Chapter 4 - The Dispute

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Helm whispered as they searched through the office of Don Fernando Higuera. Only a small lamp lit the dark room, casting shadows everywhere.

"You could just teach me how to pick locks," the Queen retorted while carefully searching through a stack of letters.

"And give you the means to search through my belongings? No thank you."

The Queen paused for a moment, intrigued. "What are you hiding, doctor?"

"What are you hiding?" he challenged. He expected no response but waited a moment anyway before continuing. "What exactly are we looking for here?"

"Anything that might explain why Higuera wants the Alvarado hacienda. Even better if it ties in Montoya."

"This may not quite be what you're looking for," he said, holding up a letter, "but it seems Higuera had quite a row with Don Rafael Alvarado." The Queen snatched the letter out of his hand and began to read.

My dear brother,

I was outraged on your behalf to read how Don Alvarado has mistreated you. How barbaric is New Spain? Surely your military governor must intervene on your behalf in this theft. Alvarado greatly overstepped his bounds by interfering with your household. And to besmirch your honor as well? I have no words. I still believe you should sell your hacienda and return to Spain. Things are starting to return to normal here.

The letter went on for a couple more pages-mostly updates on the writer's life and her family. Skipping to the last page, she saw the signature: "Your loving sister, Adelina Higuera de Velazquez."

"What could this be about? What theft?" she wondered aloud.

"The letter is dated July 1817. Isn't that about the time that Don Alvarado died?"

She couldn't answer. Too many thoughts careened through her head. Was this the break she'd been waiting almost two years for? What happened between her father and Don Higuera? Was it enough to drive Higuera to kill him? Before she could start to organize her thoughts, Helm grabbed her arms and shoved her behind the settee.

"Someone's coming," he hissed, kneeling on the ground next to her and extinguishing the lamp.

"Higuera wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow-" she stopped as she heard footsteps. The two crouched in the small space between the settee and the wall for an indeterminable amount of time once the footsteps passed the office. The only sound was the ticking of a large clock in the hallway. By the time the Queen thought it was safe to leave, their eyes had adjusted to the dim moonlight coming in the uncovered windows. She gestured to Helm that it was time to go, and the two crept silently into the hallway.

Once outside the house, she felt like she could breathe again. That had been a little too close for comfort. They quietly retrieved their horses from the stable and started back to town.

"Not the outcome you were hoping for?" the doctor asked once they were away from the hacienda.

"Getting out alive is always the right outcome, but a to-do list with 'steal Alvarado hacienda' on it would have been helpful. Still, someone must know what happened between Don Higuera and Don Alvarado," she said thoughtfully.

"From the content of the letter, I would suspect Montoya knows, but even if I thought he would give an honest answer-"

"Which he won't."

"I can't exactly ask without arousing suspicion, and you can't ask without being arrested on sight."

"Then Montoya isn't the person to ask. He's not the only person who knows what goes on in Santa Elena."

It only took the doctor a moment to figure out whom she meant. "Because that's so much safer than going to Montoya. Are you insane?"

She ignored his angry outburst. "I don't need to ask him. Not when I can get his fiancée to do it for me."

"Señorita Alvarado? I don't think she's capable of that kind of deception."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised, doctor."


The next morning over breakfast, Tessa told Marta about the letter from Don Higuera's sister. "I need to know why Don Higuera was so angry with papá."

"You think he could have killed him?" Marta asked.

"I don't know. Papá had told me 'many hands' were involved in his murder. I'm sure Montoya was involved, but it could also include Higuera and maybe even Fuentes."

"Be careful, Tessa. Your father would not want you to get hurt just to avenge him." Marta poured another cup of tea. "I will ask around. The servants hear many things."

"And I will ask Capitán Grisham."

"You're seeing him again? Has he asked you to marry him yet?"

"Thankfully not. If I'm lucky, I'll catch him with Vera, and I won't have to play this game any more."

"And what happens if you have to keep playing?" Marta asked seriously.

"Then it will take a very long time to plan this wedding and for Uncle Alejandro to arrive from Spain."


"Oh Marcus," Tessa sang, inadvertently doing her best impression of Vera as she pushed the door to his quarters open. Grisham sat at a small table and appeared to be writing a letter. He jumped at her presence.

