There was nothing else for it. Victoria had to talk to Lilly. She had to find out if Lilly loved Diego and would say yes when he asked her to marry him. Not knowing was driving her mad.

The two were dancing together and having what appeared to be an involved discussion. Had he already proposed? Victoria waited until the two parted to approach Lilly. She seemed to have been greatly affected by the conversation she had just had with Diego.

"Lady Lilly, I'm hoping you will accompany me out to the garden to get some air." When Victoria asked the question, Lilly looked up at her startled and nonplussed.

"Senorita Escalante," Lilly smiled. She had gotten over her initial surprise. "Of course, it's stifling in here isn't it?"

The two headed out to the garden arm in arm, but as soon as they were out of sight of the party, Victoria broke away from Lilly and turned to face her.

"I'm sorry, I know this is incredibly rude, but I have to know," she took a slow long breath as if to prepare herself. "Are you in love with Diego?"

Major Ward Wright sat in a quiet corner of the de la Vega hacienda intently studying a pocket sized book of verse. He'd managed to spend the evening out of sight of Lilly's father. Not out of any fear of the man, but to avoid any unpleasantness it might cause HER.

He'd planned on leaving after finding out what he so desperately needed to know, but found that he couldn't leave her. Being so close and not storming over to her and laying claim, when every fiber of his being called out for him to do just that, was exquisite torture. However, the alternative, not being near her, was even less bearable.

Lilly was a light to everyone. She drew people to her with her warmth and charm, and Wright was no different than anyone else. Being near that light, albeit not as near as he would like, was wondrous.

He recalled that first meeting, when she'd made him laugh. She'd had him then. No woman had ever made him laugh before. Certainly not a green girl. He'd thought her beautiful at first sight, but beauty was nothing new to him.

He knew he was a good looking man, and many ladies had approached him since his elevation to experience the excitement of being with a man like him. But those women had never made him laugh. They never tried to put him at ease. He was like a sideshow act to them. He had expected the same reaction to be forthcoming when Lady Lillian Pumphrey would not stop staring at him.

Not Lilly. The memory made him smile. When she had been introduced to him her wit had made a world weary soldier smile and then laugh. She was more than a diamond of the first water; she was treasure because of so much more than her looks.

Because she'd filled him with joy and so many more emotions he'd thought he'd never feel again, just by making him laugh.

"What?" Lilly was amazed by the question, but supposed she shouldn't be. Hadn't she noticed Victoria's jealousy when she'd first met the senorita?

"I need to know, he's my friend and I don't want him hurt. I know he loves you."

Twice in one night! Lilly must be grossly underestimating her own charms.

"That's ridiculous!" Lilly couldn't help the hysterical giggles.

"Don't laugh!" Victoria was getting angrier by the minute, but it seemed the angrier she was the more Lilly giggled. "Stop that!"

"I can't!" But she collected herself enough to stop and say, "It's not possible that Diego's in love with me Victoria. What makes you say that?"

"He told me so!" Victoria was pacing back and forth angrily. She couldn't seem to look at Lilly.

That statement stopped Lilly from seeing any more mirth in the situation. It couldn't possibly be true. Diego had admitted to Lilly that he cared for Victoria. She was about to say as much, when a dark figure broke from the shadows and attacked the senorita.

Before Lilly could so much as scream she felt the cold press of steel against the small of her back.

"Don't even think about it, senorita," the man's breath was foul, but she recognized the voice. The man from the other night, when Zorro had rescued her. He pressed his big hand over Lilly's mouth to silence her. "Come quietly and no one gets hurt."

Lilly looked over at Victoria, but the other man had apparently knocked her unconscious. She was hanging limply from his shoulder, like a sack of wheat. Lilly nodded. She knew her best bet for survival was cooperation.

Diego was worried. Where could Victoria and Lilly have gotten themselves off to? The party had died down and most everyone had left. Victoria could possibly have gone home, but without saying goodbye? And Lilly…she'd wondered off before, but not like this. Felipe had not seen them anywhere. He'd sent the boy to Victoria's tavern to see if she was there and was looking around the hacienda himself for Lilly. He wanted to see if he could find her before raising the alarm.

"CLAIRE!"

However, Lord Pumphrey had apparently noticed his daughter's absence.

Diego headed to the commotion.

It was much the same scene as that first day, when Lilly had wandered off and Lord Pumphrey questioned Claire.

"Pump!" Alejandro tried to calm his friend.

Just then Felipe, Major Wright, and Sgt Fitzgerald entered the room.

"YOU!" Pump lunged for the major, but was stopped by Alejandro and Diego just before he reached him. "Where is my daughter?"

Felipe handed Diego a note. He opened it, but immediately looked back at the men in confusion.

"It was at the tavern. It's addressed to Zorro. They've been kidnapped," Wright's voice was calm, his face inscrutable, but Diego detected distress under the surface.

He knew he was reeling from the news. Victoria was in danger. He needed to get to the cave and fast. He had to get to her.

"Don't bother. This man knows where she is! I told you to stay away from my daughter!" Pump's face was beet red with rage as he pointed at Wright. "You bastard! You were always sniffing around Lilly! You don't even know who your parents are, rising through the ranks through nothing more than…ruthless thuggery! You aren't fit to lick my daughter's boots!"

Wright looked directly at Pump when he answered. "Everything you just said about me is true, and one more thing…I will find Lilly AND Senorita Escalante and bring them back"

He spoke with the quiet resolution that Diego had begun to associate with him.

Pumphrey laughed. "You? On unfamiliar terrain? In a countryside you don't know? How?"

"You just said it, Lord Pumphrey," the major said with a wry smile. "Ruthless thuggery. It's what I do, and what I am. No one takes what's mine."

"What's y..? Lilly isn't yours!" Pump yelled, at Major Wright's retreating form.