Chapter 10
Victoria stayed at the de la Vega hacienda, busy with unpacking her bags, while Alejandro and his two sons made their trip to the Marquez hacienda to talk with Don Fernando about the marriage contract.
Don Fernando greeted them friendly, pleased that they had made the trip to his hacienda.
"Alejandro, Don Diego, I assume that you have made up your mind? Has your father persuaded you that he only had your best interest in mind when we arranged your marriage to my daughter Maria?" Don Fernando asked.
"Don Fernando, you are right that we have come to discuss the marriage contract with you," Diego said, "but it's not as you think."
"What do you mean by that? Are you going to marry my daughter or not?" Don Fernando asked irritated.
"No, I'm sorry, but that's not possible, Don Fernando. I won't let my father decide on the woman I marry and I will only marry for love. Victoria Escalante accompanied me on my trip to Santa Paula and we had a talk. I've always loved her, but I never stood a chance against Zorro. I told her about my feelings and she agreed to marry me. We got married in Santa Paula," Diego said.
"You married Victoria Escalante instead of my daughter?" Don Fernando said, enraged. "How could you prefer Zorro's former lover to my Maria? How could you give up your hacienda for someone like her?"
"Did you know about that, Alejandro?" he addressed his friend.
"No, my son didn't tell me about his marriage plans in advance and I was very surprised when he told me that he had married Victoria Escalante," Alejandro said truthfully.
"Victoria is the only woman for me," Diego said. "I'm sorry for your daughter, but I had never any intention of marrying her. I could have told you that if you had consulted me about the matter instead of arranging my marriage behind my back."
"Your hacienda will now belong to me!" Don Fernando said. "I hope you have well considered the consequences before you cast aside my daughter for the tavern owner."
"Victoria is my wife now and I expect you to respect her as a member of the de la Vega family," Diego demanded. "And if you believe that our hacienda now belongs to you, you're mistaken, Don Fernando. I had my lawyer check it and there's something you overlooked when you and my father set up the contract."
"What is it?" Don Fernando asked, irritated. "How do you believe you can keep your hacienda after you married someone else?"
Diego unfolded the contract papers and explained what the lawyer had found out and Felipe's new status as a de la Vega.
"You can't be serious, Alejandro," Don Fernando said after his initial surprise, looking at Felipe for the first time. "Though I congratulate you to your new son, Alejandro, I can't believe you're considering this. He is still a boy and not old enough to get married."
"I must admit that I didn't want him to take Diego's place in the contract, but it's his decision," Alejandro said. "That means the de la Vegas are willing to fulfill their part of the contract. Will you daughter agree to this or do you prefer to step back from the contract? In that case your hacienda will be mine."
Diego could see conflicting emotions reflected on Don Fernando's face when he considered his options. "I will call my daughter and tell her about the new situation. I'm sure we'll come to an agreement and we don't need another scene at the church when everyone is expecting a wedding."
Maria entered the room expectantly when she heard of the visit of the de la Vegas, but then her face changed to one of anger when her father explained the new situation her.
"Do you really expect me to marry this peasant?" she said enraged. "I don't care that he now carries the de la Vega name. It doesn't change who he is! I bet this was the plan from the beginning when you both set up the contract. The de la Vegas saw the chance to marry off their cripple who can't hear or talk. I want to marry a real man and not someone like him!" Maria said disdainful.
Felipe fled the room, before she could continue.
"I can assure you that it was never the plan," Diego said angrily. "It gives you no right to hurt my brother and differently than you may think, Felipe can understand what you say. I've always thought well of you, Maria, but now I'm more than happy that we didn't get married and I will do everything to prevent the marriage between my brother and you. I don't want him to get hurt anymore."
"And I won't marry him!" Maria shouted, storming out of the room as well.
Excusing himself, Diego left the room too in search of Felipe. When he didn't find him with the horses at the front of the house, Diego went back inside the hacienda. The servants he asked hadn't seen Felipe either.
On his way back to the parlor he heard a loud argument between two persons in the hallway around the bend. Diego was about to announce his presence, but then he stopped short when he identified the voices as Don Fernando and his daughter Maria.
"Maria, you will marry the young de la Vega by the end of the month," Don Fernando said.
"I don't want to. I would have taken Don Diego, but I don't want to marry his brother! Why did Diego have to marry that tavern owner! How could he prefer someone like her instead of me!" Maria said.
