AN: The following story is rated T for language and references to situations qualifying it as such. There is nothing very descriptive in it, though, so you needn't worry. It combines drama, comedy, adventure, and... a bit of tragedy... You need to read it to understand what I mean and do pay attention. I have this obnoxious way of inserting clues into the story as I move it along. Can't help it.

Enjoy!

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October was the month of the grapes in Los Angeles. People would eat and dry the grapes but, mostly, drink their sweet nectar, celebrating the following year's production of wine by doing their best to finish as much of the existing reserves as they could. The De la Vega celebration in honor of Felipe's 20th birthday that year was, of course, one of the best opportunities to speed up those efforts, peons, dons, and even a certain sergeant seemingly in competition for some sort of un-existing title of 'best drinker'.

And, speaking of the nectar of the gods, Victoria Escalante, the owner of the only tavern/inn in the territory was, perhaps, besides the De la Vegas, the one Los Angelino who knew most about wines, including where to get the best ones and what to look for when smelling and tasting them.

Now, however, a new authority on the issue emerged: the newly-made vineyards owner Alcalde Ignacio de Soto.

The white-haired man was also more than eager to share his knowledge with anyone and everyone he met, insisting on the knowledge he had acquired thanks to his studies and through (more or less imagined) friendships with the most renowned winemakers in Spain. Pointing out to the wine production he was expecting for the following year, he usually left out the inconvenient part about him having had nothing to do with the crop, as the vineyards had been planted and cared for by the De la Vegas for years already.

This new fixation of his made Victoria rather irritated as she felt it was her duty to contradict him every few minutes or so; his wife rather amused as, while not an expert herself, she was certain that he didn't know as much as he claimed and enjoyed seeing her friend putting him in his place; Don Alejandro outraged at hearing some of the things he was saying; and Diego relieved that his new passion for winemaking seemed to have replaced his ambition of capturing Zorro.

Returning to the already-mentioned party, it was notable to see the social amalgam of the people invited.

Felipe had made very few friends his age while growing up, especially since most of his youth had been dedicated to either study under Diego's guidance or helping him in his endeavors as Zorro. Add to that his duties as a De la Vega servant and the fact that he was, years after he'd regain his hearing, still pretending to be a deaf-mute, and anyone would see why friendships had, necessarily, always been both hard to make and maintain for the young man.

In fact, while growing up, he had made only two friends, and not even those two he considered very close. Both of them were sons of De la Vega vaqueros and had, in the meantime, already married and started their families. They were also treating him differently since he was adopted by Diego.

Besides the two young men, his only other friend his age was the Indian woman he had been courting for years already, since he had won her from the man she was initially meant to marry. Felipe had, however, no idea about the true consequences of that victory, as neither Diego nor Kinona ever thought it appropriate to share them with him. Instead, to his discontent, for the last three years, since she had finished the Mission's school, the Indian woman had been mostly away from Los Angeles, her employer, Don Sebastian, having had her accompany him and his niece on every one of their frequent trips. Fortunately, however, just like the previous year, in October, she was in Los Angeles, and Felipe was more than pleased to spend most of his time during the birthday party organized in his honor dancing or just 'conversing' with her.

As for the other guests, Victoria, Mendoza, the De Sotos were there. The De la Vega lawyer, Don Cristobal, and his wife – who had stopped for a few days in Los Angeles on their way to San Diego – were also glad to enjoy the party, as were most of the pueblo's caballeros and their families – the De la Vegas having, as was their custom, extended the invitation to every one of their peers - as well as some of the people working for the family and who had never missed a birthday celebration in honor of Felipe since Don Alejandro's son had first brought him to the hacienda. While in other towns that mixture would have raised some eyebrows, in Los Angeles, it was by no means uncommon for the caballeros and the peasants to mix, as they did at any and every party and celebration taking place in the pueblo.

Unlike everyone else, Don Manolo Baro, one of the De la Vegas' newest acquaintances, was not as used to such parties, however, and certainly did not approve of them.

The haciendado had only relocated to the area a little over a month earlier, and, since the lands he had bought in the area, as well as those granted to him by the new governor were closer to San Pedro than to Los Angeles, and as he was still in the process of settling down, his opportunities to get more familiar with the life in the pueblo had been limited. Adding to this, the man was old-fashioned, inclined to violence, overindulgence when it came to alcohol, and believed that servants were not much better than slaves and certainly inferior to their masters, thus, at their whims, a view he had passed on to his sons Samuel and Miguel, aged 20 and 18 respectively.

Don Manolo was also more than a little resentful of those who were not of Spanish blood after having seen the atrocities caused in New Spain by the creoles during the first years of the War of Independence. In fact, the rebels under the command of Padre Hidalgo had killed his brother and sister-in-law a decade earlier, during the massacre of Alhóndiga de Granaditas.

