A/N: Many thanks to lbindner for beta-reading
Chapter seven
"It's completely pointless," growled an irritated Diego, putting away another bloodied cloth, which joined the rest of them lying on the desk in a mess. His white, stained shirt slipped to the floor and remained there. The young de la Vega could rest now, in his cave. He still blessed his forethought which made him wear a dark suit. Thanks to his clothes, the red stain was visible only on his shirt, hidden under a jacket and no one had noticed it.
"I know, Felipe," sighed Diego in response to the signs of the boy who was helping him. "It can't go on like this, or I will never heal that arm," he said. There was no improvement for a week. Don Alejandro needed help with the annual selection of the cattle and Diego had to inspect it. He had spent the whole week in the saddle, moving from one herd to another, choosing with his workers the ones which were to remain, which to move and which to be killed. He couldn't evade his duties, but it had done him no good, though he had tried to save his arm. He ended up with the wound reopening again and again, weakness, and now probably a slight fever. Maybe he would go with these daily trips, if not for today's action in the pueblo. Now he had to be careful if he wanted to let the wound heal at last.
ZZZ
Being an editor of the only newspaper in Los Angeles had some consequences. One of them was the fact that the newspaper had to be published regularly, so, willy-nilly, Diego had to go to the pueblo to fetch the articles and prepare the next edition. Isabel followed him like a shadow, and he had to be twice as careful if he didn't want to betray himself. Unfortunately, don Alejandro didn't let the girl to go with her father to the pastures, so she got bored during a week alone in hacienda, so a trip to the pueblo was like an attraction to her. Fortunately she quickly got bored in the office and went to the tavern, allowing her father and Felipe to finish the work more efficiently.
When they finished, they went through the plaza to the tavern. Diego didn't want to risk going inside, when someone could easily push him, so they sat on the porch, where it was hotter, but there was also more space. He was talking with Victoria, when everything began. The young de la Vega reacted involuntarily.
"Get down!" Diego shouted and pushed Victoria down. They both fell on the porch and bullets bolted over their heads and got stuck in the wall. Some of the guests did the same, but one of them wasn't so lucky. The man slipped to the ground with a moan.
There was chaos in the plaza. The sellers were trying to take away their most valuable goods. Frightened hens were running wildly around, falling under the horses' hooves. The soldiers were running from the garrison and making an orderly form. And among this all six men were rounding in circles, shooting, frightening and clearly enjoying themselves.
"Madre de Dios!" moaned Victoria, standing up. Next to her Diego was crouching and trying to hide behind the porch's railing. Shielded like this, he judged the situation. The bandits were only six, drunk moreover, but they managed to make a big mess. He would deal with them easily as Zorro, though he might have problems due to his wounded arm. As Diego, he couldn't help the soldiers.
A cry made the young de la Vega raise his head in search for the source of the sound. He found it and groaned.
"Isabel!" he called. The girl wasn't, as he had thought, in the tavern, but in the plaza, when the strangers rode to the pueblo. Now she hid under one of the overturned stalls and cried, frightened. Somehow no one had noticed her for now and Diego was grateful because of it. He roused quickly and wanted to run to his daughter, but someone jerked his arm. A sudden spasm of pain made him stay more effectively than Victoria's grab, because she was the one who was holding him.
"You can't!" she hissed. "They will kill you! Isabel is quite safe now!" she was talking quickly. In spite of what she thought, Diego didn't jerk. Instead, he protected her again. This time it wasn't necessary, as the guns weren't pointed in their direction.
"Papa!" Isabel saw him and cried, which draw attention of one of the strangers. Diego saw her eyes, widened with fear, turned to him with a silent plea. This was enough. He freed himself from Victoria's embrace, but at the same time the soldiers finally reacted. An accurate shot hit the bandit when he was just a few steps from the girl. The man fell on the ground right in front of Isabel, who cried and stepped back as much as her shelter allowed her.
Shooting one of them cooled the bandits. They understood that they could terrorize the plaza freely no more. They moved their mounts and left the pueblo, leaving their shot companion behind. They hadn't even vanished behind the pueblo gate yet when Diego reached the stall.
"It's alright, Isabel, it's alright," he said reassuringly, kneeling on the ground. His daughter nestled under the stall between broken dishes. She was staring at the lying man. When she saw Diego next to her, she started crying openly. Shaken, she crawled from her hideout and cuddled up in her father's safe arms.
"Shh, it's alright," Diego repeated quietly. He bit his lips, because Isabel was pressing her head right to his wounded shoulder, already hurt a moment ago by Victoria. "Don't be afraid, nothing happened, it's over now."
"There's a body here!" sobbed Isabel. "Right here!"
