Secrets & Mysteries of the Sephardim

“How interesting this all is, Momma,” the infanta said.” You have revealed so many new and exciting things. I would be glad if you could help me put it all into practice.”

“I will try to explain all this to you in general terms, my precious,” Isabella said.

Remember, no one can teach you how to behave in any situation. Only your feelings and intuition can tell you how to act. Don’t be afraid of that. You have inherited these innate qualities from me, your father, your grandparents, and your ancestors. You are of royal blood. We gave you an excellent education. You already have everything in you that you can use in any situation. However, your father and I may not always be by your side and cannot always help you with our advice. But you don't need us. Listen to your heart, and it will tell you the right path.”

The duchess continued: “We are sending you to the Duchy of Burgundy to your and Afonso's beloved aunt, the Duchess Isabella of Burgundy. She has invited us to her son Charles’ fifth wedding anniversary, but we have decided to send just the two of you. You will have plenty of time to spend together while sailing on the ship, and then you will have a journey in a carriage to Burgundy. We will inform her in advance so she can create the right conditions for you to make your feelings emerge and flourish. The rest will be up to you.”

“How interesting and romantic this whole thing is, Momma,” the infanta replied. “I am grateful for your concern and trust in me. I am also grateful for your advice. And, from the bottom of my heart, I agree to all your instructions and will do my best to make everything come true.”

“That's wonderful, my child,” the duchess said. “I am sure you will do well with our blessing and the Almighty's help. Now, let me leave you. And remember, Isabella, our conversation must remain a secret. Do not tell anyone – not your brothers, sisters, friends, or future children. It is our secret. We will formally inform Afonso and everyone about your upcoming journey tomorrow after matins at the family breakfast.”

The duchess stood up, approached her daughter, took her by the elbows, and said goodbye. “From today, sweetheart, a new chapter in your story begins, and remember, you are the sculptor of your fate. Bless you, and God be with you.”

After kissing her, the duchess headed for the door and added: “I will go prepare for this God-blessed voyage.”

The next day, after matins, the royal family gathered as usual in the breakfast hall. As planned, Duke Pedro announced the invitation his sister gave to them to go to the Duchy of Burgundy.

“The Royal Council has approved this trip,” he said reassuringly. “It is essential for our nation to maintain kinship ties with the rulers of those nations who will be happy to lend a hand in times of need. In the same way, friendly relations between countries lead to better trade relations, which improves the country’s welfare.

“However, the present political situation in our country is precarious,” the duke explained. “So we have decided to remain here. In our place, we have chosen Afonso and Isabella to represent us. They will stay with my sister for a few weeks, and will return to the palace after this celebration. You will have a wonderful voyage by ship. Your aunt will also take you to some fabulously beautiful places in Burgundy. You have been within the walls of this palace for a long time, and we hope that this journey will enable you to see the world in more varied and vivid colors.

“What do you say, Afonso and Isabella?”

“I've always dreamed of traveling to different countries,” Afonso exclaimed excitedly. “Even in my dreams, I often see myself as either a sailor or a noble knight performing valiant feats. I am very grateful to you, uncle, and to you, aunt, for your care. You always think of things to do for me to make me feel more satisfied.”

“I am delighted to have such a wonderful journey and will be glad to visit my aunt,” said Isabella meekly. “Thank you, father and mother. I am used to being near you, so it is frightening to know that you will be far away from me.”

“Isabella!” exclaimed the duchess. “You will not be alone. By stating his innermost dreams, Afonso has revealed that he is like a valiant knight in the depths of his heart. He will always care for you and not let anyone hurt you on water or land. Isn't that so, Afonso?”

“Oh, Isabella,” said Afonso.

His voice had pathos in it.

“You don't have to worry about your safety. You have nothing to fear. I am perfectly capable of handling a weapon. Please, uncle, let me take with me not an instructional sword but a real one so I can protect the infanta from ill-wishers.”

“Of course, Afonso,” Pedro answered assuringly. “It is always prudent to take the best weapons on long journeys. You can choose any weapon from the king's arsenal.

