Many thanks to lbindner for checking and to Siean Riley for encouraging me to write it down. I hope you will enjoy it too.
Disclaimer: I do not own characters and don't get any profits for my writing except from my own satisfaction.
Sin of youth
Chapter one
The stagecoach stopped by the tavern. Victoria looked, curious if there was a letter from one of her brothers, but the boy who was taking the post shook his head. Señorita Escalante wanted to go back to her duties, when an unusual sight caught her attention.
A girl, maybe ten-years old, got off the coach. Wearing a travelling dress, with dark braids and a colorful shawl around her arms, she looked mature and childish at the same time. After her a small nun appeared . Victoria rose her eyebrows. It wasn't often that she saw members of the clergy travelling through the pueblo; they usually chose the main roads and avoided little pueblos like Los Angeles. She was also surprised at the amount of luggage that the driver was taking from the coach's roof. Both travelers stood with their luggage and looked around, the girl with curiosity and fear, the nun like she had gotten lost.
"Welcome to Los Angeles." Victoria hurried from the porch and turned with a smile to the newcomers. "Can I help you?"
"Can you tell me, my dear, where we can find the de la Vega hacienda?" asked the sister. She looked as if she barely kept herself from holding the girl's hand.
"Two miles from here," answered the señorita. "Are you going to stay long in Los Angeles? I have free rooms in my tavern."
"I don't think so, señorita," began the nun again, but was interrupted by sergeant Mendoza, who saw them.
"My name is Jamie Mendoza," he introduced himself and straightened. "Let me welcome you to Los Angeles, and collect the traveler's tax."
"A tax?" the girl dared to say something for the first time. There was pure astonishment in her voice, but also curiosity, as if the sergeant had just told her about some local attraction. Victoria looked at her and realized that she had blue eyes.
"Sergeant Mendoza, wait a moment," Victoria scolded him. "Don't you see that they've both had a long trip? So, sister, do you want a room to refresh yourselves?"
"No, I can't," the nun refused and glanced at the tavern. "My coach is going in a moment, as soon as the horses are changed. And if you say there are three kilometers to the hacienda..." The sister looked helplessly at the child.
"You must have passed by it," said Victoria. "It's pity your driver didn't know about it. But, if I may ask, why are you looking for the de la Vegas?"
"They are her only relatives," answered the nun, pointing at the child. "I'm sister Evita, and this is Isabel Bonilla. She came here from Spain."
" Victoria Ecalante," the señorita finally introduced herself. She still couldn't understand the whole situation. "From Spain? All alone?"
"No, God forbid!" the sister seemed to be terrified by the thought of it. "Now we are almost there and it seems I will miss my coach. I have important business to do in Monterey in the name of my prioress.
"Don't worry. I will take Isabel to the hacienda," promised Victoria. "Sergeant, could you please help us with this luggage?"
"Si, señorita," Mendoza nodded, as curios as she was to find out who was this de la Vega relative who had made such a long journey. The nun looked at Victoria, unsure.
"How can I know I can trust you?" she asked.
"Don Diego and don Alejandro de la Vega are my friends," answered Victoria. "We can go to the church, to padre Benitez, if you want. He will confirm that."
"Si, sister, don't worry," added Mendoza. The nun hesitated, but it was Isabel who made the decision. She stepped forward and came to Victoria, staring at her with eyes shining from excitement. Then she looked at her patroness.
"You give me again to somebody else," she said insolently. "Don't worry, sister, I got used to being handled like a package. Fortunately, it's the last time!"
"My dear, you know no one could escort you whole way," sister Evita started to defend herself. "Go with God and don't do anything stupid!"
"Sister, are you coming?" called the driver, when he finished with the horses.
"Yes, yes. Good bye," said the sister. "Take care of her," she asked.
" Vaya con Dios, sister Evita!" called Isabel, when the sister hurried back to the coach. She looked at her, until the door closed and the stagecoach rode away. Then she turned to her new guardian.
"Isabel, you must be tired and hungry," said Victoria to her. The girl was curious, but she was visibly covering her nervousness.
"No, I don't want to eat anything," she denied. "I just want to go to the hacienda. Please, it means a lot to me."
"Very well," laughed the señorita. "Come on, I will take you."
xxx
"Have you ever been here?" asked Victoria. Together, they brought the carriage from the stable, because the girl didn't want to be left alone. "I don't remember you."
"No, señorita, never," answered the girl and took one of her trunks. "It's my first visit to America, I was born and raised in Madrid."
