Jessie's condition improved daily, but De Soto had no intention to leave her. He never dared say a word about his feeling because he was even more certain it was a lost cause, yet felt rather encouraged when she agreed to let him stay and keep watch over her for a few more nights.
During the day, Diego was mostly at the medical office, taking care of the new patients, except for Wednesday, when he was at The Guardian's office, even though Felipe had been taking over much of the work on the newspaper. Ignacio was not very happy with the caballero's presence in the other room, especially since he tended to interrupt them to ask Jessie for advice on medical issues.
Victoria was also visiting a few times every day, as she had done during the time Jessie was sleeping, to help her friend with her more personal needs and to bring her food. Unwilling to give himself away, whenever the taverness or someone else visited, Ignacio patiently waited at the garrison for the guest to leave, then hurriedly returned to the medical office, eagerly awaiting the evenings when he and Jessie would finally be left alone.
When there was just the two of them there, the Alcalde and the woman he loved would play some cards or he'd read for her. Sometime they'd just talk – about anything and everything. Some conversations, mainly those which allowed him to know her better, were very pleasant, even funny. Less funny was her insistence on sharing random thoughts, almost every day, about how great Diego was. Those conversations were rather torturous for De Soto, who was still pretending an interest in whatever she was saying, not even remarking that Jessie was testing from time to time to see if he was, indeed, listening.
A little over a week after waking up, Jessie Kent reached the conclusion that she had recovered well enough, and started working again.
De Soto did not like that. He tried to convince her that she still needed to stay in bed and that she, at least, needed supervision, just so that he could stay with her a bit longer, but she was a very obstinate woman – at least in his view.
ZZZ
It was a Tuesday and the Alcalde - who was in a rather bad mood considering he had been sleeping in his own quarters for a couple of night already - together with his faithful Sergeant headed to the tavern for lunch. Just at reaching the terrace, De Soto turned to look towards the plaza and his eyes fell on the pueblo's doctor and her colleague, strolling, her right arm resting on his left.
"Look at them, Sergeant!" De Soto said. "Do you see how she's holding onto him like she's glued to his arm? I! I was the one who stood by her side all that time, and he gets all the credit! And why? What does he have that I don't?"
"Well, Alcalde, Don Diego is very wealthy, he is younger than you, tall, handsome, he is very intelligent and he did save her life!" Mendoza replied.
"I didn't ask for a list, Sergeant!" De Soto said as he entered the tavern.
"You seem to be in a bad mood today, Alcalde!" Victoria pointed out inquiringly as he sat at a table.
"Women! Why do you assume you know anything about what a man feels?" He replied dismissively.
"I think the Alcalde is a little bit upset with all the attention the Doctor is giving Don Diego these days." Mendoza dared to inform her in a whispered voice.
"Oh, Sergeant! What's the use? You've seen them! They will probably announce their engagement by the end of the week!" The Alcalde pointed out.
"Jessie and Diego?" Victoria asked dumbfounded. "Diego cannot possibly want to marry Jessie, can he?" She had no idea why, but the notion of the caballero married to another woman made her heart cringe.
"Why not? They make a nice couple." The Sergeant said looking at the pair in question through the open doors, completely missing the disbelief in Victoria's eyes. "They always have a lot to talk about, they are both intelligent, good looking... They will make beautiful children, don't you think so, Señorita?"
The taverness became quite upset, gave the Sergeant a spiteful look and left the table, heading for the kitchen, where she felt tears gathering in her eyes, and had to lean on the table to collect herself.
What is wrong with you? You love Zorro! She chided herself.
A few minutes later, after they sat down, the Alcalde and the Sergeant saw Jessie and Diego embracing each other, the scene prompting De Soto to lower his eyes in resignation. Diego headed for the church while Jessie entered the tavern.
"Sergeant, why don't you go eat at another table?" She said as she sat in front of De Soto.
"Si, Doctor! Right away." He obeyed, and rapidly left.
"What do you want?" The Alcalde questioned.
"I may well ask you the same question, Ignacio!" She answered.
"Ha?" Was his only reply.
"Do you want to marry me or not?" She inquired.
"Marry... you?" He tried to confirm he was hearing right.
"Well, if you are not decided, maybe Diego would like to marry me, so I should, perhaps, return to him..." She concluded and was about to stand up.
"I… I thought you and Diego ̶ " He tried to say 'would marry', but she stopped him.
"Diego is a bit too goody-goody for my taste, to be honest. I would hardly change a single hair on his perfect head! You, on the other hand… you, my dear, I will mold like clay, and you will love me for it!" She said, a twisted smile brightening her face.
"Mold me!? A De Soto? You are mad, woman!" He reacted.
"Well, if that is all you have to say to me..." She rose to leave.
"Wait!" Ignacio caught her hand and slid off the bench to kneel in front of her. "Marry me! Please, oh God, will you stop torturing me, and just wed me already?" He begged her.
Jessie smiled triumphantly.
"Marry you... Yes! Stop torturing you? Not a chance! It is too much fun!" She answered. "We will marry Saturday at 5 p.m. I already asked Diego to arrange it with Padre Benitez. Look pretty, and don't be late!" She said as she left the table without so much as hugging him.
"What just happened?" De Soto asked, getting back on the bench as Mendoza came to congratulate him.
"I believe those beautiful children I was talking about earlier will be yours, Alcalde!" He answered.