“And, for you, my Isabella,” Pedro continued, “I will also be reassured. I will remember that next to you is the son of a hero of Portugal, my brother, King Edward I, who showed himself as an incomparable navigator and an unsurpassed hero in the African wars. Afonso’s son is his blood, so he sees what is destined to happen to him even in his dreams.”

The duchess joined the conversation. “Your cousin, my dear Isabella, is as noble and brave as his father. We would not send you if we were not sure that you would be in safe hands.”

“Thank you, uncle and aunt, for your kind, faithful words about my father and me,” said Afonso proudly, with a twinkle in his eye.

After breakfast, Fernando, overjoyed to hear of Afonso's departure from the palace, went to his room in high spirits. He loved and respected his brother and had always trusted him, but deep down, he still feared that Afonso might become his potential love rival.

“Now, no one can stop me from winning Isabel's heart,” he thought as he walked to the table after he entered his room.

He carefully took the poems he had written the night before and reread them, kissing the place where the name “Isabel”’ was written. He took a quill and wrote on the back, “From your admirer.” Then he carefully rolled up the parchment with the verses, tied it with a scarlet string, and lightly applied floral oil to the edges of the parchment. He then headed to the part of the palace where Isabel's room was.

As he walked down the corridor that led to her room, Fernando slowed his pace. His heart was pounding. When he was sure the corridor was empty, he walked to Isabel’s door, tied the parchment to the doorknob, knocked on the door, and ran back down the corridor. He hid behind a column and listened. Soon, he heard the door open. Now Fernando could not only hear his heart beating, but he could feel an intense throbbing in his temples. Fernando heard the sound of the door closing, and he breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied with the thought that everything had gone as planned.

“Will she understand that the poems are from me?” Fernando thought as he went back to his room. “She couldn't help feeling that I was madly in love with her, although I tried not to show it outwardly,” he reasoned. “And how would she feel about that if she understood that?”

He entered his room, approached the mirror, imagined her in front of him, and said, “Isabel, may I reveal my feelings for you? When I saw you for the first time, my heart immediately told me that destiny had sent you to me. I fell in love with you at first sight. I dream of you day and night.

“So let me offer you my hand and heart,” he continued. “Let me become your suitor. If you are unsure of your feelings, I beg you not to refuse my request. Let me prove how strong my love is. I am sure you will experience the same feelings for me as I have for you in time.”

As he walked over to the bed, he lay down and imagined Isabel untying the parchment string and reading his poems. Then his head began to fill with other things, and his thoughts sweetly stirred until he dozed off, nestled against the pillow.

The ship on which Prince Afonso and infanta Isabella were to set out on their first sea voyage was outfitted in a matter of days.

In the palace, everything went on as usual. The duke and duchess began to feel anxious two weeks later, waiting to hear from their daughter, and dreaming and praying that their plans would come true.

Finally, the duchess received the long-awaited letter from Isabel, which said the following:

Hello, Momma.

For several days now, we have been sailing, admiring the vastness of the sea, the sea creatures and fish, the sea birds, and the beauties of the lands we observe as we sail along the coasts of many countries.

I am very grateful to you, Momma, for your instructions, and I always try to follow them when I have the opportunity. Afonso, unfortunately, is not affected by my passion. He spends more time on deck than in the cabin with me, admiring nature and talking at length with the ship's captain, listening to his tales of military adventures in which he once participated. He also engages tirelessly in sword fighting with the attendant you sent with us.

While trying to set his heart on fire, I suddenly discovered that I had fallen madly in love with him, and I no longer feel the same way about him as I had. I saw him as a real gentleman, and I couldn't think of anything or anyone but him. And this feeling has become painful because he does not see me as a senhorita.

The ship's captain said we would be docking at our destination tomorrow morning. As you instructed, I will give this letter to our escort. My only hope now is in my Aunt Isabella of Burgundy, whom you asked for help with our plans. I pray to the Almighty for help for our whole family and me.

Your devoted daughter,

Infanta Isabella.

