Chapter 6
Victoria was pondering. She had thought about it for a long time. Last week Paco had been for the last time as agreed. Paco liked working in the tavern, and she had asked if he could stay.
She had gone to see Padre Benitez and tell him about her idea. Paco was allowed to stay, but Victoria wanted more.
Victoria considered adopting Paco. She had been surprised that the padre was negative about it. He didn't like the idea of a young single woman taking care of a teenage boy. The padre thought she was too young, and the fact that she was unmarried also weighed heavily in his decision.
So she was now on her way to de la Vega's hacienda. Don Diego had expressed the wish to adopt Felipe some time ago. She had never heard of it after that, but Don Diego also had a good knowledge of the law, and Victoria hoped her friend could advise her.
She assumed that Diego had studied the legislation on adoption. If only for himself and Felipe. He could at least help her with what to do next.
She arrived at the hacienda, got off her horse, walked to the front door and knocked.
Don Alejandro opened the door and invited her in. Don Diego was unfortunately not at home. "I don't know where Diego is at the moment. I thought he was in the pueblo. Didn't you meet him on your way over here?"
Victoria couldn't understand the rest of the words the don muttered, but she had an idea what it was.
Victoria listened meekly. The old don often complained about his son. That, the man was untraceable at the strangest moments. Or his trademark talent for disappearing without a trace, reappearing hours later, unaware of anything happening.
Victoria briefly explained why she wanted to ask Diego for advice. Don Alejandro thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm inclined to agree with the padre, Victoria. You're still young, with hopefully a whole life ahead of you. You should find yourself a nice husband and have some children of your own.
Don't take it the wrong way, but you do know, you are reducing your chances of a good marriage if you suddenly have a son of 12 or 13 years old."
Victoria shrugged. "I'm still waiting for Zorro to marry me. And I'm sure he won't object to me adopting Paco."
Alejandro sighed deeply. "Victoria, noble as he is. Zorro is and remains an outlaw. I know he is a good man, and I have a lot of faith in him. But I don't think there is ever a time you can marry him. "
Victoria opened her mouth to let the man know he was wrong. "I see it the same as the countless women who wait for their future husbands to return from the battlefield or a long sea voyage. There are many who do." Victoria hoped by saying this, she expressed both of their wishes and not reveal that she and Zorro had already allied.
"You think Zorro will marry you? How can you be so sure of that?" Alejandro asked her sounding slightly sceptical.
Victoria realized she had to be careful in what she was saying, not to betray that Zorro had made her a promise of eternal fidelity.
Before Victoria could have come up with a good answer, Alejandro had already spoken.
The don raised his hands. "Yes, I know you have feelings for each other. And I refuse even to believe he might be married already. But what if Zorro gets caught one day or meet his maker another way?
And you are right. Many women wait for their fiancées to return after years of absence. But there are many more who promise to wait, and in the end, to marry someone else. And then there are the couples who get married too hastily. The woman is married and has an honourable name, but who knows what could happen in years." Alejandro looked a little sad. "I've known them, women back in Spain who wished they hadn't married a man they never see. Waiting and not knowing when, and or their men ever return. And that is what Zorro is offering you at the moment." He gave her a sympatatic smile. "Victoria, you deserve better than that."
"You think I should give up on Zorro." It was hard to take in what don Alejandro was saying. She always had assumed him to be loyal to Zorro. And that he understood her desire to be with the masked outlaw she admired so much and was willing to wait for him no matter what.
"Yes..., and no." Alejandro took her hand and took her to a chair, so she could sit down. He then took a seat in the opposite chair, placed his elbows on his knees and went on. "Victoria, my wish for you is for you to find happiness. You know you mean a lot to me. Zorro can say that the day will come when it is safe for him to reveal his identity to you. But I have my doubts about that. Zorro has made many enemies over the years, and I do not mean the Spanish authorities. Many criminals want to take revenge on the one who brought them to justice.
