Chapter 2

A few moments later, Dr. Hernandez arrived through the back door with the sergeant, who closed the door behind himself. Diego explained what he'd found and done. The doctor smiled and patted his shoulder before starting his examination of the young woman.

Before the caballero could stand, Victoria reached out her hand and grabbed him, holding onto his shirt for dear life. He looked at her and smiled. When he moved his hand to remove hers, she grasped it, and he couldn't refuse the silent plea in her eyes to remain next to her.

Sergeant Mendoza, seeing his favorite cook injured on the floor, had uncharacteristically been efficient. He'd ordered the first lancer he saw to bring warmed blankets from the garrison before heading to the doctor's office and home. Shortly after the sergeant and doctor arrived, the lancer brought the much-needed blankets.

After finding no serious injuries, the doctor insisted that she needed to warm up as soon as possible, since she could have died from hypothermia, and her life was still at risk.

While Diego and Dr. Hernandez wrapped Victoria in the warm blankets, Felipe left to start a fire in her room. Once she was well-wrapped, Diego effortlessly lifted her into his arms. She snuggled against him, burying her head safely against his chest.

If either of the other two was surprised by this action, he hid it well. Diego carried her close to his chest, hoping she would get warm from both the blankets and his body heat. Only she was aware of his trembling arms, as the aftershock of her near-death experience threatened to overwhelm his self-control. As they climbed the stairs, she reached upwards to brush aside the solitary tear that trailed silently down his cheek.

At the top of the stairs, Diego efficiently yet kindly gave instructions, "Sergeant, lock the door. The tavern is closed."

The doctor added, "Sergeant, have someone find Pilar and Alicia. We'll need their help getting the senorita out of those wet clothes and dry."

Felipe had already thought ahead when earlier he had passed the linen closet, grabbing clean sheets and a stack of towels. By the time the others arrived, he had already pulled down the bedspread and covered the mattress with a clean sheet, so Diego could gently lower her onto her bed. She still clung to him. Somehow as he lowered her, the blankets fell off as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. The caballero almost lost his balance, nearly falling on top of her in the bed. The doctor had to help Diego untangle them. After she was on the bed, she desperately grabbed and held the don's hand tenaciously.

Felipe grinned inwardly at Diego's predicament, which if it wasn't so serious would be comical. Before he would betray his feelings, he turned back to stoke the fire. He would be sure to tease Diego about it, once the danger to Victoria had safely passed.

The doctor used the towels to dry Victoria's hair and clothes as much as possible without removing them until one or both of the other women arrived.

Meanwhile, Felipe had a good-sized fire going. It crackled merrily, in stark contrast to the somber mood of the people in the room.

Pilar and Alicia arrived, both out of breath after hurrying when a lancer told them that they were needed. Both were shocked at how close to death their employer had come when the doctor explained what happened, and what he needed them to do. Felipe stepped out of the room to guard the door while The women worked to get Victoria out of her wet clothes and into warm, clean clothes.

Dr. Hernandez turned his back to avoid seeing Victoria in her birthday suit, while Diego attempted to leave. However, the proprietress refused to let Diego out of her sight, holding onto him as much as possible. Concerned that refusing her would only delay her recovery, he gave up trying to leave. Instead, he forced himself to only stare at her face, while muttering soothing words of encouragement. Through it all, she didn't utter a sound which worried the three people in the room.

After Victoria was bundled up, Pilar went to the kitchen to prepare some broth and tea to help her employer warm up inside. Alicia remained in the room both to help the doctor and as an unofficial chaperone.

~Z~Z~Z~

Don Alejandro had spoken to the head vaquero about the outside work that needed done that day. Maria also told him the household servants' plans for the day. With everything arranged, he realized he was exhausted. He decided to lay down in his bed, just to rest his eyes. His fatigue quickly overtook him, and he slipped into a restful sleep and began to dream…

He found himself in the familiar rooms of the hacienda. Instead of the silence he's grown accustomed to since Diego's return from Spain, it was filled with the sounds of childish laughter and other sounds dear to the older man's heart. When he entered the library, he found Diego quietly reading to two toddlers, one of whom was Diego and Victoria's son, and the other boy was Felipe and his wife's.

As the older man watched mesmerized in the peaceful scene before him, he knew that his hopes and dreams for happy marriages that filled the house with grandbabies had finally come true. He continued his walk through the hacienda, discovering the rest of his family happily engaged in various activities.

With a smile on his face, he slept peacefully until lunchtime.

~Z~Z~Z~

Over the past few weeks, Alcalde de Soto had been bothered by dreams. While some of them were good, with him returning to Madrid a hero for ridding the territory of Zorro, others were nightmares. In some he was charged with premeditated murder of Emissary Risendo. In others, he hung Zorro, only to find after the fact that the territory was now ruled by Mexico, and he himself was tried as a war criminal for hanging their new government's hero. And his sentence was hanging.

