CHAPTER TWO

The next day once again found Felipe in the pueblo de Los Angeles. He was always quick to volunteer to do any errands that anyone at the hacienda needed done there. Everyone knew the reason for his eagerness, of course.

Felipe like to spend as much time with Ana Maria as possible. Not even Diego realize how serious their relationship had become. They had a special place where they met as often as they could. The warnings Felipe and Ana Maria had received from Diego and Victoria respectively, almost went unheeded on more than one occasion.

Felipe desperately wished to ask Ana Maria to marry him, but everyone seemed so opposed to the idea. They were too young, they had not known each other very long and what about Felipe's dream of becoming a lawyer? These reasons they had heard not only from Diego but Leonora Ortega as well.

It was none of those opinions that held the young de la Vega back from his heart's desire though. He refused to propose to Ana Maria via sign language. The fact that she did not know he could speak plus his stuttering also influenced his decision to wait.

Felipe was so absorbed in his thoughts, he did not notice Marta Bautista heading in his direction. He had been at the blacksmith's and now intended to go to the dressmaking shop.

Unfortunately Felipe walked right into Marta, almost knocking her to the ground. He instinctively caught her in his arms before she could fall. The opportunistic young lady wound her arms up around Felipe's neck and pressed herself close against him.

"Gracias, Felipe," she said seductively. Then she kissed him on the lips.

The young man's misfortune grew as just at that moment, Ana Maria walked past the alley on her way to the tavern. She stopped in her tracks, not quite believing what she was seeing.

"Felipe!" she cried out. Marta reacted first, turning to look at Ana Maria, a possessive smile on her face.

Felipe closed his eyes and roughly pushed Marta from him. Ana Maria had stomped her foot, pivoting around with an angry swirl of her skirts. He hurriedly ran to catch up with her.

"Let go of me," she said as she tried to throw off his hand from her arm. He held on though and forced her to face him. His hands gestured frantically, telling her that what she saw was not what it appeared to be.

"Don't lie to me, Felipe," the young woman said crossly. "I know what I saw. You were kissing that little hussy."

Felipe vehemently shook his head. He attempted again to explain what had happened but Ana Maria turned her head away.

Some of her friends had told her a couple of days earlier about Marta's relentless pursuit of her sweetheart. She had not credited their warnings. What a fool she had been! It appeared they were right and Felipe had fallen under the other girl's spell.

Ana Maria extricated herself from Felipe's grasp and ran across the plaza back to her and her mother's shop. The young man watched her go, throwing his hands up in despair. How was he ever going to convince her of the truth, he wondered hopelessly.

He turned to see Marta standing behind him, a concerned expression on her pretty face. "I'm so sorry, Felipe," she said contritely. " I just wanted to thank you for catching me. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Secretly she was quite pleased. Maybe now she had a chance with the young de la Vega with that Ortega girl out of the picture. Imagine, living in that fine hacienda, being waited on by servants instead of always being the one serving someone else. That Felipe was a very handsome fellow was just an added bonus in her mind.

He looked at her with a mixture of disgust and puzzlement in his eyes. She really did look to be remorseful about his situation. But Felipe was not sure if he should trust her.

He smiled weakly at Marta then turned to go to the tavern to finish his errands.

Z Z Z

Much later that afternoon, Don Miguel and his son entered the tavern after a futile day of negotiations. They had spoken to nearly everyone in town and no one was interesting in selling their business to them. It wasn't as if the people were going to be forced out. No, they would still run their operations on a day to day basis. The Montoyas would be the landlords and the profits would be split seventy-thirty, with the seventy percent going to Don Miguel of course. The merchants would not have to pay rent or worry about the taxes.

Deals like this were made everyday in Spain. Don Miguel could not understand why these rustics were so suspicious of him and his offer. One man had even run him off with a musket, shouting curses at him and Alonzo.

The elder Montoya just shook his head in disgust. Perhaps their search tomorrow for a hacienda and acreage would fare better.

