Ignacio sat in Armand and Marcela's room at the Tavern. He hadn't had much of a choice. His sister dragged him up the stairs and tended to his wounds personally. Armand regarded him with a serious expression on his face, but with laughter in his eyes. Marcela was still a child, but Ignacio remembered his mother being like that. Overly affectionate, perhaps, but kind, loving and generous.

"Ignacio," the Colonel said. "We need to talk alone right now, mi Corazon," he added, looking at his wife. She was finishing up an elaborate bandage, with Hernandez's watchful supervision.

"Senora," the doctor said, stepping aside for her to leave the room with him.

"No, Armand. He's my brother and he is hurt, I will not have you bullying him…" Her voice was soft, but her hands were already on her hips, and her eyes were hard. "I am serious..."

"Of course you are," Armand said. He placed an arm around her. "I just forget you are so strong, my love. So brave…"

"That's better," she said. The doctor smiled and left the room.

"Ignacio. What was Zorro doing there?"

"Exactly what Marcela said? He frightened the lion away. The puma was not going to eat me, Marcela," Ignacio said with a tired smile. "Really."

"We need to tell father that you saved me," Marcela said enthusiastically. "Ignacio jumped in front of the lion, Armand. He was so brave."

"Must run in the family," Armand said, staring at the man for a moment. His eyes were thoughtful.

"What were you doing up there on the hill? It's very far from the pueblo," Ignacio said, his voice light and curious. "As we discovered, it was dangerous."

"We were very worried about you," Armand said, his voice hard. "Never leave without letting me know where you are going. This isn't Madrid."

Marcela looked at the floor, her eyes suddenly concerned. She reached up to her husband, and seemed completely contrite.

"I'm so sorry," Marcela said. "I didn't think. Someone said something about Zorro. I was curious. Masked men live in caves, don't they?"

"Probably not all the time," Ignacio said softly.

"I was searching all the caves I could find."

"The last one happened to be occupied?" Humour flashed into her husband's eyes, and his mouth tugged into a smile despite himself. "Really, I would have accompanied you. You didn't have to go alone. I would do anything you ask…almost anything."

"Zorro was so brave. It was like he had no fear of attack."

"He's always like that," Ignacio said softly. "He is always thinking on his feet."

"So he's not dead, Alcalde."

"No."

"We were very lucky he wasn't. What would have happened to Ignacio if he was dead?"

Ignacio was silent. He knew what would have happened. The lion was strong and very angry. Marcela might have been mauled, and he definitely would have been. He would have somehow got the lion's attention again, and his wound would have weakened him within a few moments. He would have died. A shudder went through him, violent and obvious.

Marcela draped a soft shawl around him, and shushed him when he started to protest.

"It's best if she gets her own way, Ignacio," Armand said softly, as his wife rose to fetch a strong drink from Victoria personally.

"She would have died. She should have run away. What was she thinking?"

"My Marcela never runs…from anything. A dragon could rip off the roof, and she would chase it. She should have been a boy. General material if ever I saw it."

Ignacio was silent. Marcela should have been a boy? A replacement for her namesake. The shawl was warming him through, and the small shakes were subsiding.

"How did Zorro know we needed him?"

"Zorro always knows…"

"How?"

Ignacio shrugged. "Given that the man saved Marcela and myself, I have no wish to hunt him down right now. Give me a few days to recover, and I will join you."

Armand sat slowly and faced the Alcalde. "Ignacio, I don't want to hurt the man. The governor wants to offer him a pardon. He has dealt with many issues that affected the territory, efficiently and without reward. The governor wants to know who to thank."

Ignacio looked at him. "Did you discuss this with anyone else?"

"Just Diego. I didn't realise it needed to be confidential."

"Diego de la Vega is a wise man," Ignacio said softly. "We should talk it over with him."

"I was planning to. I've been invited to come to dinner tonight. I could advise that you are coming with us as an extra guest. Diego was just reminding me of your potential again this morning. He won't mind."

Ignacio nodded. He shifted the wounded shoulder a little. Armand glanced at it, and used a discarded bandage to construct a collar and cuff sling, and guided the arm into a more comfortable position.

"Thank you, Colonel."

"I know I outrank you, Alcalde, but I am your brother now. Armand is good enough. I'm calling you Ignacio as it is."

"You are acquainted with my father, obviously…" Ignacio said. He couldn't help it. He was curious.

"Your father…" Armand frowned, and paused. He obviously needed to find words to express something hard.

"Marcela was trying to tell me that he loved me. He never loved me. Not from the moment I was born. He's told me… My hip was a little twisted, and he thought I would be deformed. Obviously I'm not. By the time he realised his error, I was deemed too loud, too clingy, too demanding. We never got on, never once in living memory."

"Marcela's life has not been comfortable. She thinks things that aren't always true. She wants certain things to be true, that aren't. She's an idealist. She looks for what she wants to see. Lots of people do it."

"Did my father ever hurt her?"

"Hurt her?"

"He had a whip…"

"No…Her pain was caused by his indifference and impatience. His hatred of you is real, but she will always have an excuse for it. Leave the issue alone. You know enough of your father. Marcela believes what she wants to believe."

Armand was thoughtful. "Zorro…who is he? He wears a mask because…why?"

"He is a regular visitor to the pueblo, perhaps he doesn't want anyone to know who he is."

"People believe what they want to believe," Armand said softly. "He is a local. He loves the area, and seeks to protect the people who live here. People would know who he is."

"I have tried to make people tell me in the past. No one knows," Ignacio said, wondering where the conversation was heading. "He's been careful not to share his identity with anyone. He's made sure to announce it in the middle of the pueblo."

"Well, he is a riddle… Diego used to love riddles. What does Diego think of him?"

Ignacio startled a little. "Diego…Well, I'd say he's possibly jealous of the man. He loves Victoria, but Zorro loves her as well."

Armand's eyes took on a thoughtful glint. Ignacio wondered if he had said too much. The gossip wasn't anything he wouldn't hear from another. The Colonel was smart, and he knew Diego from a young age.

"I'm sure that Diego would know how to reason it out. You know, I never really considered that he would before. Diego is always so distracted most of the time."

"Distracted?"

"Art…poetry…science…bird watching…music…"

"Oh." The single word was sharp.

"Yes, very talented, but also very distracted."

"I see."

Marcela burst through the door with a glass of brandy in her hand. "It's French…It will be good."

Armand took it before she spilled it, and handed it to Ignacio. He tossed it back in a gulp, and let the fiery alcohol burn through him. He wasn't shivering anymore.

"Thank you, Marcela."