Chapter 4
It had been a quiet morning. Yesterday was a market day. Today it was warm before the sun had started to rise. That caused it to be a slow morning. Yesterday most people living in or near Los Angeles had visited the pueblo and had a drink or meal in the tavern. Today almost everyone chose to stay at home.
Victoria had sent one of her helpers home, and by lack of anything better to do, she had cleaned her cellar. It was the end of the spring, and in a couple of weeks, the first new harvests would be stacking up against her cellar and supply room.
Both being almost empty this time of year. Cleaning the shelves removing spiderwebs and Victoria was amazed by how much dust had collected itself in the small room, replacing the last sacks of grains and dried beans to a different shelf.
In a corner, Victoria found a jar of honey. She could certainly use it to make a delicious treat one of these days.
Her stomach was telling her it was close to noon, and she had to stop cleaning. If there is going to be a rush, it would be in the next hour.
Entering the kitchen, she ate a bowl of soup, more noises coming from the main room. About ten people were sitting intended to have their lunch in the only local tavern in the area.
It became busier than she had thought on forehand. Alicia came into the kitchen with an order of tamales. Victoria prepared the order and carried the tray outside, noticing Alicia had preferred to do it herself.
The three young men that had ordered the tamales all looked handsome. And all showing some resemblance. The same dark brown hair. The tallest of the three had a moustache. Victoria also taught him to be the eldest. Perhaps they were brothers.
"Three servings of tamales. Here you go, señores."
"Gracias, señorita, It looks splendid. Can we also get a refill on our juice?"
Victoria had taken the opportunity to glare over the plaza. Some commotion was going on. Four lancers had captured by order of the alcalde a young man. Standing on the porch, Victoria had a good view of what was happening.
The tavern owners had not heard the question of the man. She was looking at some lancers. Surrounding a man, and by what she heard, the alcalde says the man was a dangerous criminal. So for once, the alcalde and lancers had been able to capture a criminal by themselves? She had to inform don Diego about this. It had to be one of the first times it got accomplished without the help of Zorro. That was news for his newspaper.
Don Diego wasn't at home today. He had told her yesterday he was to spend the day in San Pedro. Something to do with a meeting of editors of newspapers in the nearby pueblo's. Don Alejandro was to accompany him wanting to visit an old friend living in San Pedro.
"Señorita?"
Victoria placed the plates on the table, and again her eyes glared over to the lancers and the poor man. It was Felipe. The alcade had the lancers ordered to arrest Felipe?
"Excuse me, señores." Victoria left the tray on the table and marched over to the middle of the plaza.
"Alcalde, what are you doing?"
"Ah, señorita Escalante, you have just come in time to see what this pueblo does to criminals."
"That is Felipe, your men arrested, alcalde, surely you know Felipe isn't a criminal."
"Yes, he is. He finally has shown his real face. I caught this spy red-handed, sniffing around the secured military grounds. That is enough reason to believe he was spying."
"That is ridiculous."
"Those are the facts, señorita. Men bring the prisoner to the pillory. Twenty slashes will teach him."
"Mi alcalde," Mendoza was one of the soldiers in the plaza, and he disliked the idea of having to harm the servant boy, never hurt a fly.
"Now, Sergeant. Or are you helping him in his spying?"
"No, alcalde. But you see, I don't think Felipe is a spy."
The poor boy could not speak and was deaf. Victoria saw Felipe did not understand what was going in. He looked at her, begging for her help. "Alcalde, you can not do this. You wait till don Alejandro hears of this. And Zorro will not tolerate it either."
Her eyes, looking over the roofs, searching for movement. Her hero always knew about things before they occur. Surely, Zorro was to come and save Felipe.
Two lancers had tied the boy to the pole the alcalde liked to use for his penalty's.
"Get my whip."
Another lancer ran away to get the demanded item.
"Alcalde, you have to stop this. There is no secured military ground in this pueblo. You have just made that up. And Felipe has the right to defend himself and explain why he was where you saw him."
