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The next day, Tadeu arrived at the Monchique convent gate. The abbess appeared, wiping away tears of joy. Teresa had walked unaided that morning. The young woman's face also looked much better. The abbess attributed the improvement to two saints at the convent. She hoped to keep Teresa at the convent for several years. Tadeu seemed pleased, but wished to take her to Viseu immediately. He said that the air of her native land was healthier. The abbess warned that the long journey was dangerous. The day before, the nuns had expected Teresa to die. She asked Tadeu to wait for several months. Tadeu said that Porto was more dangerous because Simão should already be there. According to Tadeu, a chief magistrate defended Simão and secured a late appeal. Simão was then transferred to the prisons of Porto. Tadeu was working to have the death sentence confirmed. At first, the abbess respected the father's wishes. Tadeu asked to see his daughter. The abbess sent for Teresa in the visitors' room.
News of the visit immediately drained the colour from Teresa's face. Her aunt offered to delay the meeting. ‘It must happen. I shall go,’ Teresa replied. Tadeu shuddered when he saw his daughter's face. He had not expected to recognise Teresa in that condition. He asked why she had not spoken sooner. Teresa replied that she was not as ill as they thought. Her father asked whether she had strength to travel to Viseu. ‘I have no strength, and I shall not return to Viseu,’ she said. Her health depended on remaining at Monchique. ‘I shall live or die here,’ Teresa declared. Tadeu replied in a falsely gentle voice. He said that it was his duty to correct her fate. ‘Death corrects the errors of life,’ Teresa replied. Tadeu said that he wanted her alive. He claimed that half a day's journey would restore her health. Teresa repeated: ‘I shall not go, Father.’ Tadeu gripped the grille with angry hands. Teresa said that those iron bars separated them for ever. Tadeu spoke of the law and his rights as a father. He reminded her that she was only eighteen. She knew her age, but she did not know the law. A violent hand would find only Teresa's dead body. For as long as she could speak, she would continue to refuse. Tadeu asked whether she knew that Simão was in Porto. Teresa replied that she knew. Her father accused her of feeling neither shame nor horror. Teresa felt ill and ended the conversation. She told her father to take his revenge as he could. Teresa imagined two gallows side by side, but made no immediate attempt to kill herself. Teresa left and almost fainted beside the wall. Her aunt and maid ran to support her. She gently pushed them away and said that she was well. ‘These blows give life,’ she murmured to her aunt. Then she walked alone with weak, unsteady steps.
Tadeu struck the monastery door again and again. To the narrator, that fury was ridiculous and frightening. The abbess returned and spoke to him sternly. ‘I want Teresa brought outside,’ Tadeu demanded. The abbess refused to expel her; Tadeu invoked his rights as a father, but she urged caution. Tadeu admitted that Teresa did not wish to leave. The abbess wished to persuade her calmly, without dragging her away. Tadeu threatened to enter and fetch her himself. The Rule required permission from a higher authority. The abbess told Tadeu to return calmly, without seeking revenge. Tadeu shouted that they were all plotting against him. He also demanded an end to letters from the man he called a murderer. The abbess refused to call Simão a murderer. ‘Teresa receives no letters from murderers,’ she replied ironically. Tadeu also demanded Constança's expulsion. She had not told him what was happening in the convent. The abbess replied that perhaps there had been nothing to report. Tadeu insisted, but the abbess refused that injustice. He could send another maid to Teresa. Constança wished to stay and could serve other ladies. Tadeu shouted that they all wished to kill him. Then he left the monastery in a fury. The narrator describes his face, with sweat and blood in his eyes.
Tadeu went to speak to the intendant, the chief of police. He asked for his daughter, but the intendant declared the request invalid. The intendant refused Tadeu's request to block the letters: no investigation justified it. He then went to another chief magistrate, the one in Porto and a friend of Domingos. Tadeu repeated his requests arrogantly, but the chief magistrate sent him away. Old age without judgement caused both laughter and pity. Tadeu wandered furiously, seeking a solution worthy of his family and vengeance. The next day, he visited several judges of the higher court. The higher-court judges were more inclined to show Simão mercy.
One of those judges was named Mourão Mosqueira. He was a childhood friend of Rita Preciosa. Rita had asked Mourão to help her son. Mourão had visited Simão in prison that day. He asked how many men Tadeu would kill if they opposed his rage. He then said that Simão kept his honour in misfortune. Mourão said that Simão's father abandoned him to the gallows; Simão never begged for mercy. A stranger supported him for eight months, and Simão accepted the help with dignity. He wore coarse trousers and a jacket given by a farrier. Mourão suggested asking for clothes; Simão would ask nothing of the father who had abandoned him to the gallows. Mourão saw greatness in that eighteen-year-old young man. If Tadeu had accepted that love, Baltasar would still be alive. Mourão said that Baltasar was dishonourable because he insulted and attacked Simão. Mourão defended Simão's response morally, but did not acquit him in court. Mourão blamed Tadeu for Baltasar's death and the gallows intended for Simão. He asked whether the marriage would stain the coat of arms, the symbol of Tadeu's family. He then praised Rita Preciosa's ancient family. Simão's father's side had excellent blood from Trás-os-Montes. It could be compared without fear to the Albuquerques of Viseu. Mourão ended that irony with a reference to Camões. Tadeu felt deeply offended and rose quickly. He took his hat and his gold-handled cane. ‘Truths are bitter,’ Mourão said with a smile. Tadeu replied that he knew very well what position he would take. He felt that his honour and that of his fifteen ancestors were wounded. Mourão then gave him an assurance: Simão would not hang. Mourão's assurance was still not a decision by the court. ‘We shall see...’ Tadeu muttered.