"A Ball!" "But what about these numbers?" "Whatever, they mean something." "The only heir to the throne is dying." "They're the Duke and Duchess de Somoza." "He was killed by a blow to the head, and she seems to have been suffocated." "Mother Isabel de Montejo, newly arrived from the colonies to serve you." "They say she's saved the dying with her own hand." "Really?" "Why are you in those fights?" "Don't stick your nose into my life." "Mother Isabel has come to request something." "Given the proximity of your palace to the king's abode, I'd would like to stay here, if it suits you." "Have you tried to add them up?" "Why did you come here?" "The king has summoned me to relieve the pain of his heir." "I don't know what you're up to but I want you far away from here." "It will be as God wills." "Sátur!" "Sátur, I have it." "They are the coordinates on a map." "A lake." "Lucrecia, you..." "We have an appointment with my parents." "Don't you remember?" "There may be something in there that'll help me understand my origins." "It's you who has the blood-stained soul, your Majesty." "How dare you talk to me like that!" "?" "A splendid blow, Mother Abbess." "This evening we'll go to the show, right?" "There'll be an exotic dancer, a fire-eater,..." "Ah!" "And the human beast." "I've understood that your son has been missing for several years." "He reappeared a few days later, drowned in a pool." "Since then he has his rest in the family mausoleum." "She's lying." "Every time they see us spending more time together, they'll start talking." "Let them talk, we're not doing anything." "I won't let that happen." "I'm a married woman." "Mother Isabel." "The beast has the eyes of the Devil." "The heir's eyes are the most reliable way to recognize him." "Each one's a different color." "Are you saying you think the savage has noble ancestry?" "Don't even ask me for forgiveness." "Since when have you held the moral high ground?" "We're going to set him free." "The Portuguese conclave urgently requires his Majesty's signature." "We must manage his pain with patience or we won't achieve our purpose." "One table, six participants, and six pistols." "Only one of them will be loaded." "Count me in." "~ They're encrypted." "~ I need to know what it says." "The life of a child is in danger." "I need to know exactly where you left your boy." "Here it is." "This is exactly where the map says." "Isn't that cross the trace you're looking for?" "Gabi!" "There it is." "What's that?" "The place we've got to go." "We have to head in that direction." "The light surely marks the direction we have to go, that much is clear." "But how will we know where to stop?" "I don't know." "But one would expect the light to point to a particular point." "Or maybe it doesn't." "I'm anticipating it:... we're going to ride along that light,... we're going to cross a sea, then another sea,... and we'll end up like Marco Polo, at the ends of the Earth." "That was Elcano." "Marco Polo went to China." "Forgive me, but I know where Marco Polo traveled." "And I still remember a time in Venice taking a gondola ride with him... and he sold me a book he'd just written about their trip." "What he charged me!" "Sátur, Marco Polo died three centuries ago." "Three centuries?" "Well, the point is that without knowing where, it's nonsense." "Also, whether the monk hid the ball so well for no reason, I should say." "That's precisely why I have to go." "Just like trying to figure out what Agustín's game was and why he wanted to kill us." "Let's go." "Look at that." "Cover your eyes, Master, it's coming towards us!" "We've got a message." "A message?" "Who could have sent us a message?" "Anyone who has seen our light and thought that we were Agustín." "Are you saying that the priest used this ball to contact someone?" "What a load of crap!" "This is more twisted than a balustrade, Master." "We'll see each other at the Pit of Hell in two days." "At 6 PM." "At the Pit of Hell?" "Your Majesty, when do you wish to make public the death of the crown prince?" "The death of the crown prince will shatter the little remaining hope of the people." "First thing tomorrow I want you to make the official statement." "Have declared three days of mourning, as was done... upon the death of the previous crown prince, my son Tomás Carlos." "As you order, your Majesty." "Lord, I pray for my unborn child." "May he born healthy and male." "It is essential for the survival of the Crown." "I'll cease the wars, if it pleases You,... but provide me with an heir." "Your Majesty." "The queen has had her first contractions." "Let me know when she's produced her latest birth." "I have affairs of state to attend to." "Your Majesty, my