The Countess Of Assis - Romance, revenge and ambition during the Second Reign

by PAULO FOSCHI, JOÃO; Sobrinho, Vanusa;

  “My son is dead! My son is dead!”

  She left the bedroom, running through the hallway with her long white nightgown stained with blood and the milk, which was gushing from her overflowing breasts, while the residues of the delivery were running down in between her legs. Her long jet-black hair, which came all the way past her waist, was disheveled and loose, intensifying even more her appearance of madness. It was necessary for Atílio and Mrs. Diná to intervene. It is very sad to see this young lady’s state, the midwife thought.

  During the night, while some of the older ladies were mourning the little angel on the sitting room, Lorena came down to join them, still torn up by her son’s death. Atílio approached her, sitting her on an armchair. When the little one had already been prayed for to God and everybody else had retired, the desolated mother preferred to remain a little longer by the coffin, mumbling a prayer.

  The husband, solemn, pointed to the coffin and said to her:

  “I did all I could to help this child live.”

  “Hermano!” she said.

  “What did you say?”

  “I wanted his name to be Hermano. This is the name I had chosen, in case it was a boy.”

  “Lorena, I really ask that you believe in me.”

  “I do believe in you”, she said, eyeing him.

  “But now it is necessary to forget what happened here in this place. I got married to you even though I knew you were pregnant, but this child is not mine and you are my wife.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I want you to solemnly swear that you will never talk about this child again. When we return to Court, we will give our friends the due explanation, and after that, it is finished!”

  “That’s all right, I swear.”

  “Do you swear by your dead son? I did my part. If he had been born alive, I would love him as if he was my own, but once he is dead, I feel completely free from having to preserve this memory. We are not to inform society about the birth of this child. We will now have our own children.”

  “You say it as if I should accept your version of the story.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Saying things like that, who would assure me that you didn't kill him?” Lorena asked, challenging him.

  “How can you say something like that? Have I not given you enough proof of my love for you?” Atílio was now visibly outraged.

  “Murderer! You killed my son! Why did you do that with someone innocent?” Lorena rushed towards him, trying to beat him.

  “You are crazy! Was I not the one who accepted you dishonored?” he detained her with his hands, furious. “Was I not the one who covered up for your lack of modesty in front of your parents, giving yourself to a deceiver who was not even your husband, and who didn't even want to marry you? After all I did for you, do you still think I deserve to hear that from your mouth? Have you already forgotten all the insults that I had to hear from my mother because of you? While she accused you, I was the one who defended you!”

  Lorena shut up. A knot in her throat prevented her from screaming from the pain.

  “I understand that you wished this child was alive, but nature didn’t allow it to be, you must be patient! You are not the first or the last person to lose a child! And it is better for you to accept it once and for all!”

  “All right, Atílio! I swear by the memory of my dead son that I will never again talk about this to anyone.”

  And after pronouncing the said oath, she cried copiously and bitterly.

  Chapter XX

  There was nothing more magnificent in the Laranjeiras neighborhood than the Guanabara Palace, located in the street that carried the same name. However, it had been several years since the building had been renamed Isabel Palace. Your Imperial Highness, after a remodel of the building, had decided to live there with her family and enjoy the majestic view that could be seen from there. Also very impressive were the hundreds of imperial palm trees planted there, for being one of the entrances to the palace, through Paissandu Street.

  In one of these rare occasions when Your Imperial Highness, princess Isabel, decided to host a party for some of her friends and acquaintances, being them her cohorts or not, she organized a grand ball with the goal of fundraising money for the abolitionist campaign of 1887. The first homage in support of this cause had happened in the Municipal Palace of the capital in the morning, where some slaves received their manumission letters, which came from her hands. Even though some were saying that this was just an act to gain the trust of those in favor of the end of slavery, the fact is that the future empress was very dear in the eyes of the great class of unfavorable people. On the other hand, there were some of her subjects that honored the daughter of the old emperor with sincerity. And, among those, we will find the Santiago family as one of the families the princess loved the most.

  After sundown, the ballroom started. That palace, until then marked by sobriety, became lively and gallant, especially prepared to enchant all those who entered it. The guests were served the traditional Chateau Margaux and Roederer with real sophisticated crystal glasses, which deserved the highest of compliments. At the banquet table, the main dish was served — pheasant with truffles and cauliflower —, having as dessert, portions of a delicate vanilla parfait. In the main hall, some of the older ladies and gentlemen were enjoying watching the energy of the younger crowd while the orchestra executed the most popular pieces of the season, and the guests exclaimed with awe: “How much happiness!” Even some of the foreign diplomats had come to congratulate with the Count D’Eu and his wife, as a gesture of respect and courtesy to the future leader of the country.

  The dance floor was packed in that majestic hall. The rustle and bustle of the skirts of many different styles, colors and tones filled the whole atmosphere. In the place, there was an expensive aroma that involved the noble and lofty air; also, the smoke produced by the fine Cuban cigars mixed itself with the sandal and mauve aroma in fashion at that time. They talked about the usual amenities: their trips to Europe, the sudden changes in climate and other topics of political issues were the common topics of conversation.

