Chapter 2
Slowly he started to dance towards the bar so that they were ending their dance there.
"Dancing makes one thirsty," he said and reached for one of the mugs on the bar. Clumsily he tipped over one bottles of wine spilling the red liquid all over Victoria's white blouse and her red skirt.
Shocked Victoria looked down at herself, where the wine was dripping to the floor from her clothes, and then at Diego.
"Diego, what have you done," she exclaimed. "My dress, it is full of red wine. It's ruined!" Tears were standing in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Victoria," Diego said very remorsefully. "It is really a nice dress, but maybe you can save it. I'll get you a new one. But my own suit isn't in a better condition."
He pointed at his suit where splashes of red wine could be seen on his white shirt and his jacket.
Victoria went up the stairs and headed for her room. Quickly she changed her clothes and then she went to her washstand. From the pitcher she poured water into the bowl and reached for her stained blouse. She examined the stains that the wine had left there, when she noticed a difference. Under her left arm there was a dark red patch of fresh blood. She examined her left arm for some hidden scratches but there was nothing.
This wasn't her blood. That got her thinking. Her blouse had been clean so it must have happened during the dance. But how did it get under her arm? Her arm had been supported by Diego's during the dance. This must Diego's blood on her blouse. But why was her blouse soaking blood from his arm and why didn't he say something about such a severe wound? She nearly wouldn't have seen it between dots from the wine if she hadn't looked closely at the stains. The wine nearly concealed it. The wine. It was Diego who had spilled the wine over her and himself. What if he had done it on purpose to hide his bloody arm? To make her change? What did he have to hide that he couldn't admit being injured today?
Slowly she sat down on her bed, staring at the blood stained blouse in her hand and thought of the events of the day. She had seen Diego in the tavern talking with his father and then Diego and Felipe had left together. Alejandro had shown her that infamous letter that Risendo had given him and then there had been the commotion because of Zorro. Zorro had freed Toronado and then he had fought with Risendo on the roof. There had been a shot and Zorro had gone down on the roof and then Risendo had fallen to his death while Zorro had escaped. There was only one person except for Risendo who had been injured today and that was Zorro. If Diego was wounded now then Diego must be Zorro!
Diego! She had to talk to him. She rushed through the door and looked at the gathered crowd searching for Diego. At last she spotted him heading for the door.
"Diego," she shouted through the tavern. "I have to talk to you. Don't you dare leave like this."
Everybody turned their heads to look first at her and then at Diego who had turned around at her call. Surprised he looked at her and headed towards her through the dancers who made space for him.
Victoria went down the stairs. "We'll talk in the kitchen," she said in an angry voice pointing to the curtain. "And the rest of you should better stay out."
The alcalde couldn't hide his gloating when Diego passed him by. "Now you're in for a scolding from the senorita. I wish you luck."
Obediently Diego followed Victoria through the curtain.
"I'm really sorry, Victoria," he started, but she interrupted him.
"Don't say a thing, I know what you have done." She moved closer and pointed at the dark stain on his arm. "That's blood, isn't it?"
He stared at her, thinking what to say, but then he nodded.
"You were shot by a lancer when you freed Toronado today."
"Yes." There wasn't anything else to say. She had looked through his disguise.
"You spilled the wine intentionally over us to hide the blood stains on my blouse."
"I couldn't think of anything else at that moment. Forgive me?" He looked intently in her eyes waiting for her reaction. He remembered the last time when Zorro had been asking her forgiveness after he had robbed her. How would she react now?
"Always," she replied, as she had the last time. And her eyes were full of love.
"It was you." She raised her right arm as if to hit him on the chest, but he intercept her and gripped her by the wrist. "All those years and I never saw you," she whispered.
Tenderly he started to trail the inside of her arm and her neck with kisses and with his other hand he slowly drew her in a tight embrace.
"You should go on with your scolding," he said in a low voice, never breaking eye contact. "Then we won't be disturbed."
"I can't," she whispered to his lips before they kissed.
When the music stopped outside, they broke apart. "I must go and change my suit now, before any one else figures it out."
"Will you come back to the party?"
"Only if you let me hold you in my arms and grant me another dance."
"I can't wait."
When he left the kitchen, Diego tried to look sheepish, which was hard, when he had never felt so happy in his life. Victoria's reactions was not what he had anticipated, and he had to admire her cleverness to draw the right conclusions in such a short time.
"Don't think you're off the hook so easily, Don Diego," Victoria called after him from the kitchen again in an angry voice that would have deceived even him if they hadn't kissed moments before. "You owe me another dance, Don Diego."
A short time later he returned again, this time totally changed in a dark brown suit and another white ruffled caballero shirt. Victoria was surprised he came back so soon, but then she remembered that he must have a lot of experience in quickly changing his clothes.
Diego waited for the music to play a slow tune, until he asked Victoria for her dance.
When he lead her to the dance floor, neither of them said very much. What they wanted to talk about, they couldn't in public, and for the other things they needed no words, only some concealed looks. He held her much tighter than he would have otherwise, bending the borders of propriety as far as it still went unnoticed from the outside.
Victoria put her hand only very lightly on his shoulder, carefully avoiding his hurt arm. He couldn't comment, but squeezed her other hand thankfully for her efforts. Except for this dance Diego danced no more, ignoring the hopeful looks of other potential dance partners.
"I have lost my taste for dancing tonight," he replied, when his father tried to urge him to another dance and pointed out some other women to him. "It is enough that I Victoria is cross with me, I 'd better avoid other incidences." He could hardly tell his father that he had to take care that his injured arm wasn't discovered from anybody else.
He would have liked to dance with Victoria much more, but they had to avoid to attract attention, when Victoria was supposed to be angry with him. She was a better actor than he had thought and kept convincingly to her role for the rest of the evening. So she appeared to be reluctant when he asked her for the last dance for the night.
"Are you still cross with me, Victoria?" he asked her aloud. "I promise I'll get you another dress." Inaudible for the others he added, "White is the color that suits you." She started to blush knowing he was referring to a wedding gown. She was glad that it was a lively dance that put some color in her face.
There was no reason he could linger after the party ended without raising suspicions and he had to accompany his father and Felipe home.
