| |
In England, the couple was informed by the captain that they would be departing in two days.
"What should we do when we reach Portugal, Vidal? We need to know if my father was arrested by the archbishop and if they are still in Lisbon. I fear that if our plan goes wrong, my father will come after me.
"Let's stay hidden. When we dock, I will disembark wearing a disguise and will search for Alicio to know what is going on. In any case, we will speak to the captain so that our presence is not known by anyone off the ship. What do you think?"
Barbara is silent and accepts Vidal's suggestion with a nod of her head.
They arrived one day before the Auto da Fé. Vidal disembarked as planned, wearing a sailor's uniform. He shaved off his thick mustache, making him look much younger, which worked well as a disguise.
He knew that Alicio at that specific time would be working in the store. He walked over to it with his head lowered so he wouldn't be recognized by anyone.
When he reached the store, all he found were ashes. It was completely destroyed. Without knowing what to do and afraid to ask around the neighborhood, he went to Alicio's house.
When he turned the corner, he stopped short. There were guards at the gates. Vidal then noticed that something more serious than a fire had occurred. The guards were holding the standard of the church of Braga.
He stood there motionless, not knowing what to do. "I need to find somebody who can tell me what happened," he thought. "Maybe at the Old Blind Man's tavern. They will almost certainly know what happened."
When he reached it, he looked for the tavern owner.
"Mr. Vidal, what a surprise! They didn't get you too?"
"Who are you referring to, Juvenal? Is this how you greet your customers nowadays?"
"Come here sir, come in, please, we need to talk at the back. It is not safe for you sir."
In the kitchen, Juvenal gave him a mug of wine.
"To your health and a long life!"
"To ours. What happened to Alicio, Juvenal? I went to his shop and it is still smoldering. His house is being guarded. Has he been here at all?"
"Ah, you know of nothing then!"
Juvenal told him about everything that had taken place in the past weeks. How the arrests and their motivation were made public and the population set fire to some of the trading establishments. How the families of the accused were helped by their relatives and friends, but now had to avoid the streets because rotten fruit and stones were thrown at them. He also explained that they lost everything except for the clothes on their backs and their properties were confiscated by the church.
Vidal covered his eyes with his hands. He ran his hands over his forehead and through his hair.
"And now? What will happen? Is there any way to get them out of prison?"
"No, there is no way. They say that Alicio's father was too weak for the torture and died inside but we are not even sure of that. What we know is that tomorrow the Auto da Fé will be held in the square in front of the São Domingos Convent. The stands for the bishops, inquisitors and guests have already been set up. They say the queen will be there too. Such a horrid place!"
Vidal asked about Alicio's mother and sisters.
"They are staying with the family of one of Alicio's cousins. I'll give you the address."
"Fatima?"
"Yes, that might be the name, I am not sure. Be careful, Mr. Vidal, if you were a member of that group, your life may be in danger."
"Yes, yes. Take this Juvenal, please, do not tell anyone I was here," and he handed him a wad of bills.
"No sir, I will not accept it. You may not know but I have high esteem for you and poor Mr. Alicio. You both were always very entertaining and welcome at my tavern. I pray for him every day and just thinking of what happened and what is yet to come saddens my heart. And what awaits him may be even worse."
"How worse?"
"The Auto da Fé, Mr. Vidal. There they will report their crimes, if that is what you can call them. And the verdicts will be given. I went by Alfama yesterday, near the horse fountain and at least one pole was already in place, but they continue setting up."
"And what does that mean, Juvenal?"
"At least one of them will go to the fire. May God not let it be sir Alicio."
Vidal shivered. He said good bye to Juvenal. When he stepped outside the establishment, he suddenly stopped, turned around and went back in. He approached the bar again. Juvenal saw him enter and waited for him to come nearer, ignoring the requests of a client for more wine.
"Juvenal, what about the blind old man?"
