"Look at that child's hair." "It's incredible." "It must be impossible to brush." "She almost died at birth." "That's her father carrying the cross." "He is an olive-picker." "He and the mother made a promise to the Virgin." "If she lived, they wouldn't cut her hair until she was 14 in a sign of gratitude." "Duchess help me." "Help me for God's sake." "I'm from Almonte." "We found her in Huelva, she came from Africa." "She's an orphan." "She looks made of chocolate." "What's her name?" "I don't know." "She isn't christened?" "We'll call her Maria de la Luz." "You're not taken that creature into the palace, are you?" "Don't you realize how terrible she smells?" "Don't run away!" "Come back!" "Come back!" "What are you laughing at?" "At you." "Come here!" "I want to see you naked." "What are you doing?" "You've got quite a temper." "Did I hurt you?" "You're a very special woman." "I'll take you with me, you and all your family, and I'll have you painted." "I want to have you with me all the time." "Stay there!" "Are you really the Prime Minister?" "Yes." "And I want to have you with me all the time." "I don't want to get my hopes up." "What did you do to him?" "Nothing." "Don't worry, mother." "He'll be back." "The ortolan is a bird from southlwest France." "Exquisite!" "It's soaked in brandy before being cooked." "None of its flavor can escape." "Ready?" "Then go ahead, my lady and gentlemen." "Put the ortolan's head in your mouth." "Chew it, crunch it unhesitatingly with your teeth." "Attack its little wings, devour its legs." "Gobble up the animal's body in your mouth." "Above all, don't spit anything out." "Masticate!" "Swallow the juices and the animal's blood." "What do you think?" "Isn't it delicious?" "Divine." "But slightly barbaric." "Less so than depilation, n'est-ce-pas, duchesse?" "Grognard, we're eating." "Those are matters between you and me." "And although depilation is painful it's true that a woman's skin must be smooth, delicate, and always perfumed." "I'm sure that if Cayetana decided to have a nude done of herself, the Queen would do likewise." "I don't find your ironic remarks about the Queen at all amusing." "What one aims for in those cases is to be faithful to the body and alter the face so as not to cause rumors." "We should live naked, like the indians in America." "Romero!" "Why not?" "With a few well positioned feathers..." "Who gave you that scratch?" "It wasn't the Queen, was it?" "The Queen is envious of everything Cayetana possesses." "But she'll never surpass her collection of jewels." "But she can outdo her in fans." "It's rumored that she's got more than 1,600 fans." "But Cayetana has got more than 1,000 pairs of shoes." "Isn't that so, my dear?" "Let's go to the drawing room." "We'll have the best chocolate from the Indies, mixed with brandy from Jerez." "Delicious." "How do I look?" "Tres belle." "And you smell heavenly." "You look beautiful." "While men say you look "Tres belle", you can be happy." "But once they say "You're an interesting woman", that means they don't know what to say to you!" "I met a girl from Cadiz today, she's wonderful." "What?" "I met a wonderful girl from Cadiz today." "I would like you to go and see her and paint her." "I want her naked." "Naked?" " Romero, come and sit by me." "Naked." " Who would like some powders?" "I would!" "They're very good." "Better than snuff." "What's wrong, Fancho?" "You're keeping to yourself." "What's wrong?" "Why don't you join us?" "We're having powder from the Andes." "Don't you want some?" "One day I'd like to fly." "I've often dreamed about it." "I stand on tiptoe on the palace balcony and throw myself into space." "When I spread my arms I can fly like a butterfly." "Duchess..." "You're a great friend, Fancho." "But my heart belongs to someone else." "And the Duchess..." "Would you dare to paint her naked?" "Tonight I want to fly." "And you shall!" "Why is this handbasin here?" "It isn't a handbasin, it's a bidet, and I bet you that the Queen will soon have one like mine." "Do you like my feet?" "There are other things I like more." "Really?" "Such as?" "Your jewel, for example." "My jewel." "I didn't mean that one." "I meant this." "What have you done?" "A little depilation." "What?" "Depilation." "It's a French fashion." "This French fashion isn't bad." "Wait!" "Wait!" "Cayetana!" "You really are a special woman." "Cayetana!" "You're meeting with the Queen tomorrow, aren't you?" "I would remind you that I'm the prime minister and as such my government tasks include meetings with the King and Queen." "Go