A few hours later Diego walked restless through his big hacienda, while Kendall's words kept repeating in his head over and over again. 'Never act in anger. Wait for the right moment to attack.'

His plan would be working. It had to. So far everything went well. But why did he feel some doubts?

He knew he was growing to love the people of this pueblo. They needed him, they needed him to fight DeSoto. Diego knew he could instantly beat this so called alcalde, but Diego also knew it wasn't about beating him and have him gone. There was more and he had to find out before he could get rid of him.

While walking through the rooms of the hacienda close to the entrance he made a mental note to thank all the workers. They really did a good job restoring. Now, his house looked like a very rich and influental man living in it. Another mental note was explaining how he got so rich and decided to live in this outcast. After he arrived at the entrance, he checked the frontgarden.

Standing outside at the gates he just stood and watched the hacienda, taking in every stone, colour, structure of the chalk stucco and architectural details. He felt proud of having been able to buy the place. For a moment he felt very satisfied with his life. If it wasn't for Felipe punching his ribs with his elbow to bring him out of his reverie.

'Felipe really, please be careful with my ribs or they will never heal,' Diego playful brought up a subject Felipe still rather forgot.

"Don't be ashamed for it Felipe," Diego soothed, "what choice did you have? And you couldn't possibly know that it was me camping in the forest. My ribs had perfectly healed."

A bit ashamed, Felipe signed his regret over his attack.

"Forget it about it, there were more funnier things on our adventure to get back home," Diego knew it was time to change the subject. It wouldn't do any good to stick in the past, except for things learnt on the path of life.

Felipe's face lit up while he made many signs.

'True, Don Elonzo was easy to persuade selling his home to us.'This answer made Felipe's grin grow larger, because he believed everyone could be bought with this outrageous amount of money that was spent on this hacienda. He laughed at the picture the caballero had left.

Five months ago

Diego and Felipe had been riding scouting the area of Los Angeles for days. They needed to know every path, every rock, every stream and every plant in the area. But both also studied the routines of the patrols, the habits of the citizens and the in and out goings of the passengers. Moreover they were interested in finding a place to stay. It just happened one week after their arrival when they found a nice place they considdered to become their new home.

It was a desolate estate at the east side of the pueblo. The main roads were not trespassing the hacienda like Diego's father's, whose estate was a very strategicly located, but still it was close enough to the pueblo to not miss out and far enough to become very privat.

Like thieves in the night they observed the place a few days, before they made up their plans and put them into motion. Felipe had a very important role in it.

Undercover Felipe rode up to the hacienda with the letter in his hands. At the sound of the horse the owner of the hacienda met Felipe. 'Buenos dias, what brings you here?'

Felipe gave a polite, however very humble, nod and handed over the letter.

Confused the older man took it. After he was sure that the letter was meant for him, he opened and started reading. His confusion grew even more. Felipe noticed this and stepped down his cart to walk behind it.

The older man instinctively followed. Felipe showed the load on the cart hidden under a large piece of cloth. When the haciendado saw the three chests filled with money and jewels, he ran toward his home, called for his wife and children. 'Carmen, Carmen, children, pack our things. Carmen, only pack what you don't want to leave behind!' He sounded like the hacienda had been set on fire.

'What is going on?' Doña Carmen called back from the window on the first Floor.

'We are going back to Mexico!' Don Elonzo was obviously relieved to tell the news and made a cross before he ran into the house. 'Gracias á diós, no more wine.'

Felipe never witnessed someone being so ecstatic and couldn't hide a smile, despite he was instructed to keep a grave smile. He should keep up apppearances this was part of his daily routine. Felipe was already too trained the hard way in life and knew don Elonzo wasn't paying attention anymore.

Within an hour he saw the family leaving the area. Just in the last minutes, Don Elonzo had asked him to bring a message to a few friends to explain their sudden departure.

After that, Felipe returned to their former hideout to pick up Diego and their few belongings. He immediately noticed that Diego had removed all traces of their stay. It was only a matter of picky up the few bags and taking Toronado with them.

And there they stood, on the doorstep of this big hacienda without having had any instructions or information on the land, facing another adventure.

"What do you think, Felipe,' the young caballero with a watched his property closely. 'of our new home?'

Diego felt an odd vibration running through his body. Home. It had been a long time that he was able to call a place home. He knew his pupil hadn't had one for a long time either.

Felipe was at a loss for words. Diego had to admit he felt the dame way. He couldn't really comprehend having a place like this ownig himself. Having had little faith in ever returning home a year ago, let alone having been able to dream buying one of the largest hacienda besides his father's of the area, his would was turning upside down as his life seemed to go as he planned it. 'Shall we go and see what is inside?'

Felipe nodded, regaining his childlike curiosity. Diego followed the teenager with growing playfullness through the rooms. Soon they had to acknowlage that not all that glitters was gold. To bring back its originial richness, lots had to be done. Both understood Don Elonzo's eagerness to accept only three big crests of gold and jewels and leave California.

During a very sober dinner, they concluded that the staff off the hacienda had left a pretty while ago. They found some notes of sceduals of hired people. New plans had to make up for getting a permanent household, but also to bring back the hacienda's grandeur. It was neccessary for Ignatio's downfal, and his accomplices.

The following days, also undercover, Felipe and Diego went to the neighbor pueblos and cities to find workers to restore the hacienda and its garden. In one of the harbours they met a foreign couple who wanted to work in the household. The woman was an excellent cook and her husband was really a handy and clever man who wanted to do everything to earn some decent money. Diego had trusted this man to find a butler. Diego figured the man was capabel of managing a household as his secretary.

Further Diego hired workers for the big job to restore of the hacienda to its earlier allure.

So as Diego had pretended to be an estate agent making the first arrangements for the hacienda's new owner the man was orded to supervise the whole project. Therefor Diego and Felipe were able to come and go as they wish staying in a small house on the large estate. Sometimes they showed up in disguise again to make sure everything went well and as planned.

'I doubt you came here to just watch our home. Or to remind me still having some ribs.'

Felipe smiled confirming he was looking for him and made a gesture referring to señor Senon.

'How is our patient doing?' Diego asked.

He woke up.

Diego raised his eyebrows at the good news. 'Let's pay him a visit then.'

Felipe questioned whether they should go in disguise.

Diego figuered there was no reason, 'here we should be able to be ourselves.'

But what about doctor Hernandez?

'True the doctor could be a problem.'

Felipe watched his mentor coming up with a new plan. He was still amazed at how quick Diego knew to solve their problems. And also this time.

'Then there is only one thing left, we will leave señor Senon in the good hands of Patricia. She will love to pampering him.'

At the mention of their cook, Felipe smiled broadly.

'Therefore we will now visit our guest as the count and his personal vaillee.

Felipe counted quickly the disguises they had had.

'Yes another yet, a more permanent disguise.'

With a sigh Diego added, 'soon it will be over.'

-Z-

Since it had been too long, I decided to publish another chapter on this story. The progress is slow but new chapters are ready to be written. I figuered out were I got stuck in the story and made the plan for the story.

As said too much time had gone by, too many things had happened and I dearly hope it gets easier giving me the energy to write much more in the near future.

I hope you liked this chapter, and I hope the sphere of the story feels the same.