most sincere condolences." "The king has asked God for a healthy male." "Only then will he sign the peace treaty with Portugal." "We're in the hands of nature." "Nature is as manipulable as men are themselves." "The queen will bear a healthy male." "And how can you be so sure?" "It could be a princess." "I've said that she will have a son." "Ma'am?" "Catalina, what the Hell are you doing here?" "Excuse me, Ma'am, I was just finishing up some dusting." "Since everyone's sleeping,... all right, everyone except Mother Abbess, who hasn't gotten home yet." "My God, Catalina!" "Well, if the lady doesn't need anything else..." "You can leave." "~ God bless, then." "~ God bless, Catalina." "One table, six participants, and six pistols." "Only one of them will be loaded." "Count me in." "~ Juan." "~ What is it?" "Alonso just went to bed and I came to see how you were." "If you give me a moment to change, we'll go for a walk." "Go on, hurry." "This man... gets it all wrong." "How I'd love to...!" "Hello." "~ Hi." "~ I can't wait to get home." "I don't know whether my feet hurt more from walking or my head from listening to the lady." "Well, if you don't know..." "Look, this man has everything turned upside down." "Look." "Wait, I'll help you out." "Today the lady had a squeamish day." "As always." "And this?" "Oh, I already know what that's going to be!" "A jewel." "As you're already short the engagement ring... well, this will make up for it." "No, Juan's in the bedroom and could be back at any moment." "Let's just give it a glance." "To see if it's diamond or what." "Hey, isn't that the noble from the ball?" "Eugenia?" "Juan told me he knew her but never told me he'd had a relationship with her." "Well, woman, it's not as if you've told Juan everything, either!" "~ Everybody has a past." "~ Too right." "Besides, this girl will not marry him when you yourself are making her wedding dress?" "Well, naturally." "But why then does he keep a copy of her portrait?" "I have no keepsake of any man from my past." "No." "You only live with one." "Master, I already know you don't believe in these things, but... these simply are not fables." "This is reality." "Everyone knows that the Pit of Hell is where Torquemada scorched thousands of Jews." "This is a black legend." "Torquemada convinced Their Catholic Majesties to expel them." "And he didn't get rid of some of them along the way, or maybe not?" "Like his very name says, Torquemada, he burned up all the neighbors." "Surely he was the worst of all the Inquisitors to date!" "Haven't you heard that the smell of death was so strong... that all the trees around turned into stumps?" "Have you been there?" "Have you seen it?" "You do not need to see to believe!" "Well, it's not called the Pit of Pleasure, now is it?" "It's called the Pit of Hell for a reason, right?" "Well, there's no need to worry because it is just simply that, a name." "Of course." "And how do you explain the fact that no one knows where this place is?" "Sátur, that would be because it's been disused for over two centuries." "Don't push it any more." "Let's figure out where it is and go check it out." "So let's move, now." "~ It's getting late." "~ One moment." "There's one thing that's been rattling around in my head all afternoon ever since I saw that bird." "Let's hear it." "You call yourself the Red Eagle." "Fine, but me, I don't have one." "You could call me...the Red Hawk." "That sounds good, right?" "The Red Eagle and the Red Hawk." "No." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Be careful, Hernán!" "What happened?" "The wind blew over a candle." "Who left the window open?" "It could have burned down the whole palace and us along with it." "~ Calm down, Lucrecia." "~ I can't relax... when I think one of my guests has been about to die in my own home." "Thanks be to God the Abbess wasn't here." "Hernán, tomorrow morning I want the servant flogged who left the window open." "What happened?" "An accident." "The candelabra fell on the trunk and caused a fire." "It was indeed fortunate that you weren't in the bedroom, Mother Abbess." "Was there anything important there?" "Nothing that can't be replaced." "You may be sure I'll make good any loss." "Straighten up and clean this mess right smartly." "We'll set you to rights in my own bedroom." "Marquesa,... it's not necessary." "Of course it is, Mother Abbess." "After this unpleasant incident, my bedroom is the least I can offer." "I'll send them immediately to change the sheets." "I'll inspect them myself." "You can go back to bed." "Mother Abbess." "Cipri." "It's me, Catalina." "Cipri?" "Yes, yes!" "Listen, if this isn't the right moment, I'll come back another time, all