with your Queen and all your mistresses." "And don't come back." "Is anything wrong, Duchess?" "Is that me?" "Yes." "Like in my dreams." "Flying." "But there are monsters on my feet." "Don't you love me?" "Volaverunt." "What a strange word." "But I like it." "Vola-verunt." "French inventions." "Depilation." "We'll call it Volaverunt." "You know what?" "I like touching your head." "It's special." "Mysterious." "What are you thinking, Fancho?" "That you'll always be in my mind." "Duchess!" "Duchess!" "Duchess!" "Fancho." "Put your hands behind your head." "Take off your stockings." "Pull up your skirt." "A bit more." "More!" "Your hands behind your head." "Stretch your feet." "What are you doing?" "They're dirty." "What's that for?" "You stink of another woman." "Was it Cayetana who gave you that scratch on your neck or that girl from Cadiz everyone's talking about?" "That's just gossip." "I don't like gossip." "Nor do I..." " You're using a tone I don't deserve." "Have you forgotten I'm the prime minister?" "And I am the Queen." "And it's hard for me to forget the number of bedrooms you frequent." "But that's only gossip." "I've already told you I don't like gossip." "You're a very special woman." "City of Madrid 1800" "The Queen wishes me to marry the Countess of Chinchon." "Nothing will change between us." "We'll still see each other." "But the Prince is plotting against the Queen." "The King and Queen and I want to have the whole family with us." "You must understand." "It's for reasons of state." "Reasons of what?" "Will I give you a good reason?" "How dare you tell me you're getting married after making love to me?" "You're vile." "No wonder they call you the villain." "You'll always be with me." "Where will you live?" "Here." "This is my palace." "What about me?" "Will I have to leave?" " No." "You'll still live here." "I'll build a passage so that you and I can still see each other." "You're a monster." "And do you know what?" "As long as I'm alive, you'll never desire another woman as much as you do me." "I'm sorry, Pepita." "I adore you." "We'll still be together." "Majesty, Carlos IV, King of Naples and of the two Sicilies." "King of Spain." "Her Majesty, Maria Luisa Teresa, Duchess of Parma." "They make a splendid couple." "I never doubted your good taste." "Who could have imagined Godoy related to the Church?" " How do you like married life?" " Very much, Majesty." "Manuel is one of the finest men in our kingdom." "Isn't that so?" "Even my son, Fernando, approves of your marriage." "Grognard has made uniforms for ten maids from the same material as the Queen's dress." "She'll be furious." "Aren't you afraid of her?" "What's she going to do?" "Kill me?" "That way, she'd get your jewels too." "I hate her." "He got the Queen to cancel the shipments to Naples." "He'll pay for that." "Cayetana's going to help us." "Majesty." "What is wrong with you, Cayetana?" "You're not a child anymore." "You're too old to be playing games." "And least of all with me." "Life is just a game, don't you think?" "And beside you, I am only a child who wants to play." "That French couturier you have, I believe his name is Grognard." "He's good but not very original." "I'll have him work for me." "And that opera singer?" "He works exclusively for me." "Is that ring new?" "Manuel likes it too." "This, and all my jewels." "Have you congratulated Manuel on his marriage?" "He's very happy." "Aren't you, Manuel?" "He's got eyes for no one else now." "I won't be long." "Leave me be, and go back to your little wife." "I know that you're supporting Prince Fernando." "Don't you realize?" "He wants to plot against his own father." " He's putting the Crown in danger." "I know that." "And if you wish, you can help me greatly." "I know that too." "I despise you, Manuel." "You know perfectly well that I got married for purely political reasons." "I wanted to talk to you about that." "We have to meet in private." "Always at your service, Majesty." "Pepita shouldn't be here." "And I can't allow her to live in your palace." "You should remember that you're a married man." "I hear that His Majesty gave you an Ecijan horse." "It's the best at doing curvets." "Better than mine?" "I'll challenge you any time." "You'd better win." "Drive him hard and don't let me down." "Cornel!" "A pistol!" "Stupid animal!" "City of Madrid 1802" "In the city of Madrid, on the day of our Lord in 1802, in observance of a Royal Order from His Excellency the Mayor, we shall proceed to investigate the causes of the decease of Maria