Chapter 25
In the evening they took a carriage to Don Alonzo's house which was located on the outskirts of the town.
"Welcome, Doña Victoria, Don Diego," Don Alonzo welcomed them heartily. "It's such a pleasure to have you here. All these years, I wanted to meet the son of my best friend Alejandro and now I finally have you here and with your wife too. Your father wrote to me about your marriage and I was sorry I couldn't attend." Don Alonzo almost the same height as Diego with completely white hair though he was the same age as Diego's father. He was dressed in a dark green suit with golden embroidery on the pants and the sleeves of his jacket. Leaning heavily on his cane, Alonzo walked slowly as he guided them into the dining room.
"It was only a small ceremony," Diego started to explain, but then they arrived in the dining room where another couple was waiting.
" Doña Victoria, Don Diego, please allow me to introduce you to my nephew Enrique Sanchez and his wife Josefa," Don Alonzo said as he pointed at the couple who were a few years older than Diego and Victoria. Enrique wore a green suit like his uncle with silver embroidery while his wife Josefa wore a dark brown dress with black lace.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Don Diego," Don Enrique said. "We heard how you saved the viceroy but my wife and I weren't invited to the dinner with the viceroy to meet you. When my uncle told me that he had invited you, we ask for the chance to meet you. It's not often to meet a famous person who saved the viceroy all by himself."
"I was only defending myself and the viceroy is a formidable fencer. We barely managed to uphold ourselves until the guards came to relieve us," Diego said.
"Oh, I heard something different at the residence yesterday," Don Alonzo said, while he motioned them to take their seats at the dinner table. "You didn't hold up yourself but you overcame the attackers and don't forget that the viceroy has a leg injury which incapacitates him. So the main defense must have fallen to you, Don Diego. Your father never mentioned that you were such a good fencer but mentioned that you were studious."
"How many attackers were there?" Don Enrique asked.
"I was told there were six," his uncle said. "Is that correct, Don Diego?"
"Yes, that's right," Diego said.
"Two men overcoming six attackers. That's quite astonishing," Don Enrique said.
"As I said before, I didn't do much more than defending myself," Diego insisted. "I don't do much fencing at home but concentrate on my science studies instead. I gained an interest when I was introduced to science during my time at the university and continued with my studies after my return to Los Angeles."
During dinner, Don Alonzo talked about old times and some adventures he had together with Diego's father. From the reaction of Don Enrique and his wife, Diego could guess that he had heard the stories multiple times and they were relieved when Don Alonzo switched topics during dessert.
"What brings you to Monterey?" Don Alonzo asked. "I asked my friend Alejandro to bring you along when he made the trip to Monterey but you never seemed to have time."
"Of course, I would have liked to come but my studies have kept me busy," Diego explained. "I heard about the viceroy's stay here in Monterey and I couldn't miss the opportunity to talk with him about the situation in Los Angeles."
"Your father wrote me about it," Don Alonzo said. "He came to Monterey especially to talk with the governor about it but he didn't have any success. Is it really that bad?"
"Yes, it is," Victoria confirmed, recounting how the alcalde or his predecessor had abused their office and how the people of Los Angeles were oppressed.
"This sounds really bad," Don Enrique said. "I can understand that you want the situation to change. What can you achieve when your father's talk to the governor didn't have any impact?"
"First of all, the alcalde of Los Angeles was directly appointed by the King and the governor was reluctant to remove an official from his post who had the approval of the king. The viceroy is the direct representative of the king and what he does has the King's approval," Diego explained. "It's my hope that he will take action where the governor would not."
"I understand," Don Enrique said. "Could you talk with the viceroy at all? When there was the attack there was probably any time for talking."
"You're right." Diego grinned, thinking of the fight. He had enjoyed the short battle after he hadn't been able to fight as Zorro since his injury. "The governor granted me an audience last night after dinner and he promised me an investigation."
"That sounds like good news," Don Alonzo said cheerfully. "Now that you have accomplished what you came for you can enjoy some days in Monterey. What are your plans now?"
Victoria had been with her nerves on edge the whole day and now that that were asked about their future, she couldn't stand it anymore and broke down in tears. How could she answer that if she didn't know if they were still alive next week?
"Excuse me please," Victoria tried to hold back her tears.
"Anything I can do?" Diego asked.
Victoria shook her head. "I need to go to the lady's room."
"I'll show you the way," Doña Josefa offered, rising from her chair. "I'm finished with my dessert."
"Can you tell me what's going on, Don Diego?" Don Alonzo asked. "Why does a simple question upset you so much? And my servant told me that there's a soldier watching our house ever since you arrived. Why is that?"
