Chapter 22

"You…Zorro…that is hard to believe, Diego. The physical similarities are there. Zorro is probably about your age but that doesn't prove anything," Victoria surmised, "you have to come up with more than that to convince me…"

"Such a skeptic, Victoria. Is it so hard to believe that I could be Zorro," he ran a hand through his hair, "my act was very convincing. Indolent caballero by day and dashing swordsman…adventurer by day and by night."

Vitoria looked at him with amazement. The subtle change in his voice and the way he carried himself suggested the possibility that he was telling the truth…

"My disguise must have been just about perfect," he sighed, "what do I have to do to convince you that I am telling the truth…"

"I don't want to believe that you would deliberately lie to me and to your father, Diego…maybe, I don't want to believe that you are capable of such a thing but looking at you now," she admitted, "the possibility definitely exists…"

"Does that shatter the image of the perfect Diego…a flawed human being…I made choices that conflicted with the fundamental values that I was raised with….honesty…loyalty…I know that it doesn't make sense," the tall caballero admitted, "but I would do almost anything to protect the two of you…"

"Even if it meant lying to me and to your father…I don't believe that you would do something like that. Besides, you have no skills with a sword and Zorro does…you are very clever…very intelligent but you wouldn't set out to deceive the people closest to you…"

"Sometimes, I have a hard time keeping it straight myself…I only intended to rescue you and my father from the alcalde's jail not start a one man crusade for justice. I did what I had to do…for the sake of the pueblo…for my father and for you," he stated passionately, "but it became a way to use my gifts and talents to right the wrongs that I saw around me…to do what was expected of me as a de la Vega…"

"With great privilege comes great responsibility," Victoria quoted, "your father has drilled that into you since you were a child. Part of being a de la Vega…"

"Father sent me to Spain so that I could learn….assume a position of leadership among the caballeros. Sir Edmund was a part of that training. We were very close…I don't think that I will ever stop missing him…"

"I understand, Diego…Sir Edmund was not just your teacher…he was your mentor….a father figure while you were at university," Victoria touched his arm sympathetically, "he came because he needed your help…It was a matter of life and death."

"What good did it do? I wasn't able to help him when he needed me the most…that is the one thing that I regret the most, Victoria," he admitted, "Luis Ramon is still alive while Sir Edmund lies cold in his grave…"

The Jail…

"How dare you put me in my own jail," the alcalde roared as Mendoza opened the door to the cell, "I will have you on latrine duty, Mendoza…I am the alcalde…I demand that you let me out right now!"

"That will be all, Sergeant," Don Eduardo ordered, "your work is done here."

"Si, Don Eduardo," Mendoza glanced regretfully at his former superior.

"You have nothing to fear, Sergeant. Luis Ramon is no longer the authority in this pueblo. Your alcalde has been stripped of his title and will face justice in Monterrey," Don Eduardo stated, "now sit down and be quiet before I have you gagged."

The alcalde sat down on the cot angrily. "Don't I have the right to an attorney. I should at least have the opportunity to defend myself or are you going to support your friends…the de la Vegas? Everyone has the right to a fair trial…"

"You extorted money from your own citizenry through this so-called traveler's tax….their testimony…your extravagant lifestyle and of course, the jewel in your crown…the Ramon highway…prove your guilt," Don Eduardo continued, "you attempted to extort money from me…That is all the proof that I need…"

"All of you set me up….pretending to be a traveler when you were a high ranking official. Some would call it entrapment…I would put nothing past the de la Vegas…this is all a pathetic attempt to smear my name in some misguided attempt to avenge the death of a disgraced British knight…"

"That disgraced British knight, Sir Kendall was a dear friend of mine…I know all about your attempt to collect the five thousand peso bounty on his head….capturing a fugitive under a royal death warrant was hardly a territorial matter."

"I had every right to collect that bounty by any means necessary…as the king's representative…none of this would have happened if the de la Vegas would have turned him in…They are guilty of harboring a fugitive…"

"You have the effrontery to blame them for your actions…to ask for a fair trial when you served as judge, jury and executioner…Enough of this," Don Eduardo sighed, "your incompetence and greed has sealed your fate…"

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Luis Ramon lay awake thinking about what had led up to this point. All because of that blasted Englishman, he thought, and the de la Vegas…The tall caballero had never struck him as a man who would go to such lengths to avenge another person's death… Kendall was only a professor and Diego his student… unless there was more to their relationship than met the eye…The emotions coming from him that night that the Englishman died suggested a closer relationship than that of a mere teacher and student. Father and son? Teacher and mentor? Mendoza said that he was a personal friend of Don Diego's. A British knight. Sir Edmund Kendall. He is quite a swordsman, too. This is preposterous, he thought, Diego has no skills with a sword…maybe he has fooled all of us all along.