He blamed the hero for his dreams, in addition to what he now viewed as his exile in this dusty little pueblo half a world away from his Beloved Madrid. He decided that he needed to find a way to destroy the masked menace without killing him.

Even though Zorro hadn't been seen in weeks, ever since Risendo had called a truce with him, de Soto still persisted in wanting to destroy him, or at least his hopes for a happy future. His daydream of the perfect solution to destroy not one, but possibly four people who had been thorns in his side was interrupted when one of his lancers came to report about the tavern.

"Private Sanchez, reporting, Sir," the private smartly saluted his superior officer.

With a sigh of exasperation at having to deal with imbeciles in the ranks, de Soto replied, "Yes, I know who you are. Report."

"I followed Sergeant Mendoza as you ordered, Sir. He knocked on the tavern, but there was no answer. Don Diego de la Vega and his servant arrived on horseback, and they went to check the back door. After a few minutes, the sergeant also went around to the back. Before I got into place, he left and returned a few minutes later with the doctor. The back door was open while he was gone, so I hid from sight behind some barrels where I could look through the doorway. The don was on the floor, with the senorita next to him. He was kissing her, and it looked like he was about to ravish her when the door slammed shut, and I returned to report."

"Are you sure it was de la Vega?"

"Yes, Sir."

"And you are sure about what you saw?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Excellent. Dismissed, Private."

With another salute, the private left.

De Soto cackled in delight. His plan could be implemented faster than he expected. Machiavelli, his hero, would be proud. He called two new lancers who didn't know either the Escalante woman or the de la Vegas. Together, they crossed the plaza.

Without doing any investigation into the truth, the alcalde saw this as an opportunity to force a marriage between the fiery tavern owner and the indolent coward of the pueblo. He daydreamed as he and his men crossed the plaza about how this situation could be exploited to his advantage.

In his daydream, by forcing a marriage, the young woman would move to her husband's hacienda. She likely would make the don's life miserable, blaming him for Zorro forsaking her. Her demands would most likely result in the de la Vega heir being too busy catering to her every whim to continue as editor of The Guardian. If Zorro challenged the inept caballero to a duel, he could be tried either in person or in absentia for murder. De Soto smiled, believing this was indeed the perfect trap. On the other hand, if Zorro was dead, the couple would likely both be miserable in a loveless marriage. He could hear the trap being sprung on four of the most irritating people in the pueblo. Don Alejandro would never get the grandbabies he yearned to hold.

So immersed in his own plans, the alcalde was surprised when they reached the tavern's porch. Stepping onto it, he quickly found that the front door was locked. Not wanting to delay, he loudly knocked and demanded Mendoza open up for him.

~Z~Z~Z~

Felipe heard the alcalde demanding Mendoza let him enter the tavern. Quickly the young man planted his feet at the top of the stairs, crossed his arms, and prayed the officer would get the point.

When he reached the top of the stairs, de Soto tried to sidestep Felipe. The younger man moved, blocking the alcalde. They continued this strange dance at the top of the stairs until the older man reached for Felipe's arms hoping to pin him in place. The younger man shook him off, using strength the Spanish official never guessed he had. De Soto grabbed the rail preventing his tumble backwards down the stairs. It was at that point he took a good look at the younger man's face, and saw the raw hatred in his eyes and deep scowl. Startled, he took a step to the side and found himself against a wall, with nowhere to go but back down the stairs.

Instead of making an honorable retreat, he called out, "De la Vega! Call off your servant before I have him arrested for obstruction!"

The only reply was the doctor's angry voice, "Leave him alone! The senorita needs peace and quiet."

At this point, the two lancers de Soto had brought with him pointed their muskets at Felipe. Seeing no alternative, he raised his hands and stepped aside.

Victoria clung to Diego's shirt with both hands when de Soto entered the room with his men.

Without looking at the men who entered, Diego spoke authoritatively yet respectfully, "Ignacio, Felipe will soon be a de la Vega. My father is adopting him, so in the future you will give him the respect he deserves with that name." With a sigh of resignation he then asked, "What do you want?"

In reply, de Soto nodded to his two lancers, one of whom grabbed the back of Diego's shirt, trying to pull him away from the bed. Victoria grabbed the front of his shirt with both hands. Between Victoria and the lancer pulling in opposite directions, the old shirt couldn't take the stress. It ripped soundly in two. Before Victoria lost her balance and fell backwards onto the mattress, Diego steadied her. The lancer was not so lucky, as he stumbled backwards into the alcalde. He still held his piece of the torn shirt. Both men ended up unceremoniously on the floor, the lancer horrified after landing on top of his superior officer.

