Chapter 5 ~ The Night of Terror
Diego spent a pleasant day entertaining Anna Maria the best way he knew how. To appease Anna Maria, they stayed close to the hacienda. They strolled through the gardens behind the hacienda and had a picnic with Moneta. The two ladies became fast friends.
After Moneta left, the two played a spirited game of chess and cards on the patio.
Diego could see she was enjoying herself, but she was still a little tense. He hoped Bernardo would return soon with some answers.
They turned from their card game as Joaquin entered the patio with the mail. "Thank you, Joaquin," Diego received the stack of letters and rifled through them. He stopped when he saw one addressed to Anna Maria. He looked at her across the table.
Anna Maria's smile instantly disappeared, "There is another letter?"
Diego nodded. He handed it to her then instructed Joaquin to place the rest of the letters on his father's desk. Once the vaquero was gone, Anna Maria hesitantly opened the letter. Her fingers trembled as she handed it to Diego to read:
You did not heed my warnings to leave the hacienda. I'm very disappointed in you. You deserve better than the De la Vegas. You will leave or something may happen to that poor old haciendado while he is alone in his study.
Soon we will be together. I await your lovely presence.
Anna Maria sighed, "Do you think I should leave? Would it be best for both parties?"
Diego shook his head, "No. You will stay."
"But he threatens Alejandro."
"My father can handle himself. And certainly won't crumble under these idle threats."
"I don't think I could bear it if anything happened to you both."
"Nothing will happen. I'll have the servants be on their guard," he sat back with a grin and raised the cards in his hand, "Now, let's see if you can beat this."
As the afternoon carried on, Cresencia could see Anna Maria was a bit distracted. She approached the couple and brazenly suggested, "Senorita, come. I show you how to make cinnamon churros. Come. Come," she waved her hands for the senorita to follow.
Diego grinned as Anna Maria questionably followed with a playful smile on her face. Diego laughed knowing that their lovable cook was trying to help.
That evening they had tamales with rice, beans and seasoned corn. It was delicious. Alejandro exhaled with a smile, "That was excellent. I am ready for dessert."
Anna Maria playfully grimaced. "You may soon wish to recant your statement."
Diego's shoulders shook with laughter as Cresencia and Amelia entered with the dessert. They were beautifully placed on the platter. On the side were some extra brown ones that were shriveled and sad.
"Cresencia, why would you do this to me?" Anna Maria playfully declared.
The two cooks giggled as Alejandro and Diego exchanged lighthearted grimaces.
"Oh, they look lovely, my Child." Alejandro said unconvincingly.
"I'm sure they taste wonderful," Diego tried to encourage.
Anna Maria could sense their tone and decided to turn the tables, "All right, Senores." She dished them up her churros on their plates, "Then I would be most honored for you to try them." She looked back and forth between the two who instantly regretted their words.
Diego hesitantly lifted it up. Before he put it to his mouth, he looked at his father. "Should we send for the doctor now?"
"You rascal!" Anna Maria chided as both gentlemen took a bite of her churros. She could not help but laugh out loud at their expressions. "Is it really that bad?"
Diego leaned back, "I hope you will always remember me, Father."
Alejandro discretely brought his napkin up to his mouth so not to swallow it. "With fondness, my Son."
The rest of the evening was a pleasant one. They participated in a game of cards to which Alejandro was losing. In between a round, they paused at the sound of a horse approaching. They turned as the patio door opened and Ramon Ruiz entered.
Diego stood and grinned, "Ramon, what a pleasant surprise."
"Good evening, Don Alejandro. Don Diego."
"Allow me to introduce Senorita Anna Maria Verdugo."
Ramon grinned and took her hand to kiss it, "If I had known Diego had such beautiful company, I would have come sooner."
"Which is why you were not informed," Diego playfully pried Anna Maria's hand out of Ramon's hand.
"To what do we owe this visit, Ramon?" Alejandro interjected.
