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Days later, Mariana went to Viseu for her paternal inheritance. The hardworking farrier had left her a reasonable inheritance. The fields produced enough income to support her. Under the hearth, she found four hundred thousand réis hidden. João had saved them for his old age. Mariana decided to sell the land. She left the house to her aunt, who was born there. Mariana's father had also married there. She then returned to Porto and placed the capital in Simão's hands. She said that she feared a robbery; the capital remained hers. She lived opposite the Court of Appeal, in a small house.
Simão asked why she had sold the land. - I sold them because I do not intend to return. Simão asked where she would stay during his penal exile. - I shall not stay in Porto, sir. - I shall go into exile, if you accept my company. Simão expected the answer and did not pretend surprise. He asked whether she understood penal exile. She knew that India was hotter. But there was also bread there, and it was possible to live. Simão spoke of the unhealthy sun, homesickness and ill-treatment. Those in charge of the galleys treated many convicts like wild animals. Mariana had gathered information of her own accord. She had spoken to a former prisoner's wife. He had served ten years in India. He had lived well in Solor, where he had owned a shop. According to her, he had returned only because of homesickness. Mariana also wanted to open a shop. In that way, she would support Simão and herself. She could bear the heat, but Simão could not. She wanted to protect him from the sun and outdoor labour.
Simão asked what she would do if he died on arrival. Mariana did not want to speak about that possibility. He insisted, fearing responsibility for her fate. - If you die, sir, I shall know how to die too. Simão replied that nobody died merely by wishing it. Mariana believed that some people chose whether to live or die. She recalled that Simão had restored Teresa's life. Teresa was frail; Mariana had always worked in the countryside. She said that she would let her blood flow, if necessary. It was a future intention, not an attempt at that moment.
Simão asked what Mariana expected from him. - What can I expect? Why do you ask me that? Simão said that so many sacrifices deserved a reward he could not give. He was bound to Teresa in life and death. He could only answer her feelings with friendship. - And have I ever asked you for more than that? Simão admitted that she had asked him for nothing. But the weight of the obligation made him unhappier. Mariana wept and accused Simão of ingratitude, for she did not deserve to hear that she made him unhappy. Simão explained that he had been misunderstood. He suffered because he could not make her his wife. It was not a proposal, for he remained bound to Teresa. It was only an imagined way of repaying her devotion.
Simão recalled arriving wounded at João's house. Mariana had spent nights caring for him. She had given him bread denied by his rich parents. When Simão was sentenced to death, Mariana lost her reason. Once recovered, she had hurried to the second prison. There, she had given Simão food and clothes. She had also decorated the bare walls of the cell. Simão imagined Mariana accompanying him into exile. She worked in the sun to protect him. She shielded him from climate, labour and abandonment. Mariana did not understand all the lofty words. But her heart understood their meaning. For that reason, she smiled and wept.
Simão recalled Mariana's twenty-six years. He asked her to live, for such an existence could only be a hidden torment. She should not give everything to one who returned only tears. Exile was approaching; another hope would be madness. In Portugal, Simão would call Mariana his sister. He would ask for her company until he died. But he did not want to take her to Africa or India. He feared that she would return alone after his death. If the exile ended, perhaps he would return one day. He wanted to find Mariana alive, waiting for him as a sister. With a husband and children, her family would be his. Free and alone, she would be the sister waiting for him. Mariana said that she would decide at his departure. But she had already made her decision. After a few seconds, she answered calmly. When Simão no longer needed her, she would end her own life. She had no father or anyone dependent on her. Simão could live without her; Mariana could not live without him.
Mariana left the rest of her thought unspoken out of shame. Simão embraced her, deeply troubled. - You will come with me, my sister. In this way, he accepted her company only as a sister. They would endure their shared misfortune together. They might share a grave in a foreign land. From then on, a secret joy disturbed Mariana. The narrator does not make Mariana an angel without desires. Mariana loved Simão and was silently jealous of Teresa. Her jealousy remained silent and ended in tears. She dreamt of an exile with no other voice beside him. If forced, she would give up her role as his sister. Yet she would think that nobody would care for him as she did. Despite her jealousy, she never refused Teresa's letters. She received them from Teresa or the beggar and delivered them to Simão. As he read, she saw his pain and trembled. She thought that Teresa made his life bitter.
Teresa suffered, but her friends renewed her hope. She imagined freedom, pardon, marriage and happiness with Simão. Some friends did not know the reality. Others trusted too much in the prayers of the convent. Those doomed hopes would increase Teresa's suffering. After five months in prison, Simão already expected exile. He tried to give Teresa hope, but he did not believe in it himself. In her letters, Teresa prayed, grew impatient and became angry with her father. She clung to life, yet begged death to come. Death did not relieve the pains of soul and body.
After seven months, the court changed the death sentence. Instead of hanging, he received ten years of penal exile in India. Tadeu went to Lisbon to ensure that the hanging went ahead. He offered his house and used influence for that purpose. Domingos responded with money and influence. He was driven more by caprice than by paternal love, and he prevailed. The Prince Regent allowed Simão to serve his sentence imprisoned in Vila Real. That pardon meant local imprisonment, not hanging or India. On hearing this, Simão refused the pardon. He had never asked for the favour and would protest against it. For Simão, imprisonment in Vila Real was worse than death. He preferred the relative freedom of exile in India. Domingos accepted this, but claimed victory over Tadeu's supporters. The Intendant General then received notice. Simão entered the register of convicts bound for India.