Chapter 18
Diego had worked the rest of the evening and much of the night in his laboratory in the cave, so he was ready on Monday morning to ride to the pueblo. Carrying a large white cotton bag, he walked into the tavern. Supporting the bag with both hands, implying it was heavy, he drew the eyes of the patrons on him as he placed it onto the bar, the content clinking like metal coins.
"Buenos días, Victoria," Diego said cheerfully, winking at her with a smile as he was standing with his back to the patrons. "I have the solution to your problems with the bank."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused as Diego hadn't told her about his plan, hoping it was a good one that wouldn't get him killed as Zorro.
"Yesterday, you told me that the bank won't give you the ten thousand pesos because there is still a loan on the tavern. So, I will give you the money for the tavern instead." Diego untied the cord around the bag and reached inside. As he pulled his hand out again, he displayed some gold coins on his palm. "These are one thousand pesos in coins and there is more..." Letting the coins fall back into the bag, he reached inside again to pull out a small bag made of black velvet. Opening it at the top, he spilled its content on his palm, showing it to Victoria and the patrons gathered around him who had left their tables to have a better view.
"Since I didn't have so much gold at home, the rest of the money is in the form of these emeralds," he explained as he took one of the stones between his thumb and his forefinger to hold the clear crystal against the light. Before anyone could take one of the stones, he put the emerald together with ones on his palm back into the bag. "The money and the emeralds together have a worth of ten thousand pesos, which is the money your want for your tavern. We only need to take the money and the jewels to the bank, so they can give me deed."
"Does it mean my tavern belongs to you now?" Victoria asked.
"Yes, it's either me, or you find another buyer quickly," he stated, "but I doubt that it will be so easy to find someone else who's willing to pay the loan on top."
"Can we talk about this in private, Diego?"
"Of course, I understand this is quite a surprise for you." Diego put the jewels back with the money and followed Victoria into the kitchen with the bag in his hands.
"What's your plan, Diego?" she asked, turning around to face him, once the curtain had closed behind him.
"To get married to you and to have you in my arms," Diego said, dropping the bag on the kitchen table, so he could draw her into his arms and kiss her. "I missed you last night and don't want to let you go." He held her tight, caressing and kissing her.
"I want that too," she whispered, coming back to her senses, "but I need to know what you're up to! What's your reason you came up with the idea to buy my tavern? And where did you get all that money since you didn't take it from the bank in Santa Paula?"
"I have been thinking about this mess we're in the whole time after you told me how the patrons treated you differently after you announced you lost your tavern and when my father suggested helping you with the money I had this idea."
"And how will this help us with our problems, Diego? I don't understand what you want to achieve with buying my tavern, and you haven't explained where you got the money either."
"If I officially own the tavern, I have reason to spend much time around you in the tavern, and I can make sure you will be treated right."
"How will you do that without revealing you are Zorro?" Victoria asked, suspiciously, but he could see that the prospect pleased her.
"You will be my servant and," Diego couldn't finish his sentence, as Victoria interrupted him."Your servant? I will never be your servant. Don't think you can order me around, Diego de la Vega!"
"I'd never do that, Querida," he said quickly to appease her. "At least not when we'll be alone."
"But you will do so in public? Why do I like the idea even less by the minute? Wouldn't it be better to call this off and tell everybody that I still have my tavern? There must be another way to deal with Don Pablo after his debts have become public."
"It may help us to get rid of the alcalde too if you give this a try." Diego took her hands and looked her in the eyes. "I know this won't be easy for you but can you trust me?"
"What is your plan with the alcalde?" Victoria asked, but before Diego could answer, they heard the loud sounds of soldier's boots heading for the kitchen.
"I think the sergeant is coming." Diego quickly released her hands. "Please, accept my offer to buy your tavern."
Victoria nodded quietly, shortly before the sergeant divided the curtain to the kitchen and looked inside. "Will your discussion with Don Diego take much longer, Señorita? Can you bring us more drinks before you continue? My men and I are dying of thirst."
"I'm coming, Sergeant." Victoria refilled a jug to take it to his table.
"We'll talk more later," Diego said, as he followed Victoria back into the main room, after he had picked up the bag with the money again.
In the meantime, the alcalde had come to the tavern and by the way he looked curiously at Diego and Victoria, the patrons must have informed him about Diego's announcement to buy the tavern.
"Did you buy the tavern from Victoria, Don Diego?" the alcalde inquired.
"Yes, I did, Alcalde," Diego confirmed. "And it's good to see you as I was just going to talk to you."
"What's your business, Don Diego?" de Soto said cautiously, as Diego hardly came for a talk of pleasantries.
"I'm afraid the money isn't safe in the tavern, and I don't want Victoria get robbed until she has time to take the money to the bank. So, would you mind if the money is stored in the pueblo's safe? I'd feel much safer about it if the sergeant and your soldiers were guarding it."
"We will take good care of it, Don Diego," the sergeant assured him, pleased by Diego's praise.
"Nobody will rob the safe while my men guard it and only the alcalde has the code to open it."
"Of course, you can put it in the pueblo's safe though I don't understand why you don't put it in the safe at your hacienda, Don Diego," the alcalde agreed.
"This would hardly be proper, since it's no longer my money but that of Señorita Victoria. I can't have the tavern, and the money at the same time," Diego explained.