del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Alvarez de Toledo, Duchess of Alba, which took place on the 23rd of this same month after the party held in the Buenavista palace, her residence in the city of Madrid." "Name?" "Catalina Barajas Carneiro." "Your connection with the deceased?" "I was her personal maid." "What do you think was the cause of her death?" "It's for the doctors to decide that." "Did you notice anything odd that night?" "She was very nervous and drank a lot." "What did she drink?" "A wine we were given on the journey to Andalusia." "Was this the carafe she drank from?" "Take the carafe to be examined at the official laboratory." "Did she have a painful death?" "Very." "But at the end she was calm." "Did she say anything before she died which could assist us?" "She asked me to paint her lips." "She knew she was dying and wanted to look beautiful." "Do you know that, with her death, you will benefit from part of the legacy she bequeathed to her servants?" "What do you mean?" "Do you know of anyone who may have wished to see her dead?" "Well, I don't think that it's very important." "What is it that isn't important?" "She argued a lot with Mr. Pignatelli." "But..." "He loved her very much but..." "He was always borrowing money from her." "Name?" "Carlos Pignatelli y Alcantara." "Your relationship with the deceased?" "We were friends from childhood." "We were like brother and sister." "From what I hear, you were rather more than that." "That's no business of yours." "I was like a kind of companion." "The French have an expression for it: "chevalier servant"." "A gentleman at service." "That doesn't imply any intimate relationship." "Is it true that you often argued with her, that you were having financial problems and that your share of the legacy could resolve them?" "What do you mean?" "The duchess was like my sister." "Cain and Abel were brothers." "Your name and relationship with the deceased." "Francisco Duran y Conde." "I was her physician." "Is it true that recently you visited her fairly regularly?" "Yes, she wasn't feeling well." "I saw her before the party and she seemed very nervous." "What was she suffering from?" "She could have contracted epidemic fever in Andalusia." "Do you have a clear idea of what caused her sudden death?" "When I got here, she was dying." "There was nothing anyone could do." "Do you believe she was poisoned?" "No." "What do you have to say that's so important?" "What do you want to tell me?" "Goya, I'm very busy." "The countess's death has stirred everyone up." "Too many things are being said, the people talk too much." "In the streets, they're saying that the Queen wanted her killed and that someone who was at the dinner was there to carry out her wishes." "But apparently some people are implicating me too, which is actually quite amusing." "Me!" "Do you realize?" "This is a county of lunatics!" "Lunatics!" "After all I've done!" "Excellency..." "Cayetana didn't die from natural causes." "I believe I am responsible for her death." "We're all very upset and affected by it." "Don't talk rubbish." "There was poison in my paints." "What do you mean, poison?" "What does she have to do with your paints?" "Cayetana was poisoned." "How?" "The day you came to see the finished painting and the duchess saw it for the first time, I realized she was in a very bad way." "I want those paintings." "They both belong to me." "I want to buy them from you." "I knew you'd like them, but those paintings are mine." "But that's my body." "Who told you it's your body?" "Is that not my sofa?" "My cushions, my feet." "My breasts." "My Volaverunt." "I want them." "Have Fancho paint your Queen naked, or your mistresses." "What's wrong, my dear duchess?" "Are you jealous?" "They're all I have left of you, and I'll never sell them." "And how do you see me now?" "I'm no longer as I was, am I?" "You always have been and always will be a very interesting woman, Cayetana." "Manuel..." "You've just said the one thing I didn't want to hear." "I'm giving a party in honor of my niece Manuelita." "I want to celebrate her engagement to the Count de Haro." "Will you come, Manuel?" "You can come with any of your women." "And now leave me alone with Fancho." "I have to speak with him." "Have you nothing more to say to me?" "Yes." "She asked me to paint her face." "She felt old." "Your hands." "Your caresses." "I feel so alone." "Even the people don't love me." "In two weeks, they've tried to burn my palace three times." "My skin!" "Be careful, Duchess!" "Cobalt violet is a dangerous poison." "It's cobalt