  Among the guests, we will find well-settled in the crowd, General Figueiredo and Mrs. Leonor at their table, and their daughter, accompanied by her husband Rafael, at another. A man of about forty years old whose name was Tarcísio Beltrão, a famous journalist in Rio de Janeiro, approached the militant’s family and didn't save another comment about the beauty of the event.

  “Good times are these, my dear General Figueiredo!” he exclaimed, calling his attention. “We haven’t see an event such as this for more than a decade! Isn’t the Court in its most triumphant days?”

  “My dear Mr. Tarcísio, I would say that they are almost as good as the days of my youth!” the old militant answered, smiling widely.

  “Oh, dad!” Carolina said, smiling. “Based on what mom says, I assure you that today is much better!”

  “Don't criticize your father!” Rafael answered, making a joke. “I imagine that my father-in-law hasn’t enjoyed balls such as this, with polkas, waltzes and women so beautiful and elegant such as my wife!”

  Carolina laughed heartily hearing her husband’s joke.

  “Stop talking so much, my husband, and fulfill another of my wishes!”

  “Of course, my lady? I’m here to fulfill all your wishes!” Rafael said, in a gallant tone.

  “I want you to take me to dance!” She said, extending her arm to him. “I want to grow wings tonight so that I may feel my feet on the ground no more!”

  Rafael took her by the hand and off they went towards the other couples, to participate in the next square dance. While they danced, suddenly, there was an announcement that Your Imperial Highness had arrived. Everybody got up to greet her, curving in a sign of reverence.

  Princess Isabel entered the saloon, accompanied by D. Gastão and some of the ladies closest to her. She thanked everybody’s presence and asked the guests
to have a good time that night. After, talking to the ladies who were following her, she called a name, which was very dear to her.

  “Lorena?”

  “Yes?” she answered, approaching the princess.

  “Thank you for organizing this beautiful ball. I am extremely satisfied!”

  “It was an honor to be able to do it, Highness!” the lady answered, curving once more.

  “Atílio is a lucky man! Congratulations, my dear!” Gastão spoke up.

  “You can go. Have fun in the ball you organized. The night is yours!” the princess declared, smiling to her.

  And so Lorena mingled with the crowd through several of the halls of the palace. The guests looked at each other and tried to know who was the charming lady who accompanied Lady Isabel. The seducing white gown with crinoline and bustles, and details of scarlet satin, made her figure even more breathtaking. Who had seen her until a while back, would not have recognized her as a simple businessman’s daughter of the bourgeoisie. Many transformations had taken place in that woman during the last months, but it was not the name Lorena Santiago that prevailed, but the noble title that she carried with her.

  The Countess of Assis paraded through the halls, waving with one hand to some of her acquaintances greeting her, while with the other hand, she carried the elegant fan embedded with precious stones. She had become an idol in the Court, and there was already talk, through the grapevine, about how she had managed to ascend so quickly. The nobility had exactly these things: curiosity to know where she was from and what she had done to get there, so close to the heirs to the imperial throne.

  Lorena had just entered another hall of the building, when swiftly someone took her by the waist and started to talk quietly on her ear.

  “I really missed you, cara mia!”

  It was Atílio. Loving and gentle as he had always been. Lorena admired the elegance of her husband’s gestures. His aisance... Time had been generous to him, for it had given him two precious virtues for a man in his position: beauty and elegance. Even though he was past his thirty years of age, he preserved with him an innocent aura of the last romantic ones, so much so that the bitterness and irony typical of this age weren’t yet noticeable.

  “I preferred to spend the night in the palace to finalize all the preparations. I hope you didn’t get mad with me, after all, the nation needed my help!” she justified herself jokingly.

  The husband smiled with the tone of her wordplay.

  “I don’t worry, after all, Fanny is accompanying you and this way it makes me more at ease.”

  Fanny was the governess of Atílio and Lorena’s house.

  “Oh, so do you mean you don’t trust me?” she questioned, smiling.

  “Of course I do, my dear! But I cannot say the same about the others!” Atílio answered, kissing her hand.

  “Look who we have here!”

  It was Miguelita, who was approaching, accompanied by her husband, to greet them.

  “Lorena, it has been a while! For a moment I thought we weren’t going to see you anymore! You have been so full of commitments that you don't even have time for friends anymore.”

  “Commander Galvão, pleasure to see you again!” Lorena, said, extending her arm for the ritual of the kissing hand.

  “How pretty you are, child! Now you became a true lady of our distinct society... If I am not been unfortunate in my comment!”

  “On the contrary, commander! It makes me happy that you have seen such a great transformation in myself, but I hope that these changes have not altered the old virtues, for I know very well how demanding a gentleman you are!” she answered, fanning herself and exhibiting a large smile of satisfaction.

  “Wise words, Lorena!” Miguelita agreed, impressed. “But I had already commented with Sófocles about how perfect a lady you would be when you found the right man, and I see that you already found him!”

  “Thank you for the kind words, Mrs. Miguelita! And rest assured we will be there for the next soirée!” Atílio confirmed.

  “And we will be pleased to host such a dear couple.” The commander responded, saying his goodbyes.