"And you had no family there?" señorita Escalante was surprised. It seemed unbelievable, that this girl had made such a long journey to get to her family. At the same time, Victoria was curious who she was to Diego. From what she remembered, Diego's mother had come from Spain, so maybe this was his little cousin? Or maybe a niece? Victoria didn't know Felicipapa's maiden name, so the girl's name was no clue.
"No." Isabel saddened. "When Mama died, I was left alone. She told me before her death that I have to go to Los Angeles in California and find Diego de la Vega. I set off a week later with padre Avalos, and then they sent me from one mission to another until I got here.
"Sorry, I didn't know," apologized Victoria. The girl was nine, at most ten years old. She had to be very little when Diego was in Madrid, but he might have known her parents. "And your father?" she asked, curious. Isabel threw her a narrow look and didn't answer. "And who is Diego to you?"
But the girl remained silent. She didn't say a word, when they packed all the luggage and then during the way to the hacienda.
xxx
"Victoria, what brings you here?" Diego greeted them politely. "And who is your charming partner?"
"Your relative, Diego. She asked me to bring her here," replied Victoria. The girl was staring at the young de la Vega with wide open eyes.
"Diego de la Vega?" repeated Isabel, as if she wanted to make sure of it. The young caballero nodded uncertainly. The reaction of the young lady overran his expectations.
"Papa!" the girl threw herself on his neck with a shout and tears in her eyes.
Diego was grateful for having a wall behind him, otherwise he would certainly have ended on the ground, hit by the momentum of the girl, but first of all – by the shock. He leaned involuntarily because the child's hands on his neck were pulling him down. Papa? This child had called him "Papa"? Diego sent Victoria a pleading look, as if he was expecting some help from her, but his friend just stood there as shocked as he was and was staring at him with wide open eyes.
"I beg your pardon?" he managed to say finally, when the girl let him go and moved away, as if she wanted to have a closer look at him. "It... it must be some mistake," he stammered out.
"No." The girl stared at him impudently. "You are Diego de la Vega," she stated surely. Diego nodded.
"And you? What's your name?"
"Isabel Bonilla," replied little one and looked at him expectedly. Diego covered eyes with his hand. Now everything was clear.
"Magdalena," he whispered to himself. "Madre de Dios, you are Magdalena's daughter?"
"Si," nodded Isabel. "I have a letter from her. She told me where to go."
"Diego?" Victoria interrupted finally. "Isabel came here right from the road," she pointed. Diego shuddered.
"Of course, forgive me. Please, come in." The young de la Vega automatically led them into the house. He almost bumped into Felipe in the hall. Diego smiled sheepishly, seeing the questioning look of his foster-child.
"Felipe, this is Isabel Bonilla," he introduced the girl, because he couldn't bear the word 'daughter' even in his thoughts. "Isabel, this is Felipe."
"Who is this, Papa?" asked Isabel, interested in the boy. Felipe stared at Diego. "Nice to meet you, Felipe," the girl smiled to him.
"Ymmm... well..." the young de la Vega hesitantly looked around. "Victoria, if you could please wait in the living room... we will bring the luggage from your carriage," he said and fled, embracing Felipe with his arm. As soon as the door shut, the boy started gesturing wildly. Diego only sighed.
"Don't ask. Please, just don't ask," he begged. Felipe didn't let him go and still demanded an explanation. "I don't know, I don't know anything yet except from the fact that this little one is a daughter of the woman I... who was once close to me," Diego said finally and blushed, when Felipe gestured to the doors and pointed, how 'close' their relationship must have been. The young de la Vega didn't even have the energy to feel offended. His charge pushed him towards hacienda, letting him understand that he would take care of the luggage.
Victoria and little Isabel were sitting comfortably on the sofa, so Diego went to the kitchen and talked with Maria, before he came back to them. Señorita Escalante was still shocked, and the girl looked around with curiosity. If she had been alone, she would have certainly walked around the whole hacienda. When she saw Diego, she excitedly rose.
"Why didn't that boy greet me?" she asked. "It was rude."
"Felipe greeted you in his own way," explained Diego. "He's a deaf-mute. He's my charge, but I think we should talk about you. Sit down, please," he said, and when the girl sat again beside Victoria, he placed himself in the armchair. "Can you please tell me, how you ended up in Los Angeles?" Diego glanced again at his friend, but she didn't look like she was going to help him.
"Franciscan sisters helped me," answered Isabel. "I was left alone, and when my Mama died, I..."
"Magdalena is dead?" Diego interrupted her violently. The girl lowered her head, "What happened?"