"Don't you knock?" he said irritably.

"You must not have heard me," she lied. "You look very deep in thought. Should I come back?"

"No, it's fine," he said, replacing the quill in the inkwell and standing to greet her. "Why are you here, Tessa?"

"I received the strangest visit from Don Higuera. He was very angry about something and said my father stole from him." Tessa had worked herself up to tears and threw her arms around Grisham's waist. Surprised, Grisham patted her back somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey, um, it's okay," he stammered. He hated it when women cried because he felt like he had to do something about it.

"Why would he say such a thing about papá?" she asked, looking up at him with watery eyes.

Grisham debated what he should tell her. Higuera's beef with Alvarado was public knowledge. If she didn't hear it from him, she'd hear it somewhere else and wonder why he didn't say anything. If he was going to marry her like Montoya wanted, being honest with her now would be a good idea. And he found he was starting to like Tessa as a person rather than just seeing her as an objective.

Grisham sat back down in his chair and set Tessa on his lap. She looked a little uncomfortable but didn't move away from him.

"It happened about two years ago," he began. "Higuera apparently got a little rough with his cook. Your father found out about it-I'm not sure how-and hired the woman to get her away from Higuera. Higuera was pissed and accused Don Alvarado of stealing his servant."

"But she was a servant, not a slave," Tessa interrupted.

"Apparently Higuera didn't agree. In fact, he was so angry he challenged your father to a duel. Higuera lost, which only made him more angry. That man has a nasty temper."

Nasty enough to kill? Tessa wondered.

"While this has been lovely, I have soldiers to train," Grisham said, helping her to her feet.

"Of course. Thank you," she replied as he escorted her out.

Once Grisham was out of sight, Tessa doubled back towards Montoya's office. She needed to find some proof of the conspiracy between Montoya, Higuera, and Fuentes. She knocked on the office door and waited for a response. When none came, she tried the handle, which was locked. Tessa pulled a long, thin knife and a metal hairpin from her reticule and placed them inside the keyhole. Helm may have refused to teach her how to pick locks, but she'd watched him a few times and experimented at home. She was much slower than Helm, but after several attempts, she was able to open the door and slip inside.

Montoya's office was dim with the curtains drawn. She rifled through the papers on his desk but found mostly tax records and supply orders. The desk drawers yielded nothing of interest until she reached a locked drawer. Using the same knife, she was able to open the drawer in less time than the door. The drawer contained personal correspondence from family in Spain. She hit the bottom of the drawer sooner than expected. In fact, the bottom of the drawer seemed thicker than the others.

Pulling the entire drawer from the desk, Tessa knocked on the wood, producing a hollow sound. Turning the empty drawer upside-down, she spied a latch on the underside. The bottom swung open on a hinge revealing a small stack of papers. Skimming through them, she spotted one with Fuentes' and Higuera's names.

Tessa was curious to see what other secrets Montoya was hiding. One sheet mentioned the gold mine, which she already knew about. As she flipped to the next page, she heard voices in the hallway. Hastily she shoved the papers back in the secret compartment and replaced the drawer in the desk. The paper mentioning Fuentes and Higuera went in her reticule along with the knife. She flung herself in the chair across from Montoya's desk seconds before the door opened.

"Señorita Alvarado, what an unexpected surprise." Montoya did look momentarily surprised before his cool demeanor slid back into place.

"Please forgive the intrusion. It's warmer in here, and I didn't want to catch a chill," she said, drawing her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

"It's also quite dark in here."

"I didn't want to disturb your office, colonel," Tessa said innocently.

"No, of course not." Montoya took his chair behind the desk and turned up the oil lamp. "Please, do not keep me in suspense, señorita. Why have you come to see me this morning?"

"It is my neighbor, Don Fuentes. His hacienda..." she paused as if wondering how to phrase it. "It gives off an unpleasant smell. The wind has been sending it my way of late."

Montoya leaned back, unconcerned by her complaint. "You are not the first to say so, señorita Alvarado. However, Don Fuentes is not breaking any laws. I'm afraid my hands are tied."

Tessa looked disappointed and stood up to leave. "Thank you for your time, colonel. I suppose I will have to speak with Don Fuentes myself."