"This man is alive, Isabel," Diego embraced his daughter tighter and looked over his shoulder. The soldiers had just reached them and surrounded the lying man. Diego could easily see that the wounded man was breathing.
"He's dead, he's dead," repeated the little one, hiding her face in the young de la Vega's jacket. She couldn't understand that the soldiers were taking the unlucky bandit to the jail, where they would take care of him.
"He's alive, my dear," repeated Diego once again. "Don't be afraid, you're safe."
"De la Vega, take this child away," he heard the alcalde's irritated voice above him. "You're making troubles here."
"As you wish, Ignacio," growled Diego, barely preventing himself from more harsh words. "Isabel?" he turned calmly to his daughter, but she was still crying. "Isabel, come," he repeated. The girl gave no action suggesting that she was going to move, so Diego took her in his arms. As soon as he stood up, he knew it was a big mistake. A nine year old girl wasn't light, and she was cuddling up into his left arm. Diego clenched his teeth and tilted his head, seemingly whispering some calming words to his daughter, but mostly to hide a grimace of pain. The tavern's porch suddenly seemed to be far away. Further than he might wish. He felt that he was losing all the strength in his arm, and he feared he might drop his daughter. He reached the nearest table as soon as possible and seated Isabel on it with a moan. He leaned heavily against the top and prevented himself from wiping sweat from his forehead. Still leaning, he carefully put off the girl so she wouldn't hurt his arm longer. The little one was still sobbing and didn't see her father's unusual behavior, who was standing and breathing heavily. Someone else noticed, though.
"Diego? Has something happened?" asked Victoria. She put a tray with the dishes that weren't broken on the table and glanced at her friend. Diego didn't answer her. He was standing, his back to her, and mechanically soothing his daughter to calm her down. He turned to Victoria after a while.
"No, thank God," he answered. "She's only frightened."
"I meant you," corrected Victoria, seeing the pale face of the young de la Vega. Diego looked unsure, but he shook his head.
"I'm alright," he reassured her. "It will be the best if we go back home, won't it, Isabel?" he asked, turning to his daughter. The girl nodded and slipped from the table to stand by her father. "It will be calm there."
"Are you sure?" señorita Escalante was still watching him closely. Diego couldn't help the feeling that he would be seeing double now, if he had held his daughter a bit longer. His arm was pulsing with pain and he didn't even want to check his dressings. The best thing to do was to escape as soon as possible.
"Yes, sure," he answered, a bit distracted. "I'm afraid we will eat another time. Adios," he said and led Isabel to the horses, not looking back at Victoria.
ZZZ.
"What am I going to do?" repeated Diego, when Felipe finished putting on the fresh bandages. "I don't know, but I have to be careful. It was close that at least Victoria and Isabel would have noticed that something was wrong," he admitted. He creased his eyebrows when Felipe signed to him. "Yes, I know I have to be very careful around them," answered Diego, not paying much attention. He took a few medicines to help his arm heal, but they dulled his senses. So only when Felipe repeated, did Diego fully understand what he was trying to tell him.
"I have to be careful with Isabel? She asked about me?" he repeated aloud. "That I'm sick?" Diego cursed. His daughter was far too observant. The young de la Vega planned to hide his wound from everybody, but it seemed Isabel watched him too closely not to notice it. That wasn't the best revelation Felipe had for him. The boy made a sign meaning Victoria, then pointed at Diego and signed quickly.
"That I... WHAT? Isabel told Victoria that I love her? Diego de la Vega?"
Felipe nodded, but couldn't tell him anything else. The young caballero sighed, resigned. He had to be really careful, which meant he would spend the coming hours in the cave. He didn't even want to go anywhere, Zorro's cave was the best place now, considering his mood.
ZZZ
She was left alone again. Isabel went around the hacienda twice, but she didn't find anyone. Of course, there was Maria in the kitchen, and some vaqueros outside, but she wasn't allowed to disturb them. Isabel wasn't interested in their company, after all. The previous day, when they returned from the pueblo, papa vanished somewhere and didn't come back for a long time, and then he didn't pay attention to her. And he looked more sick than in the last week. Isabel didn't question him about it, but she couldn't help but spy on him. She was surprised to see that Felipe was the only one who seemed to notice anything except her. The boy was sending his mentor an inquiring look, but when Isabel asked him about Diego, he just smiled and shook his head, as if he wanted to reassure her that everything was alright.
What to do? Papa had given her some paints, but she didn't want to paint alone. Isabel went through the corridor again and stopped by the doors to Diego's room. She knew they weren't locked, like other doors in the hacienda. Suddenly she got an idea. She shouldn't, but... The house was empty, papa was probably out in the pastures, or maybe he was selling his newspaper in the pueblo. And his room was too tempting to resist.