right?" "No, no, no." "It's not a bad time." "I usually stay up late." "Come on, I'm one of those who reads in bed." "You know how to read?" "No." "No, well, I'm working on it." "That's for me?" "Yes." "Well, no, I had some leftover dough, so I said "I'll make two cakes"." "And instead of letting one of them dry out, well... ~ After all, you might not like it." "~ It's lovely." "I like this type of cake." "Well, I won't bother you anymore." "I'm heading off." "Catalina." "I... ~ I know you're a married woman." "~ Cipri." "No, let me talk, because I know what I have to say." "You're a married woman." "Even more, you're not married to a Mr. Whoever." "Your husband's Floro, he's my best friend." "But I... look..." "I know that it's a sin, and..." "I understand if you don't feel the same way about me,... but I..." "I love you." "I'm very sorry about that, please forgive me." "I know it can never be, but..." "I love you, too." "Huh?" "It's been said in a pub in San Felipe that the Inquisition's going to move a heretic to the jail in Toledo." "Say no more." "And we're going to go ask those heartless zealots about the Pit of Hell?" "Exactly, and while I get ready here, you get the horses ready." "Don't even mention that you're going to free the heretic." "Of course, since he's one of your atheistic bunch..." "What mania to deny God!" "Surely the whole world knows He exists and is everywhere!" "Son, come wash yourself." "But, Father, I had a bath just last week!" "That's why." "Go on!" "You, you're got your own mania about being clean!" "Faulty hygiene is what causes most diseases." "So can an excess of hygiene." "The crust serves a purpose." "Sure." "But a little water on you wouldn't go amiss, right?" "Me?" "Nobody's ever complained about my body odor." "Hello." "Madam!" "Yeah?" "Do I smell of something." "Evil, as it were?" "Oh, Sátur, for God's sake, you're being repulsive!" "It's for that stinky boy over there." "The crown prince has died." "Notice is hereby given to the people... that his Highness, Don Felipe Próspero... has died." "All churches will celebrate a Mass in his honor." "The royal family requests that you pray for his soul." "The poor lad, and the poor parents!" "Blessed be he before God!" "Remember how healthy he looked when he was here with us, poor Manolo!" "I don't understand." "Why are all the king's sons dying off?" "Since they marry their own first cousins,... aunts marry nephews, grandmothers marry sons-in-law,... well, that can't be good for the bloodline." "What now?" "If the king has no more successors, the dynasty will fall." "No." "The queen's still expecting another child." "He'll be the next king." "Yeah, right." "And if it's a girl?" "Women cannot reign in Spain, Father." "We'll have to wait until the queen gives birth." "It's over, relax." "It's a boy, your Eminence." "Is he all right?" "You can't expect much else from women of her rank,... but at least they usually give birth to healthy children." "Take care of him until we come get him." "Don't worry, your Eminence." "Can I ask about the fate of the child?" "He'll be delivered to a family that will give him everything he needs." "But what about his mother?" "Tell her the child was stillborn." "Get up, scum!" "I told you to get up!" "Alonso is sulkier lately." "We can see he was fond of the crown prince." "I know." "He even insisted he wanted to go to the offering at the lake... to ask about the future successor." "~ You told him he could?" "~ No." "Pardon my curiosity, Master, but would it cost?" "That's going to the lake, dropping the flowers, and it's over." "How happy it would make the boy." "We'll go, but this afternoon." "It's weird that the boy has grown into such a believer, given that fact that you're so bad at believing!" "Kids need to believe in something." "Yeah." "And those who are not so young, too." "You'd better at least pretend to believe." "I wouldn't like you to end up just like the heretic they're dragging to Toledo." "I appreciate your concern, Sátur." "Yeah, just laugh at it!" "But I don't know how the Inquisition handles things." "Have you heard of a device they call "the cradle of Judas"?" "No." "Well, they use it... to open up a hole this width... right in the butt itself." "And the "head crusher"?" "You don't need that explained." "Sátur, they're here." "Fucking bastard!" "Where is the Pit of Hell?" "Where is it?" "There's no hole, it's in the catacombs beneath the main square." "Take care to put black ribbons on all the doors of the palace." "Especially in the main entrance." "Yes, Ma'am." "Mother, do we really need all this?" "The House of Santillana must pay homage to the deceased heir." "Why aren't you wearing black clothes like I