arsenate." "Naples yellow is poisonous too." "And Veronese green is the most dangerous of all." "A combination of arsenate and copper acetate." "To die of Veronese green or of Naples yellow." "They're as deadly as cyanide or arsenic." "Your paintings will show how the Duchess of Alba was when she was full of life." "You, who helped me to live, could easily help me to die." "Duchess..." "Don't say it wouldn't be lovely." "How did the duchess die?" "Of Naples yellow!" "It's better than dying of yellow fever." "Do you still like me, Fancho?" "You're insinuating that Cayetana was poisoned by your paints?" "That's absurd." "You loved her." "You loved her." " So did Your Excellency." "She was a very special woman." "Yes." "Very special." "The people, the people." "You always blame the people." "But whoever caused the fires in my palace may be here among us." "Who can I really trust?" "It was just a joke, my dear." "My friends." "Let's drink to Manuelita and the Count de Haro and wish them every happiness." "To your love." "Long life!" "And may we too learn how to love each other." "Like you and I, Carlos." "Money means nothing between us." "Even if you never repay all that I've lent you over the years, I'll always love you." "But what would happen if I stopped helping you?" "Would you kill me to get the inheritance?" "Cayetana, let's have dinner in peace." "Maiquez, sing for Manuelita!" "Fancho..." "You don't need the flames of the torches." "You have your violets and greens if you wanted to kill me." "But that will be when I ask you, won't it?" "What an amusing dinner." "Bullfighters, painters, opera singers." "I'm sure we have the finest table in Madrid." "Yes, very amusing." "And you, Cornel." "You're always laughing." "But I know you would burn me alive if Fernando asked you to." "My dear." "You're an adorable woman." "You invite us to eat fish and then feed us with your bile." "Are you settling old scores?" "I'm sure everyone here wishes the death of someone." "Isn't that so, Manuel?" "Every important politician has a corpse in his wardrobe." "Life is like that in politics." "No one can reign without eliminating." "And it's the same in love." " Yes!" "Let's drink to love!" "To love." "What a shame that on my niece's engagement we are so reluctant to laugh." "You see this yellow?" "If it's Naples yellow, be careful." "Just looking at it can kill you!" "And this purple, normally used for painting Jesus' tunic?" "It's far from holy!" "It's cobalt violet!" "Just smell it and the blood will be frozen in your veins!" "And this green!" "The color of meadows and of angels' eyes." "Veronese green!" "Pure poison!" "What are you doing?" "Don't be like that, Fancho." "I only wanted to give our guests a painting lesson." "Have I disappointed you?" "We all have the right to disappoint." "What am I?" "Look out!" "Sit down." "She needs air." "Loosen her corset." "Do you feel better?" "It's nothing." " I think it was the dancing." " Why don't you all go downstairs?" "I'll stay with her until she recovers." "Yes, let's go back to the party." "When she insisted on showing my work in the palace to all the guests she knew perfectly well I didn't like that, but she did it, and I was very annoyed." "She was behaving strangely all evening." "After Pepita fainted, when everyone went back to the party, I stayed behind tidying my things." "I wanted to be alone." "I stayed up there writing and I fell asleep." "Hurry." " She's dying." "What?" "She's dying!" "The duchess is very ill." "Milady was asking for you." "She's dying." "I wanted to touch your head." "For the last time." "You know, I'd like to make love to you and this time faint forever." "You remember?" "Volaverunt." "Don't let anyone feel pity for me." "Catalina!" "I'm here." "I didn't see the jar of Veronese green, neither in her bedroom nor in the anteroom." "Are you sure there was poison in the glass?" "Yes." "I realized what had happened." "Cayetana had killed herself and it was my fault." "Stop torturing yourself." "You aren't responsible for her death." "Cayetana didn't kill herself." "She was murdered." "What?" "My encounter with Cayetana in your studio wasn't a coincidence." "You see, she had to give me some papers which compromised Prince Fernando." "Everyone thought we were political enemies." "That was what we wanted them to believe." "After you." "And so I convinced her to keep me informed of the Prince's schemes." "She was my spy." "You understand?" "My spy." "You can come with any of your women." "And now leave me alone with Fancho." "I have to speak with