Two weeks pass with María observing a pattern: she submits to Andrés at night but is largely free by day to roam the house, manipulate its furnishings, and explore its light. She deliberately spends her days with her maid, Ysabel, and their companionship grows playful and intimate as they stroll arm in arm, play cards, and dance barefoot, despite other servants’ disapproval. María dresses Ysabel in her own clothes and silently recognizes the girl’s resemblance to the Olivares line, confirming Ysabel as the illegitimate daughter of the count.

After sex, María tries to talk to Andrés about mutual pleasure; he rejects the idea, calling the act sacred and insisting her pleasure is irrelevant and her body exists to receive and bear heirs. Disgusted, María washes herself after he leaves. The next day, María and Ysabel steal food and wine for a hidden indoor picnic, where María, lulled by Ysabel’s gentle stories and touch, nearly confesses her desire. The moment breaks when Ysabel mentions future pregnancy—“Just wait, until you are with child”—which chills María, who does not wish to become a mother yet.

The household erupts in activity as deliveries arrive for a feast that Andrés claims is in María’s honor. The Count and Countess Olivares arrive and immediately belittle María; the count appraises her crudely while the countess derides her hair. During the feast, Andrés parades María as a silent trophy, introducing her as “the viscountess” or “my wife” without naming her, and preventing her from speaking. Seated beside the countess, María spots Ysabel among the servants in a finer dress. The countess then recounts drowning ginger kittens, a clear insult aimed at María’s copper hair; María retorts that it is good she is not yet with child and that she will not ask the countess to bathe future heirs, briefly gaining the upper hand.

The next morning, with the feast cleared away, María finds Andrés hungover and reading a summons sealed with his Order’s cross. He announces he has been called to action and will be leaving for an unknown period. When María offers to manage the estate in his absence, Andrés laughs and refuses, declaring she cannot live alone and must go to León to reside with his parents, to be their company while he is away and his “prize” when he returns.

María insists she will at least take Ysabel with her, but Andrés denies her, calling it inappropriate and hinting at the count’s involvement in Ysabel’s parentage. He adds that Ysabel is already gone: a vassal took interest at the feast, asked for her hand, and Andrés granted it, presenting the decision as an improvement in her station. Reeling, María imagines violence but restrains herself, gripping her ruby pendant until it cuts her palm. Andrés blithely reassures her that the house will be their home again once she gives him an heir, oblivious as her blood runs down her wrist.