II
The servers had just cleared the tablecloths; The high Gothic chimney of the palace of the Counts of Alcudiel emitted a bright glow, illuminating groups of ladies and gentlemen who were conversing familiarly around the fire, and the wind whipped the leaded windows of the hall's warheads. Only two people seemed oblivious to the general conversation: Beatriz and Alonso. Beatriz followed with her eyes, absorbed in a vague thought, the whims of the flame. Alonso watched the reflection of the bonfire sparkle in Beatriz's blue pupils. Both save a deep silence not so many time ago. About the night of the dead, the dueñas recounted fearful tales, in which the specters and apparitions played the main role, and the bells of the churches of Soria tolled in the distance with a sad, monotonous peal