"The sisters didn't tell me," Isabel looked at him with wet eyes. "I know that mama was sick, and the last two months we lived in a monastery. She told me then, that... that..." the girl shuttered and began to shiver. "that when she died, I would have to go to father. There is no one in Madrid, who would take care of me and mama didn't want me to end in the orphanage." Isabel looked so miserable, that Victoria moved towards her and embraced her. Diego leaned elbows against his knees and hid his face in hands. He hadn't thought that after so many years the news about Magdalena's death would hurt him so much. He wasn't surprised, he had expected something like that since the girl told him, whose daughter she was, but still...
"How old are you?" Diego finally raised his head and met the sight of two pairs of eyes – one, blue, so similar to his own, shining with curiosity and sadness, and second, dark, at this moment sending him thunderbolts. Dios, Victoria was mad at him. Why? Because of this child, or his behavior?
"I will be nine in October," answered the girl. Diego closed his eyes for a moment and counted. Yes, it would fit... "Mama told me to give it to you," remembered Isabel and took a small purse from under her dress. She untied the string and dragged out an envelope. She leaned forward and gave it to Diego, who involuntarily took it. He took out a letter, stretched it and started reading.
Dear Diego,
I know that after so many years you might not even remember me after the way we parted. I wouldn't write to you, if it was not necessary. I have no choice now, I probably write these words in my last days, and I think I should explain everything.
This quarrel that was our last meeting – believe me, I still regret it ended that way. I was young, we both were. My parents, when they got to know about our romance, forced me to break it at once. Not a single word from what I told you then was true. A few weeks later I realized I was expecting. My parents sent me at the countryside, to our family, and forbade me any contact with you. I had then enough time to think about everything. Me – a girl form city, a daughter of a merchant, but only a burgher. You – a wealthy caballero from California, with a knighted past reaching further than you knew, related to the royal family. A child conceived from a romance between us would have ruined your reputation in Madrid, and I didn't want that. So when I came back over a year later, alone, but with our daughter, I never said a word. I saw you sometimes, you me – probably never. You wouldn't get to know about Isabel, but my family doesn't accept her. Maybe my parents would provide for her life, but they are both dead, and my brothers don't want to know her. I have no one to take care of Isabel, and I know she would be unhappy in an orphanage. She's a good child, full of energy and curiosity. I know she has it from you. I ask you to take your responsibilities when I won't be able. I didn't want to do it, but you owe it to her, she's your daughter.
Isabel knows you from my stories. I didn't want her to grow up not knowing, who her father is. I don't know how much she understood, but I tried to explain to her what was between you and me. Just know one thing – she never heard a bad word about you. I think she loves the image of father she has made in her head, and I believe she will love you if only you let her. And forgive me, if you can. It's too late for us to meet again, but I entrust to you, what I have the most precious – our daughter. Take good care of her.
Forever yours,
Magdalena
"Dios... Dios," groaned Diego. „You are my child," he said pointlessly.
"So, Diego de la Vega has a more interesting past than I thought," said Victoria. It seemed that she didn't know if she should be surprised, angry or disgusted. "That's why you never said anything about these years in Madrid?"
"No..." the young de la Vega sent her a pleading look. "Oh, Felipe, is the room ready?" he asked suddenly, because the boy entered the room. "Come on, Isabel, I will show you your room," he said softly to the girl and rose. The girl stood up enthusiastically.
"Papa? Does it mean I can stay here?" she asked, excited.
"Of course, for now," replied Diego, but his thoughts were somewhere far away. "Come," he repeated, and clumsily embraced his daughter with his arm. He led her to one of the guestrooms, the one that was the closest to his own bedroom, he realized. Maria was still there. She welcomed the girl with a warm smile and then sent to the young de la Vega a questioning look from under her raised eyebrows. Diego thought that he had better start getting used to it, if he had agreed that Isabel could stay at the hacienda. Father will be next... Father! Diego almost pushed a vase from the cupboard when he realized what was waiting for him.
"You will surely want to refresh yourself and get changed," he said to the girl, not knowing how to react. "Stay in the hacienda, and if you need something, ask Maria or Felipe. I have to go now," he finished clumsily and sneaked into the corridor. Victoria understood his pleading look and followed.
"Who was she? This Magdalena?" she asked quietly, when they went away from the room. Diego sighed.
"Someone I loved during my first year of studies," he replied shortly. "We parted, and I had no idea that... about Isabel."
"Weeell," Victoria looked at him skeptically, as if she was thinking he hadn't told her everything.
