Afonso II floats forward with his scarred face. His left cheek is missing, exposing bone with a thin layer of skin.

“Did you use advisors who came with the Queen from Castile?” I ask.

“I used learned people to help me overturn the testament of my father. He gutted my Kingdom by bequeathing large properties to my sisters,” he says.

“We were entitled to that property and we do good things with it,” says St. Teresa.

Afonso III furrows his brow and says, “This trial does not concern the will of my grandfather; it concerns my mother’s murder.”

“Who represented you in the Pope’s court?” I ask Afonso II.

“Mestre Silvestre and Mestre Vicente represented me. With success I might add. My sisters could use the land for revenue, but it remained part of the Kingdom. Money is just money, but land is everything,” he says.

“Mestre Vicente became more powerful after my father died when the Mestre was chancellor. He controlled the Kingdom of Portugal with absolute power for thirteen years from 1224 to 1237,” says Afonso III.

“Did he control the finances, what food people ate, the wine they drank, the mail services, who worked and when, the armaments, the army, the spices and medicines people used?” I ask.

“Yes, he had those powers,” says Afonso III.

“Do you think he could have murdered Queen Urraca?” I ask.

“That is possible,” says Urraca.

“That is not possible. I had the utmost trust in him,” says Afonso II.

“But if he had power and wealth to gain, he may have been tempted,” says Queen Biatrix.

“We will go find him and bring him here,” says St. Theresa.

“We must be quick. Let’s meet back here when the sundial says three of mid-day,” says Afonso III.

“Well, we should go now until three,” I say to my dad.

“Tourists are staring at us,” Dad says.

“That’s because you’re talking too loud,” I scold him.

“Why don’t we put the glasses away and go visit the cloister, refectory and the kitchen,” Dad suggests.

I take the glasses off. I feel an immense pressure lift from my head. My headache is getting better and my right eye and cheek stopped twitching. By my watch, I’ve had the glasses on for three hours. The TMS information I read said a typical session was 37 minutes. That’s a little less than five times a typical session!

“Or maybe go to the cafeteria,” I counter suggest. I need to drink water and eat.

“Ok,” Dad agrees.

“But after let’s go visit the tombs of Pedro and Inês,” I say to Dad.

Read Chapter 22 The Cafeteria in the Monastery