Two months later, a second message was delivered to the palace. The Duchess of Burgundy sent her trusted man on a merchant ship to Portugal. As was commanded, he handed the letter to Duke Pedro and told him: “Your Highness! I am sailing back to the Duchy of Burgundy on one of the merchant ships in three days. If your Highness wishes to send Her Serene Highness a message, you may do so through me.” Pedro thanked the messenger and said he would give him a letter on the day he sailed.

After the messenger left, Pedro immediately sent a servant to fetch Duchess Isabella.

As soon as Isabella entered the duke's study, she immediately guessed from her husband's enthusiastic face that news had come from Burgundy.

She hurriedly approached his desk, and as she sat down, she noticed a rolled-up parchment with a wax seal in Pedro's hands.

“Oh, my darling! Oh, my Pedro! Oh, what I see!” Isabella began to exclaim in ecstatic laughter. “How kind of you not to have torn the wax and instead waited for me so we could hear the long-awaited news together. The letter, of course, was not sent by our daughter,” the duchess concluded with a sad note in her voice. “I see the seal of Burgundy stamped on the wax seal.”

“You are very observant, my keen Isabella,” Pedro remarked, tearing the sealing wax carefully from the parchment.

Unrolling the parchment, he began to read:

My dear brother, Pedro,

Forgive me for taking so long to send word. I did not want to disturb you until the ice between Afonso and Isabella broke.

As you asked me to, I created the most favorable conditions for my dear nephew and niece. They traveled together to the most romantic parts of Burgundy, riding through our forests and taking part in forest hunts. One day, at my instruction, the guards on the hunt fell behind the prince and infanta by staging a wild boar chase. This took place by the lake, where a chic, well-protected hut had been set up beforehand. As planned, the prince and infanta had to spend the night there. In the morning, my servants found them in the hut asleep in each other's arms. From that day on, it was obvious that an affair had begun between them.

And today, Isabella and Afonso confessed at our family breakfast that Afonso had given his heart to Isabella and proposed to her. Isabella accepted his proposal. I immediately hastened to inform you of this joyful news. So, my dear brother, your joke about handing me Cupid's arrow was not groundless. Strange as it may seem, the arrows of Cupid have not rusted in the hands of your half-century-old sister.

In a week, we will be celebrating my son Charles’ anniversary. And the day after the celebration, I will send Afonso and Isabella home. Charles has become very close to his cousins and has asked them to send him an invitation to their engagement.

A big kiss to all my sweet nephews and my admiration to your wonderful wife, Isabella, for giving her boundless affection and love to her children and the children of my late brother, Edward.

Your faithful and loving sister,

Isabella of Burgundy

“How kind of your sister to say thank you,” said the duchess, wiping tears from her eyes with a silk handkerchief. “I am so touched by her kindness and grateful for what she has done for us. We will surely have to invite your sister's entire family to Isabella and Afonso's engagement celebration.”

“That's right,” answered Pedro. “I intended to send our reply tomorrow. Along with deep gratitude to my sister, we should also invite my sister and her husband, Duke Philip the Good,34, and their entire family to the engagement ceremony. We need to have the ceremony immediately before Eleanor finds other ways to contact her sons.

“Tomorrow, I will call a royal council,” he continued. “After Afonso and Isabella return, we will decide which day will be appropriate to notify everyone of the engagement and have the Duke and Duchess of Burgundy and other distinguished guests arrive so we can have the ceremony as soon as possible.”

The news of the imminent engagement of Prince Afonso and infanta Isabella quickly spread throughout the palace. The court became unusually animated. All the courtiers were instructed to prepare for the celebration. Isabel Zarco also received an assignment directly from the duchess. She was to speed up Fernando's training so he, as Afonso's brother, would not fail at the ball, which was to be scheduled immediately after the betrothal ceremony.

The dance schedule was, therefore, changed, and Fernando was now required to attend daily classes in the morning and evening. This news made Fernando extremely happy. For now, he could be near Isabel daily. During the last few months, his inspiration had not ceased. Every evening, he wrote love poems. And, every week, he delivered his poetic creations the way he had the first time.

One day, after several days of intense dance classes, Fernando noticed that Isabel had a strange, pensive expression. Toward the end of the class, he asked, “Isabel, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, infante Fernando,” Isabel replied with perplexity. “You don't have to ask for my permission. Ask me if you need to ask something, and I am always ready to answer you.”

