Diego sat in the cart for a minute after they pulled up in front of the tavern. Sebastian jumped easily from the back of the cart and looked mockingly up at Diego. "Do you need assistance from the cart? I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself or get your fancy suit dirty."

Diego turned to Felipe when he chuckled. Felipe quickly wiped the smile off his face and slid sedately out of the other side of the cart. Considering Diego hated dressing up back in college, Sebastian was getting mighty curious. He had already made a few comments on the fancy embroidered suit Diego had changed into. Diego had shut him up by laughing at Sebastian's girlish shoulder-length hair, which Sebastian insisted was in style and was just because he was on a break from the army. Diego asked if he would have to wear a bonnet to keep it out of his face if they were to duel, and Sebastian simply responded that Diego would have to remove his jacket because he wouldn't be able to see with the glare from the gold stitching.

Diego looked from the tavern door back to his friend, who was holding out a hand as if Diego were a woman. Maybe this was a bad idea. Diego grinned evilly and surprised Sebastian by taking his outstretched hand for help down from the cart. It was Sebastian who stumbled, though, when Diego wasn't exactly graceful about it. He used Sebastian's shoulders and twisted his arms and legs so much in the choreographed confusion Sebastian almost landed in the dirt.

Sebastian straightened his jacket and gaped at his friend who stood perfectly calm and perfectly put together as if they hadn't just had a tussle. He looked at Felipe. "Watch out for this one," he warned the teenager. "He's dangerous."

"Nice to know someone still thinks so," Diego muttered as Felipe handed him his cane.

Sebastian looked at the cane and the splint still tightly binding Diego's leg as Felipe came around the cart. "You know, I do believe you would beat me in a match, broken leg and all." Sebastian suspected even as Diego put an arm around Felipe's shoulder to walk.

Diego chuckled lightly. "I just surprised you. Most people only see what's on the surface, and you never learned to take advantage of that fact," Diego grinned at his old friend. "Be careful in Los Angeles, Amigo. There are vipers here just as dangerous as any we have met before. And much more than dignity is at stake."

"What are you not telling me?" Sebastian asked.

"Enjoy your ignorance for a little longer, Sebastian. The serious work begins when we return to our fathers," Diego said before he and Felipe led the way into the tavern.

Zzz

Diego was happy he'd waited, because the tavern was almost empty. He'd delayed lunch, hoping the crowd would thin out a little. Victoria was always 'too busy' to sit with him, and kept saying 'next time'. Today, he'd make sure they ate lunch together. Victoria was behind the bar when they entered, and her face lit up at the sight of him. Diego grinned back and she followed them to a larger table further from the kitchen for more privacy.

Diego pulled Victoria's hand away from the towel she was wringing and bent to kiss her hand. Victoria forgot about everyone else in the tavern as goose bumps crawled up her arm. It appeared Diego was stepping up the courting today.

Sebastian and Felipe shared a look, and Sebastian coughed loudly after several moments of being ignored. Diego jumped and turned to glare at his friend. "Victoria Escalante, this rude gentleman beside me is Sebastian Andrés. He's just arrived from Spain. We knew each other in college."

Diego reluctantly released Victoria's hand so Sebastian could grasp it. Then he promptly took it back again when Sebastian tried to kiss her hand, too. "Now who's rude?" Sebastian muttered, rubbing his knee where Diego's cane had accidentally smacked him, before smiling back at Victoria. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Señorita. Though you are much more beautiful than Diego said in his letters," Sebastian grinned. "Maybe you should give him his ring back and marry me instead."

Victoria's eyes widened and she flushed at his compliment, and Diego pushed Sebastian into a chair with as much noise as possible to cover the mention of marriage. Felipe urged Sebastian to be quiet as Diego rearranged chairs to have one for his leg and a closer one for his secret fiancé. "Join us," Diego pleaded as he squeezed Victoria's hand.

Victoria looked around the tavern nervously, but today she couldn't claim she was too busy. She took the chair Diego offered and waited while he seated himself. "Let me get you something to eat first, I promise I'll come back," she told Diego.

Diego looked beyond her and smiled at Maria who'd appeared at their table. "Ah, Maria, thank you for coming," Diego said, "Victoria's going to take a break if you don't mind." Maria grinned knowingly at Victoria. Victoria turned pink as everyone focused on her. Maria had been teasing her endlessly since the apron incident, though she'd kept Victoria's confidence.

When Maria disappeared to get their food, Victoria leaned back in her chair. She was curious about Diego in college and happy to be sitting with him. She worried and pushed for patience, but in truth she missed Diego, too. Even before she knew he was Zorro, Diego spent most of his days here with her. She smiled at him happily, and didn't protest when he tricked her into holding his hand under the table. Also contrary to what she said, she loved that a simple look or touch could fill her with a heat she'd never known before. She had quickly realized the passion of the true personality Diego kept hidden all the time. Well, she didn't realize it yet, but she found herself thinking about it constantly.

