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Barbara closed the last trunk in the room with the help of a teary-eyed Aia. The day of departure had arrived. They would never see each other again. The separation would be very painful for both, even more so because in the last week they had shared their innermost thoughts.
One late afternoon while Barbara and Leonardo sat alone in one of the rooms, a few days after having returned from their walk in the vineyard, she asked for permission to leave the dining table. When she turned, Leonardo approached her rapidly from behind and grabbed her by the waist, rubbing himself against her buttocks and lifting the back of her dress. He squeezed her breast with one hand while with the other he tried to grope her private parts. He bit her ear and whispered obscenities into her ear. Barbara turned her gaze towards the table where a knife lay within reach of her hand. She stared at it, her fingers began to tremble and she thought of grabbing it and plunging it into Leonardo's right thigh. She imagined him screaming and clutching his leg. She would not let go of the handle. When he moved away from her, the blade would slip out of his leg but it would still be in her hand. She would then plunge it into his chest and would only release it when he fell down dead. However, when her fingers actually made contact with the blade, she pulled them back and walked over to close the door and windows of the room. This gave her the time she needed to regain her sanity and get a grip on her emotions.
A minute later and he was back behind her. Her thoughts went back to the knife.
She began thinking of how pleasing it would be to watch his life seep out of his disgusting body and she would cover his eyes with spit and fill his ears with curses. Her hand trembled again, the knife glittered in the lamplight. She again thought of reaching for it but again managed to hold back.
"No, it will not be me taking his life. That pleasure will have to be given to someone else."
While she was deep in thought, Leonardo groaned like a pig going to slaughter and soiled her dress. The hot liquid dripped down the inside of her thighs. She put aside her thoughts of revenge and quickly left the room, without looking back, to wash herself. She had to remove the filth he had left on her as quickly as possible. The dripping liquid seemed to burn her legs, all her senses were concentrated on it and all she could feel was its slow progress down her leg, making her tremble with disgust.
After that day, Barbara demanded that Aia sleep with her every night claiming that she needed to enjoy her company as much as she could before the departure. She made Leonardo promise to keep Aia until he left and to give her enough money to ensure a good marriage in the future.
She did actually want to spend as much time as possible with Aia, to hear more details about her past, to plan with her the next stages and their futures and to keep Leonardo as far away as possible. Her hate had reached new heights. She now redoubled her efforts to make their relationship look normal. She didn't want him to have any suspicions. Despite his annoyance, Leonardo, who had planned to have Barbara every night before her departure, allowed Aia to stay with her. He knew he asked too much of his daughter so in the final days he accepted the imposition made by her. He would miss the intimate contact but they would be together soon. A few months and they would be together again. His routine with her would carry on and would be made formal with the disappearance of her future husband and their marriage. He would finally be able to possess that which was his long ago. He was tired of having to hide their relationship. He might have made the same decision if the archbishop had not been around. He would have carried it out either way.
The time to end all the pain was getting closer for Barbara. Despite her feelings of loss and anxiety for leaving behind everything she knew, she was eager for her life of mental and physical suffering to come to an end. When she walked out the door she would never again have to look into the eyes of the devil who had tortured her for years.
Most of her trunks were packed into the carriage. She was to follow with Jonas in a sedan chair until they reached Lisbon. Two guards would accompany them, one on horseback and one walking.
During the interval between the visit to the vineyard and the departure, Barbara's manipulation of Archbishop Torres became more direct. She sent him a message asking him to meet her at the Central Church and she never showed up. The intention was to unnerve him. He then tried to contact her but was informed repeatedly that she could not receive him or anyone else for two weeks. These were the orders of Leonardo. Barbara avoided leaving the house during this time because she suspected that one of his agents might be watching the house or that he himself was keeping a watchful eye waiting for the right moment to approach her.
Many different scenarios were going through the archbishop's mind. "She may be ill. No, it must be something more serious," Torres thought. "Maybe Leonardo has found out about Barbara and I. Maybe the wretch is keeping her captive for this reason. Maybe he has beaten her and because she is battered, she does not want to be seen in public."
Barbara had told him that her father had been violent before with her, inflicting physical pain because of her love for Torres. Torres was getting more and more desperate.
He resigned himself, however, to the situation because he could do nothing until he spoke to Barbara. Only then would he be able to run his fingers through her hair and kiss her lips. These impure thoughts dominated the archbishop's mind, impure for a man in his position, but desire was desire, there was no way to ignore them when such thoughts emerged and he was haunted. He recalled very clearly the intimate moments they had shared together, in the main church, as well as at the time when he was her professor.
One part of Leonardo's assets had been converted into English and French coins. He had also acquired diamonds from a Jewish merchant. They were more valuable, were easier to hide and had greater liquidity. They were given to Barbara in a small leather satchel tied to a belt and worn under her garments. As for the rest, Leonardo would take it with him so he could finance his own escape. But most of the fortune was to be taken by Barbara.