asked?" "Because those clothes don't suit me." "Listen to your mother, Nuño." "I've already been too long in mourning because of my father." "And the death of the king's son isn't anything I care much about." "Your mother means you should look like you care." "Yeah, but wouldn't that be lying?" "No." "It would be politic." "Very instructive, Hernán." "If you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do." "The people can be greatly affected by deaths like this, and they often behave unpredictably." "Abbess." "Have you had a good rest?" "Yes, thanks, Commissioner." "Hello, Lucrecia." "Good day, Mother." "If you'll excuse us..." "I have to make sure... --- Get up, you!" "... he chooses the right apparel." "Let's go." "Ah, Mother, what a shame about our crown prince!" "Yes." "I have a letter for the Marquesa de Santillana." "It's urgent." "Don't worry, I'll pass it on." "~ Catalina, one of the staff has fallen while placing a crepe on the door." "~ May God help me!" "I think he broke his leg." "By your leave." ""I've deciphered the letters." "I'll await you, as always, at the crossroads of Alcalá."" "My child?" "Don't exert yourself." "You've lost a lot of blood." "I want to see him, where is he?" "He was born dead." "No!" "I heard him cry." "Don't worry." "You'll soon recover and be back at the orders of Cardinal." "No, not the Cardinal, I beg you, please!" "Inconsiderate bitch." "You should thank His Eminence for deigning to deal with someone like you." "Remove everything." "You can't take away my son!" "Catalina." "Cipri, what are you doing here?" "You shouldn't even be here." "What?" "I couldn't wait for you to come out." "I've spent all morning...well..." "I can't get you out of my head." "Catalina...!" "Ma'am." "What are you doing with this man?" "Nothing, Ma'am, he came to give me a message, but he's about to leave." "~ Thank you." "~ Go with God, Ma'am." "That's the last time I want you pursuing your own affairs in my house." "If you want to meet men, do it at the market." "No, Ma'am, it won't happen again, I just..." "Is that all my correspondence?" "Yes, Ma'am." "Well, there was a messenger with an urgent letter, but he spoke with Mother Isabel, who said she'd be responsible to give it to you." "Moron!" "How many times do I have to tell you: no one but me can touch my mail?" "!" "I'm sorry, Ma'am." "Mount your horse." "We can't stay here." "Mount your horse." "Wake up." "The letter, right!" "Shit!" "Shut up!" "Cipriano, you're smiling." "Me?" "No." "Oh, yeah?" "I saw you, you were smiling!" "Yeah, all right." "So what?" "Well, this service isn't meant for smiling." "It's just that I've never seen you smiling in your whole life, you're the gloomiest man I've ever met." "I'm smiling because I'm happy, all right?" "You're weird today, Cipri." "Totally weird." "Be careful, son." "Are you all right?" "Sure." "Why do you ask?" "Never mind, but if there's anything that's worrying you, you know you can tell me." "Father." "And that carriage?" "If you can believe it, they're coming to see what's going on." "This place is well-known throughout the town." "There seems to be more movement here than in a brothel." "~ Do you remember?" "~ Remember what?" "The day I turned 14." "We escaped from my party and came here." "And my parents wouldn't speak to me for a month." "A relief, as it happens." "What's the matter?" "We should go." "I have patients waiting for me in the village." "My parents aren't here." "You could come home tonight." "Tonight?" "Sure." "But let's go." "I like that." "Care for your patients, but care for your fiancée, too." "Coachman, let's move out!" "May God will him to be male and to be healthy." "Isn't that a woman?" "Where's the Commissioner?" "You're late, Lucrecia, we're waiting to eat." "Is something going on?" "No." "I'm fine." "Then why don't you just sit and eat?" "I'm not hungry, Hernán." "~ But, Mother, sit down or we'll all starve." "~ Enough, Nuño!" "~ Some water?" "~ I'm not thirsty." "There's nothing like giving a drink to the thirsty." "Sorry, but Catalina told me... you were asking about this letter." "I forgot to give it to you, sorry." "Has something happened?" "No." "Nothing." "It's from the shoemaker, to pick up some shoes." "The strange thing is that I haven't taken any business to him." "You have so many you don't even remember." "Mother!" "She did it!" "It was her!" "Hernán!" "Juan, Juan!" "We found her by the lake." "Alonso!" "Margarita, take him away." "She's very weak." "She's very weak." "It looks like she's breathing, Cipri!" "It's still early to say whether she'll live." "Let's wait a few hours to see how she settles." "My God, such a pool of blood!" "Juan, what did they do to her?" "She just