Ramon turned and bowed his head in respect, almost as if he had done something wrong - as a child, he was no stranger to Alejandro's wrath. He and young Diego got into a lot of mischief. Ramon straightened a little, "I received word that Matteo and Tomas are requesting Diego's and my presence. Some sort of important meeting. The details are vague." Ramon pulled out a note.
Diego raised an eyebrow as he took the note to read. "How strange. Nothing is wrong? No one is hurt?"
Ramon shrugged, "I am not sure. The message just says to bring you to Matteo's residence."
Diego looked at his pocket watch, "It will take 30 minutes to ride out there. I'll have my horse saddled," he gestured to a servant who made eye contact with the don and nodded to send word to the stableman.
Diego turned to Anna Maria, "I apologize for abruptly leaving."
Anna Maria smiled and shook her head, "No need. You are not the only pleasant company present."
Alejandro bowed his head with a grin, "Gracias."
Diego looked at his father, "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said knowingly and Alejandro understood.
"It was a pleasure, Senorita. Maybe during your stay I could regale you with tales of a young Diego and myself. Terribly embarrassing stories," Ramon teased.
"I would like that," Anna Maria giggled as she saw Diego turn a shade of red.
"Get going," Diego took Ramon by his lapels and practically dragged him outside.
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After one more game of cards with Alejandro, Anna Maria granted him mercy and turned in for the evening. She changed into her night dress and brushed her hair.
She propped herself in the stuffed chair by the fireplace and began to read her book. She wished that Diego could have stayed but understood why he had to leave. Anna Maria looked up at the clock and hoped he would return soon.
Having Alejandro there was a relief. And maybe Zorro was somewhere out there in the shadows watching over her and protecting her. She decided to get a late night snack before heading to bed. She set her book down, put on her robe, and exited her room.
The night air was a bit chilly. The full moon shone brightly on the patio below her. There were a few large candelabras that were lit to add additional light. She paused at her door, looking down at the patio. There was no movement. She almost felt silly for being so paranoid.
Anna Maria walked down the stairs but stopped halfway when a gust of wind swept over the walls and blew out all the candles. There was a distant howl that cried out in the night. Anna Maria bit her lip but shook her head, "Stop being a child," she weakly chided herself and descended the stairs. She went to the front door and stopped; her hand hovering over the handle. There was something eerie looming over her. A feeling. Something wasn't right.
Anna Maria's fingers coiled from the handle. She took a step back and peered into the window. The lights were out. She tried to reassure herself, "Alejandro is in the study. I'll go visit him." Anna Maria forced herself to lift the handle and enter the dark hacienda.
She left the door open so she could see. She knocked on the study's door to the right, "Alejandro?" There was no answer. She opened the door and poked her head inside. There was a single candle lit in the room but Alejandro was nowhere to be found. "Alejandro?" She called out. There was no response.
Anna Maria grew alarmed and went back into the foyer. Suddenly, she heard a thud above her. She looked up. Frozen. She waited. It sounded like it came from her bedroom. Did something fall over? Where was Alejandro?
She was about to call out again when her breath left her body. For in that moment, she heard - slow. Lumbering. Footsteps. Anna Maria bit her quivering lip. The footsteps stopped. It seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, the sound of a door creaked open ever so slowly. Anna Maria wanted to scream for help. Where were the servants? Where was Alejandro?
She heard another door open slowly. A pause. Then it closed again. The footsteps continued on above her and passed overhead. A third time they stopped. The door opened then closed again. Anna Maria's whole body trembled. Whoever was up there had opened Alejandro's bedroom.
She looked out at the patio, the front door was still open. Whoever was up there was at the top of the stairs. They were close. She forced herself to move to the door. Ever so quietly, she guided it to a close, praying desperately that it would not make a sound. She lifted the latch and gently put it into place then bolted the door.
Where was Alejandro?
Anna Maria saw the shaft of moonlight coming in from the window through the laced curtains and prayed the windows were locked. Her body trembled against the door. Did she dare to check the windows? If she made a sound, it might alert whoever was up there that someone was home.