After the two women had left the room, Diego faced the curious stares of the two men.
"Is the guard here because of you?" Don Enrique wanted to know.
"It's complicated," Diego said. "The soldier has been assigned to watch my wife and me during our stay here in Monterey. I can assure you that it has nothing to do with you and your family, Don Alonzo. We wouldn't have accepted your invitation if it caused any inconvenience to you."
"Why is he guarding you?" Don Alonzo asked. "Is it because you saved the viceroys life? I can't see anything dangerous that would require someone guarding you and you've proved that you can defend yourself."
"I don't want to discuss this but it has nothing to do with the attack on the viceroy but rather with the situation in Los Angeles. As I have told you there's an investigation underway and I have to wait for the results before I can tell you more."
"You explanation didn't help at all, Don Diego," Don Alonzo said. "This is all very mysterious but I believe that you have your reasons for not telling more."
"Maybe you can tell me more about Monterey instead? Anything you can recommend to spend the time?" Diego asked.
While the men talked about general things, Victoria and Doña Josefa were sitting in a private room to give Victoria the chance to regain her composure before they rejoined the men in the dining room.
"Do you want to talk about what has upset you so much?" Doña Josefa asked sympathetically. "I could see that you were very tense the whole evening but you're among friends. Maybe I can help?"
Victoria shook her head. "There's nothing you can do. It's all my fault and I don't know what to do." She started to sob. "My husband may die next week because I betrayed him."
"What do you mean by that?" Doña Josefa said shocked. "How did you betray him? And how would that be a reason for him to die?"
"The viceroy suspected something and when he confronted us with it at the party I couldn't hide my reaction. It was all the confirmation he needed, so there will be a trial next week and my husband may be hanged. That's why there's a soldier following us to make sure we don't leave town."
"I don't understand this," Josefa said, confused. "Your husband saved the viceroy's life. Why would he be put to trial and be hanged for that? Was he involved in the attack?"
"No, it has nothing to do with the attack, only that my husband was fighting too well. It's complicated and can't explain it all now." Victoria wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "I don't know why I have been telling you this when there's nothing anyone can do. Our lives depend on the decision of the viceroy next week and this may be the last week we'll ever have."
"Everything you say makes me more confused," Josefa stated. "I only understand that you are in serious trouble though you won't tell me any details. I can talk to my husband and his uncle they have some influence with the governor."
"Talking to the governor won't help," Victoria said, "but thank you for your offer."
"Then all I can do is to offer you my help in any other way and if you need someone to talk to during this time I'm here."
"Thank you. That's very gracious for someone you don't know," Victoria said.
"Did you know that your father-in-law is the godfather of my husband? So we're almost family. Call me Josefa."
"Thank you, Josefa. It's Victoria then. I just needed someone to talk to when I don't know what the next week will bring."
"I don't know how I would cope with such a situation. To know that I had only one more week with my Enrique would be unbearable for me. If you need to talk, you're welcome any time and we hope to see you again soon."
After Victoria had gained her composure again, the two women rejoined the men who had retreated to the living room in the meantime.
"Are you all right?" Diego asked Victoria. "You were gone for some time."
"Josefa and I had some talk," Victoria said. "I'm feeling better now."
The women must have bonded during their talk, being on first name terms now, and Diego also noticed that Don Enrique threw his wife a curious look who only shook her head slightly, indicating she didn't want to talk about it.
Don Alonzo and Don Enrique continued to talk a while longer about the sights in Monterey and what plays to see in the theater until it was time to leave.
"It was a pleasure to have you and your wife here," Don Alonzo said. "I realize that there's a lot you haven't told us, making me curious to know what's going on, but I hope to see you again during your stay here in Monterey."
"We'll see," Diego said evasively. "We must thank you for your invitation and the nice evening. It would be a pleasure to have you visit my family in Los Angeles."
"I already told your wife that you can count on us," Josefa said. "And if anything goes wrong, we'll be here."
"We'll let you know and thank you for your support," Diego said, before they headed to their carriage to go back to the tavern.
"What did you tell Doña Josefa?" Diego asked in the carriage.
"Not much. Only that our lives are on hold because we wait for a decision from the viceroy. I didn't say that you are Zorro. What did you say?"
"Not much either. Only that the soldier guarding us has nothing to do with the attack on the viceroy." Diego chuckled. "I guess we left our hosts quite confused while they are trying to make sense of what we said."
"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said anything but when Don Alonzo asked me about our future, I couldn't stand it anymore," Victoria apologized. "I wished this waiting was over soon but then again I'm so afraid of the future."
"I don't blame you." Diego took her hand and squeezed it. "The next days will be difficult but we'll enjoy them as much as we can and simply have faith."