In their interminable conversations, Julia encouraged Idolina to confide in her. At first she was reluctant; it was painful for the girl to recall her years of isolation. But to satisfy Julia’s curiosity, she spoke. Little by little her recollections, disjointed ramblings in which everything came out in a jumble, became bolder and more abundant. Childhood anecdotes, tiny details of her long enclosure, the fantasies of a silly girl. But when she mentioned her father’s death, Idolina’s voice took on an adult gravity.

“They killed him, she and my stepfather.”

“Dios mío! How horrible!”

Encouraged by Julia’s apparent credulity, Idolina’s imaginings took on the shape and consistency of truths. The girl succeeded in convincing herself that she had witnessed the crime and, what was more, that she had heard the criminals planning their exploit and congratulating each other on its success. La Alazana listened carefully, with well-timed gasps. And Idolina’s satisfaction at appearing before Julia as the protagonist of an extraordinary episode was great. That fact alone established a certain equality between the two of them which enabled the younger woman to give herself over wholeheartedly to the manifestations of a feeling that grew ever stronger and more absorbing.

“You won’t regret having trusted me,” Julia said once. “I’m not looking for anything but your happiness.”

“What is my happiness?” Idolina asked.

“You’re no different from anyone else, little one. Why do you keep pretending to be sick? The only thing you’ll achieve by that is for your mother and stepfather to get bored with the farce and put an end to it.”

Idolina smiled with a trace of bitterness.

“I’ve known that for a while now; they want to get rid of me, kill me, the same way they killed my father.”

“Don’t be an idiot, little one. As if it were so easy!”

“You don’t know them. They’re capable of anything.”

“But you don’t have your hands tied behind your back, and what’s more you’re not alone. We’ll defend ourselves.”

“How will we defend ourselves? My father couldn’t and he was a man.”

“They betrayed him. But you know what to expect from them, you’re already on guard.”

“I’m afraid, Julia,” Idolina whispered.

“Of who? Leonardo? He’s nothing but a big oaf.”

“And her?”

“In her own way she’s weak too. She says she loves you. Fool her, make her think you love her back; that way she’ll stay calm.”

“I’m afraid,” Idolina repeated, trembling. “I want to go away from here.”

“Me, too. We’re rotting away in Ciudad Real.”