of both his company and his temper and was greatly relieved when he received me in all courtesy.
‘You have done me great service, Diego.’
‘I, my Lord?’
‘I too am aware that we are surrounded, cut off even from our Tlaxcalan allies. My chief advisor, Pedro de Alvarado, thinks we should mount a surprise attack and take our chances, but I believe that we should be more cautious. Doña Marina has come to me with good advice, for if you were to be kept with your lady, without fear of harm and in great leisure, how much better and safer it might be if Lord Montezuma were similarly entrapped with us. I have therefore invited him here this night, where he will remain as a voluntary prisoner.’
This seemed an act of unbelievable daring, and I could not imagine how we could explain this to the Mexican people. They would surely rebel. But Cortés continued: ‘In honour of our guest I should like you to guard him. I will give you three soldiers, and you must stay with him and occupy his time.’
‘What shall I say? I do not have the language.’
‘I will give you an interpreter.’
And so, amazingly, it came to pass that over the next few weeks I was instructed in the Nahuatl language by the great Lord Montezuma.
He was treated in all civility, for we gave the impression that he stayed within our quarters willingly, and that there would be no need for any Mexican to doubt that he was still their ruler. His wives and mistresses were allowed to visit, and he behaved with the utmost courtesy. In the evenings I would instruct him in games of dice, and he would tell of the history of his country so that I could write a full account of this great city.
One evening he even showed me the treasury full of riches gathered by his father. It contained the most extraordinary array of masks, jewellery, urns, bangles and gold. In one corner stood a large vase, which, when I removed the lid, seemed to be filled with the seeds used in the drink Ignacia had given me. I held them in my hand, letting them slip through my fingers.
‘Cacao,’ explained Montezuma.
I repeated the word.
In this room lay all the fortune any man could ever need. The great chieftain put his arm around me and escorted me from the chamber, as if I was the prisoner and he my gaoler. And, as we sat together and ate that evening, he asked how many wives I possessed.
I told him that I was unmarried, but that a fine and beautiful lady waited at home for my return.
He then asked, now that I had seen his city, if I truly wanted to return to Spain.
I admitted that there was surely no fairer place on earth than this, and that it must seem madness to want to go back home, but I had made a promise, and my word was my bond. I would return to Isabella within two years, having made my fortune, and with a gift no other man could give, a token perhaps even beyond wealth, something as elusive as the Holy Grail or wood from the foot of the Cross of our Saviour.
This intrigued Montezuma, and he told me that he would be glad to provide a brooch, bracelet, necklace or staff that no other man had seen; holy objects, perhaps, from his religion: sacrificial bowls, daggers, statues, or even the smallest and most delicate of objects, a salamander encrusted with lapis.
His generosity and kindness seemed to have no end, and I found it hard to believe that this was the man whose reputation for cruelty and sacrifice stretched out across all these lands and into the approaching seas. I was forced to explain that, although grateful for his kindness, there would surely be many soldiers here who would hope to bring such objects back to Spain.
He then suggested that he should provide me with a small dwelling and a canoe, and that I could return to Spain to bring Isabella to live with me here. We could build a new life in Mexico.
I thought of the way we might live, and could not imagine a world in which Isabella and Ignacia could exist together.
‘You are thinking,’ he observed, ‘that nothing I can give will make you happy.’
I began to speak.
‘My great Lord. It is because I am distracted. There is a woman who makes what they call chocolatl in your service. If I could see her, the lady who turns your money into drink, then perhaps I could take such things home with me to show my lady.’
At this he laughed.
‘This is all that you require? Why not take the lady as your wife? I will give her to you.’
I explained that I did not believe that human beings could be bartered, and that people should only come together freely, not as animals to be exchanged for profit.
‘How then will the world survive?’ he argued. ‘Everything must be ordered. If we all did as we pleased there would be chaos. Even you must have a leader. We must be both leaders and the led.’
‘Even in matters of love?’
‘I think so,’ he insisted. ‘It is the best way in which to prevent dispute.’
‘Then love is a form of slavery?’
‘A slavery in which we willingly enter. What would you have me do?’
‘I would like to see the lady who makes the chocolatl. I would like to see where she gathers the beans, and how she lives her life.’
‘I shall send for her tomorrow,’ he answered. ‘I will also show you the secret passage from this palace.’
‘A secret passage? Then why have you not escaped?’ I asked.
‘Because it entertains me to observe your leader, who thinks he has control of me. The more effort he makes in disguising my imprisonment before my people, the more amusing I find you all …’
‘What will you do?’
‘You cannot stay here for ever. I am sure you will tire of us …’
I could not understand why so potent a chieftain could appear so kind and weak. It seemed he no longer had any power, and that his wealth was a burden to him. His eyes contained a great sadness, as if all the riches of the world could not bring him happiness, and I realised then that if there were one emotion I would use to describe Montezuma it was that he was bored. He was toying with our presence because it amused him to do so, and he could think of no better jest than to make us think that we had conquered him.
The following day one of Montezuma’s servants gestured that Pedro and I should follow him. I was uncertain whether we were travelling north or south or east or west, as we moved through low passageways, strange tunnels, and corridors underneath the temple. It appeared that there was a second, dark underground city in Mexico, filled with stores, supplies, and secret alleys in which people could be hidden away. This place was only known to the court of Montezuma. His tactic had been to concede to each of our wishes, to give us the illusion that we had control of the city and to behave with all courtesy. Then he would either persuade us to retreat, or would have made us so weak and bloated that he could make a strong offensive on our trapped position from below, above, and on every side. All he needed was the right moment to attack.
Emerging from underground, the servant led me through the streets
