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At seven in the evening, the false court gathered in the poor house at Calvos. Nunes, the abbot and several priests surrounded Veríssimo, who was posing as king. There were papers on the table, boxes of maize, beans and a curled-up cat. Everyone was standing and waiting for the bearer of Cerveira's letter.
At eight, Cristóvão Bezerra entered first and Zeferino came behind him. Zeferino was pale and felt his knees giving way. Bezerra bent one knee before Veríssimo's hand. Behind him, Zeferino dropped onto both knees. Veríssimo told him to get up, as this was not a chapel. Zeferino got up and tried to give the letter directly to Veríssimo. The abbot said that letters were handed to the secretary. So Zeferino handed Cerveira's letter to Torcato Nunes.
Bezerra introduced Zeferino as the son of the former ensign Gaspar Ferreira. According to him, Gaspar led three hundred men at Santo Tirso in 1838. Bezerra said that Gaspar swam across the Ave with his sword between his teeth. He added that Gaspar was left paralysed and never got up again. Veríssimo claimed that he knew nothing about that attack because he was in Rome. Then he asked the name of Zeferino's father. Nunes recorded Gaspar Ferreira as an infantry colonel from 1838. Veríssimo also promised seven years of back pay. Zeferino stood open-mouthed at that false promise.
Veríssimo asked for the letter from his old friend Teixeira. Nunes corrected him: the name was Cerveira Lobo. Veríssimo opened Cerveira's letter and read it in silence. Then he pretended to be delighted and called Cerveira a rare friend. The priests were impressed by the false king's words. Veríssimo announced that he would reply to Cerveira in his own hand. Nunes recorded Cerveira as a cavalry general and Count of Quadros.
Veríssimo sat down and began to write the reply. The abbot served Douro wine, pastries and sweets to the courtiers. While he wrote, the others chewed, drank and talked about hunting. Nunes leant over Veríssimo and told him to increase the request for money. Veríssimo thought the amount was high, but Nunes insisted. Nunes said only 'three', without explaining the unit. In a loud voice, Nunes asked whether Cerveira had a wife and children.
Zeferino replied that the gentleman had two sons and three daughters. He also said that one daughter was already married. Years earlier, Cerveira's wife ran away with the doctor from Pombais. The men at court lamented that story and the morals of the age. Veríssimo continued to write slowly and chose very solemn words. He thought that a few mistakes would make the letter more convincing. Then he folded the sheet into four, as envelopes had not yet reached the area. On the address, he called Cerveira Count of Quadros and a royal general.
Bezerra took Nunes aside and asked for a favour. Nunes spoke quietly to Veríssimo and immediately received a yes. He then announced that Zeferino was Sergeant-Major of Lamelas. Zeferino knelt again and tried to kiss Veríssimo's boots. Veríssimo told him to get up and gave him the reply for Cerveira. He warned him that nobody must see the name written on the paper. He also asked him to return with another letter from Cerveira. The courtiers walked out backwards and bumped into one another.
Zeferino left that night, by moonlight, with the secret letter. The following afternoon, he arrived in the courtyard at Quadros full of joy. Cerveira was asleep, and a tenant farmer said that he had drunk heavily. According to the tenant farmer, Cerveira rode drunk with a sword and nearly fell. The man accused him of drinking every day and exploiting the poor. He said that Cerveira was very rich but denied maize to his tenant farmers. He also claimed that the children were neglected and sold the household's property. He spoke cruelly about the daughters and imagined punishing them with violence.
Then he mocked Gaspar's drinking and the attack at the river. Zeferino defended his father and said that the tenant farmer would not do the same. The tenant farmer admitted that Zeferino worked and had saved some money. He asked whether Zeferino was offering money to marry Marta de Prazins. Zeferino replied that it was over and that he no longer wanted Marta. Neither three nor six contos as a dowry would change his answer. He said proudly that everyone would soon know who he was. When a window opened, Zeferino went to take the reply to Cerveira.