The lancers had just finished installing the stands in the plaza and the vendors had not yet arrived to prepare for the day's fair when the wagon accompanied by the two riders arrived in the pueblo. The soldiers all stopped what they were doing and looked curiously towards the newly-arrived, having a hard time recognizing their commander when he ordered them to take the thugs to the prison.

"Didn't you say Ramon Escalante invited Lieutenant Mendoza to some kind of party for Don Diego?" Martinez asked Valdez.

"It's true…that's what he said…They wanted to get him drunk before the wedding." The other lancer answered.

"Then, why was the Alcalde with them?"

"How do you expect me to know that?"

"So let me get this straight. The Alcalde went to Don Diego's party…where they intended to get him drunk, despite the fact that he doesn't drink and having him drunk in De Soto's presence is not a good idea…so…they went to this party and now everyone comes back with a serious hangover, except for Don Diego, who was supposed to be the one they got drunk, and his son…and they also managed to apprehend two dangerous criminals?"

"Si…" The other man agreed, scratching his head.

"That sounds about right…" Martinez decided.

"What are you two talking about?" Corporal Pedro Sanchez asked them as he neared the two.

"Don Diego's party." Martinez replied.

"Do you really believe what the Lieutenant said about how the bandits were captured?" Valdez asked the Corporal.

"Of course not! It must have been Don Diego." Sanchez answered.

"But the Alcalde said everyone was asleep."

"He probably knocked them out and pretended to be asleep afterward. We all know how quick he can be!"

"I think you might be right. It is a better explanation than stating that they fell asleep from smelling a cloth. Nobody is that stupid! But…as long as the Alcalde believes it…" Martinez agreed.

"Yes…the Alcalde…What do you think we should do, now that he's back?" Valdez asked Sanchez.

"I don't know why you ask! You don't want to go back to catching the bandits all by ourselves, do you?"

"No. That is not a good idea…" Valdez agreed, reaching to rub the scar of the bullet wound in his shoulder. "He's much better at it!"

"So…you know the drill…Pretend you see nothing, hear nothing and make sure neither the Alcalde nor anyone else sees or finds out anything. Just do what the Lieutenant, Sepulveda, and Gomez do! And keep your mouths shut! We don't want the other men to find out! It's a miracle none of them saw him take out those three men yesterday, anyway!"

The other two lancers agreed and each went about their business.

ZZZ

Diego, Felipe, Rafael, and the Escalante brothers headed for the tavern as soon as they arrived in town. They were hesitant at first, thinking Victoria might still be asleep but, just as Diego was about to knock on the door, she opened it, startling for a moment at seeing them.

"Are you alright?" She asked, embracing Diego, while giving her brothers a murderous look while completely ignoring Rafael. "I was so worried! When Marguerita told me they were taking you away to give you 'the marriage talk', I instantly knew they were planning something stupid! What did they do to you?"

"Their best to get me drunk." Her fiancé replied. "But they were kind enough and agreed to assume the hangover." He stated with a smile and a wink, pointing towards the pitiful state her brothers were in. "I think they'd better rest for a few more hours."

"Rest? Oh…they will rest alright! In the stables! I rented out their rooms last night."

"What do you mean you rented out our rooms?" Francisco asked.

"Yes, what do you mean…And can you make a little less noise when you talk?" Ramon inquired.

"A little less noise?" Victoria almost shouted, making three of the men before her cover their ears. "You'll find the stables less noisy, I am sure! And if you don't want to sleep there, beg Diego to let you use his room at the hacienda! I don't care where or if you sleep! Right now, I can't even look at the two of you!"

The two younger men turned begging eyes towards Diego.

"Felipe" he asked "why don't you accompany these three fine gentlemen to the hacienda where they can get some rest? I'll stay a little longer with Victoria."

His son grinned and nodded, then indicated that the other three follow him to the wagon. Once at the hacienda, the two Escalantes dragged each other to Diego's room and, after deciding which side each should take, they climbed into the bed and fell asleep. Rafael, on the other hand, was not so lucky, finding his wife awake and eager to tell him all about the fiesta and the previous evening's discussion with Victoria. So he patiently listened, hoping breakfast time would come soon and he would finally have some peace and quiet for an hour.

ZZZ

"Why is the Alcalde's hair and beard black?" Victoria asked, noticing the man while her eyes were following her brothers as they were heading towards the wagon.

"That would be Ramon's doing, but I convinced him he did it to himself." Diego answered.

"Please tell me he wasn't with you!" She asked him, feeling a cold shiver down her spine.

"Oh…He was. Can we go talk behind the tavern…with all the guests here, this might not be the right spot…"

Victoria agreed and, taking the hand Diego offered her, followed him to the back of the building.

"How could they be so stupid as to take him along? And Mendoza…I would have expected he, at least, would have known better." Victoria fumed.

"From what Felipe told me, it was all an accident. He discovered them kidnapping me and decided to join in. Apparently, he's always harbored a secret wish to see me drunk."