Victoria's smile faded as she noted the Montoyas coming into her inn. The father wore his arrogance like a glove. And the son. . . Well, Victoria did not appreciate the gazes he kept sending her way, like she was something delicious he wanted to eat. . .very slowly. But then he sent the same glances to every one in skirts.

She was startled when Don Miguel came up to the counter directly in front of her. "Señorita, may I have a private word with you?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Señor Montoya," replied Victoria. "I am very busy right now. It is almost suppertime and I have much to prepare."

"Perhaps later this evening then, Señorita?" he suggested.

"Very well," she acquiesced. "How about eight o'clock?"

"I will be looking forward to it," Don Miguel replied. He gave her a formal bow then left to join his son who had gone ahead upstairs. Victoria watched as the elegant don mounted the stairs, her eyes full of mistrust. Sighing, she placed the last of the wine glasses onto her tray and went to deliver them to her thirsty customers.

"Fire! Fire!" Shouts came from outside and Victoria turned to see people running through the plaza to the northern end of the pueblo. Her patrons rushed to the open doors.

"It's the general store!" someone yelled.

Victoria flew into the kitchen, grabbing her water bucket. "Dump that out," she said to Pilar, pointing to the scrap bucket in the corner. She didn't wait to see it the other woman obeyed but hurried through the curtains.

A man snatched the pail from her as she stepped out onto the porch, adding himself to the line of people scooping water from the fountain, passing buckets from person to person. Victoria gasped when she saw the flames shooting out of the top of the store. Madre de Dios. She prayed the shopkeeper and his family has escaped safely.

Someone brushed past her, nearly knocking her over. She turned to see both Montoya men running toward the fountain.

"Form another line!" Don Miguel shouted. He took control of the firefighting efforts, arranging two lines, sending fast running youngsters with individual buckets, and telling people to grab blankets and rugs to use to beat out the flames.

Half an hour later, the last bucket of water was tossed onto the smouldering remains of the store. Victoria, her shoulders aching from passing bucket after bucket, put her hands on her hips, scanning the plaza for signs of the shopkeeper's family. Spotting them huddled together near the livery, she made her way to them.

"Come with me," she said. "You can stay at the tavern for as long as you need."

"Oh, gracias, Señorita," said the shopkeeper's wife, Señor Gomez. "You are too kind."

"De nada." Victoria glanced around. "Where is your husband? He escaped the fire, si?"

"Oh, yes," the woman said. "He was helping put it out." She hugged her two children. "It was all so strange. One minute I was starting supper, the next . . ." Tears began to run down her cheeks.

"Everything will be all right, Señora," the innkeeper reassured the other woman. "Come on, we'll get you settled into your rooms then get you something to eat."

"Gracias, gracias." The woman got to her feet, lifting the smaller of the two children, a little girl, to her hip. Victoria reached out her hand to the young boy and he took it.

As they started to cross the plaza, Señor Gomez, intercepted them. "Oh, gracias a Dios, you're all safe," he said as he embraced his wife.

Victoria watched as the family reunited in a flurry of hugs, tears, and kisses. Envy filled her and she had to close her eyes. Even though they had lost everything, they still had each other. And who did she have? No one, except some empty promises of a future together from a mysterious masked man who didn't even trust her enough to reveal his identity to her.

With a lump in her throat, she waited until the family was finished rejoicing they were together once more before turning and leading them to her establishment.

Z Z Z

Diego and Don Alejandro strode into the tavern later that evening. They unfortunately had been in the westernmost part of their land when they had seen the plume of smoke earlier that day.

"That's coming from the pueblo," Diego had pointed out worriedly.

"I know," his father said with a shake of his head. "It will take us over two hours to get there, son. The fire will surely be out by then."

"Yes, but. . ." Diego had kept his thoughts to himself. The elder de la Vega was right. They only had another quarter mile of fence left to inspect. It would have been foolish to drop everything and rush to town. But what if it had been the tavern on fire? What if it had been Victoria who was in danger?

