La Hija del Sastre Info

Emilia (the main character) wakes up because she thinks she hears soldiers outside. Her father is Lorenzo Matamoros, a former captain of the republicans, and the current leader Franco was trying to capture those of the old regime. She was afraid and wanted to go to her parents' room even though she is 17 years old. She stopped outside of their door because she heard her parents arguing. They were arguing over whether or not to tell her something. She ran back to her room when she heard someone approach the door.

The next morning, Emilia woke to the sound of voices in the kitchen. Rosario was the wife of Pablo, a former colleague of Lorenzo's. He had been questioned even after serving a year in jail. The soldiers had asked about other republicans and Lorenzo, but he had refused to tell and was taken away. Emilia heard the conversation and was shaking with fright when the woman left and her father found her. He told Emilia of the plan to pretend he had fled to France and actually stay in a secret basement. Emilia and her mother Diana prepared food and water for Lorenzo and stored in the secret basement under the bed. Lorenzo packed a suitcase and left the house.

Camila, Emilia's younger sister, and Sofía, the grandmother, returned home. Diana told them that he had fled to France. Camila, who was very young, ran crying and looking for her father. The grandmother (Lorenzo's mother) also cried. Soldiers came to the house looking for Lorenzo. Diana told them that he ran away to France, but they didn't believe her. Emilia and her grandmother hid with Camila in the tailor shop. Camila began to cry, and the soldiers discovered them. They grabbed and threatened Emilia, and when Sofía tried to make them let her go, they pushed her and she hit her head. After the soldiers left, Diana and Emilia cleaned Sofía's cut. She stayed with them that night and slept with Camila. Emilia and Diana stayed awake to wait for Lorenzo's return. He slipped in the back. When he saw the disorder, he was upset and believed himself to be a coward. He entered the basement, which was covered by a blue rug.

It had been a month since the soldier's last visit. Lorenzo had gotten sick from the humid air and darkness of the basement. When the soldiers finally returned, she had left the basement door ajar. She hurried up the stairs and got Emilia to help her move the bed back. Emilia was confronted by the soldiers, whom she told that her father was a coward and had fled to France. They still didn't believe her. They checked the bedroom, where a corner of the basement door was still showing. The soldiers were about to find it when they heard a shout in the kitchen. When they ran to find what it was, Diana fixed the rug to cover the door. Camila was crying in the kitchen because a picture had fallen and cracked. The soldiers threatened them all one more time. The girls slept in the same bed as their mother.

Sargent Ignacio Florido Peña was the personal assistant to Colonel Antonio Cordero Negro, the most important official of General Franco in Lérida (the "city"). The Colonel mentioned the tailor Matamoros, and the Sargent realized that he knew Emilia from when he was picking up his sister from school. He had noticed her because she seemed weak and vulnerable. He took a risk and told the Coronel his plan: he could become her friend or boyfriend and gain her trust for information. The Colonel was happy with this idea and decided to call it Operation Revelation. The Sargent believed that is might be his chance for a raise/promotion.

In the tailor shop, Emilia and her grandmother had to do most of the repairs and suits because her father did not have enough light in the basement to work on anything more than very simple sewing. Ignacio went into the shop with the pretense that he needed a new suit because his grey one was old. Emilia's heart went crazy when she saw him because he was very tall, dark, and handsome. She took his measurements, and he picked a fabric that was black with white stripes. Ignacio began his flirtation by saying the fabric was pretty like the seamstress (Emilia). They introduced themselves to each other. It would take two weeks to make the suit, but he was to return after one week for measurements. When her grandmother came, she was very happy but didn't say why.

The next week, she awoke thinking of Ignacio. She was very happy during the morning but again didn't say why. She felt bad for being so happy and thinking just of Ignacio because her father was dying (they couldn't take him out of the basement and didn't have the medicine). She couldn't concentrate during the day waiting for Ignacio and avoided eating so that her mouth wouldn't be full when he walked in. At 4, she usually went home to help her mother, but today she stayed. Her mother came to see where she was because she was worried, but Emilia pretended that she had more work to do and stayed until 8 when they were going to eat dinner. The next day she was depressed and worried about her father. She didn't want to go to work, but she went anyways. At 4:15, Ignacio came in. He apologized for not coming the day before, when in reality, he had been watching her to see her reaction. When Diana came in, she had almost said something aloud about Emilia's father but changed it instead to something about her cousin. They talked, and Ignacio was invited to dinner. He lied that he worked in a bank and wanted the suit to impress the owners for a raise. Ignacio made up the story of his republican father dying in prison after being captured. He said his family wanted revenge. The story made Emilia cry.

