Chapter 36
The Guardian...
Diego smiled as he watched Victoria idly drumming her fingers on the table as he set the type for the newspaper. Meeting the de Madeira's had been an unusual experience for the both of them. He would have thought that they would be as haughty and class conscious as their daughter but they were not. They were perfectly amiable and seemed to be fine people. It made him wonder how their daughter could have turned out that way...
"Are you almost finished, Diego," the taverness remarked interrupting his thoughts.
"I thought that we were here to get your article published," he smirked.
"You know as well as I do that was just a ruse...to give Rafael time with the de Madeiras. How could two such nice people..."
"Turn out a daughter like Margarita...Maybe underneath it all...she is more like them than we think," he surmised.
"Sometimes, I don't understand you, Diego de la Vega...The woman has been a thorn in our side since she came to Los Angeles and yet you are naïve enough to think that there is some good in that woman."
"I think there is some good in almost everyone, Victoria."
"Even the alcalde," she replied as she glanced at him.
"I don't know if I am willing to go that far," the tall caballero smirked as he kissed her cheek lightly.
"The coast is clear, cousin. You and Victoria can come out of hiding now," Rafael stated as he entered the newspaper office, "the de Madeira's and I had a wonderful talk. There are no hard feelings. In fact, I hope that Uncle Alejandro will invite them to dinner at the hacienda."
"You are forgetting one little thing, cousin. What about Margarita? It would be rude to invite her parents and exclude her from the festivities."
"It would be a little awkward to have her there but we have to invite her...if you are on your best behavior...then everything will be fine, Rafael," Diego smirked.
"Don't worry, cousin. I know how to behave but does she? We haven't been that bad. Have we, cousin?"
"The two of you have barely been civil to each other. All in all it promises to be an interesting evening. Don't you think?"
ZZZ
Margarita struggled to clean the stains left on her best dress. She listened as the other women chatted amiably amongst themselves. The Native women who resided at the mission brought the dirty clothes to the lavandería and soaked them in the pool. Thankfully the clothes had been rinsed clean and spread out on the bushes to dry. I am positively famished, she thought. I am sure that Emilia has something in the kitchen...
"Padre Benitez does such good work with these...these Indians, Mother," the brunette sniffed as she fanned slightly.
"It is his duty, my dear daughter. Anything to make these poor savages more industrious."
"I suppose it is his duty to try to convert them. I am positively parched. I wish that I could find something to quench my thirst. Maybe, I can find one of the workers to get me something," Marisol the young brunette remarked as Margarita tried to slip by unnoticed..."You there...I'm thirsty. Fetch me a glass of water."
Margarita stiffened at the tone of the young woman's voice. "Are you referring to me?"
"Are you hard of hearing? Fetch me a glass of water for me and my mother as well! Don't just stand there...Be quick about it!"
"I heard you, Senorita but you are mistaken. I am not your servant! You have no right to order me about!"
"Surely you must be joking. You insolent...little twit! Anyone can tell that you are just a worker here," Marisol scoffed as she looked at the woman's attire. She was positively insufferable...
"There you are, Margarita," Emilia interrupted.
"These two ladies wanted a glass of water," she replied crossly. Of all the nerve...
"Ladies, I will be back in a moment with your water."
ZZZ
Several minutes later...
"Margarita...Margarita...That name sound familiar, Mama," Marisol stated as turned to her mother, "Isn't that the girl that fancied herself as being in love with Zorro?"
"A well-bred woman working at the mission...How positively embarrassing. Her family must have disowned her...I heard she was engaged to the de la Vega cousin, my dear," Dona Inez stated, "Thankfully, he has found someone more suitable. Lolita seems to be an acceptable choice...a little insipid, perhaps but infinitely more suitable than a mere servant."
"You are right, mother," she agreed as she fanned herself, "Don Rafael is such a handsome man. It is fortunate that he didn't marry someone so beneath him."
"Quite right, my dear."
ZZZ
"Of all the nerve," Margarita fumed as Emilia handed her the glasses of water, "Who does she think she is? Treating me like I am a common servant! Well...Aren't you going to say something, Emilia?"
"There is nothing to say, Margarita. That is the way it is for a servant."
"For you, maybe but not for me. I have never seen anyone so arrogant...so mean spirited."
You haven't, Emilia thought. Just look in the mirror...You would be surprised... "You wouldn't understand, Margarita. People like you and Marisol have had the best of everything. You don't have to worry about anything. I have to work here...It is a matter of survival. Come, we cannot keep the ladies waiting."
"We are actually going to serve them."
"The mission relies on the support of the caballeros and their families. They are not as wealthy as the de la Vegas but we cannot afford to be rude to them. Maybe, one day you will understand..."