Chapter 7
The journey was coming to an end for the de la Vegas and Teo Cervántez as the Isabella slowly sailed into the Gulf of Cadiz. The voyage down the west coast of South America had been relatively calm but once they began to make their way around Cape Horn, it seemed as though they had entered the gates of hell, albeit a cold, windy and wet hell.
Only the sailors ventured on heaving deck while the passengers lay moaning in their bunks, praying for an end to the gut wrenching, stomach turning motion of the ship as it crested huge waves and slammed down into the troughs so hard it was as though they were ramming into a brick wall, and with the wind roaring across the deck along with the occasional rain storm, it made life wet and miserable for everyone. Teo was thoroughly sick as was Victoria while Diego fought hard against his own nausea to care for his wife and even Felipe, who had up to this time, been sure-footed and at home at sea, was feeling the effects of the bucking ship and stayed in his darken cabin. The only person who wasn't badly affected was Don Alejandro and he became the unofficial nursemaid for his family and his friend.
But they eventually made their way around the bottom of South America and sailed north up through the Atlantic Ocean, grateful that the worst was behind them.
Victoria was pleasantly surprised to find that the voyage wasn't as boring as she had imagined. In the beginning it had been the excitement of being at sea for the first time, of seeing the sun rise and set over the glistening sapphire water, of the wonderment of watching the nimble sailors in the rigging as they furled and unfurled the large canvas sails and even eating the highly salted meat was an experience for her, after all she had always cooked with fresh products. She chatted with the other passengers; an older lady and her husband travelling to Spain for the marriage of their eldest son, a former soldier on his way home and several young men who were to begin their university studies in Madrid just as Diego had done all those years ago.
Then there were the lessons that Teo gave about the courtesy and manners of high society. He went through what was expected from them as Marqués and Marquesa and how to behave when meeting the King and Queen. He explained the hierarchy of the Spanish Royalty and the various levels of the Nobility and he informed them that they would be formally addressed as Most Illustrious Lord and Most Illustrious Lady, which caused a great deal of teasing from Felipe as he bowed each time he saw them.
Teo brought them up to date on the current political situation after the return of King Ferdinand from his exile in France in 1814 and of how the country was politically divided into factions that were for and against the absolute rule of the Spanish throne, of how the King had originally agreed to uphold the newly written constitution of 1812, in order to regain his throne but once he had become King again, he had thrown out this fledgling constitution and even since then his hold on power had been precarious at best until he was forced by an uprising to restore the constitution once again.
Even Don Alejandro had been surprised by this news of the current unrest in Spain and although his loyalty to the King was true, it wasn't blind to the faults of the man himself and he was worried what the future might bring.
When they weren't involved in their lessons, Diego and Felipe would practice their fencing on the swaying deck and they had even entered into a friendly competition with the young men to see who was the best swordsman on the ship, with the off duty crew urging them with good natured banter. It came as no real surprise to Victoria when Diego emerged the victor; although Felipe did give his adopted father a run for his money. He had learnt well and at several times the younger man almost defeated him but Diego was a little bit faster, a little surer and had overcome his son's strong attacks.
Victoria's heart had swelled with love for Diego as she watched him enjoying himself immensely. It wasn't often that she saw him fence just for the fun of it. He wore that cheeky and very familiar grin on his face, his blue eyes flashed with merriment as he fought with the others and with that lock of hair that kept falling over his forehead gave him the appearance of a roguish pirate as he moved around the deck with such ease and balance that it made the sailors look awkward in comparison.
But now as the Isabella was tied off at the docks, Victoria gazed around at the bustling port city of Cadiz in amazement. The sights, sounds and smells attacked her senses and she felt as though she had landed on another world, so much was her astonishment at the place. "Its beautiful." she muttered as she tried to take it all in.
"Si." A soft male voice came from beside her which caused her to turn and face Felipe with a beaming smile at hearing his voice for only the second time. The first had been the night before when Diego had casually asked his son if he wanted some more water with their meal and to the astonishment of everyone, Felipe had replied with a rather shy, "Si."
They had all gaped at him before Victoria and Don Alejandro pulled him into a fierce embrace while Diego looked on with fatherly pride, pleased with their little surprise they had planned earlier that day.
Felipe felt a rush of pure happiness at hearing his own voice; it was something that he never thought to hear again, not since that day he save Zorro's life. His father had kept his promise and every day during their six week voyage the two of them found a quiet place for him to practice speaking. They had started with simple sounds and words and at first he had found it very frustrating that he couldn't even make the simplest noise but it was during one of their friendly fencing bouts when Diego had uncharacteristically stumbled and almost landed in the water barrel.