She blushed furiously, startled when Maria placed a bowl of food in front of her. She looked around to notice everyone else had already been served and she had been oblivious. Diego grinned wickedly at her and squeezed her hand again, rearranging his grip to lace their fingers together. Somehow that felt more intimate, and with Diego stroking her hand with his thumb and staring at her like that she doubted she could remember her own name.

Sebastian laughed at their lovesick expressions. "Are they always like this?" he asked Felipe.

Felipe nodded, and Diego and Victoria tried to pay more attention to their companions.

"We're not ignoring you, you're not talking. Can't help it if she's more interesting," Diego said with a mocking grin.

"Am I allowed to speak or will you just attack me again?" Sebastian asked Diego.

Victoria looked curiously to Diego. There was no one in the back of the tavern where they sat, so Diego relaxed. "No one knows Victoria and I are engaged. I didn't attack you, I just helped you sit down," Diego grinned.

"Right," Sebastian said, "and I'm sure you tripped getting out of the cart."

Victoria sat forward eagerly with a smile, though one hand remained suspiciously under the table. "I hope you will speak. I've never met any of Diego's friends from Spain. What was he like?"

Busy fighting duels and studying, Sebastian wanted to say. He eyed his friend dressed in a fancy suit sitting in the back corner of the tavern secretly holding hands with a woman he wanted to marry. What had happened in two years? Sebastian's eye caught on the fancy stitching on Diego's jacket.

"He was absolutely no fun at all. If he wasn't studying, he was out …meeting tailors," Sebastian grinned. "Tailors from all around Madrid would come and demand satisfaction and challenge his…embroidery skills."

"Victoria thought all I cared about was clothes for two years, Sebastian, let's not perpetuate that myth right now please," Diego replied.

"That's not what I thought, Diego," Victoria admonished.

"You didn't?"

Sebastian and Felipe exchanged another look as the two lovebirds ignored them again. "Diego, I think Felipe should show me around the pueblo. We'll be back a little later."

Sebastian started to rise, but Victoria stopped him. "Please don't. I'm sorry, we haven't been able to spend much time together."

Sebastian watched as Diego awkwardly tried to eat with one hand instead of releasing Victoria. He looked around for eavesdroppers, but the few remaining people were toward the front of the tavern. "So why is the engagement a secret?" When they didn't answer right away, he thought Diego deserved some embarrassment. He leaned forward as if to share a secret with Victoria. "This guy writes me two days after he gets back to California. Two days! Does he explain why he had to rush off so fast? What was wrong his father wanted him home? No. He tells me he's going to get married." Victoria turned shocked eyes to Diego, who just shrugged.

"Before he left, he stuck his sword in the ceiling to remind us that he's going home to be forced into a boring life getting married and raising babies," Sebastian continued though Victoria's eyes remained on Diego. "He told me he was not going to marry whatever woman his father had found for him. Now he wrote with instructions to be prepared to come for a wedding and become a godfather."

Diego relaxed into his chair as Victoria's shocked expression turned soft. Sebastian could talk all day if he was going to make Victoria look at him like that.

"Two years later, he's still a bachelor. He won't tell me what the big secret is," with a final curious look to the still-silent Diego, he turned back to Victoria. "But I'm sure I can tell you some of his secrets."

Victoria leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand and giving him her full attention. "Oh yes, please."

"Did Diego tell you he had to replace everything in the physics lab?" Sebastian asked with a grin to Diego.

Diego defended himself. "But I was right, wasn't I?"

"Diego destroyed everything in the room just to prove me wrong," Sebastian supplied.

Victoria turned a worried frown to Diego, then asked Sebastian what happened.

"I have no idea. I tried to match Diego in fighting and he could sometimes keep up with me at riding, but I could never keep up with his books. He told me he was going to make a magnet with electricity. I didn't believe him," Sebastian shrugged.

Diego defended himself yet again. "I didn't know that would happen. I heard about something in Paris and wanted to try it." He shrugged innocently at Victoria.

Victoria thought every single thing she learned about Diego only gave her more questions. She turned to Sebastian. "Did you go to Paris with him? Do you paint, too?"

Diego's head fell back in his chair. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Paint?" Sebastian looked at his friend incredulously. "You paint now?"

Victoria flushed a little and looked into her lap when Diego seemed embarrassed by her question. She didn't mean to say the wrong thing.

