The Last Song

dares to lift a finger to help us!”
    I paused for a moment. I knew what had to be said, but it was still difficult to utter the words. “I’ll talk to Luis. Soon, I will be his wife. He’ll ask his father to help us. Don Alfonso is powerful. The Inquisition will listen to him. Isn’t that why you and Papa want me to marry Luis?”
    “I can’t ask you to do that,” she said, standing up. She began to pace. “I told your father that we made a mistake. You detest the boy, and I don’t blame you. He is a graceless brute. I’ve long suspected that he may have informed on your father to the Inquisition.”
    “I do, too, Mama. But if he wants to, he could help Papa.”
    “I don’t want you to do that. I forbid you to ask him for help. You were right about him, Isabel. We did a terrible thing in promising you to him. And if he was the one who informed on Papa, we could be in more trouble by asking him for help.”
    “That doesn’t matter now, Mama. If he asks his father, and Don Alonso agrees to intercede with the Inquisition on Papa’s behalf, the sacrifice of marrying him is well worth it. We have no choice. We must seek Luis’s help if we want to see Papa again.”

    I wrote a note asking Luis to come to see me immediately, and then I rang for Yussuf. The Moor entered the dining hall with his head lowered and his eyes downcast. When he looked up, I saw that his eyes were red, as if he had been weeping.
    “Young mistress, I wish that I could do something to help you free Don Enrique. He is the kindest of masters.” Tears pooled in his eyes.
    I, too, felt like crying, but I told myself firmly that tears would not bring Papa home. I asked Yussuf to deliver the message to Luis’s lodgings. “Please tell Don Luis that I must talk to him.”
    He fell to his knees. “Young mistress, forgive me if I am speaking out of turn, but there is something that I must say to you.” He wrung his hands.
    “What is it?”
    “Please don’t hold against me what I am about to tell you.”
    “Of course I won’t.” I had to lean forward to hear him.
    “Young mistress, be careful when you talk to Don Luis. He is no friend of yours or of your father’s.”
    “Why do you say that, Yussuf?”
    “I’ve seen him drinking with the Inquisition’s familiars.”
    I motioned for him to stand up. “I know what youare telling me is the truth. You have proven your loyalty to my family over and over again in the past, and you have done so again today.”
    He struggled to his feet. “I would do anything to help Don Enrique.”
    “Then you will ask Don Luis to come and see me. I have no choice. I must talk to him. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
    He bowed and left the room.
    While he was gone, I patted my hair into place and pinched my cheeks to make them rosier. I sat down on a stool so that my blue velvet gown could be seen to full advantage. My hands were clasped together tightly to still their trembling as I plotted what I would say to Luis.
    After an hour, Yussuf returned. He announced Luis, who swaggered into the room. I stood up and curtsied deeply.
    “My lord …” I forced a smile.
    “You wanted to see me?” He came closer and towered above me, scowling, his legs wide apart.
    I took a deep breath. “I need your help. My papa …” I wiped my eyes. “If you would ask your respected father to intercede with the Inquisition on my father’s behalf, the Inquisitors might let my papa go.”
    He stepped even closer and bent toward me.I steeled myself not to flinch when I tasted his foul breath.
    “So, my lady, you aren’t so high and mighty now that you need my help?”
    I pressed my hand to my breast to still my racing heart. “My lord, I beseech you. Please help my father!”
    “Why should I? The holy Inquisition must have good reasons for questioning him.”
    “My papa is innocent.”
    “Of course you would say that. I have some advice for you. You should be more careful of the company you keep and the things you hide in your room if you don’t want to join your father at the stake.”
    I pretended that I couldn’t hear his mocking tone. I smiled and leaned toward him. “You should help me because we will marry soon,” I whispered, placing my fingers on his hand, which rested on his hip. I closed my eyes, waiting for his kiss.
    He flicked his fingers against my cheek. “Marry?” he asked. “We’ll see about that!”
    He turned on his heels and then he was gone.
    I was becoming more