him." "Have you nothing more to say to me?" "Yes." "I'll give you the documents you asked for." "Fernando will also be at the dinner." "After dinner, while we were seeing the work you were doing in her palace, we arranged to meet." "She said she'd give me what I'd asked for." "When we all go down, you stay up here and wait in my bedroom." "I'll give you the documents." "Yes, let's go back to the party." "You shouldn't have come." "When Pepita fainted it made things easier for us." "Everyone went back to the party, and I stayed behind to meet her in her bedroom." "I want a little love." "Cayetana, we don't have time now." "I'll get the documents." "How did you get them?" "Are they signed by the Prince?" "Yes, they came from Naples." "They're the copies." "Cayetana!" "Act normally." "Someone's behind the curtain." "Kiss me." "It's been so long since you kissed me like that." "We'll drink to our reencounter." "What a beautiful glass." "Let's go to your room." "We'll drink later." "Come." "Where are they?" "Let's act normally." "Are you pretending?" "No." "Give me the papers." "You still have a wonderful waist." "You still desire me, don't you?" "Yes." "What did they give you that I didn't?" "You're talking too much." "Give me the papers." "When I came out, no one was there." "But I found a flask of salts with the arms of the Principality of Asturias." "I was surprised to see the Cardinal." "I thought perhaps he had seen me kissing Cayetana." "Ever since I'd married his sister, he interfered constantly in my life." "My sister is most upset." "She feels very depressed at having met Pepita here." "You should be more tactful." "Even if you did marry her out of interest, you should behave." "Didn't you hear me?" "What are you doing?" "I won't allow you to harm my sister in any way." " I must talk to you." "Not now." "I believe this is yours, Highness." "Manuel, let's go home." " I don't feel very well." " Yes, let's go." "It was he who put the poison in the glass, thinking I would drink it." "But he was mistaken." "It was Prince Fernando who murdered Cayetana." "Do you know what that would mean?" "It's a very serious accusation." "I know." "But it can't have been easy for the Prince to take the poison from my studio." "I was there all night." "The only people I saw there were Pepita and Cardinal Luis." "What do you mean?" "That Cardinal Luis could have put the poison in the glass?" "Or Pepita?" "No, I don't mean anything." "I'm just telling you what I saw." "I must see the Queen as soon as possible." "What are you doing here?" "I've been listening to you." " I heard everything." " Be quiet!" "Always listening!" "You know I don't like you leaving your apartments." "And I don't want anything that has been said here to leave this room." "Understood?" "Is that understood?" "I need to tell someone." "My Veronese green." "What are you doing with this?" "Why do you have it?" "That day in the studio, I hated you so much." "You, Manuel and her." " But that's my body." " Who told you it's your body?" "Is that not my sofa?" "My cushions, my feet." "My breasts." "My Volaverunt." "I want them." "Have Fancho paint your Queen naked, or your mistresses." "What's wrong, my dear duchess?" "Are you jealous?" "They're all I have left of you and I'll never sell them." "Have you nothing more to say to me?" "Fancho..." "I feel so awful." "Paint my face, I beg you." "I was hurt that you'd painted parts of my body that weren't mine." "I felt terrible seeing her kiss Godoy and then in your arms." "What a strong smell." "What perfume is that?" "It's a very special make-up." "Thank you, they're lovely." "How nice that someone still gives me flowers." "I see you decided to come accompanied." "I shouldn't have gone there." "You insisted." "Fancho, accompany me." "Once there, you only had eyes for her." "I had to put up with all kinds of humiliations." "Godoy will be happy." "All his women are here tonight." "Well..." "Nearly all." "Do you feel ill?" "Just a little dizzy." "Would you like some salts?" "All evening, Cayetana wanted to be the center of attention." "Look out!" "Sit down." "She needs air." "Loosen her corset." "Do you feel better?" "I couldn't bear your indifference any longer." "I pretended to faint." "I think it was the dancing." "Why don't you all go downstairs?" "I'll stay with her until she recovers." "Yes, let's go back to the party." "You shouldn't have come." "Do you feel better?" "Yes." "What are you going to paint here?" "Some allegorical theme." "I still have to discuss it with the duchess." "Pepita,..." "After I left