20 18 16 14 ,,, Counting or reciting [e.g. The Lord's Prayer] backwards could be a way of casting a spell ~~ I have a recollection of some such ref in Huckleberry Finn, I think. Indeed ∴ probably a Romany (one of the sometimes connotations of Spanish Lady), but a witch to boot: hence the spell she casts on him...

~Michael~