“Thank you, Isabel,” replied the infante. “I just wondered if it would be polite to ask such a question. You don’t look the same today as you usually do. I thought you might be overworked because of the frequent sessions with me. Tell me, and I will ask the duchess to reduce the number of lessons.”

“Oh, no, not at all, Your Highness!” Isabel answered anxiously. “You needn't ask the duchess to do that. She has not required me to give you extra lessons. I told her to add the extra lessons so we could finish what I had planned. And I don’t feel overworked at all. I think you have the wrong impression of the situation, infante Fernando. But thank you for your concern and attention,” Isabel said, curtsying gratefully.

“Isabel,” Fernando answered with inspiration. “It would be a great honor for me if I could somehow do you some favor. After all, I am so …” Fernando suddenly stammered and could not continue his thought.

“May I ask you something, infante Fernando?” Isabel asked, wanting to lead the conversation out of its impasse.

“I'm all ears, Isabel,” Fernando replied with a sigh of relief.

“One of your cousins told me you are multitalented and even write poetry. Is this true?”

“It must have been my cousin, Philippa, who told you that,” Fernando answered. “She always blurts out all my secrets.”

Suddenly, it occurred to Fernando that Isabel might be trying to find out who the author was of the poems she often found on her door. “Now, at last, the moment had come for me to reveal myself to Isabel,” Fernando thought. “And if I finally do it, I will be the happiest creature in the world if Isabel accepts my love.”

“Isabel!” Fernando began, preparing to voice out those speeches he had repeatedly rehearsed in front of the mirror. But, instead, he began to talk about something else. “Philippa is so imaginative. I told her I tried to write poetry. But it didn't work out. That was a long time ago.”

“Оh! So it’s not you,” Isabel exclaimed with a surprised and confused expression. “It's not you.” Just as Fernando had done the last time, Isabel stuttered before she could finish what she wanted to say.

“Not me what?” Fernando asked.

“Oh, no, no! That was just me. I was thinking about something and was speaking out loud. Forgive me, infante Fernando.”

After saying goodbye, Fernando scolded himself for his indecision and went to his room. “Where had my courage gone?” he reasoned. “I had always been confident until now. I had always won the training sword fights, not because of my skill but because I had a strong spirit. Not even my older brother nor my cousins have this. Why am I now a wimpy little coward?”

Fernando entered his room and looked at himself in the mirror with contempt. “Slug! Slob! Slob!” he shouted angrily, pointing at his reflection. “You are not worthy of a goddess like Isabel! And you are no hero or knight as you always imagined yourself to be! You're a wretched coward! That is what you are!” Fernando covered his face with shame and threw himself into bed, sobbing.

During the night, Fernando could not sleep a wink, feeling emotionally uncomfortable and experiencing mental pain and unbearable anguish. In the morning, he got out of bed, all broken up. He went to his desk and, with a distracted look, ran through the schedule of classes for the day:

French speech

Cartography

Latin speech

Star science

Knightly lessons: sword and lance techniques on a moving target

Dance techniques

He went to the mirror and stared at his reflection – a pale, frowning face with puffy eyelids and red eyes. “I have to pull myself together,” Fernando thought. “It’s a hard day, but I'm not used to giving up. I have to endure and not show anyone my weakness.”

The classes took Fernando's mind off the painful thoughts. But during the second to last lesson, Fernando felt a great physical weakness and slight dizziness. However, he decided to ignore it. Putting on his knight's armor, he got on his favorite horse, took a wooden spear, and galloped toward the moving target. Ten paces from the target, Fernando felt very dizzy. His eyes grew dim, the spear fell out of his hands, and he collapsed to the ground.

Fernando woke up in his room. The doctor was sitting on a chair by his bed to his left and was touching his elbow. On his right was the maid, waving a fan in his face. At his feet stood Philippa, and the rest of Fernando's cousins stood at the door.

“Oh, you are awake, Your Highness,” the doctor exclaimed. “I can see your face, which is already quite pink, is quite focused. Tell me, Your Highness, is anything troubling you? Do you feel dizzy or have pain anywhere in your joints?”

