INSOLENCE

[Excerpt from Chapter 2.]

Writing her journals led Francisca to reading more and with gusto, but she showed no signs of putting down calculations, nor was she writing poetry. Was she philosophizing? Was Francisca in effect a smart woman? Mr. Pinelo felt mortified for having encouraged her to read, and voraciously. Men didn’t like tall women, even less smart women. A most respectful client considered a tragedy that his only son married a woman smarter than he was. He disinherited him.

What if Francisca didn't marry? Mr. Pinelo examined the pros and cons, using his double-entry accounting system. A father incurred exorbitant expenses rearing a daughter for a perfect stranger to come claiming her when she was at her best. Not only that, the father had to give out a dowry. It didn’t make sense. Where did European men get their supremacy notion? Other cultures were more civilized. Men in Africa gave the father of the bride pounds of lard, cattle, or large tracks of land. Mr. Pinelo, an accountant, trained to stay focused, dismounted the horse of the hypothetical to analyze specifics. How a day would be in the life of an unmarried Francisca? He imagined high karat conversations out in the garden, discussing books, devising business strategies, or solving numerical puzzles. The devil’s advocate, a tenuous voice in the back of his head, asked: And solitude? What about her womb withering without purpose? It was a tenuous voice. Mr. Pinelo deloused it.

Mr. Pinelo taught Francisca the principles of accounting, the science of lending for interest, which the Catholic Church sneered at, and the book of law Las Siete Partidas prohibited, but for which he had devised loopholes. He taught her taxation, business law, and advanced math for commercial calculations. Francisca proved not bad at calculations. Mr. Pinelo started taking her along. Her presence vexed some clients. The more superstitious, convinced women brought bad luck, asked her to step out. Others grew fond of her intelligence and welcoming smile. In time, most clients requested her presence. Father and daughter traveled to Trujillo, Salamanca, Valladolid, Toledo, Madrid (a small town then, or they said, the city of the future), Burgos and southwards to Seville. Seville was their favorite destination. Francisca spent hours visiting the Dutch bookseller in Calle del Mar. The Dutch brought books on every subject from all over Europe. Francisca’s intellectual hunger was vast.