Chapter 20. Newlyweds.
Victoria was still hugging Diego. Leaning on his chest, she could hear his heartbeat, still a little fast. She had imagined many times what her wedding night… that is to say, wedding day, would be like, and she had thought she knew what was going to happen, but she had to admit that some of the things they had done, namely that Diego had done to her, she had not expected.
"Diego. Where did you learn to...? Well, you know."
Diego didn't respond. She insisted. "I want to know." At his silence she added. "I run a tavern, I grew up there. Nothing you say can escandalise me."
He sighed and responded somewhat embarrassed. "In Spain I met a woman. She was a widow, and about fifteen years older than me. She organized parties at her house, inviting influential people from the city. One of my teachers introduced me to her one day when I met them on the street, and she invited me to the next party, because they were both part of a group of people who studied magic, and they wanted me to join them and study my gifts. I went to several of her parties, until one of the times when I arrived at her house I discovered that I was the only guest. I told her that I had to leave, but she insisted that I stay. She said it was a misunderstanding, but she was free to have dinner with me."
"But it wasn't a misunderstanding."
"No, she wanted to seduce me and I admit she got it."
"Yes, I'm sure you made it very difficult for her. So you kept seeing her to complete your academic training."
"I know I did wrong. I shouldn't have gone back to her house, but it was very tempting."
"Have you been together long?"
"About five months."
"Why did you break up?"
"We discovered that the king's men were investigating several members of our group, so she decided to flee England. A British commander, who ended up being her husband, found out that she was in trouble and came looking for her when I was with her. I had to go out the back door."
"That's where you learned to sneak out."
"I knew that as a child, but I admit I perfected the technique."
She stood up to look him in the eye. "Did you love her?"
"I felt affection for her, and attraction, of course, but I didn't love her the way I love you."
"Or the way you loved Zafira." Victoria added.
"Zafira and I shared a desire to make the world a fairer place, but I never felt about her the way I feel about you, and now I think her cause was above all else. I'm glad fate separated us."
"You and she...?" Victoria asked somewhat jealously.
"No, I wanted to make her my wife. I never proposed to her like that."
Victoria seemed pensive. "So. What we did today... Did you learn it with that woman?"
"Not everything, some things I read in some books. I was looking forward to trying them out."
"What kind of books do you read?"
He smiled mischievously. "It seems I've managed to escandalise you after all. Well, if what we've done has surprised you... I must tell you there's more."
"Can you do more things?"
Diego slipped a finger along Victoria's spine, causing her to shiver. "Oh, yes, and if you're interested, I'll try them out one by one." His voice and his look were more than suggestive.
Victoria smiled, but decided to change the subject. "It's been very good for us, but why do you have a bed down here?"
"Before I told my father I was Zorro, I sometimes pretended I was gone for a few days so I could act more freely. I would stay here and Felipe would bring me food from the kitchen. Adela, Juan and María don't sleep on the hacienda, so now I just need to hide during the day, but I hadn't taken the bed from here yet."
"You always seem to have it all figured out," she said.
"Well, as you well know, sometimes plans fall apart. Besides, I admit that today the priest surprised me," responded Diego.
They kissed again and she sighed. "I must go back to the tavern," she said, sighing. "Two more weeks and we'll sleep together every night."
He looked at her intently. "I don't know what I would have done without you, Victoria," he said, visibly moved.
"We're together now. You can count on me."
They went out to the room where they found don Alejandro and doña Carmen practicing a piano duet together. Victoria and Diego were walking hand in hand and were a little surprised to see the scene.
"Padre Benitez?" asked Diego.
"He left some time ago," answered Don Alejandro.
"About two hours ago." Dona Carmen pointed out.
"I will accompany you back to Los Angeles," said Diego.
Doña Carmen looked at them. "No way. You stay here, you look like a fox that has snuck into the henhouse, everyone will realize what just happened down there. I'll have enough work to wipe that smile off Victoria's face."
Diego looked at her in amazement and laughed. Victoria joined him in the laughter. They were both blushing. Don Alejandro also started to laugh and hugged his son. "I wish you much happiness."
"Thank you for everything, father," responded Diego trying to calm down. Victoria approached don Alejandro and hugged him. Don Alejandro seemed thrilled. "Blessed are you, my children," he said in a slightly hoarse voice.
zzZzz
Victoria and Doña Carmen arrived early the next day. They found Don Alejandro taking care of some plants in the courtyard.
"Buenos días." He greeted them, and added, addressing Victoria. "I'm afraid Diego is still asleep."
"So late?"
Don Alejandro looked around. "He went out last night. Felipe was in the tavern yesterday and heard rumors about bandits on the North Road."
"I see." she said. "You saw him this morning, right?"
"Don't worry, I saw him when he came in at dawn. He's fine."
They were chatting in the living room when Diego came in.
"Good morning, Victoria." kissed her hand. "Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Maybe later." She took his hand and walked into the direction of the library.
Diego looked a little embarrassed, but he was smiling. When they entered the house, don Alejandro turned to doña Carmen. "I think this is going to take a while. Would you like some coffee?"
"Good idea."
They were in the library when they heard Don Alejandro's men going to the stables with a herd of horses. Don Alejandro got up. "Doña Carmen. Do you mind if I go to the corrals to see the foals?"