"Victoria, excuse me, but I have to go," Diego didn't let her say anything else. "My father will be here soon, I'd rather tell him without witnesses. I'm afraid his reaction might be... violent."
"I bet it will," snorted Victoria. "Go, I will stay with Isabel. I think she feels comfortable with me. Pilar will take care of the tavern and close for siesta," she added softly, having mercy on Diego.
"Gracias, Victoria. You're a good friend," sighed Diego. The idea of leaving Isabel only with Felipe, because he knew Maria was busy, worried him and he felt better knowing, that Victoria would be there to keep an eye on his... daughter.
"You're welcome, Diego," Victoria smiled to him. "Your daughter is charming," she admitted joyfully, and couldn't help but laugh when she saw the face Diego had made when he heard the word "daughter". The young de la Vega turned on his heel and escaped as if he was hunted by devils.
Victoria smiled to herself. Diego was so authentically terrified by the fact that he was a father, and what's more, a father of quite a big girl, that he looked like an image of bad luck. She herself couldn't shake off the shock. No, not because Diego's child had travelled half of the world to find her father, but rather because of the fact that Diego was even able to be involved in a romance. The young de la Vega she knew, acted as if he wasn't interested in women, and he never said a word about his feelings to the woman he secretly loved, as he had once confessed. Victoria considered her friend as too shy to say anything, so her attempt to imagine him being involved into a romance, and rather a romance emotional enough to end up with little, impulsive Isabel, ended with laugh full of disbelief. And yet... Isabel was too much like her father for Victoria to doubt it. What she had got to know made her ask herself questions about what else she didn't know about her friend who seemed not to have any mysteries. Isabel was a puzzle also, so Victoria returned to her room.
What she saw surprised her. Isabel, wearing a clean, but creased, green dress, with dissolved hair, was sitting on the bed and crying. The entire contents of her trunk were laying on the floor.
"Isabel, what happened?" Victoria hurried to her and crouched beside her to see her face.
"He doesn't want me," sobbed the girl. "I thought... mama said... he's my papa! And he doesn't want me, know me, love me!" she cried.
"Shhh, it's not this way," said Victoria softly. "You're quite a surprise."
"But he doesn't want me!" repeated Isabel stubbornly. "He escaped!"
"No, Isabel, no. Understand, Diego is surprised, he needs time to get used to having a daughter, and such a beautiful daughter," the señorita started to explain.
"So why did he go away? Why didn't he want to get to know me?" asked the little one. Victoria sighed. How should she explain to the girl, that she was trouble to her friend, and a humiliating one?
"It's not so." Victoria sat down on the bed and embraced Isabel. "Diego went to talk to his father, he wanted to warn him. You know, it's not every day that you learn the fact that you have a daughter or a granddaughter, and one so grown up," she smiled. "I'm sure Diego will love you."
"You think so?" the girl looked at her, encouraged. "What is he like? Mama said..."
"Yes?" Now it was Victoria's eyes that shone with curiosity. "How did your mother described Diego? You know, he doesn't usually speak about this time," she winked to her knowingly. Isabel sat more comfortably on the bed and sent Victoria a smile that meant sharing some secrets. She started talking enthusiastically not about Diego, but about her mother, this mysterious Magdalena, about whom Diego didn't want to tell her anything. When Isabel came to what her mother had told her about de la Vega, Victoria's eyes opened wide with surprise. From the description she got, came a man so different from the one she knew. But, did she really know her friend? Her astonishment grew even higher, when Isabel asked suddenly:
"Do you think he will show me his fencing? Do you have some fencing competitions here?"
"Competitions?" repeated Victoria. "They may be in Monterey, but here – very rarely. It's a small pueblo, you'd more likely see cattle auctions or skills competitions between vaqueros."
"Pity... But the caballeros do like fencing, don't they? Mama said that papa took part in many competitions."
"Diego? In fencing competitions?" Victoria snorted in disbelief. "Oh, I don't think so. Diego doesn't even carry a sword."
"But he did carry one in Madrid! And he was very good!" scolded the girl. "Mama went to watch many competitions, even when I was born, and when I was little. She said that he was always getting high marks, that he was winning!"
"But..." started Victoria and broke off. This day had already showed, that Diego was able to do more than he was expected to do. So if Isabel affirmed that according to her mother's tales Diego not only knew, how to hold a sword, but he could also use it, maybe there was truth in it. She would have to ask Diego later.
EDIT: As pamz suggested, I changed "dad" for "papa" and "mum" for "mama". Thanks for mentioning it, pamz!