His second wife, Doña Luisa, was a beautiful woman in her late thirties, with long, black hair and green eyes, ten years younger than her husband. She had been widowed twice before wedding the caballero, just months before they came to California, and was known to be one of the richest widows in New Spain, having inherited a large fortune from her first husband, to which she added the inheritance left by her second. Her only child was a 14-year-old daughter from her first marriage, who mostly traveled accompanied by a slightly older maid she considered her best and only friend, a relationship of which both her mother and her new stepfather completely and loudly disapproved.

After having spent the time since their arrival mainly refurbishing and remodeling their new hacienda, having had only limited interactions with the people of the pueblo and, among them, mainly with caballeros from whom Don Manolo had acquired cattle and horses for his own herds, the Baros were hoping to finally make friends of their own class and start their social life in California, perhaps even find a potential match for Doña Luisa's daughter. The young señorita, named Isadora, was not a beauty, despite her beautiful, blue eyes, was a little heavier than most girls her age and her stepfather argued that, unless she married soon, she would never be attractive enough to get a suitor.

The Baros, thus, had certain – can completely unrealistic - expectations at accepting the invitation to attend the party organized by the De la Vegas in honor of their youngest family member.

"I see you went all out on decorations, Don Alejandro!" The doña uttered at entering the back courtyard where the music was playing, together with her husband, followed by his sons, her daughter and the daughter's maid.

"My son invented that." He answered proudly, referring to a hanging candlelight system which made those dancing under it marvel at the beauty of the lights. "He and my grandson, Felipe, did a wonderful job indeed."

Diego and his adopted son politely smiled as they kissed the ladies' hands at greeting them. The maid stayed behind the other two women, keeping her head down and not looking anyone in the eyes.

"Señora, I was just about to head inside. Some of the other señoras have asked me to play a sonata. Would you care to join us?" The tall caballero wondered.

The Señora eyed Diego seductively and agreed, linking her arm around the caballero's and causing Victoria, who was in the courtyard and had been watching the new arrivals, to glare at her.

"Isadora…" Doña Luisa uttered, expecting her daughter to also join them.

"I think I'd rather stay here, Mama." She answered in turn, smiling at watching the people in the courtyard. Her mother didn't seem happy with her answer.

"Yes, I also believe that would be more entertaining for such a young señorita!" Don Alejandro assured the doña with a smile. "Don Manolo, let me introduce you to our family lawyer, Don Cristobal." He then continued, guiding him towards the slightly younger man and his wife.

Don Manolo nodded and signaled for his sons to follow Isadora and her maid, which, Felipe noticed, made the said servant rather uncomfortable.

After being introduced and having a rather short conversation with Don Cristobal, Don Manolo excused himself and went to get himself a drink.

"Ah, Don Manolo!" De Soto uttered as he saw the man. The haciendado had introduced himself when first arriving to California, presenting his land grant and making sure the Alcalde knew he was a close friend of the new governor, thus counting on his support. While not particularly thrilled about the don's attitude, Ignacio resolved to do his best to befriend him in order to, thus, make sure he'd get on the governor's good side. "Join us, Señor!" He, thus, invited him. "I was just discussing with Don Sebastian and Don Mateo about the new wine production. Do you señores already know each other? Don Manolo, I am sure, must have some insight to offer us. You were a winemaker before moving here, were you not?"

The don, who disregarded De Soto considering him inferior in light of the fact that he had found out he was the son of a farmer, only approached the group out of politeness to his peers and rather reluctantly.

"Alcalde, would you mind bringing me some wine?" He asked after a few minutes, during which he had emptied the wine glass in his hands. "To exemplify the point you are making." He added.

De Soto, stared at him with some confusion, then nodded and made his way towards a table where the wine glasses were filled, waiting for the guests to take them.

"That man thinks he can give us lessons. As if anything he has to say could be of interest to us." The don told the dumbfounded caballeros as soon as De Soto was away from the group.

"I'll have you know that he is learning quite a lot, and his vineyards are some of the best in Los Angeles!" Victoria, who had overhead him couldn't help but reply, to the man's own astonishment. She disliked De Soto, but she also instinctively felt the need to defend him before the new arrival who had not made a very good impression on her during their two previous meetings. On those occasions on which he had been to her tavern, the man was rude and arrogant, traits of character which made him appear quite unworthy in her eyes. As he just stared at her open-mouthed, Victoria continued her way toward the front of the house where she knew Diego was already playing the piano, even if his sonata was impossible to hear on the other side of the hacienda.

"How dare she?" The don wondered as she rounded the corner.

"Don Manolo…" Don Sebastian uttered, "one of the first things people learn when coming to Los Angeles, is that Señorita Escalante is just as important to this pueblo as the Alcalde, and one of the two women it's best to never upset. The second is Doctor Kent."

