Chapter 11
After dinner Diego went into the cave to change into Zorro and get ready for a ride with Toronado.
Victoria watched him anxiously as he saddled Toronado after he had changed into his black outfit.
"I'll be careful, Querida," he assured, caressing her cheek tenderly. "I'll be back soon."
"Maybe it'll be better if you ask Don Fernando or Maria directly," Victoria suggested. "It would save you from having to ride out as Zorro."
He shook his head. "No. It's better this way and nobody will know where we got our information. Don't worry, Victoria."
Victoria threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately. "I love you," she whispered, letting him go, knowing she couldn't keep him.
"I love you too," he looked at her lovingly before he mounted Toronado and rode out of the cave.
Z~Z~Z
It didn't take him long on Toronado to reach the small farm in the northern valley. Three months ago a group of bandits had tried to rob the farmers in the valley and put their houses on fire, but Zorro had been able to defeat them and helped with fighting the fire. It was the gratitude of one of the farmers Zorro was counting on today.
"Señor Zorro, what brings you here today?" the farmer asked surprised, rising from his seat at the table that was already cleaned up from supper. "Did you come to warn us of another attack from bandits?"
"No, Señor Fernandez, there's no danger," Zorro assured him. "I came about another matter. I'd like to talk to your daughter."
"My daughter? What do you want from her? I heard about you and Señorita Escalante! Are you looking for someone new after you ruined Señorita Escalante? I can assure Señor Zorro, my daughter is not for you!" The farmer faced him with a cold glare, determined to protect his daughter.
"Señor Fernandez, I swear by God that I didn't ruin Señorita Victoria and that I never went beyond what is proper. If Victoria is having a child, it is from her husband Don Diego and no one else!" Zorro said.
"You swear this by God?" the farmer asked, still suspicious.
"Yes!" Zorro confirmed it.
"What do you want from my daughter?" Fernandez demanded.
"I have no personal interest in her, Señor Fernandez," Zorro assured him. "I know that she's working at the kitchen at Don Fernando's hacienda. I came here to ask her a few questions if you would allow me to talk to her."
"Nothing else?"
"No."
Convinced, the farmer went to the kitchen and soon returned with his wife and daughter, gesturing for them all to sit down.
"What do you want to know from me, Señor Zorro?" Ana, the farmer's daughter asked him timidly. "My family is in your debt and I'd be happy to help you."
"I came here to help the de la Vega family who have always supported me," Zorro explained. "I think you have heard that they will lose their hacienda if there isn't a marriage between the two families."
"Yes, but Don Diego has already married Victoria Escalante. What can they do now?" Ana Fernandez asked. "And how can I help?"
"Don Fernando insisted that the marriage of his daughter takes place before the end of the month and I want to know if there is a special reason for it. What do you know about Maria Marquez?" Zorro asked.
Ana Fernandez hesitated before she answered. "Señor Zorro, I'm not sure if I should talk with you about my employer's family. I don't want to get any trouble and I need that job."
"Señorita. I promise you that I won't tell anyone who gave me the information," Zorro assured her. "I know how to keep a secret." He touched his mask briefly and they nodded. His last remark convinced them, making them smile.
"I trust you and my family is in your debt," Ana said. "It can't be kept a secret much longer either."
"What do you know?" Zorro asked.
"There was this vaquero, Emilio Verduro. He was a new hire who had recently arrived in California about four months ago," Ana said.
"What about him?"
"He was charming and a very handsome man. Everyone noticed it – even Señorita Maria. It didn't take long for him to make her fall in love with him. She kept it a secret from her family, but all the servants knew what was going on between them. Eventually Don Fernando found out, but it was already too late. Señorita Maria begged her father not to fire him and wanted to marry him, but Emilio preferred to leave and take the money Don Fernando offered him instead of marrying Señorita Maria without a dowry. "
"Is that the reason Don Fernando decided to marry off his daughter to Don Diego?" Zorro asked.
"Si, Señor Zorro," Ana nodded. "Don Fernando wants to get her married before her pregnancy shows and the scandal becomes known."
"And Señorita Maria agreed to it?"
"She had the choice between marrying Don Diego or being sent to a convent in Spain where the child would be put into an orphanage after birth," Ana explained.
"I can understand why she preferred to marry Don Diego," Zorro said. "Don Fernando thought that he could fool the de la Vegas by marrying off his pregnant daughter to Don Diego, but that won't happen now. Thank you very much for your information, Señorita Ana."
"You won't tell anyone?" Ana asked again anxiously.
"I promise," Zorro said. "I'm in your debt now. Adios, my friends." He rose from his seat and saluted the family, before he was on his way again.
