Were you surprised by who ended up befriending Luzia, and who ended up betraying her?

Were you surprised by who ended up befriending Luzia, and who ended up betraying her?

All the characters displayed varying levels of betrayal towards each other which was a recurring theme. I wouldn't use the term befriending either -- in the context of their respective natures, I don't think any of the characters had any understanding of the true meaning of friendship.

I agree with dianac. there were no true friendships among the competition participants.

Dona Valentina helping Luzia is not a surprise because she was the person who---because she wanted invitations to parties---encouraged Luzia to perform miracles, such as shattering broken goblets and then to reassemble them. The degree to which she continued to help her, however, is stunning: demanding that her husband Don Marius give Luzia their horse so she could escape the soldiers, and paying for the hot food and clean clothes in the inquisition's prison.

Yes Valentina’s change of heart caught me by surprise
And “The Farmer” did not, I was highly suspicious of his motives

I was surprised by Valentina's change of heart and her ability to eventually stand up for herself as well as help Luzia. Perhaps it was traveling to the competitions and being exposed to other women in all their different circumstances that allowed her to see her world could be much bigger.

I was somewhat suspicious of the characters, so I was somewhat prepared for any "surprises."

Not at all! Did they really befriend her or were they being friendly because she was going to help them get something they wanted for themselves. This was a cast of characters that were looking out for themselves.

I was not surprised at all. Everyone did as expected for their roles. The Farmer was ambitious beyond reason. The child was too wise to be a child. Haulit was too self-absorbed to even care for Luzia from the beginning. Victor was evil. Santangel understood was Luzia faced and protected her to the best of his ability. I was surprised that they were able to get some guards to help them escape. I did not expect that.

All the "performers" were exactly as expected...each one out for themselves and willing to do whatever they had to in order to impress. Quite comical actually!

Many of the characters melded together for me. Since I do not read a lot of this era the names were strange to me - and I am not sure I followed them very well.