“We knew it was wrong.” She squeezed Cristóbal’s handkerchief. “We thought that once I moved to Guayaquil, we could end it. We didn’t see each other for weeks, but one day Alberto showed up at Don Tomás’s house. He said he couldn’t help it. He missed me too much. After that, he came to see me once a month.”

“What does he say about this . . . situation?” I asked.

“He goes back and forth.” She sniffed. “He used to say he loved me, he said he would take me away from here, to another town and start a new life where nobody knew us, but that has changed. When I told him that Don Tomás fired me because he discovered I was with child, Alberto said we should go to the curandera to see if she could”—she swallowed—“if she could do something about the child.”

“And did she?”

“No. He, we, changed our minds. He wouldn’t even go inside with me, he said it would be a mortal sin.”

This also explained why he was wearing his street clothes yesterday.

She covered her face with her hands. “This is all my fault. If only I hadn’t been so sick these last few weeks, Don Tomás wouldn’t have figured it out.”

“He would have, eventually. A pregnancy is not something you can hide forever.”

“But I would’ve had more time to save money.”

I could see why my brother had been so tempted by Mayra. She had a frailty about her that must be irresistible to men. Her wet eyelashes curled up stylishly and her lips were full and moist.

“What does Alberto want you to do now?”

“He asked me to give him some time. He promised he would make it right. He says he’ll get some money soon. An inheritance, or something like that, and then we can leave, but mister, I don’t know if I believe him anymore.” Tears gathered in her eyes again. “He’s said this before, but the money never comes and I can’t wait forever. I have to find a place to live, money to raise my child. This is why I came here, to see if my cousin would help me get a job here. She’s the only family I have around these lands. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come nowhere near Alberto’s family.”

“Does Julia know this is Alberto’s child?”

She pressed the handkerchief against her nose. “She promised she wouldn’t tell anyone, but I don’t know, she was so cross with me. She said I’ve ruined everything.”

Ruined everything?

“What does that mean?”

Mayra shrugged. “Señor, will you talk to Doña Angélica about me working here? Julia is so angry with me I doubt she’ll help me.”