"He disappeared, Mr. Vidal. After the last time you were here with your friend, he never came again. He must have left for greener pastures, if you know what I mean."
Vidal stood there thinking and went out without saying a word. He then went quickly to the address given to him. He knocked on the door and asked for Fatima. They let him in. He encountered Alicio's mother and sisters in the sitting room sobbing. Fatima then appeared.
"Vidal, this is mad, what are you doing here?"
Vidal told her what happened. Fatima took him to another room so they could speak freely.
"What will happen to them, Fatima? And how are you?"
"So, so. When we found out about the arrests, my parents thought it best to leave Lisbon. They went to the countryside and plan to set themselves up there. As for my cousins, I don't know. They have nothing, only the clothes on their bodies.
"They were not able to save anything? No money?"
"Nothing Vidal, nothing. They broke into our homes and kicked us out into the night. While we stood there crying, people began gathering at the door and calling us names. We left as fast as we could. Since they had nowhere to go, I brought them here through the side alleys. I hurried to tell my parents, who left that same night fearing they would also be persecuted. You know what it's like, when these things happen, they suck in whoever is on the fringes like a whirlpool. Only I remain but I don't know what to do with them. And what about Barbara?"
"She is at the port, in the ship that brought us here. I need to speak to her, I may be able to help you."
"Please try Vidal. I don't think we will be able to stay after tomorrow. Poor Alicio!"
"What about your uncle?"
Fatima raised her hand to her face and began to sob. She told Vidal that one of the guards told her in secret that he had died. They took his body and buried it in an unknown location and were not allowed even to mourn his death.
"Fatima, was there a traveler with Teodoro? By the name of Leonardo?"
"I cannot say. All we know is who was arrested. If there was someone from outside, he would not have been noticed by anyone."
Vidal hugged her and tried to calm her. He needed to speak to Barbara. When Fatima had calmed down, he headed quickly over to the port.
––––––––
He entered their cabin. Barbara was sitting there reading a book when he entered and he sat on the bed.
"What happened? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"Barbara, your plan worked a little too well. The problem is that all the brothers of the lodge were arrested during a ceremony, including Alicio and Teodoro. But I don't know if Leonardo was among them. No one knows him around here."
Vidal told her everything he knew. Barbara was shocked.
"It was not supposed to happen like this, Vidal. It was never my intention for other people to suffer for Leonardo's sins. Could it be that my father was not arrested? Can we at least do something for Alicio?"
"I fear not." "And the women?"
She raised her hand to her forehead and turned to Vidal. It never crossed her mind to abandon these women whose only sin was to be the wives and daughters of these scoundrels who protected criminals like her father.
"Maybe we can buy the loyalty of one of the guards. If we manage to get Alicio out of prison, we'll know if Leonardo is there. And he can run away with his mother and sisters and Fatima."
"It's too late, Barbara. The Auto de Fé will be held tomorrow. But I think we can at least give some money to Alicio's family. What do you think? You are carrying some of your father's belonging, aren't you?"
Barbara thought for a moment. Based on everything Vidal had told her, it was the least she could do. Without thinking, she walked over to one of the chests and took out the leather purse that was hidden under her clothes. She shoved her hand inside and pulled out a handful of diamonds which she dumped into Vidal's outstretched hand.
"Will that do?"
"My God, Barbara. How many of these diamonds do you have in there?"
"Enough to give us a life far away from here," she closed the purse without letting Vidal look inside. "Take it to them. Go! Go Vidal, I need to be alone."
Vidal went to Fatima. But he couldn't stop thinking about the bag of diamonds.
Vidal returned in the early hours and found Barbara awake. She ran and hugged him.
"Why did you take so long? I thought you had been recognized and taken to jail also! If that were true, what would I do?"