Anna Maria had to try. She had to make sure. She pulled up the folds of her dress and tip-toed into the sala. She paused just outside the moonlight outline on the floor. From her position, Anna Maria looked as best as she could to see if the window was latched. It wasn't. Slowly she tried to reach just her arm over to latch it but it was just out of reach.
Anna Maria moved a little into the window and stopped. There through the laced curtain, she saw a tall, black, shadowy figure standing by the stairs. It wasn't Alejandro. It wasn't Zorro. It was someone else. Anna Maria's instant reaction was to latch the lock quickly on the window and recede into the shadows, hoping he did not see her.
Anna Maria retreated by the fireplace and ducked down against the wall in between the fireplace and the bookcase. She was consumed in the shadows. She grabbed the fire poker and held it in front of her. She covered her mouth with her other shaky hand and waited.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her heart pounded. The shadowy figure approached the window and stood in front of it for what seemed an eternity. His big frame blocked out most of the moonlight that pooled into the room. Finally, the figure disappeared from the window and there was silence.
Anna Maria's eyes darted to the front door. Slowly. Ever so slowly the door handle lowered. Her eyes glued to the handle. It lowered all the way. There was a pause. An indefinite pause. Then slowly it rose back up.
Anna Maria was so grateful she bolted the door shut.
Then. Oh, then what happened next made her heart stop.
A quiet voice whispered through the door. It was a familiar voice. A dangerous voice, "Anna Maria, I know you're in there."
It couldn't be! He wouldn't have dared trespass on the De La Vega hacienda.
"Come out. Come out, wherever you are."
His footsteps dissipated. Anna Maria waited. Listened. Her body trembled. She listened for any sound to betray his whereabouts. She jumped slightly. A faint sound of a distant door swung open. He was in the house.
What could she do? She looked desperately for a gun. Some defensive weapon that could keep him at a distance. But she couldn't see anything. And to be honest if she had seen one, she doubted she could move.
Her head jerked to the left. She heard the back door to the sala open. Tears streamed down her face. She blinked, trying to clear her vision. She waited. Her lungs screamed for oxygen but she would not betray her hiding place.
"Anna Maria," his voice whispered in a sing-song voice but his figure had not come into view. "We're so close. I can feel it."
Suddenly, the saints must have heard her, for the patio door swung open outside. "Anna Maria?" Diego's voice called out.
Instead of the intruder lying in wait for Diego, Anna Maria heard the sala door shut. She then heard Diego's rushing footsteps race to the door. He rattled the front door handle.
"Anna Maria? Father?"
Anna Maria wanted to move. She tried desperately, but she couldn't. Her body was immobile with terror.
Diego called out several times but there was no answer. Ramon was with him.
Diego had a very uneasy feeling. He had been sent on a ruse. When they arrived at Matteo's hacienda, Matteo was surprised and confused by their presence and assured them there was not a meeting. Diego raced back as quickly as he could - Ramon insisting on accompanying him. Diego and Ramon kicked the door till the latch was ripped from the door frame. The moonlight cast a path for them.
Ramon started lighting candles. Diego quickly found Anna Maria cowering in the corner; her eyes wide with terror, her body trembling violently, "Anna Maria!" Diego grabbed her urgently by her arms, "What is it? What happened?"
Anna Maria's skin was ghost-like. Her eyes were vacant. Staring straight ahead.
Diego patted her cheek gently. "Anna Maria. It's Diego."
After a moment her eyes looked at her rescuer. Instantly, her eyes filled with tears and her body trembled. "He - he was here! He was in the house" her voice was broken and shook with horror.
Diego turned around the room, wondering where his father was.
Ramon was alarmed by her words. But seemed to know what Diego was thinking, "I will check the rest of the house." He offered and Diego nodded his thanks.
After his friend went into the back of the hacienda, Diego turned back to her, "Anna Maria, answer me, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Anna Maria shook her head and emitted a sob. "I do not know where Alejandro is. I could not find him! I could not find anybody!"
Diego pulled her to a stand and into his chest. He held her tightly. His heart was racing with fear and anger. Where was his father?