The sight of his father, with his arms flaying about in an effort to stop himself from falling, made him laugh aloud. It couldn't be called a real laugh but more like a guttural wheezing sound as the air rushed out of his lungs through his unused vocal cords but this strange sound made him even more determined to speak and together with his father, he kept on trying. So far he had only been able to say the one simple word but it was a start.
"Yes, it's a beautiful city." Teo's voice came from behind them as he gazed at the city where he was born.
Victoria turned and frowned slightly. "Are you sure your sister won't mind us staying with her for a couple of days?" she asked concernedly.
Teo smiled. "Of course not Victoria. Besides she would love to see Alejandro again." he added as his old friend joined them with Diego grinning as he heard that last comment.
"Really father, I didn't know you had left a trail of broken hearts when you left Spain." he teased his father.
Don Alejandro chuckled and shook his head. "That's great coming from someone who never told me, until years later, that you had been engaged to a young woman while here in Spain."
Diego ducked his head. "Touché father." he smiled somewhat embarrassed; he never told his father about Zafira until after she and her husband had left when he had been shot by the lancers. He never knew why he never told him, perhaps he didn't want to admit that he had made a mistake, that he was capable of making mistakes, especially since his father didn't have a good opinion of him at that time and didn't want to add yet another example of his so called incompetence to his father.
"Well I'll go and arrange a carriage for us while our belongings are brought up." Teo said. He was eager to get on his way and although he loved his sister dearly, he longed to reach Madrid and home to his wife; he had missed her over the last three months.
"Of course Teo." Don Alejandro replied as his friend walked towards the gangway and down the ramp to arrange a carriage for all of them, just as the sailors carried their belongings up from below.
Diego flicked a glance at Victoria before he turned to his father. "Father, Victoria and I have been talking about who I should have as aide de camp and we thought to offer it to Teo. He is very knowledgeable and from what you have told me, he is very well respected by everyone and considering that he was bearer of the news from the King, it shows how important he is."
Don Alejandro nodded thoughtfully. "You know I think he would make a perfect aide for you. I mean you already know him and he knows you; you wouldn't want some stranger coming in, especially when you are going into a situation that you know nothing about. He is well respected for his moderate political views and he has done many good things in the past. Yes, I think he would be perfect for the position."
Diego nodded with a smile. "We think so to but would he accept it?"
Don Alejandro shrugged. "It's something for you to work out with him...Ahh, Teo's found a carriage. Shall we go?" he said as he noticed his friend raised his hand in their direction to gain their attention.
The four of them made their way to the gangway and when Diego reached the bottom, he was jostled by a man who was carrying a basket of fish.
"My apologies Señor, I didn't see you." the fisherman said.
"That's okay Señor, I didn't see you either." he replied politely even though he felt the hairs on the back on his neck rise up as he looked at the man. There was something about his black eyes, as well as the heavy scar on his face, that made him instantly wary of the stranger; many years fighting as Zorro had developed his sixth sense to the point of instinctively knowing the troublemakers when he saw them. And that man was trouble, he was sure of it.
Diego continued on his way but when he reached the carriage, he turned and looked back but couldn't see the man anywhere. He doubted their paths would ever cross again so he put him out of his mind and climbed into the carriage for the journey to Teo's sister's home.
Vargas had left the basket of fish on the docks before he moved towards the shelter of a doorway of a nearby tavern and watched the carriage pull away from the docks with a frown on his scarred face; he had made his first and only contact with de la Vega to ensure that he had the right target but what he had not been expecting was for him to be travelling with his whole family. It was easy enough to arrange an accident for one person or even two but to arrange an accident for four or five people including a woman was going to be difficult, although not totally impossible but it would raise many questions amongst the local authorities and those questions could well come back to him.
He knew of a number of ways to eliminate them but he would bide his time and wait for the most appropriate time and place; as long as it was done before the family arrived in Madrid to ensure that he received the second promised payment. He thought about asking for more money, for even he had principles when it came to killing women but he remembered the icy tone of the stranger and he doubted that he would be agreeable to further payments.
Vargas stepped away from the doorway, ignoring the calls of the scanty clad women on the first floor balcony above and strode the rear of the building where he had left his horse. He mounted and then he discreetly followed the carriage towards the most respectable part of the town.
They arrived at Teo's sister's house ten minutes after they had left the docks and as Victoria walked up the pathway to the front door, she grabbed at her father-in-law's arm and stopped walking which made him stop as well.
"Is anything wrong?" Don Alejandro asked curiously.
