Select a Portuguese sentence to reveal its English support.
Tap a Portuguese sentence to reveal its English support; tap it again or tap outside to close it.
With a keyboard, focus or activate a sentence. Press Escape to dismiss its English support.
João da Cruz was away for two hours. Simão's curiosity had become distress. ‘Could they have arrested your father?’ Simão asked. ‘My heart says they have not,’ Mariana replied. She believed that her heart never deceived her. Simão asked what her heart said about his future. Mariana hesitated, but he asked for the truth. ‘Your troubles are only beginning,’ she said. Simão listened to her and did not reply. Then he had a dark and unfair thought. Perhaps Mariana wanted to turn him away from Teresa. Perhaps she wanted Simão to love her.
At that moment, João returned looking cheerful. He said that Simão's mother had summoned João. ‘How did she know I was here?’ Simão asked. João said she knew about the gentleman's visit. However, she thought Simão was already in Coimbra. She also knew why he had hidden there. He had claimed that Simão had fallen from a horse. Then his mother had asked whether Simão had money. She had gone inside and brought out a parcel. João handed the unopened parcel to Simão.
His mother had not sent a letter. The chief magistrate was at the writing desk, preventing her from writing. Simão should also write only from Coimbra. Simão's father must not discover the hiding place.
Simão counted ten full gold coins and three quarters of another. His mother's generosity surprised him. But that entire story was false. Mariana embraced her father in the next room. ‘You told that lie very well!’ she said. João reminded her that the lie had been her idea. The money came from Mariana's savings. Mariana had thus lost her savings from the calves. João joked that Simão would give her oxen later. ‘I did not do this for gain,’ Mariana replied. Mariana felt hurt and became thoughtful. God knew that she expected no reward.
Simão called João and offered him some of the money. He wanted to pay for food and other care. Even after paying, he would remain very grateful to them both. João drew back his hand and refused. ‘We shall settle the accounts at the end,’ he explained. Simão insisted, but João pretended to be angry. In that house, only João gave orders.
During the next five days, Teresa wrote regularly. Some letters were calm and offered hope. Others showed the violence of her longing.
In one letter, Teresa asked him to go to Coimbra. Perhaps Tadeu knew that Simão was still nearby. While he remained, Tadeu would not release Teresa. Distance might allow Tadeu to forget the recent turmoil. Without freedom, Teresa did not know how to escape. To her, that convent seemed like hell. Teresa wanted a place less full of vice.
In another letter, Teresa made the opposite request. ‘Do not abandon me or go to Coimbra.’ Tadeu might move her to a stricter convent. One nun had said that Teresa would leave there. Another had spoken of a convent in Porto. Tadeu also wanted to force her to become a nun. But religious profession required a year's novitiate. Teresa would be questioned three times. She would always answer that she did not wish to take vows. In the garden, Teresa had found a carriage gate. The gate opened onto the road. However, it would reopen only at the start of winter. If necessary, Teresa would try to escape then.
Meanwhile, Tadeu's plans succeeded. The prioress of Monchique was a virtuous woman. She was Tadeu's cousin and Teresa's aunt. The prioress believed that Teresa had a religious vocation. She also wrote a letter of congratulations. However, the letter included a prudent warning. A passing sorrow did not justify that refuge. Passions could grow stronger in a convent. Tadeu received that letter and hid it from his daughter. He announced that she would be transferred at dawn the next day.
Teresa had already sent that day's letter. The news of the transfer left her desperate. Teresa decided to pretend that she was ill. But her emotions had already caused a fever. Tadeu did not want to delay the journey. However, the convent doctor defended Teresa. That night, she tried to write to Simão. The prioress's servant watched her beside the bed. The convent scribe had made a sarcastic comment. She had said that Teresa spoke with an angel. A beggar woman carried that angel's messages. The beggar woman was ordered to leave.
Teresa ran to a window and called her. Then she threw a note down to her in the courtyard. Their correspondence had become impossible. Teresa would be taken to another convent. Simão should wait for news in Coimbra. The prioress soon learnt about the note. The gardener pursued the beggar woman beyond the convent gates. He beat her and took the note from her. He took the note to Tadeu. Despite her injuries, the beggar carried on to João's house. There she told Simão everything that had happened.
Simão leapt from bed and called João. He wanted a hand ready to hold a knife. It was better to wait and see. Simão rejected the farrier's advice. He said that he would leave for Viseu immediately.
Mariana had heard the entire conversation. She also thought her father's advice was wise. But she saw that Simão could not wait. Mariana offered to go to the city. At the convent, she would seek an acquaintance called Brito. Brito served a nun at that convent. Perhaps she could deliver another letter to Teresa. Simão almost hugged Mariana for joy. João told his daughter to get ready.
Simão sat down to write. His thoughts came in a confused, violent rush. He could not choose the best plan. First, he told Teresa to escape during the day. She should take advantage of an open door. If necessary, she should force the portress to open it. Teresa would set a time for the following day. Simão would wait for her with horses. Then he wrote an even more extreme threat. He might attack the convent with armed men. Or he might set the building on fire to open the gates.
He closed the letter and paced around the house. He also seized his pistols without thinking. He reopened the letter to read it again. He feared that it would arrive too late. He almost tore it during that inner struggle.
Mariana entered, but Simão did not see her tears. The narrator asks whether she acted from gratitude. Perhaps she was grateful to the man who had saved João. But perhaps Mariana loved Simão. In that case, she was helping him leave her for ever. The text does not choose between gratitude and love.
‘I am ready,’ Mariana announced. Simão gave her the letter for Teresa. He asked her to try to bring back a reply. With the letter, he offered her a parcel of money. ‘Is the money also for Teresa?’ Mariana asked. ‘No, it is for you. Buy a ring,’ Simão replied. Mariana took the letter and quickly turned away. She did not want Simão to see her hurt or disdain. Simão watched her leave and did not insist.
In the yard, João was preparing the mare. He noticed that his daughter was very pale. Mariana said that nothing was wrong. Then she mounted and galloped away. To João, Mariana was worth more than all the noblewomen. Nor would he trade the mare for the finest lady. Nor would he give his daughter to the king of Morocco.