"Doctor Kent?" The don asked confused.

"The Alcalde's wife." Don Sebastian replied with some amusement, pointing towards Jessie. "The pueblo's doctor. That woman is too smart for any man around here… except Don Diego, perhaps."

"I thought Don Diego was the pueblo's doctor!" Don Manolo stated. "He… He was there when I took my son to the medical office a few days ago. It was Don Diego to treat him..."

"He's more like her apprentice." The other don stated.

"A woman doctor? But that's unheard of!" The new arrival stated just as De Soto returned with a glass of wine for him.

"I thought the same, Don Manolo," he replied uncertain as to how to take that reaction, "but then I got to know my wife, and I assure you she's a better doctor than even our former one, Doctor Hernandez."

"And you allow her to practice medicine? And what if a man needs medical assistance… with a manly issue…" The don asked.

"My wife is perfectly capable of handling any… issue…" The Alcalde stated, a bit confused himself. A few minutes later, as the conversation was becoming unpleasant, as soon as he saw a way out of it, he apologized and headed for Jessie, inviting her to dance.

"What's wrong?" She asked, noticing his mood had rapidly deteriorated during the last half an hour.

"Nothing. Nothing." He answered. "Tell me, my love… Do you think you will be practicing medicine all your life? I mean…"

"I'm a doctor. Of course, I will."

"But, mi preciosa… what about the men who will want you to examine them… I don't believe I'll be comfortable with the thought of you even seeing another man's… intimate parts…" He confessed.

"I've already seen several of your lancers without their pants on, Ignacio. I was even meaning to talk to you about the clothes you are acquiring for them. They need better underwear as the one they use now causes rashes." At noticing his astonished look, she continued. "Besides, I don't imagine it's in any way worse than having a man doctor taking care of a woman… My love, if you have any issue with what I do for a living, you should have thought about it before marrying me. Practicing medicine is the one way I know to help others. It's all I ever wanted to do, since I was a child. It's my calling and I will not allow anybody to stand in the way of me being who I was always destined to be." She told him.

As Don Manolo was caught in conversation by his peers, his two sons started dancing with the señoritas there, leaving Isadora on the sidelines with her maid. She was too young and not very attractive, for which reason the young men didn't seem to take any notice of her. Her maid, however, who was much more beautiful and a few years older, received several invitations to dance, and she refused them all.

"Why did you reject him? That young man is very good-looking and surely a caballero! You might get him to fall in love with you and ask for your hand in marriage!" Isadora uttered after the third man she said no to.

"No caballero would ever do that! I am a maid, nothing more. I will never be anything more. All men want is to… use me… I have long since made my peace with that." She answered, saddened.

"You have to find yourself a good man and get away from that house! Not all men are like Samuel. You should give them a chance… and you should enjoy the party!" The younger woman insisted.

"But I am only here to accompany you. Your stepfather and stepbrothers would certainly disapprove of me leaving you alone, and your mother gave me clear instructions before we left the house." She answered. "Besides, we should focus on you. You heard Don Manolo! You need to find a husband."

"I don't want a husband! I am too young for marriage, no matter what that man says! I still can't believe my mother allowed him to persuade her on that issue when he clearly just wants to get rid of me. Besides, what if I marry and Mother doesn't allow you to come with me? It's not like you'd ever do something against her will! And then what?"

"I owe everything to Doña Luisa, you know that! I'd most certainly be dead or… worse… had it not been for her! But… I wouldn't know what to do with myself if we ever parted." The older señorita replied pensively.

"Me neither! I can't imagine not having you around." Isadora told her, sadness in her eyes. "I love you like I would a sister, you know that!"

The two young women smiled at each other, even if a sense of guilt seemed to darken the older one's eyes. "Do you want me to fetch you something to drink or to eat?" She asked her mistress, hoping to change the subject.

"No… We'll go together to see what food they have!" Isadora told her with a smile. "You always only bring me fruits when I ask for sweets, and I need cake right now! Do you think they have chocolate?"

ZZZ

About an hour later, during which Don Manolo had merely pretended to listen to his peers while drinking several glasses of wine, then moving on to the tequila, Doña Luisa left the sala and headed for the courtyard as soon as the last sonata Diego played was finished. Seeing her daughter drink a glass of juice with her maid in a remote corner while the birthday man was dancing with an Indian woman, she stomped to her husband. What followed was a list of complaints, ranging from the fact that lower-class people dared impose on the De la Vegas, to the taverness seeming a bit too interested in Don Alejandro's son, and ending with the fact that Felipe was being inconvenienced by a savage, instead of being allowed to dance with those of his class. After carefully hearing her out, increasingly stirred by her, the don made his unsteady way towards Kinona, who was admiring some roses, her companion having left to get her a drink.