Ignacio visited more frequently to eat with the family and walk in the park with Emilia. They talked of the past, the future, and life. She wanted to tell him the secret but also wanted to protect him, so she didn't. When he noticed her eating very little during dinner, he asked what was wrong. She said that she was upset that her father fled. Ignacio said that he wish his father had fled. The Colonel was getting impatient, but Ignacio was no longer sure that the family was hiding something.

Ignacio didn't visit for three days. He was worried because he heard that the Colonel was thinking of just arresting the whole family. Ignacio wanted his raise but also had begun to like the family. Ignacio thought about lying or making up evidence that Lorenzo had fled but realized that the Colonel already knew that he hadn't. Emilia was crying when he found her, and she told him that a soldier threatened her and her family again. Ignacio said that he would protect her and her family from being killed but that she had to tell him the truth. Sofía really didn't know the truth, but Emilia was left with a tough decision to make.

The next afternoon, Ignacio went to the shop to see Emilia, who was crying and had lost weight. Ignacio was worried that if he found information they would probably kill the women, as well, and if he didn't find anything, they would probably arrest him. He thought about inventing a lie. He found that his father, actually a decorated soldier of Franco, had had the wrong ideas. Republicans weren't all bad people and enemies. Emilia sadly revealed the truth to Ignacio about her father's hiding place and sickness. He left after reassuring her that they would find a solution.

Ignacio walked the streets thinking about what his decision would be. He cared for Emilia very much and worried that he was in love with her. He thought about it all night, but in the morning, he decided that he had no choice and told the Colonel what he had found out. The Colonel was very happy and told Ignacio that he had a bright future with the military. He showed him his sword (that he would use to kill Matamoros and his entire family). Ignacio went very pale and almost fainted then threw up once he got outside.

Since Ignacio had told the Colonel that he had discovered the door on his own, the Colonel felt that he was justified in capturing and killing the family, too, as enemies of Franco. He called his men to go to the house. When they got there, they realized that no one was there and that many of the clothes were missing. Once the Colonel realized what had happened, he ordered the men to go find the Sargent to help him find the family.

Ignacio was worried that they would suspect that he had warned the family, so he was quickly packing his things to leave. When a soldier came by to look for him, he noticed that Ignacio was packing. Ignacio tried to run but ended up struggling with the soldier. He hit the soldier with a lamp and ran away, but before that he had been hit on the head with a pistol (and was injured). The soldier lost Ignacio and ran through the streets looking for him, worried for his own safety at the hands of the furious Colonel Cordero Negro.

The family sat down to rest briefly in the woods. Emilia had helped her family escape, and they had been walking for a long time. She had received a note from Ignacio with the money that he had and a map of the route they were to take. The note begged for her forgiveness and told her the truth about his mission to find out information by getting close to her. He told her about his dilemma of danger for her and himself. He had given her a secure route by which to escape to France. He asked that if she could ever forgive him and he could find her that they be married.

Ignacio had left without anything and was injured badly. He had run, fallen, and then run again trying to escape. He hid in the back of a truck filled with boxes for carrying fruits and vegetables. When the truck finally stopped, he heard the voices of men. He tried to run away but was too weak from the injury and loss of blood. When he woke up, the two men were by him and told him they had called the military police because he had had an accident. He told them that he didn't remember what happened, when suddenly the military truck appeared. When he told the official his name, the man recalled a Vicente Florido (Ignacio's father). He had promised to take care of the man's family, so he gave Ignacio a bag with different clothes and left with his soldiers.

Ignacio took a very difficult journey but made it to France. He wondered what had happened to Emilia and her family and if he would find them. He remembered that Emilia had said that they had friends in Toulouse, and he had followed the exact same path as he had given her. He decided to walk to Toulouse from Lourdes (175 kilometers). He hoped to walk about 35 km a day. He had walked about 11 km when he noticed some people in the distance. He began to run towards them and counted 5 of them. It was Emilia and her family.