The Hacienda

As she and Rodolfo go upstairs to bed, Beatriz feels the presence of María Catalina grow stronger in the house. On the staircase, Beatriz sees a vision of a corpse covered in blood.

In the bedroom, Rodolfo tries to have sex with Beatriz. Even though she refuses, he does not stop until she tells him she is on her period. Surrounded by complete darkness, Beatriz has a nightmare about the night her father died. She wakes up to the sounds of doors slamming in the house and suddenly knows that she is about to die. She escapes the house, desperate to survive the night. Beatriz feels the darkness pressing in on her but sprints to the chapel, toward Andrés, who she knows will keep her safe.

Andrés wakes in the night and finds Beatriz in the chapel. He sees how terrified she is, so he holds her and comforts her like a child. Andrés knows his love for Beatriz is a sin, yet he does not feel guilty for loving her. Beatriz tells him she cannot go back to the house, so she decides to sleep in one of the pews. Andrés promises to wake her in the morning and take her back into the house before Rodolfo realizes she is gone. Beatriz tells him that she knows what Rodolfo did to his servants, and she believes that his evil nature keeps him from seeing the supernatural elements of the house. Andrés is glad that she knows the truth and tells her to sleep while he watches over her.

Andrés wakes Beatriz in the morning to take her back to the house. Beatriz tells him about the visions she had the night before. They know this means that María Catalina is getting stronger, and Andrés worries about Beatriz’s safety. Beatriz wonders if Rodolfo killed his wife because of the writing on the wall and the way things have changed since he returned. Andrés does not know who killed María but tells Beatriz that the angry nature of María Catalina’s spirit reflects how she acted in life.

Beatriz asks Andrés if he thinks María murdered Mariana. Andrés tells her that Mariana’s death was his fault because he was not there to protect her, but he does not know how she died. Andrés does not want to talk about his past and escorts her back to the house. Beatriz is nervous to go back inside, but she finds comfort in knowing that Andrés will be nearby if she needs him. Andrés is already walking back to the chapel when he hears Beatriz screaming from the house.

This chapter takes place in February 1821, two years earlier. Andrés has decided to help Mariana with her abortion. He gathers herbs and brings them to San Isidro for Paloma to give to Mariana. He instructs Paloma on how to prepare the herbs, but she asks him to write it down because she has trouble keeping track of the instructions. Andrés feels uneasy about this because it creates evidence, but Paloma convinces him that it is better than her confusing his instructions.

While he is writing everything down, María Catalina comes into the kitchen and reads over his shoulder. She realizes what they are doing and tells Andrés that he should stop encouraging her servants to sin, especially as a priest. Andrés tells her that he protects them because “they suffer so at the hands of their patrón” (264). Andrés’ insinuation about Rodolfo infuriates María, and she threatens to tell Padre Vicente about his satanic practices. Paloma grabs the papers with the instructions and throws them in the fire, destroying the evidence. María slaps her and banishes Andrés from the property. She tells him that if he ever comes back, she will hand Paloma over to the Inquisition. Andrés leaves, devastated that he will never be able to come back to San Isidro, his home.

Beatriz finds Rodolfo murdered in their bed. She waits outside her bedchamber while the local military officers, Andrés, and José Mendoza investigate. They call her back into the bedroom, and she sees Rodolfo’s body again. The murderer cut Rodolfo’s throat with a knife, and there is blood everywhere. She hallucinates that Rodolfo’s body speaks to her, and Paloma takes her out of the room before she faints.

Paloma sits with Beatriz while she recovers from her shock. Beatriz is convinced that María Catalina’s spirit killed Rodolfo. Beatriz asks Paloma what happened with Mariana’s death, and Paloma tells her about Andrés’s banishment. After Andrés left that day, María beat Paloma until she told her which servant was pregnant. A week later, María ordered Mariana to hang the candelabras from the ledge in the dining room, and she slipped and died. María Catalina was the only one in the room when it happened, and Paloma is sure that María Catalina pushed her.

As Beatriz listens, she realizes that the spirit of María Catalina would never kill Rodolfo because she killed for him when she was alive. Despite Rodolfo’s monstrosity, María Catalina cared for him. Beatriz realizes that the only person who would have wanted Rodolfo dead was Juana. Juana must have killed Rodolfo after he threatened to disown her because she does not want to lose her power at the hacienda. Juana must have killed María Catalina as well for getting in the way of her authority. As Beatriz puts this together, Juana walks in with the military officers and accuses Beatriz of killing her brother.

The authorities place Beatriz under house arrest after Juana’s accusation. Andrés, Paloma, and Mendoza sit in Mendoza’s room, debating what to do to help her. Andrés tells them that Beatriz could not have killed Rodolfo because she was with him all night. Yet, he knows that he cannot tell this to the authorities because it will ruin Beatriz’s reputation. Mendoza saw a woman, who was not Beatriz, running away from the house in the early morning, but he tells Andrés that no military authority will believe the word of a Mestizo over a Criolla’s word. Andrés tells them that Juana is not Rodolfo’s legitimate sister, and Paloma suggests that they use this information to extort her. Andrés volunteers to go into the house at night and find proof of Juana’s parentage in Old Solórzano’s study.