The ship's captain said we would be docking at our destination tomorrow morning. As you instructed, I will give this letter to our escort. My only hope now is in my Aunt Isabella of Burgundy, whom you asked for help with our plans. I pray to the Almighty for help for our whole family and me.
Your devoted daughter,
Infanta Isabella.
Two months later, a second message was delivered to the palace. The Duchess of Burgundy sent her trusted man on a merchant ship to Portugal. As was commanded, he handed the letter to Duke Pedro and told him: “Your Highness! I am sailing back to the Duchy of Burgundy on one of the merchant ships in three days. If your Highness wishes to send Her Serene Highness a message, you may do so through me.” Pedro thanked the messenger and said he would give him a letter on the day he sailed.
After the messenger left, Pedro immediately sent a servant to fetch Duchess Isabella.
As soon as Isabella entered the duke's study, she immediately guessed from her husband's enthusiastic face that news had come from Burgundy.
She hurriedly approached his desk, and as she sat down, she noticed a rolled-up parchment with a wax seal in Pedro's hands.
“Oh, my darling! Oh, my Pedro! Oh, what I see!” Isabella began to exclaim in ecstatic laughter. “How kind of you not to have torn the wax and instead waited for me so we could hear the long-awaited news together. The letter, of course, was not sent by our daughter,” the duchess concluded with a sad note in her voice. “I see the seal of Burgundy stamped on the wax seal.”
“You are very observant, my keen Isabella,” Pedro remarked, tearing the sealing wax carefully from the parchment.
Unrolling the parchment, he began to read:
My dear brother, Pedro,
Forgive me for taking so long to send word. I did not want to disturb you until the ice between Afonso and Isabella broke.
As you asked me to, I created the most favorable conditions for my dear nephew and niece. They traveled together to the most romantic parts of Burgundy, riding through our forests and taking part in forest hunts. One day, at my instruction, the guards on the hunt fell behind the prince and infanta by staging a wild boar chase. This took place by the lake, where a chic, well-protected hut had been set up beforehand. As planned, the prince and