And she walked away, her heels clicking noisily on the floor.
Juliana was determined to do in future only what her mistress refused to do.
Joanna began to complain. “The Senhora Juliana all day in the streets,” she would say, “and I may get along the best way I can.”
“If you were sick you would do as she does,” Luiza said to her the first time she heard her grumbling. And she gave her a glass of sweet wine.
Luiza was very much troubled. How was all this going to end? Juliana neglected her duties more and more every day. In order to go out earlier, she neglected everything but the most important of her obligations. Luiza now always put away the china, very often removed the things from the table, and even went up to the roof at times to hang the clothes out to dry. One day Jorge came home at about four o’clock in the afternoon and saw the bed still unmade. Luiza hastened to say to him that she had sent Juliana to the dressmaker’s. Two days later it was already past six o’clock when Juliana came home to serve the dinner.
“She is at the dressmaker’s,” Luiza said this time also.
“Well, if Juliana is here only to go on errands to the dressmaker’s, we must have another servant to attend to the duties of the house,” answered Jorge.
These words, coldly uttered, brought tears to Luiza’s eyes, and sent the color from her face.
Jorge was astonished. What was it? he asked her. What was the matter?
Luiza, instead of answering, burst into a hysterical fit of weeping.