"Of course not. May I join you?"
"Sure, come with me. Do you know about horses?"
"Not really, but they're impressive animals, especially yours."
"Yes, we are very proud of our animals, particularly, the foals of our stallion Hermes."
They approached the fence and doña Carmen noticed a huge black horse.
"Do you have Tornado there, in full view of everyone?" she whispered.
"That's not Tornado, that's Hermes. Tornado is bigger."
"I admit I'm not an expert on horses, but that animal is huge, I don't think Tornado is bigger than him."
Don Alejandro smiled. "Look at his right front leg, it's lame."
"I don't see him limping." The horse trotted ahead of them with a slight limp. "I swear he just started limping right now. Where did he come from?"
"Diego brought him from the hills. When he was a foal he ran away and we thought he was dead, but apparently he joined a herd of wild horses that live over there. Diego was returning from Santa Paula but he took a detour to look for some plants and went further off the road than he thought. He found him injured, he had been trapped by a rock slide and his leg was crushed, as a result, his hoof does not grow well and he has a limp". (1)
"So Diego got lost, found him and nobody rides him."
"No, with the weight of the rider, he limps more, we just use him as a stud."
"And is he always here, in the pens?"
"No, it's usually loose in the meadows. Los vaqueros say he doesn't usually walk away, and when the mares are in heat he comes, so there's no need to go looking for him."
"That's living the good life. Isn't it, Tornado?" The horse seemed to be looking at her carefully.
"I repeat, his name is Hermes."
"Sure, and I'm telling you that he's your son's horse and he's learned a thing or two from him."
"But..."
"Don Alejandro, look at me carefully." He turned to her and looked her in the eye in some surprise.
"Your son, Diego, is not so clumsy as to get lost."
"No, he's not, that's true."
"The boy, Felipe, is not deaf."
"You know that too? It took him and Diego almost two days to convince me."
She nodded and pointed to Hermes. "And that horse over there is not lame."
"I understand. He's Tornado. Right?"
She nodded again.
For a while they watched the animals, and they were still by the fence when Diego and Victoria approached them.
"How are the new foals doing?" Diego asked.
"Very well, they seem to have gone out to their father."
Hermes approached Diego who caressed him and patted him on the neck.
"Doña Carmen is convinced that Hermes is actually Tornado."
Diego's face convinced him it was true. "I should have known she'd figure it out."
Victoria was looking at the horse, confused. "It can't be."
Doña Carmen made her turn to her. "Victoria, it's Tornado."
Victoria laughed.
"Have we been crossing our mares with Tornado for over a year and a half?"
Diego seemed a little worried. "Well, yes. In the mating season he was always very nervous, so I decided to take a chance. Since he can come and go as he pleases, he is much better served. He couldn't spend the day locked up in the cave."
"But I looked at his leg myself. His hoof is deformed."
Diego passed inside the fence and don Alejandro followed him. He took Tornado's leg to look at the hoof. "You see that nail there?" Don Alejandro noticed it had a five-pointed star on it. "When someone looks at his leg it sees the damaged hoof, and also that shoe leaves a little mark that makes Tornado much harder to track."
"Your horse is an actor and can do magic?"
"Sort of. He actually knows how to use mine. He's my familiar."
"Your what?"
"An animal linked to a wizard. They learn many tricks."
"I thought magic was a hoax," said Dona Carmen. "I've seen many fakers who claimed to be magicians, but they were all frauds. Until I met Diego."
"We'd better go and eat," said Don Alejandro in amazement.
They ate together and the ladies said they had to go back to Los Angeles.
"Can I go with you this time?" asked Diego in a mocking tone.
"We will see. Put on that don Diego face you've been hiding behind all these years."
Diego smiled at the challenge. He cleared his throat and his face turned to a placid and slightly absent-minded expression.
"Just like that. Very good," said Doña Carmen with approval.
Don Alejandro and Victoria looked at them in surprise, but said nothing.
Doña Carmen decided to provoke Diego to see if he could keep his composure. "And today. How many times has it been?" Diego kept the same expression. "Two or rather three?" Victoria tried to hold back her laughter without succeeding. Don Alejandro looked away, but Diego remained unmoved. "We may have rain before the weekend," he said. "The anemometer shows a change in wind direction."
"That´s interesting." said doña Carmen. "Did Victoria put into practice any of the advice I gave her last night? She felt a bit inferior because she hasn't read the same books as you. She had a few doubts and I tried to bring her up to date."
Don Alejandro couldn't take it anymore and Victoria was completely red, but Diego looked doña Carmen in the eyes smiling only slightly. "I think it's very important that women have the same access to education as men."
"All right, you convinced me. You can come."
"Thank you, doña Carmen. It´s been a pleasure," he replied with the same half smile as before.
This time it was doña Carmen who laughed. "What a rogue you are."
(1) The idea that Tornado is one of his own horses that escaped when he was a foal is not mine, I read it in another of the stories on the Fanfiction page, and it seemed to me that it fitted with what I wanted to tell. Now that Dapet told me the story an the author, I can tell you that the original idea comes from "An Unbridled Affair" from leiasky.
