All he knew was that he lived a prisoner in a sumptuous palace, or as he suspected, for of this he could not be sure, since the arched windows of one side of the building were walled up, in the wing of a palace.

Nobody came near to him except the fair Inez, and a Moor who either was deaf or could understand nothing that he said to him in Spanish.

There were other women about, it is true, very pretty women all of them, who acted as servants, but none of these were allowed to approach him; he only saw them at a distance.
Therefore Inez was his sole companion, and with her he grew very intimate, to a certain extent, but no further.

On the occasion that has been described she had lifted a corner of her veil which hid her true self, but a long while passed before she enlarged her confidence.

The veil was kept down very close indeed.