"And yet I didn't hear him say a thing."
"He is deaf and mute. You know that. You must wait for don Diego and don Alejandro. They can help translate Felipe's story, and I am sure it will be a completely acceptable explanation."
"I know the reason. It is that annoying old de la Vega. He is planning a rebellion against me. And he had sent his servant out to spy at my supplies in the arsenal of weapons. And now, stay out of it, señorita Escalante. Or I have you arrested!"
"Don Alejandro is doing no such thing. He is loyal to the Spanish crown. He only stands up against your tyranny. And he would never use Felipe to run his affairs." Victoria her anger and disbelief was raising with every word the alcalde was saying.
The alcalde ignored the woman and tore the shirt of the boy revealing his bareback. "Now, we find out, or this spy is mute."
The alcalde moved his arm back to strike with the whip.
Victoria looked around desperately. People had gathered around them. No one dared to stand up and stop the alcalde.
Felipe had closed his eyes and stood waiting for the inevitable.
Mendoza only had a pitiful look in his eyes, not doing a thing to stop his superior.
The famous Escalante temper was rising. She only had to take five steps forward. And Victoria did, placing her body between the path of the whip and the innocent boy.
Alcalde de Soto waited as long as he dared. Somehow he expected the black-clad outlaw to turn up. That is why he had ordered the other lancers to take their places on the roofs. And to shoot as soon as Zorro showed up.
Suddenly, the tavern keeper threw herself between the alcalde and the boy while the whip made its way to the boy's back.
As soon de Soto realized, what the woman was doing. He let go of the whip. It even went against his principles to hurt a woman. Even if the woman was just as annoying as some men.
It was too late when he did it. The tip of the whip made contact with the woman's arm. By instinct, she had raised her arm to protect her face from the whipping.
Immediately a red welt was visible on the woman's forearm.
"Señorita Escalante, go out of my way." De Soto had not intended to whip the boy. Zorro was to show up like he always did. It was a wonderful oppurtunity to try and capture the outlaw. He was to show up and rescue the boy.
"I am not moving alcalde, so let Felipe go. I am sure Zorro will not like hearing what you did."
Yes, the alcalde was thinking. Where was that meddler anyway? What was taken him so long?
"Señor Alcalde." it was one of the men Victoria had brought tamales. He looked like a caballero, and Victoria did not know him. The men were travelling through the small pueblo. "I kindly request you stop harassing the señorita. It is very uncommon to whip an innocent woman.
"She interfered in the cause of justice, señor. I did not intend to harm her. But this dangerous spy. And if you now will stop interfering."
"Justice." Victoria her voice was shrill. "You know very well Felipe isn't a spy. And you know he is deaf and mute. You didn't even give him a chance to tell what happened."
"Is this true, señorita..." Again it was the stranger and he was not intimidated by de Soto.
"Escalante, and yes, everyone in the pueblo knows Felipe doesn't do anything wrong."
"No, señorita, I mean the boy being deaf."
"Si and the alcalde knows it too, as do all the lancers. Felipe is innocent," Victoria gave Mendoza a angry look. The sergeant staring at his feet.
"Señor alcalde. It is against the law to punish someone that hasn't interrogated first."
"This is my pueblo, and here my law is the law. And you better watch your tongue, señor. Or you have yourself found accommodation in my jail."
"I advise you, señor, not even consider arresting me. You have no idea of the trouble you get yourself in too. But believe me, you haven't heard the last of it."
The two men accompany the first man now standing behind the man.
"Señorita, has this man hurt you?"
Victoria rubbed over her arm. It had hurt a bit, and it was visible where the whip hit her arm. "I will be fine. Thank you for asking, señor."
The man again turned to de Soto. "You're lucky, alcalde. You may apologize to the señorita."
"I will do no such thing."
De Soto seemed a bit intimidated when the tall man stretched himself out to him complete length. The man was even taller than don Diego. More Zorro's height. It was that his hair was brown. Other Victoria would seriously consider this man as a possible Zorro.