gave birth." "But if she did that,... where's the kid?" "Relax, will you?" "This could be no more than an accident." "No!" "This was no accident!" "It was her." "She wanted to kill me." "Please, Lucrecia, are you even listening to yourself?" "I found a letter lying in her chest and she knows that I took it." "~ And where are these letters?" "~ I don't know, Hernán, I don't know." "I left them with a man this morning so he could decipher them." "I found his body in the woods, Hernán." "She killed him, too." "Let's see: not only has she some mysterious letters and tried to kill you, but she's also killed a man." "Please, Lucrecia, this is a nun!" "Go see for yourself." "Ma'am." "Commissioner." "Lady, the servants told me this morning they'd been cleaning the lamp." "You see?" "An accident like the night before." "Who was it?" "I don't know, sir." "Assemble the servants." "You may leave." "Ma'am." "Someone will pay for this." "Do you believe me?" "Really --- do you believe me?" "Do you think I made the whole thing up?" "Lucrecia, you've been very nervous lately over Nuño." "You've been much affected, that's normal." "Too many things have been going on." "I suppose... that she's very compelling... when you're between her legs." "Isabel isn't what she seems, Hernán." "Is all this about jealousy, Lucrecia?" "I should feel flattered, but right now I just pity you." "Hernán!" "Hernán!" "Hail most pure María." "You're late." "Sorry, Father, but the meal lasted longer than normal." "Sure." "My agents informed me of this." "And you've been busy with other duties." "Have you had me tailed?" "Distrust is the weakness of those who remain alive." "Then they've told you that the problem is solved." "Yes, and also that you've left behind a trail of murder." "But don't worry, I've dealt with this annoying mess." "Thank you, your Eminence." "Skip the thanks and be more careful." "I will not be so easy-going if you threaten my aspirations again." "Certainly, we have the child." "And whose is it?" "It's from God, as are all of them." "The trail of blood led from the lake up to here." "But the traces are lost at this point." "Poor Inés!" "And poor Cipri!" "If it's hard when your wife leaves you, imagine what it must be like... that's she's hatched by another rooster." "Cipri is the kind to commit suicide." "Imagine the drama." "Don't you think we should go back to him?" "Margarita's already taking care of him." "I need you here now." "If Inés just gave birth, maybe the baby's still alive." "But where's the baby?" "Could she have abandoned him?" "And if she did, why?" "I don't know." "Maybe she was running away from something." "But who could Inés be running away from?" "Master, you always imagine the weirdest things." "What a hobby!" "Look at that branch." "There's a scrap of cloth." "There." "And why are you so interested in this torn piece of cloth?" "It looks like a scrap of what Inés was wearing." "I have no idea what happened to Inés... or where have she's been all this time, but I assure you of one thing:... no mother abandons her child." "At least not in normal circumstances." "You've got that right." "Just thinking that this kid is lying around somewhere, I get a knot in my stomach that..." "Master, for God's sake!" "Hold onto the rope, or else looking for Ines's son will turn yours into an orphan." "Master!" "Master!" "Master, get up here, we're going, the two of us!" "When we returned to the cell, she was no longer there, your Eminence." "Haven't my generous donations to the convent been enough?" "You assured me I could trust you and I believed you." "I see I was wrong." "In her state she won't get very far." "How's the boy?" "He's being watched by the novice who helped in the childbirth." "You may retire." "How is the queen?" "According to the medical signs, she'll give birth tomorrow afternoon." "Fine." "We're all ready to make the swap." "Your Eminence, to spirit a newborn into the royal palace won't be easy." "How are we going to do it?" "First thing tomorrow, my men'll deliver the child into the passage connecting the convent with the royal palace." "You'll sneak the child into the palace unseen." "A few drops of belladonna will numb him enough so he won't cry." "Once in the bedroom of the queen, you'll find their doctor and his chaperone,... they already know what your role is." "You're doing very well, your Majesty." "Are you sure they won't betray us?" "We all profit from him being a boy." "I remind you that we are doing a favor to the Crown." "As soon as the queen gives birth to a princess, you'll swap her with the child we bring." "The birth is male." "And they'll put him in her arms as the future king of Spain." "And if the queen gives