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Thirteen days of March 1805 had passed. Simão was in a shared room in the prison of the Relação court. He slept on a plank bed, on a simple mattress. He had a pine table and chair. A bundle of clothes served as his pillow. A black wooden box stood on the table. The box held Teresa's letters and dried bouquets. It also held his manuscripts from Viseu prison. Mariana's apron was there. Mariana had wiped tears with that apron.
Simão reread Teresa's letters. He opened the papers protecting the dried flowers. He looked on the apron for signs of Mariana's tears. He pressed his face and chest against the bars. He saw hills, Gaia and the Pilar monastery. It was a beautiful spring day. The sky had bright colours, and the air smelt of gardens. Nature seemed full of love and hope. But Simão fled from the light and the birds. He wept, thought of Teresa and wrote. He desired the bread earned by honest work. He wished to rest his unstained face against Teresa's breast. At sixteen, love taught him virtue. He believed that this love had made him better. He had never felt a desire he could not confess. He claimed that he had never offended Teresa's purity. He was ready to kneel at Tadeu's feet. He would die if Teresa asked him, so she could be happy with another man. Yet Teresa was alone and unhappy. In Simão's view, the man destroying Teresa should die. This was how he justified Baltasar's death. He called himself a murderer but said he felt no remorse. This was how Simão thought. In the earlier prison, he often waited for the gallows. He thought of the prison chapel and imagined speaking to Jesus Christ. He said that he was not afraid of that agony. But he wept for the pain he would cause Teresa. He imagined Teresa watching him die on the gallows. He feared that this image would destroy her life. ‘What a death yours would be, my saintly friend!’ he wrote.
João da Cruz entered with an order from the intendant, the police chief. Simão embraced him joyfully and asked about Mariana. He feared that Mariana was alone or even dead. ‘Neither alone nor dead,’ João replied. According to João, Mariana could think clearly again. He said that they bled her and placed threads in wounds. Those threads were an old treatment called setons. They also used cold water and exorcisms. Mariana was better and would travel when she had strength. Simão thanked God. João criticised the bed and the few pieces of furniture. He wished to buy a better bed, chairs and food. Simão replied that he still had money. João showed him a letter from Rita Preciosa. Rita authorised João to help her son with his expenses. Rita would pay all duly signed bills. Simão thought this fair, for he had a share of the inheritance. João was about to make the purchases. Simão first asked him for a more important service.
He asked him to deliver a letter to Teresa at Monchique. João agreed to take the letter. He also said that Tadeu was in Porto. Angrily, he threatened to strike or hang Tadeu. He went no further than words and attacked no one. He asked whether Teresa would give an answer. ‘If they give her the letter,’ Simão replied.
João reached Monchique with the letter. Tadeu, a court officer and two doctors arrived. The officer represented a local judge. He asked for the doctors to examine Teresa at her father's request. The abbess, head of the convent, asked whether they had permission from the Church. The doctors replied that they did not. The abbess refused to open the convent doors. The doctors accepted that convent custom. Therefore, no one examined Teresa.
Afterwards, João considered how to deliver the letter. He called a nun at the small hatch. The abbess herself asked what he wanted. João introduced himself as the father of a village girl. The girl was Mariana, but João did not say her name. He said that Teresa knew this girl. Teresa recognised João and ran to the visitors' room. The abbess stepped aside and gently warned Teresa to be careful. Teresa asked whether João's daughter had written to her. João placed the letter in the convent's revolving turntable. The abbess saw the letter and smiled. She joked that love was very ingenious. She said that the old aunt was clever too. Teresa answered her aunt with affectionate kisses. Then she read the letter and wrote a reply. She gave the reply to João.
Teresa pointed to a poor woman sitting by the steps. João knew her; the gardener had already beaten her. Teresa asked him to speak quietly. She told him to give future letters to that woman. Teresa sent her to the prison, but she was not allowed in. João accepted this way of delivering the letters.
Teresa's reply filled Simão with joy. That day, he received two great joys. Mariana had recovered her reason. Simão could also write to Teresa again. He thanked God for these two joys. Meanwhile, João arranged furniture bought second-hand. Then he announced another surprise. Mariana had travelled with him to Porto. She was resting at the inn, a small lodging house, because she was still in pain. The next day, she wished to cook and clean for Simão.
The news caused an emotion in Simão that was difficult to explain. He said that ill fortune was leading Mariana into suffering. He called her a poor angel of charity worthy of heaven. João was surprised by Simão's sadness. Simão asked him not to leave Mariana alone in Porto. He wished to see her once, but then wanted João to take her with him. He feared that Mariana would be alone and harassed.
João replied that Mariana knew how to defend herself. He compared women to hard green pears. He said that a man withdrew when he met resistance. His wife struck him after he pinched her. Mariana struck Mendes with a mare's reins. He had touched her shoe without permission. He told it all in a rough, humorous manner. Simão smiled as he heard Mariana's defence. He proudly remembered Mariana's gentle care during eight months.
Then he asked whether João could live without his daughter. An elderly sister-in-law would help João at home. He believed that the corregedor, a senior judge, would soon free Simão. But this was only João's hope. Mariana insisted on travelling and would suffer if João stopped her. João knew that Mariana loved Simão. He also trusted that Simão would never dishonour her. Simão embraced João with emotion. ‘If only I could be your daughter's husband!’ he exclaimed. Simão's impossible wish arose from gratitude. João wept and rejected the idea of marriage. He was a farrier, and Mariana was poor. In his view, Mariana could serve Simão but not marry him. He did not wish to see Simão unhappy with a poor girl. João said that he rarely wept, but now there were tears in his eyes.
He quickly changed the subject and returned to the furniture. He decided where to put the table, chest of drawers, chairs and bed. Mariana was bringing the sheets and the remaining household linen. She also asked for two vases for flowers. João then said that he had to fetch dinner. Mariana might fear that he had been detained in the prison. The day before, João had not been allowed into the prison. João took Rita's letter to a desembargador, a senior judge. That judge obtained an order from the police intendant. The order reached the inn that morning. Thanks to the order, João was able to visit Simão. He said goodbye and left to fetch the meal.