A crack sounded as de Soto's head hit the floor, and he was stunned.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Felipe grabbed another sheet and tossed it over the lancer and alcalde to his soon-to-be brother. Diego caught it and then immediately wrapped it around his upper body, covering his arms, muscles and scars before Alicia, either of the lancers, or de Soto noticed.

However, the doctor and Victoria both noticed, the caballero's body confirming what they already knew about the masked man's true identity. Both of them immediately looked away and schooled their expressions so they wouldn't betray him or his secret.

The lancer scrambled to stand before both he and his comrade helped their superior officer to his feet.

Furious, Diego repeated his question in a deceptively calm tone of voice that he'd mastered for years, "What do you want?"

"You're under arrest for assaulting the tavern owner."

"What?"

Dr. Hernandez spoke up, "Alcalde, he saved her life. He didn't assault her."

"That's not what my lancer said." After a double-take, the alcalde asked for clarification, "What do you mean?"

After taking a calming breath, Diego answered, "Ignacio, she was cold and wet. She had stopped breathing. I simply breathed for her, which may have looked like a kiss. I blew air into her mouth until she was able to do it herself. And then, she woke up."

"That's the truth, alcalde," the doctor confirmed. "And even I couldn't have done better." He didn't mention that it had never occurred to him to even try, although he planned to discuss it later with the caballero.

Not wanting to admit defeat, de Soto persisted after standing up to his full height, "Still, propriety demands you marry her immediately."

"But, she's still recovering and in no shape to get married. I'm not sure anyone is in the mood for a wedding after the storm that just let up today," Dr. Hernandez replied.

The alcalde continued to insist that they had to get married immediately. Only if they had been betrothed or engaged would it be different.

At that point, Victoria spoke for the first time. In a hoarse voice, she adamantly stated, "We are engaged."

Diego turned to her, a questioning expression on his face. She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"You are?" De Soto asked.

She nodded and immediately felt dizzy.

The doctor intervened, insisting, "Stop this, Alcalde. Senorita Escalanteente has a concussion and should not be interrogated now. She needs rest and quiet, not wild accusations she must defend."

"De la Vega, is this true?"

"Yes. I asked her to marry me, and she accepted."

"Why hasn't there been an announcement?"

Diego replied quickly with the well-thought-out answer, "Several reasons. First, my father and I were in mourning for my brother," Diego replied and was pleased to see the alcalde squirm uncomfortably at this statement. He ticked off the items on his fingers as he continued, "Second, we wanted to tell my father and her brothers first. Third, there's the matter of Zorro. We were waiting to see if he was alive or not."

"Yes, I can see that confronting a jilted lover would be difficult for a coward who is also inept with a sword," De Soto sniped.

Victoria tensed and was about to unleash an angry retort when Diego replied, "Perhaps. But they were never lovers. She will soon be Doña de la Vega, and I expect you to give her the respect that title deserves, starting now. If Zorro is alive, maybe he realizes he can never unmask and marry her. Granting her the freedom to marry someone safe is the noble thing to do."

"He advised me to marry Diego years ago. I should have," the proprietress croaked out.

"Everyone knows de la Vega has eyes only for you," the alcalde informed her.

Indignantly, she proclaimed, "Well I didn't. And if word of this gets out before we tell Don Alejandro, I will permanently ban the military from my tavern." On the last word, her voice cracked and failed her.

"You wouldn't dare."

Victoria glared defiantly at the official.

"As you are so fond of saying, Ignacio, she would. And my father and I would support that decision," Diego replied while attempting to redirect the alcalde's attention and ire to himself, rather than at his beloved. He saw Felipe in the hall, nodding his support.

Victoria sneezed twice, and de Soto covered his nose with his lace handkerchief.

The doctor spoke up, "I must insist the Senorita not talk anymore to allow her to heal. She has a concussion. We don't know if she may have caught a cold or something more serious overnight. Please leave."

The alcalde turned on his heel, making a hasty retreat to avoid catching a serious illness. His hypochondria was well-known.

Mendoza and the lancers followed their leader. At the alcalde's office, the sergeant dismissed the lancers before entering the office himself. Or, as he thought of it, the lion's den.

The alcalde was pacing back and forth, a half-empty glass of wine in his hand.

"Alcalde?" the sergeant tentatively asked.

"What? Oh, Mendoza, what do you want?"

"I, um thought you might need someone to talk to."

"What's to talk about? The masked bandit is dead, has left the territory, or is in hiding. Whatever, I can't catch him. Even my plans to hurt him fail."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, you were there. I thought he'd be upset at least if his ladylove was forced to marry the Coward of the Pueblo."