  Barely some more steps further and Lorena met exactly the person she wished to see the least — Adelaide! She was Atílio’s deplorable cousin. Besides being disagreeable and jealous, cousin Adelaide loved to brag about being a worldly and refined woman. She was exchanging some words with Carolina and Rafael when they crossed path.

  “Well, well, well but look who decided to join the humble commoners!” Carolina said mischievously.

  “I didn’t know that my friend, of such a respected family, would have any reason to feel like a plebeian”, she answered haughtily.

  “Most certainly not! I have never felt myself inferior. I simply think that someone could have forgotten about that...”

  Lorena pretended she didn't hear such an odd comment and turned to the other lady who was already waiting to greet her.

  “How do you do, Adelaide?” The Countess of Assis asked, with a fake smile.

  “I’m very well, thank you! And from what I can see, you are enjoying a very comfortable situation in company of the Imperial Family.”

  “Oh, please! It is no big deal! I was simply called in to help out in this event for the abolitionist campaign, but, in a way, I’m not even in favor of the end of slavery.”

  “Oh, really?” Adelaide asked her, surprised. “And how do you manage to stay neutral in the middle of a campaign such as this?”

  “I just don’t want to get involved in these issues”, she answered, shrugging. “My interests are of another order. Your Highness is a public woman and future empress, while I am simply a woman who lives for her house and her husband.”

  “Lorena does not commit to anything that I disapprove, and it is not required to do it”, Atílio completed, proud of his wife.

  Lorena looked at Rafael, who until now was treating her with detachment. However, her approximation had affected, and a lot, the tranquility of Carolina’s husband. The woman who was in front of him was completely different. It was not the same one he had met months before. The young lady that he had rejected before now had a different posture —firm and uninhibited. Lorena had developed a personality of a centered and, why not to say, mature woman. Her marriage had done her good, for now she had become restrained and austere. The elegance had possessed that woman, which now was considered like deity by other gentlemen, being called the Carioca Venus[44]. Truly, there was no mistake in regard to her consecration as the new queen of the balls and halls of Rio de Janeiro. And not even Rafael Abrantes, with all his indifference, could avoid noticing that. There he was before the new deity entitled Countess of Assis.

  “Certainly so! The most important thing is to know how to get along with everybody despite the differences. And to think that, some time ago, I would never have imagined that I would be attending saloons such as this... I even commented that with the princess moments ago.”

  “I didn’t know that the Countess of Assis now was a close friend of the princess...” Carolina commented, surprised by the honor with which Lorena was treated by the emperor’s daughter.

  “I am not! Of course I enjoy some privileges for being a countess, but that does not mean intimacy...” and turning to Rafael, she asked him sarcastically: “Intimacy means to be an accomplice, don’t you agree, Mr. Abrantes?”

  He wasn't expecting a question like that, so much so that he stammered, without knowing what to say in order to avoid compromising himself with Carolina.

  Atílio, taking advantage of the moment, pronounced his true intention, taking Lorena by the arm in order to go dancing.

  “Now if the gentleman and the ladies will excuse me, I’ve been wishing to participate in a square dance with my wife.”

  “Please have fun!” she completed, dissimulated. “This event was prepared especially for you, as I was asked by Your Highness.”

  And the two left them to dance a waltz that was already being announced.


  Meanwhile, another couple approached the Abrantes family. It was Alma and Donato.

  “Cousin, you just missed Atílio. He just left with Lorena to dance.”

  “How have you been, Adelaide?” Alma greeted her politely. “And uncle Frederico, how is he?”

  “Father is doing very well. But he preferred not to leave the house tonight, once he had already sent his greetings to the princess.”

  “I’m glad to know. Mother also does not want to do with parties anymore. She says that, at her age, her good times are masses and prayers; or, that she prefers to visit relatives and friends.”

  “Aren’t you going to play something for us tonight, my dear?” Mrs. Leonor asked, approaching her.

  “I am not sure, only if the princess call me...” Alma responded, who, looking at her husband tenderly, asked him almost in tone of who is begging: “Shall we go dancing, as well, Mr. Donato?!”

  “Forgive me, but I don't feel that well. It would be better if you looked for another gentleman more excited by the sound of the music... Rafael, for example! I believe that he wouldn’t mind dancing a song with you...”

  “Of course not! It would be my pleasure, my lady!” he volunteered himself.

  Alma, however, realized that her husband had been insensitive in not taking in consideration a possible disapproval of Rafael’s wife.

  “Mr. Donato, please! ...Forgive me, Carolina! I wouldn't accept to dance this next song without your approval...” she apologized, embarrassed.

  “No need to apologize!” Carolina calmed her down. “I’m ok here, in a good conversation with Adelaide. You two can go dancing!”

  And so it was, during that square dance, that the gaze of Lorena and Rafael crossed each other. Nonetheless, the insistence of those stares became something dangerous, for someone very attentive was observing them from afar. During the exchange of pairs, Rafael became a hostage of the beauty and spell of the woman he had rejected months prior. Carolina’s husband, for a few minutes, forgot about the real world around him and that, after the dance was over, it would once more separate him from the lady with an angelical face and impetuous soul.