.
In the end, de Soto had apologized, and the men had untied Felipe.
Back in the tavern, Victoria had offered the three men a free drink. And she said they didn't have to pay their bill and a free room for the night.
The men had paid their bill anyway, refused the free room. One of the men told Victoria they were on their way for Monterey. To be present at the wedding of their niece. That was the reason they could no longer stay in the pueblo, even had they wanted.
She had served the men and Felipe juice and some large pieces of cake.
The oldest of the three men asked the tavern owner why no one else in the pueblo had stood up against the outburst of injustice. And that was how Victoria had told them about Zorro. Shortly after, the men had left the pueblo.
Victoria tried to ask Felipe what he had been doing on the part of the cuartel where the weapons were stored. The answer he signed to Victoria went beyond her. He went way too fast, and no matter how hard she tried, the tavern owner could not make any of it.
In the end, she told him she would ask don Diego to inform her about it in the morning. And send the boy home.
.
After closing time, Victoria had time to have a better look at her arm. The welt the whip had created hadn't blooded. A red stretch mark was still visible. Victoria didn't care, she would have done it anytime. Where had the alcalde got the crazy idea Felipe was a spy? Perhaps he had read too many strange documents about how to identify a spy or something.
This time it hadn't been Zorro come to her and Felipe in his rescue. It had been a total stranger. He had been handsome and dressed like a nobleman. Victoria had understood immediately why Alicia was disappointed Victoria had taken the order outside. If she didn't have Zorro she might have tried to flirt with the man. And it had been awkward that of all the people standing in the plaza. The stranger, the only one to interfere. And none of her friends.
Out of her pocket, she reached for the envelope Felipe had given her before he left. Signing it had arrived at the guardian's office this morning. She had recognized the handwriting immediately and couldn't wait to open and read.
"Señorita." Startled, Victoria turned to from where the sound was coming.
"Zorro."
"I come to apologize."
"Apologize? What for?" Her heart was beating rapidly. Zorro was so close to her. The look in his eyes so intense and a little sad. He felt guilty over what happened.
Zorro came a little closer and gently took her right hand in his large gloved hand. Gently he turned her arm. The red stretch mark became visible. "I did not come when you needed me. Forgive me, Victoria. I had no idea what the alcalde was doing. Or he never would have the chance to hurt you."
"It is nothing. I almost didn't feel it anyway."
"I feel terrible, lacking in protecting you."
"I don't understand why the alcalde thinks Felipe can be a spy. De Soto did not even give Felipe a chance to explain why he was in the cuartel."
"Felipe was in the cuartel?"
"That is what de Soto said and why he had Felipe arrested."
"I have come to give you this rose and ask for your forgiveness."
"You are forgiven, Zorro. And thank you for the rose." She smelled the sweet scent.
Out of a pocket or something, Zorro got a small flask. "This is a lotion. Put in on the spot twice a day, and it should not leave a scar."
"Thank you, and don't feel guilty about what happened today. You can not be everywhere. And someone did stand up for me."
"I have heard that too. A stranger, I heard."
"Yes, he was passing through on his way to Monterey. Don't you want to stay and have something to eat?"
"Tempting, Victoria. But again, I have to leave you too soon."
Zorro kissed her, Victoria closing her eyes. When she reopened them, her hero was gone, again.
She felt empty, the words Zorro had said were romantic, thoughtful, and Victoria was grateful he had to come to check on her. The emptiness was because he had left her after only some short minutes.
Her eye spotted the envelope that somehow had come on her worktable. After she had put the rose in a vase, she opened the envelope.
Another poem the mystery writer had written.
I thought I understood distance,
When I learned about it in school.
Distance is the amount of space between two points.
The distance can get measured in many methods like steps, inches and miles.
I counted the distance between my house and your home.
Four thousand, three hundred and eighty-four
The distance, I can not measure, is the eternity
Between your warm sweet lips and mine.
Sigh.
.
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