Chapter 11 – Revelations at the dinner table
The Blascos had invited their friends for dinner that evening to celebrate that the actions taken by the lawyer had resulted in the Alcalde giving up his attempts to implement the new luxury tax for the non-essential items. Diego was reluctant to go, as he didn't want to spend the night pretending to be fine, having to engage in trivial conversations while he was going through such an unexpected sexual identity crisis. He had not taken care of his personal appearance for a week now, and it would take him a while to groom himself into an acceptable look. But his father insisted the activity would be an excellent distraction for whatever his troubles were and, finally, he agreed to go.
Diego sat down at the dinner table opposite to Cristina. He was not wearing the sling anymore, his injury completely healed now. His father sat to his right, in front of Doña María Luisa, and Don Francisco was at the head of the table, close to them.
Cristina was as beautiful as ever. She was wearing a pretty green dress, with short sleeves and embellished with embroidery and laces. Her dark hair was pinned back in a glittering hair clip, and her slender arms were on display. Diego looked at them, distracted, comparing them with Victoria's, which were much thinner. A fainted, thin red line on her right forearm caught his attention. He didn't know why, but that line was important somehow.
During the first course, he engaged in polite conversation with the Blascos, gazing at that scratch from time to time, trying to remember its significance. By the second course, suddenly he remembered that the Italian was scratched by a cat, and his heart skipped a beat. He looked at Cristina again, scrutinizing her. He gazed at her arms another time. They looked strong, slender but firm, with muscles that could be seen as slightly prominent for the average woman. Her right arm would definitely be capable of handling a sword. She had roughly the same height as the Italian, the same dark hair, and she could definitely look similar to him with a beard and glasses. By then, Diego's heart was racing. The more he examined the woman in front of him, the more similarities he found with the Italian. Their horses looked similar. They both walked with a similar springy active pace too. At that moment, Cristina and Don Alejandro were talking about England and Shakespeare, and the beauty of the English language. He had to ask, he had to be sure.
"Can you speak Italian?" Diego asked, politely, looking at Cristina for any reaction.
"No, not very well," Cristina said, lowering her eyes. Why is he looking at me like that? Maybe he suspects something. How could he know? she thought.
"How can you say that, dear?" her mother said, interrupting the conversation. "Excuse my daughter, Diego, she is very modest," she apologized looking at the De La Vegas. "She studied at the Academy of Fine Art of Florence for two years. She is an amazing artist and she speaks Italian fluently. She is well gifted for foreign languages," she glowed, with a radiant smile.
Cristina bit her lip. Damn you mum, shut up! she thought, stirring on her seat. She glanced quickly at Diego, and saw his smug expression. Oh, no, he definitely knows.
"Oh, how wonderful," Diego said, satisfied with Cristina's reaction. She was the Italian man, he had no doubt now. He was more mesmerized by her than ever before. How could such a gentle creature transform into a brawler man, one so skilled with the sword that could even disarm Zorro, was beyond his comprehension. Besides, if she was the Italian man, the one he had been so disturbingly attracted to, everything was fine. It meant he liked her, not him. He felt a huge relief at that point, a massive weight lifted off his soul.
Cristina saw a new spark of appreciation in Diego's eyes, and she kept looking at them trying to discover why, while he was talking to her mother. The more she looked at them, intently, the more she realized she had seen those eyes before, and some intense feeling stirred up inside her… Then she gasped, nearly choking on her food.
No! It cannot be! she thought, coughing, reaching for her glass of water with a shaky hand, spilling some over the table cloth. Diego was distracted at that moment, talking about art with Doña María Luisa, and he didn't notice her lapse. He could nicely fit the description: same height… same black hair… same moustache… same blue, sparkling eyes… For the first time, she saw Diego in a different way. Maybe he was a great pretender, like she was. But she had to be absolutely sure; she needed some kind of confirmation, although her heart already knew. She had an idea to find out right there.
"Diego…" she hesitated, not quite sure how to proceed. "What did you study when you were at University in Madrid?" she asked, with her sweetest voice.
"Many different things. I studied Sciences, like physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy…" he answered, vaguely.
"What else?" she pushed.
"The Arts, like… painting, music, poetry, literature… and history… politics…" he could go on forever, because he was interested in everything and took many courses.
"Did you learn fencing?" she asked sharply, tired of beating around the bush.
"What?" he asked, surprised by the sudden turn. She was looking at him in a strange way now. "No, I didn't take any formal training, no… I am not a man of action, as my father can tell you," he said, smiling coyly.
"Yes, Diego, you are not, I agree with that," Don Alejandro said. "But, I did enrol you to study with Sir Edmund Kendall, the famous swordmaster."
I've got you! Bull's eye! Cristina thought, excited.
"But you were so busy with your books, and your skills with the sword were so pathetic that he gave up on you, didn't he?" Don Alejandro continued, teasing his son.
"Eh… yes… we didn't want to waste each other's time," he said. It was his time to stir on his chair now.
"Sir Edmund Kendall, ah? I think I heard of him," Cristina said, forcing her mouth to stay straight, fighting a smile. She pulled her napkin to the left side of her face, pretending to clean herself, and she whispered, making sure only Diego could hear it: "the swordmaster who invented the rosette technique?"
Cristina put down her napkin and stared at Diego with an imperturbable face.
There, now I know who you are, too, she thought. They gazed at each other for a while, realizing the great similarity of their true natures for the first time, until simultaneously they broke into a frank smile.
And now what? they thought, their joy radiating off their faces, fully appreciating each other for the first time.
Don Francisco was oblivious to the situation and he started talking about his student days, but Don Alejandro and Doña María Luisa caught the smile between the couple. At that point, they both shared a happy thought.
Look at these two! Thank God, could it finally be happening? Babies! Babies!
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FIN
A.N – Thanks for your interest in my story. Either if you liked it or not, please review and let me know what you think. Your comments will be much appreciated, even if you review this story years after it was first published.
If you like this story with new original characters, now you can keep reading Part 2, also taking part on a challenge. Don't be discouraged by the unusual non-D/V pairing, and please, keep reading.
