condottieri were now at odds with Cesare, they might see fit to consider themselves bound to Bentivogli by the Treaty of Villafontana, signed by Vitelli and Orsini on the duke's behalf at the time of the capitulation of Castel Bolognese.

They might choose to disregard the fact that this treaty had already been violated by Bentivogli himself, through the non-fulfilment of the terms of it, and refuse to proceed against him upon being so bidden by Valentinois.
It was for such a contingency as this that provision was made by the clause concerning them in Cesare's treaty with Louis.
The Orsini were still in the duke's service, in command of troops levied for him and paid by him, and considering that with them Cesare had no quarrel, it is by no means clear why they should have gone over to the alliance of the condottieri that was now forming against the duke.

Join it, however, they did.

They, too, were in the Treaty of Villafontana; but that they should consider themselves bound by it, would have been--had they urged it--more in the nature of a pretext than a reason.
But they chose a pretext even more slender.

They gave out that in Milan Louis XII had told Cardinal Orsini that the Pope's intention was to destroy the Orsini.
To accept such a statement as true, we should have to believe in a disloyalty and a double-dealing on the part of Louis XII altogether incredible.