Albornoz was awoken by the insistent crowing of the cockerel on the farm behind his house. He rinsed his face with water in the bowl on his washstand and cleaned his teeth with a linen cloth dipped into a white powder that their maid mixed up from sage leaves ground into salt crystals. When he had donned his tunic and pulled on his boots, he sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on the model ship Father had given him as a surprise birthday present. Propped up against its prow was the corn dolly from Madelena. Both gifts held a special meaning for him: the ship, in his imagination, represented future life journeys; the corn dolly, as his girlfriend had explained, would bring him good luck.
Garcia and Teresa had finished breakfast and, in earnest conversation, leaned over a parchment s