"You're not much better than her! You will get married by the end of the month. You don't have much time left!" Don Fernando declared.
"Father, please, you can't make me!" Maria started to beg.
"I can and I will. As your father I have the obligation to see you married and I don't care if you like the bridegroom or not. This contract with the de la Vegas is the best for all and all your begging won't help you!" Don Fernando declared.
A young kitchen maid passed him by, greeting him, and Diego could no longer stay hidden. He walked around the corner to meet Don Fernando and his daughter.
"Ah, Don Diego, there you are. Your father is waiting for you in the parlor. Your brother has already left and he wants to leave too. I think we will have discuss this another time, but I will continue with the wedding preparations while I talk to my daughter."
Don Fernando glanced at Maria who unhappily bit her lips.
"We will have to discuss it in the family too," Diego said shortly. "Adios, Señorita, Don Fernando." Diego bowed slightly before leaving.
Z~Z~Z
"How was the meeting with Don Fernando?" Victoria asked Diego.
"Unpleasant." Diego leaned against the window in their bedroom and recounted the meeting while he watched Victoria unpacking and storing her belongings in one of the dressers.
"What will you do now?" Victoria asked.
"I don't know yet. I was against the idea of Felipe marrying Maria Marquez from the start and I don't want him to get hurt even more. Don Fernando is determined to go through with the marriage no matter if the couple wants it or not. I can't understand why he wants to force his daughter into this marriage and why he is so committed to the date. He doesn't care that Maria now has to marry Felipe instead of me."
"Maybe Maria is in the same situation as I?" Victoria suggested, turning around to face him.
"What are you talking about?" Diego asked her, puzzled. "What situation? You're married to me and she's not. How can she be in the same situation?"
Victoria shook her head, sighing. "It must be because you're a man that you're so thickheaded sometimes. Maria is a woman. I was talking about her condition She could be pregnant as I am and in need of a husband."
"Maria? Pregnant?" Diego asked, surprised. "She's Don Fernando's daughter and well-raised. I didn't hear that she had a suitor among the caballeros."
"Still it happens," Victoria stated. "I hear enough in the tavern every day. There are more scandals than you're aware of."
"If she was pregnant, it would explain why Don Fernando is so determined to see her married and why he's in such a hurry. None of us would have expected her to be pregnant and the child would have arrived early," Diego voiced his thoughts.
"Yes, it a good way to avoid a scandal while hiding it behind a marriage contract," Victoria added.
"We need to find out the truth before Felipe has to marry her for the hacienda," Diego said. "I don't believe that Don Fernando or Maria would tell us the truth if we asked them. Their hacienda is as much as risk as ours if they don't fulfill their part of the contract."
"There must be another way to find out than asking them," Victoria said.
"I need to think about it," Diego said. "Are you finished with unpacking?" he asked. "You could have left that task to the servants. You don't have to do that yourself. It's only temporarily anyway until we can move into the rooms next to the nursery that my father still occupies. He'll have to move first into the wing that my grandparents lived in when my parents got married."
"We will have to move in others rooms and I'll have to do this work again?" Victoria said annoyed.
"You don't have to do everything on your own. The servants will do the moving and you'll like the larger rooms. This room is designed for one person and not for two." Diego stated.
"I already noticed that," Victoria said dryly. "I had the servants move some of your clothes into the other room next door, so there was space for mine."
"The servants moved my clothes?" Diego said, alarmed. "Where did they put it? How will I find them again?"
Victoria looked at him amused. "Part of your clothes are in the adjacent dressing room. The servants put another wardrobe inside. You told me to move in to your room and I needed space."
"I never thought about it," Diego sighed. "I have to get used to be married too." He smiled. "I don't care if it means that I have you here with me." He drew her close.
"The servants will know where everything is," Victoria said, leaning into his embrace. "They know everything."
"The servants will know," Diego said, staring into the air without focusing and Victoria noticed that he was thinking about something else. "The servants will know."
Suddenly, Diego smiled at her. "I know now who to ask about Maria and her possible pregnancy - the servants."
"But you can't simply sneak around Don Fernando's hacienda and ask everyone," Victoria objected.
"Not me, but someone else can," he grinned. "And don't plan to ride to Don Fernando's hacienda. There's someone who owes me and will tell me."
"I have an idea what you have in mind, but I'm not sure I like your plan," Victoria said.
"I know you're always worrying about me and I promise I will be careful," he assured her.