In the company of Victoria and Mendoza, Diego walked with the alcalde over to his office to put the bag with the ten thousand pesos into the safe. The alcalde locked the safe with his code assuring him that nobody else would be able to open it. Diego didn't care to mention that he had opened the safe as Zorro before and that it wasn't as safe as the alcalde wanted him to believe.
Once they had returned to the tavern, Diego invited the alcalde to a drink at the bar in exchange for storing the money in the pueblo's safe.
"Alcalde, I'm really grateful that you allowed me to store that money in your safe. I don't want Victoria to be robbed because of it."
"Of course, de la Vega," De Soto agreed.
"We will guard your money well, Don Diego," Mendoza added, joining them at the bar and signing Victoria to bring him a drink too.
"This is really a lot of money you have there in your safe," Diego said. "With the bounty money for Zorro, the money for the tavern and the taxes that is nearly twenty thousand pesos."
"Don Diego, please don't talk so loud about it. Your talk will only attract robbers," Mendoza said, looking around anxiously.
"I really hope I didn't make a mistake to buy the tavern. I need to check you books, Victoria, if the tavern is worth it," Diego added.
"You want to check my books?" Victoria asked, irritated.
"The tavern belongs to me now, and it gives me the right to check your books. Don't worry, I do believe I made the right decision. Otherwise, I wouldn't have declined the offer from my friend in Spain."
"What offer?" the alcalde asked.
"A friend recently wrote me from Spain, suggesting me to return to Madrid with the next ship. During the war with Napoleon many young men were killed and now the noble families are desperately looking for husbands with even minor fortunes for their daughters. I could have my choice of woman if I wanted."
He took a sip from his drink pretending to ignore Victoria's angry look at him. "But why would I do that?" he continued. "I don't need to rely on my family's fortune with our ties to the King to have the nobles throw their daughters at me. So, why would I leave California within the week to head for Madrid when I'm not interested in returning to Spain and getting married."
"Everyone knows you're not interested in getting married," de Soto added.
"No, I'm not interested in those court politics and leaving my home country. Of course, if I were a minor noble without connections like you," Diego hinted at the alcalde's status who made a sour face at his remark, "I'd grab that chance and take the next ship for Madrid."
"My family may not be that well off like yours, de la Vega, but that does not mean we're without connections," de Soto rebuffed him for his remark.
"Of course, Alcalde, why would you return to Madrid to marry into a noble family when you have to stay here until you have caught Zorro? That glory will be enough to bring you success on your return in a few years or whenever you manage to catch Zorro," Diego said.
"Zorro is hard to catch, and now he has left," Mendoza said. "I think Zorro will never be caught."
"Nobody asked you for your opinion, Mendoza. Catching Zorro is why I came here," De Soto declared in a sour mood. "And that is why I need to get back to work. Stop lingering at the bar. You're a soldier not a bar keeper."
"Si, mi Alcalde." Mendoza followed him out of the tavern.
"We need to talk, Diego," Victoria demanded, motioning him to follow her to the kitchen.
"What is this all about, Diego?" she asked when they were alone. "This talk with the alcalde and getting married in Spain? And why do you want to see my books? The tavern is still mine."
"Querida, I'll explain it to you later when we have more time but would you mind giving me the books later? It will be a good excuse for me to spend some time in the tavern and in your lovely company."
Victoria's mood softened at his words. "Fine, I'll give you the books but you'll have to explain a lot later," she agreed.
"I'll see you at siesta." Bending down to her ear, he added, "Mi Querida," smiling at her happily.
Z~Z~Z
"Father, I have found a way to help Victoria," Diego said during lunch with his father at the hacienda. "In fact, I must thank you for suggesting it."
"What do you mean? How do you want to help her?" Alejandro asked, confused.
"Didn't you say we should give Victoria money to help her? That's what I did. I bought the tavern from her today," Diego explained.
"You bought her tavern? How could you do this? Don't you know that Victoria depends on her tavern? And where did you get the money? Is that why you went to the bank in Santa Paula? To take the money from our bank account? Without asking me first?"
"Everything is fine, Father. There's no need to get angry. Victoria agreed to sell me the tavern since it's better she sells it to us than to some stranger, and I would never take the money from with bank without consulting you."
"Victoria agreed? I don't like the idea but maybe you're right. Then where did you get the money if you didn't take it from the bank?"
"I still had some money from mother's inheritance that I never used. It was enough to buy the tavern," Diego shrugged.
"You used your mother's inheritance to buy the tavern? I won't say it's a good investment but I must say it's a surprise," Alejandro said. "What about Victoria?"
"We didn't have the time to discuss it all but we will do so during siesta," Diego explained.
"Yes, I believe you have a lot to talk about."
When Diego returned to the tavern, his visit was already anticipated not only by Victoria but also by her patrons who had heard about the transfer of the tavern to him. After congratulating him to the tavern, they left Victoria and him alone to discuss their business.
"It looks like I no longer need an excuse to see you during siesta," Diego grinned, pulling her into his arms once she had locked the door behind the last customer.
"We have business to discuss," Victoria said.
"Business? I have better ideas than doing business." Diego bent down to kiss her.
"What could be better than going through business journals?" Victoria teased him as she took him by the hand and led him upstairs. "Don't think you can evade my questions again. I want a full explanation of your plans later."
"I'll tell you everything. I promise." Diego agreed.
When Diego left after siesta he was relieved that Victoria had agreed to his plans though she didn't like some parts, but she was willing to help in the hope of a future together.