He clenched his fists in frustration. There wouldn't have been anything he could have done. The love of his life could have perished and he would have been miles away, repairing fences. It didn't help to learn it had been the general store that had burned to the ground. He would never trade one tragedy for another. At least the Gomez family had all escaped safely.

He and his father were greeted by several of the old don's friends, who were no doubt eager to share their tales of the day's events. Diego noticed the new serving girl, Marta, he thought her name was, staring at them intently. The girl almost dropped the plate of food she was holding into a customer's lap. He glanced over at Victoria behind the bar, who was glaring disapprovingly at Marta.

Remembering how the girl had boldly accosted Felipe the previous day certainly explained why the young man had refused to come with them that evening. He usually leapt at the chance to visit the pueblo. Judging by Felipe's agitated state , Diego surmised something must have happened between him and Ana Maria. His son had shrugged off all of his inquires into the matter. Oh well, Felipe would tell him when he was ready, Diego supposed.

Taking a sip from his glass of water, he observed two gentlemen coming down the staircase. The younger of the two men made his way to the only empty table, sitting down before he pulled out a cheroot and lighting it. The older man strolled over to the bar, exchanged a few words with Victoria, who then led the newcomer into her kitchen.

"Who is that with Victoria?" he asked the men at his table as they disappeared behind the curtains.

"Haven't you heard, Diego?" replied Don Esteban Estevez. "That is Don Miguel Montoya, recently arrived from Spain." Don Esteban's reputation as a gossip was well-earned. "He and his son were all over the pueblo today, trying to purchase all the shops."

"Montoya." The elder de la Vega mulled over the name in his mind. "Montoya. I wonder if his father was Pablo Montoya? I served with him in the army. He was a good man."

The others all nodded and their discussion turned to other matters. Diego, however, did not join in. His thoughts were centered on what could possibly be going on behind those closed curtains.

Z Z Z

"What is it that you want, Señor?" Victoria asked boldly. She wished for this to be over with quickly.

"I have a business proposition for you," replied Don Miguel

"What kind of proposition?" inquired Victoria. She too had heard the rumors that he and his son were trying to buy up all the businesses in the pueblo.

"I wish to buy this tavern, Señorita," he declared. "Wait until you hear my offer, my dear," he interrupted as she started to decline. "I am prepared to pay you thirty thousand pesos plus settle any remaining mortgage you have."

"I own this tavern free and clear," she stated proudly. "I have no desire to sell out to you or anyone, for any price."

"You would still be in charge," Don Miguel said, trying to persuade her. "You would not be responsible for any of the taxes. You would keep all of your share of the operation for yourself."

"My share?" Victoria echoed with disbelief. "My answer is still no, Señor. My grandparents built this tavern. They and my parents worked hard all their lives to make it what it is today. This is my legacy. I would not disgrace their memories by giving in to your greedy scheme."

"What is wrong with the citizens of this pueblo?" the don asked angrily. "You all cannot be ignorant peasants."

"How dare you?" Victoria put her hands on her hips. "We are not ignorant and we're not peasants. We're hard-working people who are trying to raise families and be self-sufficient. Who are you. . ."

Her tirade was interrupted by shouting coming from outside the tavern. "What in the world?" she asked as she rushed out of the kitchen.

"Fire! Fire!"

Diego shot to his feet and joined the crowd of patrons exiting the building. Stumbling onto the porch, he saw the north side of the livery was engulfed in flames.

"Madre de Dios!" Mendoza bumped up against him. "Two fires in one day? Es loco, es loco."

"We need to get the animals out of there," Diego said to no one in particular. He, along with several others, ran to the burning building.

The young man he had noticed earlier, Don Miguel's son, burst through the livery doors, leading two horses. "There are ten more inside," he shouted.

Diego rushed inside, coming to a halt as a wave of heat poured over him. Determinedly, he made his way to the furthermost stall, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over the head of the agitated horse. He did the same to the animal in the next box. As he led them through the smoke and flames, an ominous cracking sounded from overhead.

Looking up, he saw the main roof beam falling straight toward him.

Z Z Z