Nathaniel Nathan was worried Vera Xavier might want to handle things herself, and he was afraid of angering her if he overstepped. So, he sent someone to the residential compound to "deliver a message," which was really just a way to add fuel to the fire.
It was ostensibly to deliver a message, but the intent ran deeper. As soon as news like this arrived, it was guaranteed to spread throughout the compound. In those days, to the average person, there wasn't much of a difference between being detained and being sent to prison—one was just a little shorter than the other.
And since the messenger had arrived right at the evening rush hour when the compound gate was bustling with people, the news had already made its way through half the community.
