My sisters, who were warmer to me since I prepared them chocolate and fought the neighbor “to defend Angélica’s honor,” invited me to partake in the festivities. That evening, the two of them were to perform in a theater with other musicians and poets. Directly after, they were invited to an exclusive party for the landowners of the region, Los Gran Cacao, as Martin had called them. Angélica was mortified at the thought that Don Fernando del Río might attend. “If he has decency left, he won’t show his face in public. Not after the scandal he caused here.”

My sisters looked radiant tonight, particularly Angélica. She wore a navy tunic with a turquoise sash draped around her waistline, the garment Catalina had sewn for her. A blue velvet turban hugged Angélica’s skull. She was so fashionable!

Catalina, on the other hand, wore one of her customary black dresses, but this one was made out of the finest silk. Hard as she tried, she couldn’t hide her generous behind, which I later noticed became the focal point of many male glances across town. Her hair was pinned up and held together with a satin wrap fixed in a bow. She was a natural beauty and didn’t need all the enhancements that Angélica used. Some might even consider Catalina lovelier than her sister.

Laurent joined us after much grooming. He was impeccable, as usual, in a white suit and brand-new leather slippers which, he bragged, had been brought from the Real Paris especially for him. As he spoke, he smoothed the nearly imperceptible wrinkles in his pants.

I wore one of Cristóbal’s nicest outfits: a three-piece gray suit that would certainly stand out among the light linen suits men wore in the region. Angélica commented that I ought to visit the tailor so he could make me a new wardrobe that would be more weather-appropriate. I nodded agreeably, but no human power would send me to the tailor. I knew all about the heat—the summers in Sevilla could be dreadful, too. In fact, there were lighter fabrics in Cristóbal’s trunk, but how would I explain to Angélica that I required several layers of clothing to conceal my breasts?