"But…"

"Don't worry. He still hasn't fulfilled it. I have a very high tolerance for alcohol, probably because I don't normally drink and my body can process it better. Plus, I had Felipe there with me."

"Luckily! What did he do?"

"He got them drunk and gave me willow bark tea mixed with a tonic instead of rum, and water instead of tequila. I did, however, managed to make them believe I got drunk, so don't tell them the truth or they might try it again!"

"And the Alcalde?"

"Felipe made him inhale ether and he was fast asleep during my conversation with your brothers, Mendoza, and my cousin. By the way, Ramon made me promise to name out eightborn son after him."

"Eightborn son? How many children does he imagine we're going to have?" She asked chuckling.

"At least eight. But I'm up to the challenge if you are..." He teased.

"We'll talk about that later..." Victoria replied. "What else happened?"

"Well…De Soto and I had a very unexpected conversation…"

"I thought he was asleep…"

"He was, but then he woke up, after the others fell asleep, and decided he needed to see me drunk, no matter the cost. I guess he's feeling the cost this morning…"

"Please tell me you didn't drink with him!?"

"I did, actually. An entire bottle of wine…he drank two. I have to admit, though, he is much more pleasant when he is drunk then he is while awake!"

"Pleasant?"

"Yes…Apparently, Drunk Ignacio misses a certain masked outlaw and considers me to be his best friend. He's even asked the Governor for a pardon in the hope Zorro might turn up alive, after all."

"That…That has to be a trap or something…I'm sure he was just trying to bait you! I hope you didn't confess or anything!"

Diego just gave her a stern look.

"What am I saying…Of course, you wouldn't just fall into his trap!" Victoria decided.

"No…I wouldn't. Just because I still hope he might become a better person, it doesn't mean I trust him with my life. Although, I don't think it was a trap…"

"Diego! All he wants is to see you dead! If he knew you were Zorro, he'd have you executed the first chance he'd get!"

"I'm starting to doubt that." Diego told her pensively. "But I always felt it's better to be prudent. Too many people know about it already. An official pardon might end up coming in handy, even if I never publicly resurrect him."

"Well…the Governor seems quite impressed with you! So that's something…I am just sorry his wife didn't come with him, as she was supposed to. I would have made sure last night that she'd convince her husband to have you pardoned."

"I'm sure you would have, Victoria. But he is a stubborn man and still believes what he read about me. Changing his mind won't be easy and, if you and my father keep insisting on the subject, he might become suspicious. That's not something we want at this moment."

"No…It's not…"

"So…what did you do last night? Rafael told me he had convinced Marguerita that they needed to 'inform you about being a wife'." Diego asked, putting his arms on her waist to draw her closer.

"She and your aunt certainly tried to!" Victoria answered, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Your twin cousins also 'benefited' from their knowledge. We learned a great deal about running a household, spending our husbands' money on fine clothes, make sure to let our respective husbands make love to us exactly once a month and just pretend to have headaches if they insist on doing it more often, ignore any gossip about potential lovers…"

"Good Lord! I really hope you'll ignore all that!"

"I certainly intend to! In fact, I plan to do the exact opposite of what they recommended. I don't believe I'll be needing that many clothes, since I plan on spending most of my days making love to you, so that you'd be too exhausted to ride as a certain masked outlaw. And, instead of ignoring gossip, I will murder you myself, if you decide to get a lover!"

"Now, that's a threat I intend to take seriously! But you can be sure that you're the only lover I want, Victoria! That will never change!" Diego told her with a smile as lowered his head to give her a passionate kiss.

"I'll hold you to that, Senor de la Vega!" She replied as their lips parted, then reached to kiss him back.

"Will you come to the hacienda for breakfast?" He asked her about five minutes later.

"Not today…I still have a lot to take care of, before I move there permanently. I can't believe we're getting married tomorrow!"

"I can hardly wait, my love!" He confessed, then reached to kiss her again.

ZZZ

"Good morning, Diego!" Don Alejandro greeted his son as he headed for the breakfast table.

He had arrived home about an hour earlier and taken some time to have a bath and check on Senor de Molinas. The two Escalante brothers were still asleep in his bed and didn't even move when he had entered to choose his clothes for the day. He had given them an amused look and briefly wished for their sister to see them, as well.

"Good morning, Father!" He replied.

The old don was alone, reading the latest edition of The Guardian, waiting for his son, his grandson and the guests to join him.

"Felipe told me you two had an interesting adventure last night!"

"Yes…My kidnapers are still paying their due price for their deed. But I am frankly surprised you did not mobilize the vaqueros to go search for us."

"Marguerita told us Rafael had informed her that he and Victoria's brothers were taking you away for a serious talk and, after Maria informed me about the quantity of alcohol missing from our storage, I decided to let you all have some fun. Had I known the Alcalde was invited, I would have organized a search party, but I only found out this morning, when Felipe told me. Apparently, the lancers didn't even notice his absence."

