The Discovery of Chocolate Read Free

they were.
    ‘You must have thought about St Agatha a very great deal,’ I observed.
    ‘Do not torment me,’ the priest replied distractedly, fumbling under his cloak. ‘It is a daily agony.’
    Perhaps he had a persistent itch, or was cleaning his dagger?
    ‘What must we do?’ I asked.
    ‘Look to the Lord,’ the friar replied, his voice rising in pitch. ‘Only look to the Lord.’
    His face was red; his eyes had a faraway look.
    Then he gasped.
    The man was of no help at all.
    I decided to go in search of Pedro for consolation. That was the point of a dog, I had always been told. They offered unquestioning loyalty.
    After calling his name several times, I found myself in a small turkey farm. By its side, penned in a small area, were several hairless dogs. Pedro spent a short time snapping and biting at their heels, and then selected a companion for what can only be described as a prolonged act of mating.
    All those around me were now involved in acts of lust and bestiality. Was I the only man who had resolved to keep himself pure for his beloved?
    After several days we moved on towards the town of Tlaxcala. These people had heard that we were on the march, and it soon became clear that they would not be so easily convinced of our divine status. They had vowed to put our mortality to an immediate test by killing as many of us as possible, their leader Xicotenga informing us that his idea of peace would be to eat our flesh and drink our blood.
    We were savagely attacked, and a bloody battle ensued. Pedro was terrified by the noise and I had never seen such slaughter. Our forces only just managed to hold to our formation in the face of some forty thousand warriors. Ifwe had not possessed gunpowder I am sure that we would have been defeated.
    Cortés then dispatched messengers to ask for safe passage through their country, and threatened that if they did not agree to this we would be forced to kill all of their people. Exhausted by our bravery, and fearing a further attack, the Tlaxcalans finally surrendered. They bowed their heads, prostrated themselves before Cortés, and begged forgiveness.
    That night we attended a great banquet of turkey and maize cakes, cherries, oranges, mangoes and pineapple, served by the most comely women. After the meal the Tlaxcalans proceeded to display their treasures, some of which would be gifts, some of which we must trade. There were feather mantles, obsidian mirrors, silver medallions, and decorated purses I know Isabella would have treasured; gold saltcellars, gilded beads, wooden scissors, sewing needles, strings, combs, coats, capes and dresses. There were two small alabaster vessels filled with stones that must have been worth two thousand ducats, together with gilded masks, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and pendants.
    Yet still I saw nothing that was sufficiently unique to secure my love.
    At the end of the ceremonies Chief Xicotenga said to Cortés: ‘This is my daughter. She is unmarried and a virgin. You must take her and her friends as your wives. For you are so good and brave that we wish to be your brothers.’
    Cortés replied that he was flattered by the gift, but that he would be unable to partake of such hospitality since he was already married and it was not his custom to marry more than one woman.
    Then he looked at me.
    This was, indeed, a beautiful girl. I realised that the longer we stayed here the harder I would find it to resist such attractions. It was already difficult to recall Isabella’s voice, the fall of her hair, the light in her eyes, or the manner in which she walked. It was as if she only existed in her portrait, whereas these women were vibrant and alive, singing into the night sky, building fires, carrying water, and laughing gaily.
    It had been so long since I had heard a woman laugh.
    Cortés brought the woman over to me. ‘Take her,’ he ordered.
    I could not believe it. These people were so keen to give away their women. Surely this could