Swallowing hard, Mendoza decided it was long past time the alcalde heard the truth from him, "Well, as Don Diego said, Zorro is an honorable man. And I don't think Senorita Victoria would lie about Zorro suggesting she marry another. He loved her and probably saw that their association was too dangerous. Likely, he just wanted to keep her safe and hoped she could be happy with Don Diego."

"Hmm. Or, maybe he planned to take a married woman as his mistress. Then she would be committing adultery," de Soto mumbled.

The sergeant could only stare open-mouthed at that ridiculous accusation against the senorita, the hero, and the caballero. He knew in his heart that Senorita Victoria would never dishonor her marriage vows. Nor would Zorro dishonor her that way. And he'd seen Don Diego defend Victoria's honor more than once, even risking his life by challenging that English master swordsman who had terrorized the pueblo and insulted the senorita.

The alcalde, lost in his own thoughts about how all his plans had failed miserably, forgot for a few minutes that the sergeant was still there. When Mendoza cleared his throat, de Soto dismissed him before spending the rest of the day drowning his sorrows in his best bottles of wine.

~Z~Z~Z~

Felipe retrieved the spare shirt he had packed for Diego. When the caballero slipped the sheet off and shrugged into it, as he put his arm into the second sleeve and positioned the shirt on his shoulders, he heard it rip. His horrified expression left Victoria and Felipe laughing uncontrollably. When Alicia popped her head in to see what the commotion was all about, Diego just turned to show her his back. She also burst into giggles. Even Diego was smiling crookedly, his eyes lit with amusement.

Quickly, Felipe ran down to the kitchen to find Diego's jacket. When he returned with it, the caballero thanked him and slipped it over the torn shirt. Now, his back and front were both appropriately covered.

He had to explain to both women that the shirt was an old one he hadn't worn in years, and apparently he'd grown since then. Or it had shrunk. They all had a much-needed laugh over that confession. And Diego was sure that his father would enjoy his son's embarrassment. Thankfully, the biggest gossips in the pueblo were nowhere near. And everyone involved promised not to tell anyone, except Don Alejandro of course.

Over the next couple of hours, Victoria rested and got warm. Diego sat in a chair next to her bedside, with the door open. She insisted on holding his hand continuously. Someone else was usually in the room: the doctor, Felipe, or one of Victoria's helpers. Every hour or so, Pilar or Alicia would bring a warm cup of tea or broth for the proprietress. Midmorning, they also brought a snack for the men.

Softly the doctor spoke, "Senorita, how do you feel about going to the de la Vegas' hacienda to recover? Pilar and Alicia can care for the tavern, or it can be kept closed if you prefer."

Rather than speaking, Victoria simply nodded. The doctor wanted to confirm, "You want to go to the de la Vegas?"

She nodded again.

"What about the tavern?"

A shrug was her only reply.

"If I might make a suggestion?" Diego asked.

"Please," the doctor replied.

"Why don't you keep it closed for now? The stage isn't due until next week. Pilar and Alicia can do whatever you wish. Maybe take an inventory, or do some cleaning you haven't done in a while. You can think about it, and let them know in a day or two. I can ask Mendoza to keep an eye on the tavern in your absence. If you agree, I will cover their wages until the tavern reopens. No need for them to suffer. What do you think?" he asked earnestly.

Victoria blinked back tears and nodded.

"Good. And the storeroom's roof needs repaired so your supplies can make way for paying customers," he added with a wink and Zorro's smile that only Victoria saw.

The doctor decided to travel to the de la Vega's hacienda with Felipe to check on Don Alejandro. Later that afternoon, Felipe would return with a carriage for Victoria. Alicia and Pilar helped Victoria by packing some things for at least several days and helping her dress for the ride.

Although Alejandro wasn't seriously injured, the doctor wanted him to take it easy for a few days. Diego was left in charge, dividing his time between his father, Victoria, and the rancho. After Felipe found no damage to the newspaper office, Diego decided The Guardian would have to wait for now.

When they had a moment with the door open, and their chaperones outside the room, Diego quietly asked if Victoria would agree to an official betrothal. It could occur at the de la Vega hacienda, and she could invite her friends and helpers. It would be as large or as small as she wished. She nodded yes before reaching for a hug.

Diego asked Felipe to have Padre Benitez stop by before they left, or if he wasn't available, to come to the hacienda later.

After the young man left, Victoria cried tears of happiness, having unmasked her beloved, and now nestled safely in his arms.


A/N: The idea for Felipe blocking the alcalde on the stairs was inspired by a scene in CMA6725's wonderful story Love Spice.

Thank you for reading and all the kind comments.