"That's odd…Perhaps Mendoza had told them about what they were planning and they assumed he was invited…"

"Probably…"

"Changing the subject, Senor de Molinas is feeling better today! He said he would join us for breakfast; and the doctor is supposed to arrive later to check up on him."

"Excellent news, Diego!"

"I confess I am quite relieved, Father. That means there is probably no internal bleeding and he's on his way to a speedy recovery."

"Good morning!" The Governor wished them as he entered the room and sat at the table.

"Good morning, Your Excellency!" They both greeted back.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"I was just telling my father that our guest, Senor de Molinas, is feeling much better today. In fact, he will join us for breakfast in a few minutes."

"Senor de Molinas?" Don Rodrigo asked as he, his wife and Marguerita also entered the room, closely followed by Felipe, Don Eduardo and the twins. "Is he your mysterious guest, nephew?"

"You know him, uncle?" The tall caballero questioned as everyone took their seats.

"I do. He was in Santa Barbara a little over a month ago…doing some on-the-ground investigation for a guide he is writing."

"He came here with the Monterey Stagecoach. I always assumed he came directly from there." Diego told him, wondering if his uncle's familiarity with the man might be useful in helping him with his memory.

"By the way, Rodrigo" Don Alejandro remembered to ask "do you have any news of the Royal Emissary Santiago del Castillo? The Governor says he was in Santa Barbara a few weeks ago."

"Emissary? I am afraid I haven't met any Emissary recently, nor has one been to our pueblo during the last few months."

"You must be mist…" The Governor started to say. "Emissary!" He then exclaimed in surprise, at seeing Senor de Molinas entering the room.

Everybody turned towards the new arrival.

"Emissary de Castillo!" The Governor repeated. "I don't understand, Don Alejandro. Why say you had no news of him if he is already here?" He admonished his host.

"You mean…Senor de Molinas is the Emissary?" Don Alejandro wondered.

"I thought you said I was a writer." The Emissary questioned Diego.

"That's what you told us!" Diego replied, surprised by this turn of events, as he stood up, heading towards him. "No wonder you couldn't remember your name. Does Santiago de Castillo sound more familiar?"

The man raised a hand to his head as memories started coming back at the mere pronunciation of his real name. His other hand he used to support himself as he leaned against the wall. Diego was there to help him a few moments later.

"I remember!" He stated, looking apologetically towards his host. "I remember…I was traveling incognito…people are not very candid when they know who I am…I'm sorry for having lied to you, Don Diego…"

"You mean…The Emissary was the man you were looking after?" The Governor asked, as Don Alejandro was watching the entire scene with an expression of puzzled amusement.

Diego just confirmed by nodding his head as he was helping the Emissary to an empty chair.

ZZZ

"How is he?" The tall caballero asked Doctor Hernandez as he finished consulting his patient.

"Quite well, Diego. I don't think there's anything we need to be worried about anymore. He is still weak but he is soon to make a full recovery."

"I was hoping you would say that! So he's out of the woods!"

"Yes…And I must also say…him being the Emissary…quite remarkable!"

"My father also believes so."

"Well…that will serve to raise the price on Don Alcides' head. I just hope it may also work in your favor! If that man shares what he knows with De Soto…or any other alcalde, for that matter…"

"I wouldn't worry so much, Doctor Hernandez. Everybody knows he has a personal grudge against me. As long as he has no proof, he can make all the accusations he wants. Nobody will believe him."

"I hope so! I truly hope so!"

Diego was feeling quite optimistic about the unexpected turn of events, considering that, even if his secret would be revealed, at that point, after all said and done, it was highly unlikely for him and his loved ones to suffer any repercussions. Thinking about repercussions, though, made him remember his misguided kidnapers.

"Doctor Hernandez, may I ask…Do you, by any chance, have any secret hangover remedy?"

"Why should you need it? Everybody knows you don't even touch alcohol!"

"I do, from time to time, to be honest. Rarely and never in a quantity that would make such a remedy needed in my case…The reason why I'm asking is because the Escalante brothers, my cousin, Mendoza and De Soto seem to be suffering from one this morning. I was wondering if you know of something that might alleviate their…pain."

"I see…May I ask what did they do to be suffering from such an affliction?"

"Decided to get me drunk, actually."

"But they got drunk instead?"

"Something like that..." Diego answered with a sly grin.

"Well…in that case, I know just the thing they need." The doctor decided, motioning for the young don to follow him to the kitchen, where he proceeded in instructing the cook on how to prepare a drink mixing various aromatic herbs, honey, garlic, and some chili peppers. The mere smell of the foul beverage was enough to raise the dead, in Diego's opinion.

"It is very effective, I assure you, but I only recommend it when someone misbehaves." Doctor Hernandez told Diego and Maria, with a wicked grin. "However, if you, young man, ever need something to cure a hangover, just leave the garlic and the chili peppers out, and it will have the same effect." he then added with a wink, making Diego and his employee chuckle.

After a little over half of the drink was distributed in three glasses, the rest filling a flask, Diego proceeded in convincing the three men in his house to drink it. Half an hour later, they were all freshened up, ready to head for the pueblo.