"Yes, I paint! Can't a guy take up a new pastime?" Diego looked across at Sebastian, then noticed Victoria's expression. He squeezed her hand. "Hey I thought you liked my painting?"

"I didn't mean to…"

Diego sat up and kissed the hand he held before scooting closer and putting their joined hands in her lap. "No more secrets, I promised. Anything you want to know or talk about, ask. And I've matured since college." Diego said louder as if daring anyone to contradict him. "I don't destroy things anymore." Felipe's violent coughing at that comment made Victoria and Sebastian laugh. "Much," Diego finished.

"What I remember about Paris was the Aerial Walk. How much time did we…"

Diego interrupted his friend, sitting up excitedly and gesturing at Felipe. "I remember that! Felipe you would love this." Diego paused, looking at both of his hands above the table. He quickly turned back to Victoria to take her hand again. "Victoria, they have these two huge tracks…it's like a slide. They push a cart with wheels on it up to the top and you ride it down. They lock the cart to the track so you don't fall and you go faster than any horse. There were two slides that could run at the same time and you could race."

Victoria laughed at his boyish excitement as Diego still gestured to them while holding her hand. She sat back in her chair when he was finished and she got her arm back, once again holding his hand in her lap. "You are such a child." Diego smiled at her at that, but the look was in no way innocent as he let go of her hand to rest his beneath hers indecently on her thigh. Her heart beat erratically for a second as she felt the heat from his hand spread through her body before she picked his hand up again and secured it in both of hers.

Sebastian sat back in his chair, sighing loudly. "Why am I even here?"

Diego squeezed Victoria's hand as her eyes went from dreamy to concerned. "I had written to see if you could come to Los Angeles. I didn't know about your father, though. We need some help."

Diego looked up as Maria came out of the kitchen and approached. Victoria noticed most everyone had left for siesta as Maria cleared the dishes. When Maria had gone, Diego sat up and once again kissed Victoria's hand before releasing it. Then he scowled as he spied DeSoto over Victoria's shoulder.

"Need some help De La Vega? I heard you were visiting the tavern today. Sure you should be out with your glass leg?" DeSoto asked Diego while he looked over the newcomer curiously.

Victoria flushed this time in anger, but she turned when she felt Diego's leg touch hers under the table. Some unspoken communication passed between them Sebastian couldn't read, and Victoria picked up their glasses and disappeared into the kitchen without a word.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt something," DeSoto said, full of false civility.

Sebastian frowned at Diego's lax expression. They all stood, and Diego made nice. "You didn't, we were just leaving. This is my friend Sebastian Andrés from Spain. Sebastian, this is our alcalde Ignacio DeSoto."

DeSoto's eyes widened as he shook the man's hand. "Are you any relation to Capitan Rafael Andrés?"

"Yes, do you know him? He's my father." Sebastian was used to people knowing his father. He was a well known war hero, businessman and horseman. Sebastian strived every day to live up to his father's reputation, and he was a better man for it. His father hadn't been a captain for a long time, however. "He's visiting, too, but he's the new—"

Sebastian stopped talking and stared in shock as Diego fell into the table and chairs clumsily while Felipe tried to help him up.

"Forgive us, Ignacio, but we must be going. I'm afraid this trip has been too tiring for my leg," he straightened while leaning heavily on Felipe. "My friend is also tired from his journey. I'm sure we will see you at my father's birthday party."

DeSoto jumped out of the way as Diego clumsily kicked a chair at him, and Felipe and Diego headed toward the door to the tavern. Sebastian nodded to DeSoto and silently followed his friend outside. Sebastian kept his voice low as he mounted the cart next to his friend. "Wasn't that the alcalde you wrote—"

"Yes. Let's get home and I'll tell you and your father everything," Diego said mysteriously.

They rode in silence, though they all waved as they passed Victoria who had slipped out the back door to the tavern to see them off. Diego missed her smiles from lunch, and vowed that he'd finish this soon so he'd never have to see the fear and worry on her face again.

Zzz

Author's Note: Wow, people really are still reading. I was amazed at the traffic for Chapter 24, and thank you so much for the reviews. I did need some encouragement.

I did change the rating to T. Nothing mature, but I re-read the K rating guidelines and the story just didn't fit there anymore. I hope people don't mind because I'm not writing anything that wouldn't be seen on network television.

I've been reading a lot about Spanish/California history. I meant to note last chapter that the 'stealing a sword' when you win a duel came from my high school days, not from history. I thought it was fun and I could imagine the playful Ty Power we saw in Madrid doing that. Some of Sebastian's talk in this chapter also came from Ty Power and not Duncan Regehr.

Klingonkitten has been a big help to me. Thanks.

Now click REVIEW THIS CHAPTER! you know you want to...