To be honest, I doubt his struggle will ever be over. There will always be men and women with evil in mind. Perhaps you should consider, maybe there is another man with whom you can find happiness. There may even be a man who cares enough about you to allow you to adopt Paco."
Don Alejandro leaned back in the chair. "And speaking of Paco, I'll tell Diego about it the minute I see him. I won't be surprised if he dives right into his law books and shows up on your doorstep tomorrow right after dawn."
Victoria felt a little embarrassed.
Diego had told him he was planning to adopt Felipe. After that, she had never heard from again and had never asked. She also had never given it any thought, what don Alejandro was thinking on the matter. "What do you think about the adoption of Felipe? You approve of it?"
Alejandro sighed and shook his head, looking rather sad. "It doesn't matter what I think.
Felipe has never been under the responsibility of an orphanage, and we have no idea what happened to his family. I don't know the details about it because Diego arranges it all. But what I understand is Diego is in contact with a priest in Guadalajara. As you know, that is the area he found Felipe. He tries to find something to link Felipe to anything. As long as it is not certain that Felipe's parents are, in fact, dead, Diego cannot adopt him.
We have placed advertisements in newspapers in the surrounding pueblos. But as you know, Mexico has been fighting for its independence for years. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. We need to wait for at least two more years before we can continue the formalities.
However, that is not important. Felipe has been living with us for many years. And he is a part of the family for a long time.
Unlike you and Paco, whom you have only known for a few weeks. And as admirable as I think it is of you, Victoria, it could have more consequences than you are willing to see.
My last objection for why you should not adopt Paco is you are not a man."
Victoria stammered slightly offended. "Why is that important? I can take care of Paco as well as any other man."
"You're right, and it makes no difference to me either. It will be many who think otherwise. And just out of curiosity, have you told Zorro about your plans? Doesn't he have a say in it, if you are going to marry him someday?"
Dejected and with her head full of comments made by Don Alejandro, Victoria returned to Los Angeles. She had expected a different reaction from the man who had always supported her. He had been her confidant for as long as she could remember. Could it be that the man had a point? He'd just told her in an unsubtle way that it would be a stupid thing to adopt Paco. And immediately informed her he doubted that she had a future with Zorro. Don Alejandro was right on one point, though. She would need to discuss with Zorro first what he thought of her idea. If she ever got the chance to have a conversation with him that lasted longer than five minutes, that was.
Her mare knew her way home, so Victoria paid little attention to her surroundings.
Suddenly, she saw that two unknown men had come close to her. "Look, Jefe. If it isn't the wench who refused to help us catch Zorro last year. What do you think, shall we find out, or she is more willing at the moment?"
Without thinking, Victoria shoved her heels into her mare's flanks and hurried her into a gallop.
Her escape attempt was short-lived. Before Victoria knew it, one of the men had caught up with her and forced her horse to a stop. She got pulled from the horse, and immediately everything around her went black.
Victoria awoke to find herself handcuffed on the back of a horse. Behind her sat a man. His body odour nearly made her pass out again.
The men were talking.
"We have to make sure that Zorro won't find us soon." Said the man on whose horse she was as he hit her behind. "I think it will take a while before we convince this one that she can be helpful. She is a fierce little kitten."
The other man burst out laughing. "That won't be a problem, amigo. I already have an idea of what we should do. Come on, and I show you."
The men drove to the newly repaired bridge over the ravine about six miles east of the pueblo. Rumours at the time had been that the alcalde had destroyed the bridge in an attempt to capture or kill Zorro. After crossing the bridge, Jefe cut the ropes, and part of the bridge collapsed into the deep ravine. "It will take a while before Zorro finds us. The shortest route to get here now is over twenty-five miles long. We've got all the time we need to chat about where that masked ass hideout is and find out his identity. Come on, Pedro. We go and find a place to camp. And then we'll see how fast this kitten is willing to talk."