birth to a boy... what do we do with the kid?" "Mother Isabel, the Crown's interest supersedes everything else." "It won't be difficult to get rid of a newborn." "Haven't you read the Bible?" "Remember Herod." "Yes, Master, yes." "Before you do something crazy you must double check." "But you're a hero... as well as a father." "If I hadn't been there to grab the rope both of us would be gone." "And all for a filthy cloth." "Sátur, it's not just a filthy cloth, it's from the smock Inés was wearing." "Well, think of another way of getting it, shit!" "Because we still don't know where Inés came from, nor why she was fleeing, nor even where her son is." "Check this out." "They look like initials." "Initials?" "Whose initials?" "Sátur, I don't know." "But if we find the other half, we might learn where Inés came from." "Let's go." "~ Hi." "~ Hi." "How's Inés?" "She has a high fever." "~ And the child?" "~ We haven't found one." "He's surely all right, Father." "I hope so." "Of course, Alonso." "Newborns look like very helpless beings, but they're much stronger than we think." "Imbecile!" "Cipri!" "I've left work." "Inés has returned." "She's... dying." "Dying?" "Where?" "In the shop." "No one knows whether she'll pull through." "And you, what are you doing here?" "Why aren't you with her?" "What for?" "Because it's Inés, Cipri." "I know what she did to you was very wrong, but... she's your wife." "No." "Not any more." "She abandoned me." "Cipri, if only for charity's sake... you have to be by her side." "No." "I'm not going." "Here it is." "~ Bring me some water." "~ Sure." "Give me that, I'll wash it myself right away." "Wait, wait, wait." "A crown." "It's the escutcheon of a religious order." "What do you mean by "of a religious order"?" "It's beyond me." "What would Inés have been doing among nuns?" "We know full well she was no nun." "We must find this convent." "Surely they'll know what happened to the child." "Well, let's get started,... because there are as many convents in this town as there are brothels." "No." "Inés, couldn't have walked far in her condition, so the convent has to be near the lake." "You can go ahead, I'll stay with her." "Inés!" "I was very lonely." "Very lonely." "And I fought with all my strength so it wouldn't happen, but..." "I love him." "I'm very sorry." "Mother, I just wanted to see how you were." "~ I'm sorry." "~ Mother, I just wanted to know how you were!" "Leave off!" "It's just a scratch." "What's wrong with you, Lucrecia?" "Have you taken to sleeping with a knife under your pillow?" "I'm not going to let her do to me what she did to that man in the woods." "Enough, Lucrecia." "My men have combed the woods and there's not sign of a dead man." "I saw him!" "She killed him!" "Enough!" "That's it." "You almost killed my son, Lucrecia." "Are you about to go crazy or what?" "Maybe I should go." "It has nothing to do with you." "Lucrecia has been going through some hard times recently." "I've seen many cases of people under stress reacting in the same way." "Aggression, obsessions,... delirium." "I don't know what to do." "I've never seen her like that." "Doctors usually recommend a stay as a patient in a hospital." "Lucrecia would never allow them to put her away." "Never." "To heal someone, sometimes you have to go against their will." "Although in this case, it may be enough... if she were treated at home." "I know a doctor you can trust who can come right now." "Come, my love, here you'll be just fine, all right?" "And tomorrow before I go to the palace, I'll come give you a hug, all right?" "Murillo, Murillo!" "Come on, I have the setup ready in the bedroom." "What setup?" "The Spanish camp, aunt." "Neither Spanish nor anything else." "Go to bed, it's late." "And go pray, loud enough so I'll hear you from here." "How happy they are!" "Thanks, Margarita." "It's nothing, woman." "With Inés there, it's better if the child stays here." "Sure." "Ah, my God!" "Look, it's your Juan." "Where could he be heading for at this time of night?" "Woman, where's he going?" "They summoned him with some urgency!" "With Inés being like she is?" "Hey, Margarita, take it easy." "Inés has to rest." "What's Juan going to do for her?" "Margarita, where are you going?" "Home." "Sátur." "Ow, my arm, by my Mother!" "Come on, with a hop forward, it's easy!" "I'll end up as flat as a salamander from carrying heavy loads." "Oh, my God!" "I haven't been in a situation this since I had to climb the walls... to watch the novices in Little Ball." "Sátur, I have to go in there to see if I can find the baby." "Yeah, sure." "And how are you planning on doing that?" "Because if the nuns are hiding something they're not just going to tell