Jonas managed to convince Leonardo that it would not be a good idea to go with him. There was little time to sell the vineyard, as well as the house, before Leonardo's escape and, according to Jonas, it would be better to sell them instead of leaving them abandoned. They then decided to transfer the land and the house to Jonas' name. He would continue with the wine business until a buyer came along. When the sale was concluded, he would follow Leonardo and Barbara. This was the decision and they followed through with it.
Jonas went to Barbara's room to summon her and to pick up her remaining trunks. The litter was ready and waiting.
"It is time to go, child!" said Jonas.
"I will finally be free of this brute. Aia, do not cry. Do what I told you to do with the diamonds I gave you and disappear forever from this house. I don't doubt the fiend will turn against you, now that I am no longer here," said Barbara.
"Do you think he would be bold enough to do that? I'll kill him if he tries!" said Jonas.
"In any way, your mission here has come to an end," stated Jonas. "Wait a few more days and say your mother is ill and needs your help and now that Barbara has gone you wish to tend to her," explained Jonas.
"I will do what you say. I will think of you often Miss and the times we spent together."
"Miss, no," corrected Barbara, "sister." "You have no idea how much you helped me in these last few days. I regret that you cannot come with me but such is life. Now you must get on with yours, find a husband that respects you and give him children. As for me, I need yet to discover my destiny and plan the rest of my life. I am not completely free because I have to keep up the pretense of marriage. After that, I will see what I need to do."
Both girls embraced, crying. A while later Jonas carried down the luggage, followed by the girls.
Leonardo was standing in front of the litter. He hugged her and kissed her cheek as a father would do to a daughter. She pretended the tears she was shedding for the home and for Aia were for him.
"Don't cry my daughter. We will be together again soon. Simply do as I say and everything will work out!" he promised.
She said her goodbyes to the other servants and stepped into the litter. Jonas, after lifting in the trunks, said goodbye to Leonardo and they set off. She did not look back. All she wanted was to put the torture she had to endure in the past. She asked Jonas to take her once more to his house so she could pray for the last time at her mother's resting place.
After having laid fresh flowers at her mother's grave, Jonas and Barbara entered his house to go over the last details of her escape. They had not been able to talk to each other in the last week except through Aia.
"Jonas, as soon as we leave Lisbon, I will send the letter about Leonardo to the archbishop. Delay Leonardo as much as you can to facilitate his capture," said Barbara.
"What reason will you give for the incrimination?" asked Jonas.
"I am going to accuse him of being a freemason. The archbishop persecuted them in his home land and will do the same here. When my father is thrown in jail, you need to disappear. Under torture, he will certainly implicate you in his crimes and you will become a target also," she warned.
"Don't worry. I have prepared for my trip long ago. With the diamonds you gave me, I can establish myself easily. Teo has already sold the tavern. Him, his wife and Aia will also move away from here. We discussed the matter and we think it would be too risky for them to stay after Leonardo is put in prison," explained Jonas.
"And then, we will never see each other again. Forgive me, once again, for having distanced myself from you," said Barbara.
"Child, child. I am the one who regrets having placed you in harm's way. I feel like staying here to implicate him in all his crimes so he goes to hell faster," said Jonas.
"No, save yourself. Don't think such things. He will get what is coming to him," stated Barbara.
"Are you sure the letter will be enough?"
"Yes, it will be enough. "You don't know this but the archbishop is in love with me," said Barbara.
"What do you mean, Barbara? He is a priest...
"Yes, a priest with the devil in his heart. I insinuated myself to him and seduced him when he was my professor. I needed someone to end my torment, so I gave myself to him," revealed Barbara.
Jonas almost lost his footing and his legs went weak, he pulled a chair and sat down. The girl he called child was now a woman who had learned how to manipulate men and did not hesitate using her female guiles to get what she wanted. He cried covering his face with his hands.
"Child, child, I didn't think it had gone so far. You must have been so desperate to do something like this... Why didn't you turn to me? I would have killed that vermin even if I had to die for it. What has become of you? I still see you as a baby. That monster has stained your soul," lamented Jonas.
"That is water under the bridge. I did what I had to do and now I will get my rewards: the archbishop will become a desperate man when he finds out I am gone and Leonardo will be tortured and put to death. They will both pay for their wicked sins. I have no doubt that Torres will kill himself and follow my father into hell, which is waiting for them," said Barbara.
"Stop talking in this way, please, these words are harsh, I don't want to hear them from your lips. You are not my daughter but it is as if you were. I can't bear to see how dark your soul has become. Pray Barbara, pray for all this hurt to go away. Be a good wife, have children, forget everything that has happened here!" pleaded Jonas.
"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Let us go, it is late. I don't know if I can bear another day waiting for all of this to unfold. Let us depart. No, wait! Do you want to read the letter? I have already written it. I think it may be important for you to know what is written in it.”
