Before the little oval mirror in their bedroom, Paulinha parted her dark-brown hair down the middle and then put it up into a bun, wrapping it in white lace. She sniffed, looking around the room. What’s causing this odd scent? She shrugged her shoulders and pinned a gold brooch set with a topaz gem, the color of her eyes into the lace, a recent gift from one of their customers who’d commissioned a gallant pastoral panel. It had become the custom in Lisbon, adorning those who performed work for you with riches from the family. Some families had become so wealthy from the gold and diamond extraction in Brazil that they could afford to give such gifts, even to their servants. She relished clasping the golden piece in her hair, despite its opulence which did not align with her faith, and she c