Diego entered the tavern a little later, as De Soto was still under shock.
"I take it congratulations are in order, Alcalde!" The tall caballero said with a sincere smile.
"Yes, thank you, Don Diego! Thank you! Ah... Diego... would you care to be my Best Man?" He asked.
"Your… Best… Man?" Diego repeated with both confusion and surprise in his voice. "Shouldn't you ask the Sergeant?" He questioned. "Do you think he's alright?" Diego then asked Victoria who had also come to congratulate the Alcalde after hearing the news.
"I don't know." She answered, confused, and offered her friend a relieved smile as she stared a little at his face. He was not getting married, seemed in no way upset about that, and somehow that made everything right with the world once more. Victoria's smile widened.
"No... not the Sergeant. I would rather it was you, De la Vega." Ignacio said. "I've known you the longest."
Tried to kill me more often, as well. Diego thought. "I... I would be honored, Alcalde!" He agreed after pondering the irony of the situation, and not finding a valid reason to deny his request.
"Ignacio. You should just call me Ignacio..."
ZZZ
Don Alejandro was understandably upset by the news of the Alcalde's wedding to Doctor Kent. He had so wished she had chosen Diego. A woman like that, he thought, would be able to bring Diego down from the clouds. He was also convinced that his son had tried to court her, although he had, clearly, failed miserably, so he was pitying him for having to be the Best Man at the wedding.
In turn, however, Diego found the event to be the best opportunity for him to fulfill a promise he had made De Soto, that past January, on a day that insisted on repeating itself. The Alcalde, of course did not remember that promise, just as no one else who had witnessed it remembered either, except for the De la Vega heir. Yet, he felt honor-bound to respect it anyway.
When he first told his father what was the present he thought to make to the newlyweds, Don Alejandro refused to hear about it and walked out of the room. The second time Diego opened the subject, the two managed to have a conversation and, the third time, the old don allowed his son to persuade him, even if he still changed his mind a few times after agreeing.
"Come on, Diego, courage!" Don Alejandro encouraged his son the day of the wedding. "You are the Best Man! You cannot be late!"
"Did you prepare the gift?" Diego asked.
"Yes, here it is." Don Alejandro replied. "Although, I don't understand Son, why make such a gift to De Soto? The man has been nothing but trouble since he came here."
"He also saved my life, Father, may I remind you? Plus, I am not doing it for De Soto, but for Jessie." He bluntly lied.
"It is a shame, Diego! How could you let such a woman escape through your fingers? And for De Soto, no less, Son?" Don Alejandro complained.
"Well, Father, the heart wants what the heart wants, and she does seem to be quite a good influence on our Alcalde." Diego answered, decided to let his father believe whatever he wanted, in the hope that he might stop nagging him to get married, at least for a while.
"Yes, that might be true..." His father approved. "You know the Sergeant just told me that De Soto asked the lancers yesterday not to fire on Zorro? Love does make a man do all sorts of unexpected things. I just hope you might one day feel that way, Diego!"
ZZZ
The reception took place at the tavern, and, when it was over and the guests were beginning to take their leave, Diego, Don Alejandro and Felipe approached the Bride and Groom, and offered them a paper as a wedding present.
"It's from all of us, although my father is the main contributor, of course." Diego told them.
"Well, thank you, all! What is it?" Jessie asked as her new husband was opening the paper.
"It is the deed to the De la Vega eastern vineyards." He answered, surprised.
"It was Diego's idea." Don Alejandro told them.
"There is a house on the property, but, as a personal contribution to the gift, I would be happy to help with transforming it into a real hacienda." Diego added.
"You are giving us part of your best lands?" De Soto asked flabbergasted.
"Thank you, Diego! Thank you so much, Don Alejandro, Felipe!" Jessie uttered, standing up to embrace and kiss them on their cheeks.
"You're welcome, Doctor." Don Alejandro replied with a rather forced smile, still trying to understand his son's reasons for the gift.
They left the table as Ignacio was still baffled, re-reading the deed.
"I almost had him executed." He mumbled.
"Executed? Whom?" Jessie asked.
"Don Alejandro. I tried to have him executed for being Zorro. Why would he give us such a present? It must be worth as much as the price on that outlaw's head!"
"Because he is a good man?" Jessie offered an explanation.
Ignacio didn't answer, just continued staring at the paper before him, feeling that there was some other reason for the De la Vegas' gift, one which he had, somehow, forgotten.
ZZZ
The two newlyweds spent their first night together in Jessie's room. They were both a bit intoxicated by the time they arrived, and rather tired from the dancing. Still, when Ignacio looked into his new wife's eyes, the only thing he could think of was that he was, quite probably, the luckiest man alive. That feeling became a certainty as the night progressed, and he was allowed to kiss and make love to the beautiful woman who, by some miracle, agreed to marry him.
It was all he could think about for the rest of the night, after Jessie fell asleep in his arms. For hours, he only stared at the ceiling, one arm enveloping the young woman, his mind going through every single event in his life which had put them in each other's path, from his decision to leave for California - hoping to make a name for himself in one of the most troublesome outposts of the Spanish Empire - to him being trapped there by his utter failure to capture Zorro, to Doctor Hernandez's decision to leave and Jessie's decision to accept to take over for him. And, for once, he felt truly grateful towards his nemesis, for it had been thanks to him that he and Jessie even had the chance to meet.