Diego didn't respond. What the hell… a secret land belonging to his family? A secret place of his father?
He was not only surprised, he was confused. Very confused.
Without knowing what to say, he continued riding by his father's side in silence.
One question was: Why did his father show him his secret now? Had he figured out the double life of his son? Or had he just bought the land here, recently?
The young man managed not to sigh and stayed being calm.
He hated other people having secrets. It was enough for him to have the big one. It was difficult, and the existence of Zorro meant to sacrifice having a normal life for years, to be together with the woman he loved.
Oh yes, he would change that.
So, no more secrets anymore. And especially none concerning his father.
"Diego?"
"Ehm.. Yes, Father?"
"You are very silent and didn't answer my sentence. I hope I haven't shocked you, have I?" Alejandro grinned. Obviously, he was amused.
The son thought for a moment and answered: "Not exactly shocked, but surprised. I didn't expect you to have such a hidden place."
His father's mood changed. With a serious tone he replied: "I apologize not telling you before. Or should I say I apologize for doing it now? I am not sure, my son. I know it is not like you having a secret, not being able to talk about. You are too honest for such things. But things have changed. I will explain to you. Let's go into the house."
Diego couldn't meet his father's eyes. He was so ashamed about the speech of the old man. He was an honest man? For heaven's sake, if he only knew. Alejandro felt bad not talking him about that place before.
It was one of the moments Diego hated himself. His father wasn't the one who was guilty. It was him. If someone should feel like this, then it was him.
He hated playing the scholar only interested in science. At the moment, He hated this alter ego so.
Damn Zorro!
On the other side – Alejandro's talking didn't give a hint he had recognized Diego's double identity. It was funny the older man didn't think about Diego's fencing skills he had seen at the fight with Gilberto. So, he should know his son wasn't as honest as he declared.
Was it because Alejandro looked at him with the eyes of a father not wanting to see the truth? Not wanting to see the young de la Vega lied to him?
Diego shook his head. He was thinking too much. It was better going on and being careful.
Only a few minutes later both men reached the hacienda. Without hesitation Don Alejandro opened the door. Obviously, he had done it many times before.
"Sorry for the dust and mess inside. I haven't been here for several weeks."
'Maybe not the last days but often enough' Diego thought. He was curious and sad, too. 'Father, why didn't you trust me?'
The answer was easy. Who would believe in Diego, the greatest coward of the pueblo? No one.
Ah, he was depressed today. Perhaps too much Zorro the last several nights.
They entered the room. It was smaller, but he guessed it had almost the same floor plan as their hacienda.
He couldn't see much furniture. A rectangular table with four chairs, several empty shelves at the walls, two cabinets with several drawers and four dressers near the walls. He could also find two cupboards – a big and a smaller one – at the right and left.
All furniture was simple – no painting on them, no ornaments on the wood.
Not only the furniture – also the room had not decorating elements, only what a person would need to live there.
Yes, someone could live here but obviously, nobody did.
His father had been wrong, there wasn't a mess or sometime like that here. But because of the lack of personalized items, it wasn't a home. At least one where he would want to live in. It would take some work to change that.
But it would be a very good hideout for Zorro he bet.
Alejandro went to a window and opened it. "The air here, it is a little sticky out, I think." Afterwards, he opened a cupboard and grabbed for a yellow cleaning cloth. He hurried to the table and the four chairs on the middle of the room. Carefully and slowly he cleaned the table top and the chair cushions.
"Curious. No dust here. I would have bet there would be a lot of it. Please excuse the simple room. It isn't as comfortable as our hacienda. Please sit down."
The young man nodded and chose the right chair. His father sat down in the chair across from him.
"I think you have a lot of questions about", Alejandro waved his arm in a large gesture, "this all here?"
"Oh yes, Father, I have."
"You are here in the original hacienda of the De la Vegas. This was our first house on our own."
The younger man raised his eyebrows in surprise. "The first? I don't understand?"
"The first one in the New World, to be exact." A short pause, then he continued: "I have told you Elena was a very strong person, haven't I?"
"Oh yes. Not only once, you mentioned it many times. She was not a typical female, interested in painting, art and science."
"Yes. And very clever. Like you, Diego." The older sighed. "It was one of the reasons we settled here, in California. We hoped it would be easier for her to manage the daily life of a busy hacienda. Many people were hostile to her because she wasn't that a demure woman, they expected her to be. So, we hoped it would be easier for us here."
Diego kept silent, and so the other continued: "She was very angry about the cruel behavior of our so-called friends and so we looked for a land to relax, a quiet one without anyone to disturb our love."
"So, you searched a kind of secluded island."
His father laughed. "Yes, maybe you can say that. We both needed time on our own and not be around insulting comments about our relationship. I loved Elena with the bottom of my heart and I loved her strength, too. I had seen such terrible things while fighting in the army, so I needed a quiet place to recover from that as well."
"And how did you find such a place here?"
"You won't believe, it was only luck. We wanted to settle in Los Angeles or in the surrounding area. I was exploring the area and well… I discovered that lovely place here."
"Amazing thing." The young man looked reflexive. "So, it's within the boundaries of Los Angeles, or?"
"No, within Santa Barbara's boundaries."
"Oh. Sure?"