"Did the ground just move?" she asked.
Don Alejandro cocked his head. "No, why?" he asked as they began to walk on.
She frowned slightly as she gripped his arm again. "I can't seem to walk straight." she said as she swayed on her feet.
Don Alejandro chuckled as he realised what was happening. "My dear, you just haven't got your land legs back yet." he replied.
"Land legs?"
He patted her hand as he guided her along the path. "Remember how it took you a couple of days to get your sea legs as you became used to the swaying motion of the ship, well now it's going to take a day or so to readjust to walking without having the ground moving beneath you. See even Diego and Felipe are having trouble." he said with amusement in his voice as he gestured to his son and grandson who were walking unevenly ahead of them.
Victoria chuckled as she swayed again. "It feels like I've drunk too much wine and I'm unable to walk in a straight line."
Don Alejandro grinned. "Yes it's a bit like that but without the horrible after effects of drinking." he replied as they walked up the steps and entered the large white house.
"Teo! You're back." A woman's voice called out from the first floor of her home.
Teo grinned at his youngest sister as she walked briskly down the wide stairs. "Celia." he greeted as he pulled her into a fierce embrace. "Yes, I'm back and I've brought friends." he added when they separated. "I think you remember Alejandro de la Vega."
Celia smiled warmly. "Of course I do. It's good to see you again Alejandro."
Don Alejandro beamed as he reached for her hand and planted a soft kiss. "It's good to see you again Celia, it's been a long time. I believe you know Diego?"
She nodded with a smile. "Yes, it's good to see you once more Diego." she said as she turned her attention to the handsome young man.
Diego smiled. "It's wonderful to see you too. Please let me introduce you to my wife Victoria and my son Felipe."
Celia smiled warmly at the beautiful young woman and the younger man standing beside her. "Welcome to Spain, Victoria, Felipe, I'm pleased to meet you both."
Victoria smiled back. "Gracias. I hope we haven't put you out by staying here with you."
"Of course not, my husband is away at the moment and my adult children are married with lives of their own so I welcome your company, even if it's only for a couple of days. Teo, can you show them into the sala while I'll get the rooms sorted out." Celia said as she walked towards the rear of her home to have her servants fix up several more rooms.
Teo smiled. "Of course. Come this way, my brother-in-law keeps a well stocked wine cabinet."
Don Alejandro chuckled. "He doesn't mind if you raid his cabinet?" he asked as they followed him across the wide hallway.
Teo laughed. "Considering that he raids my cabinet whenever he comes to Madrid, then no he doesn't mind at all." he replied as he stepped back to allow his friends to enter first.
"What a beautiful room." Victoria said as she looked around the spacious sala, with its comfortable looking chairs and a small round table which could convert into a chess or card table. There was a tall bookshelf with many books and beside it was a long side table which held several decanters of wine and glasses and at the far end of the room was large french doors that opened to allow in nature light and air.
"Thank you Victoria, I really like this room myself and I tend to spend a lot of time here." Celia said with a smile as she entered the sala. "When I have a small party of guests, I have our servants bring in a larger table and chairs so we can eat our meals in here. The light is better here than the formal dining room." she added.
Victoria smiled. "Yes, I can see why you like this room." she replied as she watched the men walk over to the side table and pour themselves a drink.
Celia nodded. "I hope you don't mind me being a little presumptuous but I'm having a warm bath prepared for you. I've only travelled once to England and back by ship but I was glad to wash away all that salt so I can't even imagine travelling all that way from the Americas without having a proper bath. I'm also arranging for the men to bathe as well, I'm sure they would want to clean up too.
Victoria beamed. "Of course I don't mind. I've been longing to relax in a warm bath and wash my hair even since that first week on board the ship. Umm Celia, can I trouble you to get our clothes washed too, I mean almost six weeks on board ship in a trunk with no fresh air... "
Celia smiled re-assuringly as she patted the younger woman's arm. "It's no trouble at all, just leave out whatever clothes you want washed and I'll have Suzanne get it done for you."
A/N - I've done some historical research for this chapter and the coming ones - there were major upheavals in the political sphere across all of Europe at that time but I don't want to delve too deeply into the politics so I am trying to fit my story around it as best that I can. Its not going to be truly accurate but this is fanfic and not an essay - if it was, I'll probably get a big red "F" for failure for stretching the truth :)
And if you're wondering about the "land legs" it does feel weird trying to walk on firm ground after being at sea for awhile. For me, it took a couple of days before I could walk without swaying slightly and no, I hadn't had anything to drink either :)
