Then the seals were broken and the parchments read and I was put in full possession of the dead man's wealth, and having deducted such sums as were payable for dues, legacies, and fees, the notaries left me bowing humbly, for was I not rich?
Yes, I was rich, wealth had come to me without effort, and I had reason to desire it, yet this was the saddest night that I had passed since I set foot in Spain, for my mind was filled with doubts and sorrow, and moreover my loneliness got a hold of me.

But sad as it might be, it was destined to seem yet more sorrowful before the morning.

For as I sat making pretence to eat, a servant came to me saying that a woman waited in the outer room who had asked to see his late master.
Guessing that this was some client who had not heard of Fonseca's death I was about to order that she should be dismissed, then bethought me that I might be of service to her or at the least forget some of my own trouble in listening to hers.

So I bade him bring her in.

Presently she came, a tall woman wrapped in a dark cloak that hid her face.