"It's time for you to go, now, Indian! This is no place for the likes of you!" The don uttered as soon as he reached her, grabbing her by the arm and starting to drag her towards the exit to the courtyard.

The young woman was shocked and the only way she could react was by trying to get herself freed. The man's hold on her, however, was too strong, his fingers already leaving marks on her soft skin, and she found herself dragged through the courtyard, through surprised groups of guests, who instantly stopped chatting, looking in astonishment at the scene the don was creating. The musicians also stopped and, in that sudden silence, Diego's voice resounded as thunder.

"Take your hands off of her!" He ordered as he stepped right in front of the older caballero, an icy look in his blue eyes.

Felipe, putting down on the table the glasses he was holding, came to get Kinona released from the man's grip, placing himself between her and the don, to whom he looked defiantly as if ready to attack.

"This… lowlife obviously infiltrated here, Don Diego. Now she is trying to seduce your son. I saw her, and so did others! And, since we are on the subject of gold diggers, you should watch out for that one!" He said that, pointing at Victoria. "My wife noticed that the taverness has her eyes set on you! In your place I -"

"Señor," Diego cut him off when he saw the man wasn't finished "I advise you to say nothing further! You are new to Los Angeles and know nothing about the people here. Kinona, whom you owe an apology, has been Felipe's friend long before I adopted him. And it is my son's decision to whom he trusts his heart. Whatever his choice, we will support it.

"As for Señorita Escalante, had her heart not been already engaged, I would be more than honored to be the subject of her affections… as would any other man in the pueblo! You should ask our matchmaker, Doña Maria, how many young, rich caballeros she has turned down so far!" Diego uttered that last phrase to take away attention from his little slip-up.

"You dare take their side? You defend this… savage… and the wench?" The don asked.

"Your son's adopted? Not even due to inherit you? And I had thought him a possible match for my daughter! How foolish of me!" Doña Baro uttered. "No wonder he doesn't dare to speak to us!"

Don Alejandro, who was just behind Diego, was about to say something akin to a direct insult, but his son was faster.

"My father did the polite thing and extended you an invitation to this party." He said. "But we expect our guests to respect one another and don't take kindly to those insulting us, or our friends. And for your information, Señora, Felipe is a deaf-mute. If he had a voice, I am quite certain he'd have a lot to say to you, and about your behavior tonight." Diego told her.

With a wordless exclamation betraying how insulted she felt at that point, the doña linked her arm around her husband's and stomped out, head held high and not addressing any more words to their hosts, or any other person who was disapprovingly watching from the sidelines. The four young people accompanying them followed, Isadora and her maid keeping their heads bowed and apologetically nodding at the De la Vegas their goodbye.

De Soto couldn't hide a slight grin at seeing the don humiliated.

"The nerve of those people!" Don Alejandro remarked, about to head to where Victoria was standing to offer her his apologies for the behavior of his guests.

"They are certainly not up to a good start if they were hoping to make friends here!" Diego uttered. "However," he continued, "she did make a good point."

"What are you talking about, Son? You don't feel Kinona or Victoria - "

"Of course not, Father!" Diego cut him off as the music restarted and people returned to their dancing and conversations, most of them now revolving around the scene in the courtyard. "I was not referring to that. But what she said about Felipe's future is right. If I will, eventually, give in to your wishes and marry, and if my future wife and I will have our own children, they would be first in line to inherit the hacienda, since he is adopted. I could leave him money in a will… But Felipe belongs to this land as much as we do…"

"I see what you mean." Don Alejandro nodded pensively. "Diego…" He then said with a mischievous smile. "I think I have a solution to our little problem… and a way to forever silence anyone else who might reach Doña Baro's conclusion."

"What solution?" He wondered.

"Get De Soto, Don Cristobal, and Felipe, then follow me to my office!" The older don said.

For about thirty minutes, nobody saw the mentioned men.

"What happened?" Jessie inquired of her husband as soon as he returned to her.

"There's something wrong with them…" He replied pensively. "First they gave us the vineyards and a new house, now they gave Felipe property rights to this hacienda, placing part of their fields, orchards and pastures in his name. What's next? Give the money in their bank accounts to Señorita Escalante? Or, perhaps Mendoza…" De Soto muttered. "Do you think they might have… contracted some deadly disease, perhaps?"

"Ignacio… after the incident with that woman, you really shouldn't wonder if they made sure Felipe's future is assured. They probably would have done it earlier had the thought even crossed their minds." His wife pointed out. "And since you mentioned Mendoza - "

"Yes, I know! I need to make it up to him." He stated as he invited his wife to dance. "Perhaps I can get him that promotion he wanted."