It took more than an hour for Jefe to find a place that met his requirements. Victoria's mouth was bone dry. And she was even grateful when the man named Pedro offered her water from the small creek that ran by the campsite. She drank greedily from the fresh water and quenched her thirst with large gulps. The men themselves feasted on a bottle of whiskey.
After Victoria had drunk enough, Jefe grabbed Victoria by the hair and pulled her head back so far that her neck doubled over. "You probably remember us. My comrades and I know you know where Zorro's hideout is. That masked ass of yours was a little too quick for me last time, and I ended up in jail, together with Pedro and three friends. They were suckers. They confessed to what we had done and got sentenced to death.
Me and Pedro, we played it clever. We knew that by playing smart and working together, we could escape. And now you are going to help us claim six thousand hard-earned pesos."
Victoria tried to hide the pain she started to feel after she drank from the water. Something must have been wrong with it. Painful spasms overcame her. It felt as if her intestines got turned inside out. Victoria lay crumpled on the ground, groaning in pain. It only became worse when she could no longer control herself. Victoria cried out in pain.
Jefe was the first to understand what was going on. He slapped Pedro to the ground and yelled. "The water. You fool, somehow the water is poisoned! She's going to die."
Pedro laid on his back, got half up and muttered. "How could I know? And by the way, she ain't dead yet."
Jefe, after he had taken control over himself, uttered. "You're right, amigo. She can still talk." Jefe pulled Victoria up forcefully and punched his fist into her diaphragm. "Looks like you're going to die, stupid whore. Tell me, where can we find Zorro hideout?"
"I don't know! I really don't know." Victoria screamed.
Jefe let her loose, and she fell to the ground. Jefe kicked her stomach once, twice, three times. "Don't lie to me."
Zorro had just delivered four cattle thieves to the cartel when Mendoza hurried up to him.
"Zorro, I'm probably worrying for no reason. But señorita Escalante's mare returned this afternoon without her. I sent two lancers out to look for her, but they haven't returned yet. According to Pilar, the señorita went to the hacienda of the de la Vegas."
Before Zorro had the chance to ask the sergeant anything, or thank him for the information, a door opened.
De Soto had also discovered that the fox was in the pueblo and stormed out of the office. "Lancers! Zorro! Grab him! Mendoza, what are you doing? Don't just stand there playing stupid! Arrest him, shoot, do something!"
Zorro raised his hand to the brim of his hat to thank Mendoza and saluted. Turned his horse and hurried out of the pueblo, determined to find Victoria.
About a mile outside of Los Angeles, Zorro found the first evidence Victoria got taken against her will by two men on horseback. It was not difficult to follow their tracks, and half an hour later, Zorro was standing at the remains of the bridge over the ravine, which was just repaired after the alcalde had destroyed it a little over a year ago. He had no doubts that the men had crossed the bridge and then destroyed the bridge again. It was a smart move because the only other accessible route was a detour of over twenty-five miles to get to the point, less than a hundred feet away from him.
However, the men had underestimated Toronado. Zorro followed the ravine for three miles until he came to the point where it narrowed enough for Toronado to make the jump.
He gave Toronado a wide run-up giving his horse free rein so that he jumped effortlessly over the ravine and landed on the other side. Zorro patted Toronado on his neck. "Well done boy, well done. Let us go find Victoria."
Zorro followed the ravine back to where the bridge had been until that morning and picked up the trail again.
The men continued their interrogation. It became too much for Victoria. She clenched her teeth and forbade herself to open them and produce a sound. The pain got more and more intense. The kicking hurt less than the cramps in her abdomen. Slowly, she sank to the place where you can no longer feel pain.
The last thing she was aware of was Jefe ranting furiously at his mate. "This is your fault, asshole. If you hadn't let her drink that water, the wench would have begged me by now to tell what she knew. You cost me six thousand pesos."
A gunshot sounded, and after that, Victoria heard, saw, or felt nothing at all.
.
.