"Yes. I know, it is so close to our pueblo, so please don't ask me why. But I had to get the deed of ownership from there instead of Los Angeles."
"Hm… you said, this is a secret place, one in which hardly anyone knows we own?"
"No one in Los Angeles, yes. The documents are safe at the bank in Santa. Barbara, and a duplicate is placed at Monterey. Only to be sure."
Amazed Diego gazed at his father. "And at our 'home' hacienda?"
The answer was a small laugh. "Of course not. I won't give the alcalde the chance to find out about it."
"Yes, that might be clever. How did you manage to conceal that from everyone else, even me?"
The voice was calm. "Mateo knows my secret. He helped me to handle it."
"Mateo? Of course. Oh yes, I understand."
The practice of hiding his true feelings helped Diego hide his hurt. Even though he was very hurt he didn't want to show it.
He was his son. Didn't he have the right to know?
Mateo was a past servant of his father. He was almost a kind of friend for his father and had escorted the old Vega very often to excursions on Santa Barbara or Monterey. A year ago, Mateo felt in love with a woman and one month ago he had married her and left Los Angeles.
Mateo had been very close to the old Vega. Closer than Diego hat known, since his father had shared a secret with Mateo that he didn't share with his own son.
"He escorted you to the hidden place, didn't he?" he asked not showing his true emotions.
"Yes, he did."
"So, when you two rode to Santa Barbara or even to Monterey to visit a horse or bull auction you also took a stop here" the younger man reasoned.
Alejandro nodded. His face was serious. "Yes, you are right. Also, sometimes after repairing the fences. About every two weeks I checked the house."
"But why, Father? I do not understand!" Now he couldn't avoid showing his feelings. The older one heard in Diego's voice an unusual kind of anger.
He reached for his son's hand across the table board and pressed it. "I am very sorry, son. I didn't want you to get in danger, so I decided not to tell you. I don't know if you can understand. But I think keeping this secret to protect you was a worthwhile thing even though I didn't like to deceive you."
What was it, a kind of joke? Or was God laughing at him, allowing his father to say such things to him?
"I thought it could be a kind of hideout for me if I should get in danger. You know me, often I can't stop fighting against the alcalde. And I decided it was safer for you not to know about this place. I thought you as living like a scholar in peace wouldn't need such a place."
He swallowed. "And now you have changed your mind?"
"Yes. Deep inside you, there is a strength, Diego. Maybe you don't know you have it. But I could see a good man willing to fight for his family and risk his life. You may not be like our masked hero, but I recognized that day you have a brave heart, my son." His father freed his hand. "It was the right time to show you the place here."
Yes, for sure. God was making a joke.
"I am not sure if I have that brave heart as you said. I just reacted by my instinct. I was afraid for your life and I discovered fencing skills I didn't know I had."
"Diego! Don't fool me or yourself. If you weren't such a peaceful man you could become a real sword master. But you block yourself."
The young Vega didn't know what to respond and so he kept silent till Alejandro continued to speak: "But we should talk about the hacienda and the environment here and not about your kind of life. You are my only son and I want you to be happy."
"Thank you, Father. I know I am not the kind of son you wish me to be."
"Nonsense! You have chosen your way. I am glad knowing you don't put yourself in danger and risk your life. If you were a man like Zorro, I would be afraid and couldn't sleep at night."
Heaven! It was difficult for Diego not to blame himself after that speech. Was it because his father was getting older? Finally accepting the type of son, he thought he was?
What a mess.
"Elena loved to be here" the older changed the topic. "She liked the nature and the lake, of course. She used to sit on a bench outside looking at the deep blue water. It gave her freedom when we started our new life here."
"I agree. It is very beautiful here."
"Oh yes, it is."
The younger man nodded and wanted to know: "Why did you settle to the pueblo, to Los Angeles?"
"Well… after six months, your mother began to feel lonely. We had ourselves, of course. But Elena wanted to talk to other people, not only to her husband. She was a very intelligent woman and needed conversation. And…" Alejandro didn't continue, but a smile came on his lips.
"And?"
"She became pregnant." Alejandro chuckled.
"Well, I see. With me."
"You were only the last straw. Diego, my son, it was the right moment to leave. And not only because I didn't want to have a pregnant wife with no doctor in sight."
The son didn't react immediately. Finally, he asked: "Father, can I ask you a favor?"
"Of course. Anything you want?"
"Please show me the place where she used to sit by the lake. Elena's place."
.
.
.
The stranger shook his head. That place he had hidden the last month, it was the land of the Vegas? What a coincidence.
Fortunately, both men didn't really observe the environment, so he had been able to hide behind some trees without Diego and Alejandro seeing him.
He was lucky they only visited the ground floor and had not gone upstairs. Then the Vegas would have seen that someone was sleeping in the old bed above. It was only luck he hadn't left any tracks of the room.
The stranger had heard the conversation through the open window. And although Diego was very clever, he didn't think about the missing dust or dirtiness in the room.
And that was a very interesting point. Alejandro was an older man. But the young Vega should have realized that something was wrong. Because he knew, Diego was the real fox. He was Zorro.
.
.
A/N:
I took a long time for the chapter. I am very sorry. Thank you very much to my beta reader.