Chapter 2

A few days later he had gone to the pueblo to look for the newspaper and to see Victoria. He had tried to occupy himself with his work at the Guardian but he had often gotten distracted with thoughts of Victoria and the work had gone slow.

Alejandro and Felipe had wanted to join him for lunch at the tavern and he had been the first to arrive. When Victoria had come to take his order, he had tried to have some talk with her.

"Victoria, how is business today?"

"Oh Don Diego, I really have no time for talking."

"It is so busy today that you don't have time for me?"

He had looked around and there were only a few occupied tables and most of them were already served. Then Gonzales had come over to the table. "Victoria is right. She has no time for idle talk." "You'd better go to the kitchen to prepare for lunch, Victoria."

He had been surprised. "You let him order you around and you have no more time for an old friend? What has gotten into you? This doesn't look good to me."

"What ever is good or not good for me is alone my concern and you'd better keep out of it. If you must know, Hernando Gonzales is the man I'm going to marry."

"What about Zorro? I thought you promised to wait for him."

"Zorro is past. I'm tired of waiting and I want to go on with my life."

"So you split up with him, after all these years he has been loyal to you."

"That is just what I thought you'd say, Don Diego. I knew, you'd be on Zorro's side. No wonder when Zorro has always been there to help your family and Don Alejandro has been his greatest supporter."

"Victoria, I don't say that because Zorro has helped my family. Your decision seems to be a bit hasty. You know Gonzales only for a few weeks after all."

"As I said before that is none of your business."

"But Victoria, I don't think..."

"I'm not interested in what you think about me and Hernando." Victoria had become angry.

"Since you can't keep your thinking to yourself, you'd better leave now. We'll be on different sides now, since you'll be loyal to Zorro."

"Victoria, you are throwing me out of your tavern? Does our friendship mean nothing to you any more? This doesn't make sense at all. You can't do this!"

He had been stunned and hurt. He had never expected that.

"I can and I will. And I never want to see you in my tavern again."

"Victoria, you really want to do this? Only because I wanted to have a chat with you?"

"You'd better leave now."

Victoria had been sincere and he knew her well enough that she wouldn't change her mind that easily again. He had risen and was about to leave when Alejandro and Felipe had entered the tavern.

"What is going on here? Diego? Victoria?" Alejandro had asked when he had noticed the angry mood between them.

"Victoria has just thrown me out of her tavern. We are on different sides now that she is going to marry Senor Gonzales. If you excuse me, father."

"Is that true, Victoria? You ordered Diego to leave the tavern?"

"Yes, it is true and he'd better stay out."

"Felipe, in that case we'd better leave as well. I won't stay in a tavern where my son is not welcome. The de la Vegas will not be divided."

With that his father had followed him out to the plaza.

Hernando Gonzalez had only smiled triumphantly when Diego had left the tavern.