Scene 38

Setting: Outside the Marto house

people:
Ti
Antonio
Olimpia
Lucia
Francisco
Joano
Jacinta

Sr. L: (offscreen) Needless to say, My uncle Ti was reprimanded severely for not bringing my cousins. Then the Administrator interrogated me fiercely in the presence of my father and uncle, and a few strangers. He was determined to make me reveal the secret and to promise him never again to return to the Cova da Iria. To achieve this, he spared neither promises nor threats. Seeing that he was getting nowhere, he let me go, promising to achieve his end, even if it meant taking my life.

(Olimpia, Jacinta, Joano M and Francisco wait by the door. After some time, the weary travelers return, they greet Ti, wave to Antonio and Lucia, and rejoice with much affection. Antonio walks off.)

Sr. L: (Without a pause) What made me suffer the most was the indifference shown to me by my parents. I was all the more obvious to me because I saw the affection Jacinta and Francisco received from my aunt and uncle.

(Lucia looks at them for a moment, sighs, and then runs after her father.)