"Mrs Hudson is feeling a trifle unwell, Ma'am. She should be up and about tomorrow morning, as usual," the butler said to assure her. "She is just seeing that your room is ready for you…"
The high pitched scream made Katherine cling to her husband immediately. Diego had to remind himself to stay with his wife, and not rush up the stairs two at a time to discover the reason for the distress. He glanced at the butler who dashed ahead on his behalf.
Zzz
"It's alright, Katherine. I think we need to arm ourselves, just in case…" Diego said gently, wrapping her in strong arms. She nodded, with her head on his chest. "You can walk?"
"Of course I can walk! Can you?" She whispered fiercely. He smiled slightly, and took her hand.
"This way. I have stored some weapons in a hidden room. It's a habit…"
"Good. I think I need a pistol," she murmured.
Diego led her downstairs to the basement. He opened the door, and led her further into the basement, towards a large cupboard. He shifted a lever she couldn't see, and the cupboard swung open like a door. Diego ventured into the darkness, and lit a candle, before gesturing for Katherine to follow him.
"Indeed…" She breathed, glancing around the room. A rather ornate desk filled a corner, and a bench covered in empty glass beakers and other science equipment filled another. A camp bed was positioned against an otherwise bare wall.
"You use this room…a lot?"
"Never, really. I don't normally come to Monterey. This was created for emergencies."
"I suppose it is an emergency." Diego noticed the shudder that went through her.
"I'm sure that wasn't Mrs Hudson…that scream…"
"It was someone." Diego nodded thoughtfully.
"Here, a pistol…" He said, tossing her a small duelling pistol. "Try not to shoot me." He tossed the powder and the shot to go with it.
"You trust me?"
He turned to strap a rapier to his waist, and a coiled whip joined it. He didn't answer her. She sighed, and concentrated on preparing her weapon, biting her lip as she forced her hands to stop shaking after losing some powder.
"Hey…" Diego said suddenly. He raced across the room and peered out of a peek hole in the wall. "What was that?"
"What was that? Can I see?" She asked. She turned to get a stool to stand on, and Diego opened the door to go outside. "What?"
"I'm so sorry, Katherine. You are safer here." Diego darted out of the room, and the secret door swung shut.
"You…! How dare you! I thought we were going to stay together!"
"I didn't say for how long…It will only take a few moments, and I will let you out."
"Diego!"
Zzz
Diego dashed upstairs. The silence was deafening, apart from his heart pounding in his chest. Where was the butler?
"Collins?" He whispered harshly. Approaching Katherine's quarters, the sense of dread increased, and he drew the rapier instinctively.
The door was wide open to the small sitting room, and a female figure lay on the floor. She had ginger hair, almost the colour of Katherine's, and he had to breathe and think and remind himself he had locked her in the basement. There was no way that she could have beaten him upstairs even if she had been free to roam the town house.
He crouched at the side of the woman, and felt for a pulse. Her skin was cooling, but still slightly warm. Diego gently turned her over, and breathed a sigh of relief and sympathy. She was a young maid, and probably had the task of turning down their sheets for the night. Her neck had been sliced open, and the pool of blood was already coating the underside of his boots.
Collins had gone upstairs, he told himself. He stood in the darkness, every sense heightened. Was that a scuffling noise in the next room? Katherine's bedroom…someone was in there.
Diego eased the door open slowly, impressed how silent the hinges were. There was a thud, and a crash of glass breaking.
"Collins?" Diego whispered again, a little louder.
"Here, Patron…" Diego raced to his side, finding him near the window.
"He…he went out the window. On a rope. He's hunting you and Dona Katherine, sir."
"Let's see to that wound, Collins…" Diego's eyes were glued to the stain spreading across the older man's chest. Slowly. He could deal with that. If the knife that jutted out of the faithful servant's body was removed carefully.
"You need to act quickly, Patron. The man is a devil," the butler said, and then coughed weakly. Diego watched in alarm the man wipe a smear of blood from his mouth. The wound was worse than he thought.
"Collins…" He hesitated.
"I was in the army, Don Diego. I know things. Come back for me when it's over, and tell me how brave you were…" Collins gave him a weary smile.
"Can I make you comfortable at least?"
"Go!"
Diego sighed, and nodded. He turned and made his way down the stairs, more cautiously than he had climbed them.
Zzz
Katherine paced the small space with fury. Her hands trembled, but instead of fear it was pure rage.
How dare he? How much like a man he was! There must be a way to spring the opening again. She ran her hands over the walls near where the opening had been, over and over, without success.
He was going to get himself killed. They were meant to stick together. What was the point of her being safe, if it meant Diego was not? Something in her mind tried to point out that as he was Zorro, she probably had nothing to worry about…but still? He was only a man, not a legend.
She gave up on hidden levers near the opening, and began to trace the wall, a little higher than her comfort to account for Diego's added height. On the other side of the room, opposite the hidden door, there was a tiny click. She pushed a little harder, and a small door swung out at waist height.
A lantern sat on the science desk, and carefully she placed the burning candle inside, while stuffing flint and another candle into her small drawstring bag, along with the pistol and the ammunition. Then she ducked her head and entered the dark space, without a clue where she was going. She raised the lantern high, and realised she was in a hidden passageway.
Maybe she could catch up with Diego this way? She was perfectly safe while she was in the passageway, and maybe she could shoot out of a peep hole or something.
