Chapter 2 Summary

The next morning, don Quevedo brings three gentlemen to meet Alatriste. The captain sends young Inigo for a walk, but Inigo sneaks a look at his master's clients on the way out. It appears to be a father and his two sons, and from their clothing Inigo suspect that they are not from Madrid. Inigo sneaks back into the house through a window. Crouching in the kitchen, he overhears the conversation, already in progress. The captain remarks that the penalty for breaking into a convent is death. The older man, who Inigo later learn was called Vicente de la Cruz, remarks that he is aware of the danger, but that there is no other way to rescue his daughter. His sons are called Jeronimo and don Luis, and are twenty-five and eighteen, respectively.

The head priest of the convent of the Adoratrices Benitas...