you." "I'll take a look through the convent... while they're asleep." "Yeah." "Yeah, right." "And meanwhile, if it looks all right..." "I'll keep an eye on the novices, so none of them wake up." "Come on, Sátur, it's better if you stay here." "Just in case." "So here we are!" "God, no!" "Don't shout, please." "Don't panic, hey!" "I'm not going to do anything." "I know it seems strange to see me here at this time of night, but..." "I'm looking for a child." "His mother had an escutcheon of this convent." "Have you seen him here?" "I don't know anything about it." "Go away." "Are you sure, Sister?" "If you know something, tell me, please." "It's very important." "A man!" "A man!" "Where is he going?" "He's over there." "What sort of place is that?" "Well, a place like those for men." "What's Juan doing in a place like this?" "Well, you can't see him?" "He's treating these poor wretches." "Think of my poor guy, and the places where he has to go sometimes!" "How could I think ill of Juan?" "Come on, let's go, woman." "It's no place for the likes of us." "By the Holy Virgin!" "Silence, silence!" "Silence!" "Six guns, one for each shooter." "Only one of the pistols is loaded." "Only one of the shooters will die." "Who will be chosen by chance?" "You can begin betting." "He couldn't have left, he was here just a moment ago." "What's going on?" "Easy." "Take this." "Hernán, let me go!" "It's for your own good, Lucrecia, listen to me." "Relax, Lucrecia, quiet down." "Doctor." "What's this?" "~ Hernán, Hernán!" "~ Quiet, please." "Doctor." "Settle down, you have to take this." "It's all right." "Let her go." "I hope this is the best for the Marquesa." "We need to settle down her nervous system." "In her condition she could hurt someone." "Including herself." "How is she?" "She needs a lot of rest." "I'll stay with her." "Commissioner, you should go rest." "Don't worry, I'll make sure no one bothers her." "Doctor." "Relax, Lucrecia." "You're not alone." "I'm going to look after you." "Gamblers are to step back." "Only one of the pistols is loaded." "Only one of the shooters will die." "When the bell rings..." "Fire." "Ready your weapons." "Aim." "The poor lady." "It's to be expected that she'd crack, given everything she's been through." "They were just about ready to execute her son, and that... destroys everyone." "Catalina, Catalina, it's all right." "Good, Mother, but... ~ if you say you'll stay with her..." "~ Yes." "I'll leave." "Lucrecia." "You remember when we were servants... and we had to bathe our mistress?" "It seemed so disgusting!" "Lucrecia,... look at me." "Look at me." "May God embrace you in his arms." "Or maybe not." "The Hell with the nuns!" "They devote themselves even when it comes to doing damage." "They've left me with more bruises than the cardinals of the Vatican!" "And it could have been worse, huh,..." "I was lucky to escape, or else......" "I haven't overlooked even one corner of the convent." "It's impossible that the child was in there." "Yes, Master, but you forgot one small thing:..." "Inés wore the tunic of the convent." "Sure, but I don't know what that means." "Anyone could have given it to her." "So where's the poor child?" "I don't know,... but sometimes things are either more simple or harder than they seem." "They may simply mean... that he's dead." "Don't torture yourself any further... since we've done everything we could." "Yes." "Let's go, Sátur, come on, it's a new day." "Wait, wait, wait." "Wait a moment,... while I fix this shirt." "Look in what shape the Escolapias had left it." "And what's this?" "The...child..." ""The child is here." ""They'll take him at noon."" "Sátur, we have to get back to that convent right this instant." "Get everything ready." "By the Holy Virgin!" "Why did you leave the Marquesa unattended?" "You promised to take care of her." "I had to leave." "If I hadn't come in, Lucrecia would be dead now." "Why did you go?" "She attacked me and I had to go patch myself up." "And now, if you'll excuse me,..." "I'll go prepare my luggage." "Abbess." "Where's the child?" "I don't know." "She looked after him." "She ought to know where he is." "She hid it!" "Don't take him away!" "Either tell me where the child is... or your Sister will suffer the same fate as your Mother Superior." "Sister!" "Sister!" "Sister, don't move!" "And the baby?" "Where's the baby?" "Hold still, for God's sake!" "There." "There, where?" "Be more precise." "Sátur,... the well." "How happy Inés'll be when she sees the kid!" "Given the way you mistreated her, it's no wonder that she wanted to leave the palace with such urgency." "Please,... don't tell me you'll even defend her." "We don't have even a scrap of evidence