“No,” Fernando answered, trying to get out of bed.

“Oh, take your time, Your Highness. Let me examine you first.” He took Fernando's hands, gently lifted them, moved them to the side, and bent them at the elbows while gazing intently into his pupils. “Splendid! I can see from your eyes that your hands are not feeling any pain. Now gently bend your knees, Your Highness. Do you feel any pain at all? Now extend your legs and lift them. Splendid! Your bones are intact! Now sit down and turn your head. Do you feel dizzy?”

“A little,” Fernando answered.

“That's not good. Do you feel pain in your spine?”

“A little,” Fernando replied.

“And in the shoulder joints? Make circular motions with your arms at your bent elbows.”

“My shoulders don't hurt,” Fernando replied.

“Now, carefully get up from the bed. The servants will hold you up. Try to walk around the room and let me know if you feel pain in other places, such as your ribs, legs, etc.”

“No, it doesn't hurt anywhere else,” Fernando replied.

“Very well,” said the doctor. “You are fortunate, Your Highness, that you fell from your horse like that. Forgive me, Your Highness. I meant the fall might have been more unfortunate and could have had worse consequences. You will need rest today, and I will probably examine you again tomorrow to see if your condition has improved.

“I will prepare an herbal infusion for you to drink immediately after meals, three times a day, one tablespoon at a time. Now, Your Highness, drink this medicine,” said the doctor, pouring the liquid from the bottle into a glass of water. “This root tincture relieves the excitement of fright and will help you recover.”

“I wasn't afraid when I fell, doctor,” Fernando replied.

“This medicine is harmless. You will simply relax. All your muscles will relax, you will not feel pain in your spine, and you will soon recover, Your Highness. Please drink this. I think you will be completely well in two or three days.

“Actually, it might be better if I visit you again this evening. But if you do not feel well, ask for me at any time.”

Wishing the infante a speedy recovery, the doctor headed for the door and warned the infantes and infantas standing at the door that Fernando needed rest. Everyone also wished Fernando a speedy recovery and followed the doctor out. But Philippa stayed behind. The nurse was in the room by the window table, putting out the vials the doctor had left, and Philippa stood by the bed with her lips pursed in frustration. She was wiping tears from her eyes.

“I thought you were dead when they carried you down the corridor. I was frightened," Philippa said. “When the doctor said you fainted, I calmed down.”

“What did you think, Philippa,” Fernando said, smiling. “That I would die so foolishly? My destiny will be bright and meaningful. I will die in battle like a hero, and my death will not last long.”

“I don't want you to die at all,” Philippa said. “When you are an adult and go off to war, I will pray that you will survive and not die in any battles.”

“Thank you, Philippa. God will surely let me live for you if you pray from your heart.”

Philippa smiled and said, “Fernando, I will pray very hard. You will always be alive and with us.”

“Philippa, how long have I been unconscious?”

“Not long, Fernando. You came to your senses very quickly when they put you on the bed.”

“Оh! I have a dance class that should be starting soon! Could you let Isabel know that I won’t be attending today?”

“Of course! I’ll run and tell her. Otherwise, she’ll be worried. You know, Fernando, Isabel is the kindest and best senhorita in the palace. After you, I love her the best. She has a good heart, a pure soul, and the most beautiful eyes in the world.

“I'll run to her and come to you again tonight, OK?”

“Thank you, Philippa.”

When Philippa left, Fernando tried to remember everything that had happened until he fainted. Soon, he began to fall asleep. “The doctor's potion must be working,” Fernando thought as he closed his eyes.

After a while, he heard a knock at the door. He reluctantly opened his eyes and saw a nurse hurrying to the door. Behind the door, he heard Philippa’s voice. She was asking the nurse something.

“He’s asleep,” said the nurse.

“Who’s there? I haven't fallen asleep yet,” Fernando muttered faintly.

The nurse immediately moved away from the door, and Philippa’s head appeared in the doorway.

“Fernando, that’s me, Philippa. Isabel is here with me. Can she see you?”

“Who? Isabel?” Fernando asked once again, unable to believe his ears.