your workroom with the Cardinal, I saw the duchess go into her bedroom." "I forgot my fan." "I won't be long." "I want a little love." "We don't have time, Cayetana." "Cayetana!" "It's been so long since you kissed me like that." "We'll drink to our reencounter." "What a beautiful glass." "We'll drink later." "Let's go to your room." "I don't know how I could even have thought of it." "But I've never hated anyone so much." "Always slighted, always hidden." "I'm sick of living hidden away." "Even you..." "Even you didn't put all of me in your paintings." "Then it was you." "You still have a wonderful waist." "I couldn't do it." "Why are you looking at me like that?" "I swear it wasn't I." "You must believe me!" "Let me through!" "I have to be with the duchess!" "Highness, what's wrong?" "Why can't we be with her?" "Let her through!" "The duchess left everything to her servants." "You're all suspected of murder." "But we loved her, we'd never have harmed her." "Catalina, I'm sure you've got no reason to worry." "Take your hands off!" "Take your hands off!" "I've got a copy of her will." "She names her servants and Pignatelli as her only heirs." "Interrogate them, and lock them up as suspects in the murder of the Duchess of Alba." "I want to see all her jewels." "We'll do an inventory of everything we find in her palace." "Don Manuel de Godoy, Prince of the Peace, swear that you will stay faithful to me, to me and to the Crown, whatever may happen." "I swear." "The ring." "Let's go!" "Someone's in there!" "Here, in my office." "Put it on the desk." "You may go." "For your discretion and loyalty." "He's brought the duchess's jewels." "I hate you!" "You're the vilest person I've ever known!" "What are you doing with that?" "Drop it!" "Let go of me!" "Why did you marry me?" "Why do you want to destroy me?" "I have to put up with you having that whore in our palace." "I let you do as you wish." "But that portrait of her, naked, in your office, in my house!" "I'll never allow that!" "I hate you!" " I hate you!" " Pepita!" "Maria Teresa!" "Stop it!" "Let go!" "Stop it, both of you!" "I'm losing my patience!" "That's enough!" "I married you for love, and discovered that it was a plan by you and the Queen." "I've had to accept you having your mistress here." "Not to mention Cayetana, the cunt of Spain." "I'll only be happy the day you cease to exist." "You'd rather I'd died instead of Cayetana, isn't that so?" "Tell me." "How did this jar get here?" "Was it you who poisoned her?" " I know nothing about that jar." "Of course not." "I thought it was Fernando but now I understand." "You and your brother the Cardinal wanted to poison me." "Goya saw him near Cayetana's rooms." "You didn't succeed then and you want to do it now." "But it went wrong, Cayetana took the poison." "How can you be so cynical and accuse my brother and me?" "You know who it was." "The Queen had her poisoned gradually." "I know that Dr. Duran was visiting the Duchess of Alba." "You agreed, and now you're taking the poison to your Queen." " You're just her dog." " That's enough!" "I won't let you speak to me like that!" "I won't let you speak to me like that!" "What are you doing?" "Stop it, you'll kill her!" "What are Cayetana's jewels doing on your desk?" "Why do you have them?" "What are you thinking?" "I asked you, what are you thinking?" "I would have preferred that these jewels, that glass, that jar, even that painting had never existed!" "What are you thinking?" "I asked you, what are you thinking?" "Now we've got what we wanted." "She'll never be able to torture me again." "It's the best present you've ever given me." "What are you thinking?" "The case of the possible murder of the Duchess of Alba was officially closed." "The hypothesis of poison was rejected due to lack of evidence." "The people, as always, had their own doubts and versions." "The most widely accepted one was that the Queen, helped by her doctor, had her poisoned slowly and that Godoy acquiesced." "Pepita Tudo married Godoy and became the Duchess of Castillofiel." "She ended her days exiled in Pisa." "Godoy was hounded by the Inquisition and by Fernando Vll." "He died alone, in exile in Paris." "Goya was accused by the Inquisition for having painted "The Naked Maja"." "He had to go into exile in Bordeaux where he died." "He was later recognized as one of the greatest painters in histoy." "The paintings of "The Naked Maja" and "The Clothed Maja" can be admired in the Prado Museum Paseo del Prado, Madrid." "Opening hours are from 09:00 to 19:00, every day except Monday."