"I had no way of warning you. I went to Fatima and gave her the diamonds. We talked about what should be done next. We decided it would be best if she left the city in the middle of the night. Fatima had to convince her aunt and her cousins that nothing more could be done and the best would be for them to flee. The worst was with Alicio's mother. She wanted to at least say good bye to her son. But they won't be able to get close to him and will certainly be attacked by the mob. In the end, she was convinced. Then I had to find someone who would face the danger by accompanying them."
"And did you?"
"Yes, I did. The only person that I know and that is not in jail is the tavern owner."
"What a surprise. So you are a drunkard!"
"Don't be silly, Barbara. Let me continue. I went to him and asked for his help. He managed to get a cart and asked his brother to take them away during the night. I accompanied them to the city's gate. I then returned to thank Juvenal, the tavern owner."
"Yes, and you drank wine. I can smell it. Where will they go now."
"Yes, I did drink. They cannot stay in Portugal nor in Spain where the inquisitors can reach them. They would be persecuted in any of these places. In Rome, things are not so dire. They will go to Italy or France. They will decide on the way there. Poor souls!"
"While I was here, no inquisition trial took place so I asked Juvenal to keep me up to date regarding the ceremony. We need to know if Leonardo is or not among them."
"And how will we do that?" said Barbara.
"How will I do it, you mean."
"But you don't know him. I need to go too."
Vidal stopped for a moment and looked into her eyes. He didn't want her to leave the ship, but she was right. There was no way for them to know for sure if she didn't see the prisoners herself to confirm if Leonardo was among them.
"Yes, you are right. Well, the Auto da Fé will be held in a square close to the São Domingos convent. I went there. Everything is ready. A series of stands have been set up. I also went to Alfama."
"What is that?"
"Where they burn the convicted men on the east side of the city."
"And what did you see there? Any preparation? Will anyone die by flame?"
Vidal sighed and took a few steps away from Barbara.
"I saw three posts with wooden logs at their base. Three people will be executed tomorrow. I pray that one of them is not Alicio. He doesn't deserve this end but the alternatives are bad too."
"What about the others, what will become of them?"
"Well, from what Juvenal told me, they may be banished. They may have to go to a city far away from here for a few years or they may be sentenced to hard labor. It depends on the verdict of the inquisitors."
"What is this hard labor? What does it involve."
"Rowing boats. Pestilent environments with no ventilation. They say it is as hot as hell in there. They will patrol our coast and sail around the Mediterranean. But it is a life that few escape from. There is no decent food and the physical aggression is constant. They are all chained to the oars with iron rings. They cannot stand and have to evacuate where they sit."
"That’s horrible, Vidal!"
"Yes, horrible. I hope Alicio is lucky enough to be banished to Brazil or to another colony. A life of hard labor is only not worse than the fire."
"Fire is brutal. Why don't they simply kill them with a knife? How does the church justify its role in this? That of killers!"
"No, the punishments are not applied by the church but by the government. As for that type of death, it is a representation of what they will encounter in hell. If they ask for mercy, however, they may be strangled with a garrote before the fire.”
"How civilized! What should we do?"
"We will go to the convent. As soon as we are sure that Leonardo is among them, we will return to the ship. I am afraid of being recognized."
"Well then it is better if you don't go. I will go alone," stated Barbara.
"No, it is dangerous! What if the archbishop recognizes you?" questioned Vidal.
"I need to find a disguise. I will go with a veil over my face, no one will be able to see my face.”
"I don't like this, Barbara. In the morning I will speak to the captain so that someone accompanies you.
"No, no Vidal!" countered Barbara. "We don't know him well enough. What if he thinks we're behaving strangely? He may give us away and then who will be forced into labor, or worse, will be you? And I'll be back in the hands of the archbishop. No, we will do it my way. I go, you stay."
Vidal gave in. She was right, he knew it. He needed to follow her plan but he was not entirely convinced.
"We will do the following, I will stay at the tavern with Juvenal, he can arrange for someone to accompany you or he will go himself. After all, he knows of my involvement."
"Do you trust this man?"
"I don't have anyone else I can trust! It will have to be him.”