"Good day, señorita," Montoya called after her.

Tessa hurried to find Marta in the market. Pulling her away from the vegetable stall, she removed the paper from her reticule knowing that anyone looking on would think they were going through their shopping list.

"Where did you get that?" Marta hissed.

"Montoya's office." Tessa explained what she learned about Don Higuera from Grisham.

Marta nodded. "I heard about the duel from the blacksmith."

"This is a contract. It says Fuentes agreed to pay five thousand reales for half of our hacienda and the water rights. Higuera paid five thousand plus an extra five hundred reales for the other half."

"Why the extra money?" Marta asked.

Tessa re-read the document. "It doesn't say. But how could Montoya sell land he didn't have?"

"He expected to have it after your father's death."

"But we ruined his plan by coming here," Tessa said thoughtfully. "And that's why he's been pushing Grisham to marry me. Fuentes and Higuera are probably starting to demand their money back. Marta, this is what I've been waiting for!"

Marta shushed her before she could draw unwanted attention. "It's time to bring in the law, Tessa."

"The law, Marta? What law will prosecute Montoya and two dons? You're the one who said telling the royal court about Montoya would accomplish nothing."

"And Spain will not do anything. We must see the colonial governor in Monterey. We show him this contract, and he will have to send someone to investigate."

"Do you think he'll listen to us, Marta?" Tessa's confidence was starting to falter.

"I have heard the governor does not like Montoya. This may be the opportunity he waits for, as well."

Tessa thought for a moment. "We need more. I won't go all the way to Monterey just to be dismissed. Doctor Helm knows why Grisham was ordered to marry me. Maybe he can be persuaded to join us."

"And who will do the persuading," Marta asked with a gleam in her eye, "you or the Queen of Swords?"

A disturbance from the direction of Montoya's office drew their attention before Tessa could respond. She returned the contract to the safety of reticule and hurried toward the noise. As she neared the scene, she heard protests from a very familiar voice.

"This is ridiculous!" Doctor Helm shouted as he was restrained by two soldiers. Montoya said something to the soldiers, too quietly for Tessa to hear. Grisham stood behind him with a huge smile at seeing the doctor get his comeuppance, again.

The soldiers whisked the doctor off to jail with Helm continuing to berate Montoya and "this whole God-forsaken town." Tessa continued to weave through the crowd after them, but too many people had gathered to watch the spectacle and there was little room to move. Once the doctor was out of sight, the crowd began to disperse, allowing Tessa a clear path.

The guard at the entrance to the jail tried to stop her, but Tessa drew herself up and gave him a haughty look. "Don't make me get Capitán Grisham to let me in," she threatened. The guard pondered for a moment and decided the doña couldn't cause any harm. Tessa pushed past him and rushed down the dim hallway. Helm was sitting on a bench in his cell muttering to himself in English.

"Doctor," Tessa called, grabbing the bars. "What happened?"

"Apparently I need to learn to keep my mouth shut," he replied without looking up.

"About what?" she pressed.

"Something you're not going to want to hear."

Tessa gestured for him to come closer so she could whisper. "I know about Montoya's plan. The Queen of Swords told me."

Helm breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're smarter than..." He trailed off realizing how insulting that sounded.

"Appearances can be deceiving," she said, indicating he hadn't hurt her feelings. "Now tell me what happened."

"I went to see Montoya about getting some supplies and overheard him telling Grisham to hurry up and propose to you. He said Fuentes and Higuera were getting anxious. My, uh, temper got the better of me, and I barged in to tell Montoya exactly what I thought of his plan." At Tessa's expectant look, he continued. "Words that aren't fit for a lady's ears," he said with slight embarrassment. "And now I'm once again enjoying the hospitality of the Santa Elena jail."

"You're lucky Montoya didn't kill you on the spot," Tessa whispered angrily.

"I think Montoya may have finally determined killing me would me more trouble than just throwing me in here for a day or two."

"Please be careful, doctor," she implored before hurrying down the hallway. She wanted to leave quickly before Grisham or Montoya discovered she'd spoken to Helm. The Queen was going to have to rescue him before Montoya decided it was easier just to kill him after all.