Francisca Page #4

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Soldiers were hungry and were

wearing the white shoes

they stole from

S da Bandeira's uniform.

I entered a hostel and just as I

was making myself comfotable

with a fire made of old cork oak,

while waiting for a chicken and a ham

cooked in an iron pot,

Antnio Rangel,

MacDonnel's lieutenant,

called me from the door:

"Either you are a deserter or you are

coming with us right away.

Bring the chicken if you want to".

It would be wise to retreat, but I took

the chicken. I ate it with everyone

in the ridge's ravines,

which were covered with snow.

Only when we reached Saborosa

did we have a long break.

The General Staff took refuge

in the Pensalves Mansion.

Pieces of linen were falling over my

head, from a stretcher

where an old woman was spinning.

The wind hit the shutters

as if it were a human hand,

and I fell into a deep sleep

in the kitchen's warmth. At dawn,

the general ordered us to gather.

I was sixteen, and was

taken by the idea

to follow MacDonnell

until death.

I know the rest. Farewell, Negro.

Take the chicken, take MacDonnell

and whatever you want to.

And let me stay here.

Just tell me one thing:

Where was the general?

- What general?

- General Santiago,

That Spaniard that women

loved so much.

- MacDonnell had demoted him.

- Life is cruel!

I was jealous of him!

Men like those

rob us of our self-respect.

He could speak to women like

nobody else. What a tone!

What a look! What a moustache!

- He married a noble lady

who had been the lover

of Dom Miguel.

He was the only one who

sacrificed everything for the cause.

Look. There is the stupid

city of Coimbra.

I wish to have a honest notion

of my ignorance;

that's why I didn't graduate.

The revolution of "Maria da Fonte"

saved me.

Goodbye.

I miss my Spanish cloak

Listen, don't tell this

to anyone.

I don't like being

under the spotlight.

When he left Coimbra, he did not

come back to Vilar de Paraso.

He returned to Oporto. Until Jos

Augusto came to his door, and

not waiting for an answer,

entered the house with his horse.

I was thrown out

of Paraso.

And Eva... did she stay?

It was Eva who threw me out.

We had a serious conversation.

Tell me. I have ten minutes

for a serious conversation.

And then I'm going to write a

theatre chronicle, or even worse.

- Tell me.

- An unbearable intrigue

took over the Owen house.

Maria reproached me.

She accused me of being cold.

And the colonel, I think he wrote

from Lisbon demanding an explanation.

Well, the atmosphere

grew tense and full of suspicion.

- Was there any talk about marriage?

- No. And I wouldn't allow it.

You know how I am

when someone imposes conditions.

Even Maria never discussed

that subject with me.

- And Fanny?

- What about Fanny?

How does she see this? What does

she do in the middle of all that?

- Fanny is an angel.

- Of course she is.

But isn't your constant presence

a form of compromise?

I don't think so. In any case,

I never asked for Maria's hand.

If I had done it,

I would keep my word,

even if I had to shoot myself in

the head on the wedding day.

If there ever is any misunderstanding,

I will retreat, honestly.

That sounds wise.

Next day, Jos Augusto returned

and took his horse to the living room,

indifferent to the

landlady's reproaches.

Stop! Stop! This

is no place for a horse!

There is no better way to evaluate

the robustness of a house

than to park

a horse in the living room.

Damn you! I told you, this is

no place for a horse!

Horses grow nervous

when the floor

creaks or vibrates too much.

You can sleep peacefully.

This place is safe.

Here goes the deepest and most

well-kept secret of my life:

I love Fanny.

I am not surprised. That's why you

wanted to kill me some time ago.

- What about her? Does she love you?

- Necessarily.

No one falls in love like this

without knowing that he's loved.

You don't tell me!

I know one hundred and twenty

cases that are an exception,

to put it like that!

But how am I to enter

Paraso again?

Through the door of honor,

if that's the one by which you left.

The heart's honor cannot be

measured by a common pattern.

Try to understand the situation.

Maria believes she was abandoned;

she will believe she was betrayed.

Projects which are born in passion

widen the reach of our ideas.

I recall that you

told me this,

up there, in Lodeiro.

Think about it and decide.

- I can't give you any advice.

- I'll write to Fanny.

Camilo left Oporto.

Fanny replied to Jos Augusto,

treating him like a brother and

forbidding him to talk about love.

He cried and fell

into great despair.

When Camilo returned, he met

with a very distinct situation.

Jos Augusto was loved by Fanny.

Camilo had gone to visit

a friendly family,

in the Lugar da Rasa, in Gaia,

where he met Jos Augusto.

- Will you ask for her hand now?

- I will abduct her.

- That is an useless scandal.

- Useless or not, that's what I will do.

I had two alcoves in a boat

furnished.

I'll take her up the river to Lodeiro

and then we'll marry in my chapel.

I have nothing else to say.

- Reconsider it!

- It will happen today.

- What?

- The escape.

- Think it over, wait a few days.

- Impossible. She is waiting.

I will write to her;

she will understand.

She will understand.

- Don't write to her, it's too late.

Then go.

Your youth ends here.

Within one hour you will be

the most unfortunate of men.

Wait! Save yourself,

there's still time.

Do not worry.

Men are never unhappy.

What is a man, for God's sake?

What is a man?

The abduction.

- Are you hurt?

- No, no, I'm fine.

- Where are we?

- I don't know, I don't know.

Let me take some rest here.

We should continue.

Continue?

We're lost.

I don't know where the river is,

nor the road.

- Do you regret this, Fanny?

- No, I don't.

We will continue when there is light.

Soon the day will break.

These are your letters.

Wait, Jos Augusto.

Let's see if this horse

also flees.

It's the fisherwomen.

I will ask them where we are.

It frightens him that people will notice

that he's in a difficult situation.

This is Vilar de Andorinho.

Nearby is the Soeime farmstead,

owned by Jos de Melo.

I will call for help.

- Don't leave me here.

- I won't.

But you can't walk

much further.

Don't leave me alone

Paddle.

There is land.

Paddle.

There is land.

Paddle.

Paddle.

What is a honest person?

Paddle.

- Did I sleep?

- Just a little.

Paddle.

Paddle.

There is land.

Paddle.

He'll kill you, Fanny.

He'll kill you.

Your love is made of things

that don't belong to you.

It is made of my desire, my joy,

my sorrow.

I have given you a soul and, with it,

everything that a soul can do.

I can wrap my soul in my shadow

and take it with me.

What will become of you two then?

Do you think you are a god?

No, I'm not a god. I'm ugly, scrawny

and my eyes are diseased.

Nor do I need anything

from you two.

I exist spontaneously.

Life does not disconcert me,

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