about what you've said, Lucrecia." "And you know it." "I didn't attack her." "If I'd had the strength to attack her, don't you think I've tried to get out of the tub first thing?" "I've seen you draw strength in ways I couldn't begin to imagine." "There was a time when it wasn't so hard for you to believe me." "Stay with me, please." "I'm a gentleman, remember?" "I have to say goodbye to the Abbess." "If you ever again force me to take something against my will..." "I swear you'll never see Nuño again in your entire life." "But girl, what are you doing in the darkness, with such a fine afternoon outside?" "Do you remember when we were young... and we would spend our life on the street... playing knights and princesses?" "Since you were the youngest, we always had to let you be the first to be rescued." "Hey, Inés?" "Inés?" "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" "Inés, Inés!" "Inés...!" "The child has showed up!" "Your Majesty,... the queen has just given birth." "It's a boy." "In the end, God has listened to my prayers." "Tell the ambassadors they can notify their realms." "As you order, your Majesty." "News travels fast in the halls of the palace, your Majesty." "It seems God has been generous with you." "God always acts justly." "You should know that very well." "Your Majesty, since God has been so benevolent, perhaps... perhaps a gesture of gratitude to Him would be in order?" "Mother Abbess, despite your pious advice,..." "I'm not going to yield to the desires of Portugal." "Spain already has its crown prince,... and I intend to leave him a strong and united realm." "Now, if you'll excuse me,..." "I'm going to look at the future king of Spain." "Always as stubborn as a mule." "Even being so down, he wanted to go himself to tell the pastor about the wake,... that's what we friends are for, Master." "He wants to make sure Inés lacks for nothing." "That's right." "Poor little guy." "And poor Inés,... to die like that, without saying goodbye to her son." "At least he'll be going to her sister to live, the one from Finisterre." "Although Finisterre..." "I do not know whether it's a good place to raise a child." "That place is full of octopi and rocks." "Besides that, the land ends there." "Sátur, the world is round." "And it doesn't end." "He finally reacts!" "There he is, immersed in his thoughts in perpetuity." "Like this very thought that gets you in this state." "I don't know, Sátur, I've given it 1,000 second thoughts, but I still don't understand anything." "What did they want with a newborn?" "What for?" "Who can tell?" "In recent times, the town has been filled with some very strange people." "Inés's child must have been important to someone." "Children are all over the place, why would they want precisely that one?" "You're right." "If they went to an orphanage, they could have them by the handful." "It's 5 PM." "We have to hurry." "In one hour, we have to be at the Pit of Hell." "No." "Let's not go." "It's Inés's wake and Cipri needs us at his side." "Yes, he needs us, Cipri needs us." "But you have to learn who the heck you are some time soon." "We'll do one thing:... we'll tell the curate, we'll go to the appointment at the Pit,... and return in a blink of an eye." "Master." "It looks like a child was deprived of his mother for no reason at all." "I'm not the only one who should be sorry." "You'll leave for Puerto Rico at once,... that pestilent place you'll never leave again barring a miracle." "I remind you, your Eminence,... that this is precisely what I'm known for:... my miracles." "Master, this is worse than they said." "Here the suffering is palpable." "Surely even you can hear the wailing of the tortured souls!" "What's that?" "By the Holy Saint!" "Those are teeth!" "What was that?" "Calm down, it's just a rat." "I lost him." "He's gone!" "This woman explained the whole thing." "That's why he his face was so punched out by the beatings at that dump,... because he felt guilty for playing both sides of the street." "How long have your been missing your periods?" "For two months now." "I have the plague, Master." "I'm a dead man." "Where is Richard Blake's treasure hidden?" "I'll never tell you where my husband's treasure is hidden." "We have to forget everything that's happened." "We owe it to Inés, Cipri." "What you're doing is very dangerous, and besides we may not meet again." "His Majesty will be pleased to hear that you hold fast to the woman who knows the whereabouts of a treasure that belongs to him." "Are you sending me to the gallows?" "Master!" "Get me out of here!" "Get me out!" "I'm going to do what none of the other guards in the kingdom has pulled off:..." "I'm going to kill the Red Eagle!"