Quietly, not to call the bad luck, she opened the doors and slipped inside. She had been there only twice and for a short time. Diego rarely sat in his room during the day, and he preferred the library in the evenings, when he was at home of course. So, given a chance to see how her father was living, she didn't want to lose it. Isabel saw the books lying in a pile on the desk, but she didn't find anything interesting. Then she opened the drawer. There were the usual things inside – empty sheets of paper, pencils, pens and an inkwell. A bit disappointed, she opened the door under the drawer. She found there paints and a few quite good sketches. Isabel looked at them closely and then put them back in their place, because she didn't want her father to notice anything. Kneeling on the floor, she saw something leaned against the wall and hidden under a fabric. Intrigued, she came closer and took off the material and uncovered a few paintings. The first of them showed a vase with flowers. Full, yellow sunflowers pranced among little wildflowers. Isabel felt pity that such a nice picture was standing hidden. Why wasn't it hanging anywhere? She would gladly take it to her room, if she could. Curious, she put it aside to see the others. Most of them presented still lifes. Except from one. The last, big picture stood back to the wall and Isabel had to move it to see the painting. From the frame Victoria Escalante looked at her with dreaming eyes. Isabel already saw this image, the sketch was still hanging in the tavern. She knew it was a reminder of the election, but, though well drawn, it couldn't compete with the original. Victoria looked beautiful. And she told Isabel that papa wasn't in love with her? Was it why the painting was hidden, because Diego didn't want to show his feelings? Papa was sometimes strange, thought Isabel when she put the paintings back on their place. Reassured that the fabric covered them like it did before, the girl prowled in lockers and drawers. She found some interesting things, but it was an inconspicuous drawer with ties that gave her the most interesting discovery. Isabel looked for a while at what she had found. She hesitated for a moment, but then closed the drawer and ran back to her room, keeping her prize close.
ZZZ
"Diego? Diego!" Don Alejandro came vigorously to the living room and looked for his son, but he was absent again. "Where is that boy again?" he murmured to himself, checking the other rooms. He thought more and more frequently that he would never understand his son. Like now. Diego had helped him with cattle and took part in the ranch's daily life. But for two or three days Alejandro barely saw him. When he got up in the morning, Diego was still sleeping, so he ate breakfast alone and left. During siesta Diego slipped quickly through the hacienda, visibly in a hurry, and disappeared again. Alejandro was lucky if he found him in the library in the evening and knew at least, where his son was. What was Diego doing that preoccupied him so much? He would have to ask him, providing that they would even meet at home.
"Buenos dias, abuelo," instead of his son, his granddaughter answered him. The girl was sitting in the library and playing with her porcelain doll Diego had bought her in Monterey. She wasn't very enthusiastic.
"Isabel, do you know, where Diego is?" asked Alejandro, answering with a gesture at her greeting. The little one usually followed her father's every step, so maybe she knew where he could find him. Isabel disappointed him, though.
"I haven't seen papa today," she replied. "Nor Felipe."
"Never mind," Alejandro waved his hand with irritation. "If you see him, tell him I went to the pueblo. De Soto didn't care for the courier's safety again."
"Abuelo, may I go with you?" asked Isabel pleadingly. "Papa will be back in the evening and I'm boooored," she begged.
"Don't you have anything you should do?" asked Alejandro a bit harshly. He was angry at Diego and subconsciously turned it to his daughter. The issue of finding a governess for Isabel had been put aside, as they had a lot of duties, but it was high time to find a governess for the girl.
"I finished yesterday everything papa told me to," answered Isabel a bit offended. When she gave her father her notebook in the evening, Diego just nodded absently and took it to check everything. Isabel expected him to give her more exercises, but she hadn't seen her father since supper.
"So you may go," agreed Alejandro. Isabel held back her enthusiasm. She had already learned that it was better to act properly in front of her grandfather, because the elder de la Vega still had mixed feelings towards her. Yes, he liked the girl and her vigorous character, but sometimes he couldn't forget how he had became a grandfather. His bitter comments, if they appeared, were directed only to Diego and only when they were alone. They usually concerned the girl's upbringing. Alejandro preferred old, strict methods and didn't approve of the liberties Diego allowed his daughter and worse, didn't see anything improper in it. Isabel was aware of it, so she took to her heart Diego's advice to be proper in her grandfather's presence. So now she just smiled put her doll away and went with the elder de la Vega, bustling inside with enthusiasm. She had so much to tell Victoria! Alejandro didn't even notice that the girl took a small bag, another thing bought by Diego during their visit in Monterey.