Chapter 21

The following week was, without a doubt, the happiest of her life. Victoria and Diego enjoyed their first days together at the hacienda. She agreed with Diego that they had better await the return of de Soto before embarking on a journey together.
Victoria and Diego could be found in the cave almost every day. And she discovered something new every time. She questioned Diego about the wide variety of impressive experiments, scale models, books, artefacts and weaponry.

Often, such a moment got interrupted by Victoria and Diego staring at each other for a second too long. And they were like magnets attracted to each other. It was simply impossible to resist the attraction that existed between them.

The days flow together effortlessly. It was almost unbelievable how much of a difference it made now that people no longer had to fear being arrested for every little trifle.

The second week after the wedding, Victoria went back to work in the tavern. That was much to the delight of the sergeant. He stubbornly insisted that the cooking skills of the other helpers did not match her cooking, and he had missed her every day.

During that week, Mendoza had to visit the farms to collect his monthly taxes. He stumbled on a problem he could not overcome. The sergeant, who had only had a few years of education in the orphanage and the accompanying mission school, got stuck in the complicated sum of income.
After a discussion with himself, he asked Don Alejandro for help. The sergeant convinced a man like don Alejandro, with his years of experience and skills, could solve his problem. And could instantly explain to him what he was doing wrong.
Alejandro was only too willing to lend the sergeant a helping hand, but he too was scratching his head over the numbers. No matter how hard he tried, there was and remained a large cash gap that had never occurred in the previous months and years.
Desperate and slightly frustrated that he did not understand the account book, Don Alejandro turned to his son.

Diego added up all the income, comparing them with previous years and months. By trying to reveal what was different this time. And why he to held a cash difference. It did not take long for Diego to make a correct overview.
And, soon he had found a clear explanation for why the calculations of the alcalde were correct on paper. But not one of all came even close to the right amount when counted again, making it clear De Soto was holding back money.
With this knowledge in mind, Diego set to work with renewed energy, and the outcome did not surprise him, but it did frustrate him. It was inevitable that too much tax got charged for years. And the tax revenues passed on to Monterey gave a distorted view of reality.

De Soto gave himself a wage of 40 pesos a week and was approved by authorities in Monterey and reflected in copies of the reports sent to the capital. A fair and modest income for an alcalde in a small pueblo. In reality, however, de Soto had given himself a salary of 400 pesos a month. The difference got paid by making the farmers and villagers pay too much in tax.
It did not seem like a large amount, but when added together every month for years. It was a considerable sum of income and expenses.

Furthermore, de Soto had calculated himself a very generous allowance for food. And after some more research, Diego discovered that the horse De Soto always rode, Orgulloso, had been bought from taxes paid by the pueblo. The horse was on de Soto his name, and he rented it out to the army for 20 pesos a week. By stating that he needed a reliable mount to deal with the huge crime range in Los Angeles.

Diego decided not to share the acquired knowledge with the sergeant immediately. But instead, he asked the sergeant whether he could take the books to the hacienda to have a better look, promising to come back to it the next day because he had trouble figuring out what was wrong.
It did make the sergeant admire his superior, who never had trouble doing those difficult calculations. If even don Alejandro and don Diego were struggling with those numbers, de Soto must be a genius in calculations.

Once back at the hacienda, Diego shared and showed his discovery to his father. And he explained to his wife and pupil what he had discovered so far. And for the first time in its history, the hacienda experienced what happened when the Escalante temperament and de la Vega sense of justice reinforced each other.

"Naturally, De Soto will explain it as an unfortunate clerical error or misinterpretation, but it is nothing more than scandalous theft of public money and people who pay taxes to California, Spain and our King! "
These words were roughly what Don Alejandro said in his outburst of rage after filtering out the words that are inappropriate for repetition.

Victoria agreed wholeheartedly, and her anger and disbelief matched with her father-in-law. "Diego, you certainly can not let de Soto get away with this? This fraud must get published in The Guardian. Everyone should know about this. There will be an uprising if people hear about this!"

"Yeah, and that is what I am afraid of," Diego replied grimly.

Victoria stuttered, surely she must have misunderstood him. "Afraid of...?! Why?! The people will not rest until De Soto is where he belongs, in jail. The governor will have to admit that de Soto is a fraud and appointed a new alcalde."

Alejandro, too, had to contain another outburst of anger and disbelief. This man was Zorro, and yet, his son now acted like Diego.

Diego looked at both. "Yes, and against what price?
Before the governor can hear of this, De Soto will order the lancers to protect him at all costs. If the men refuse to obey, he can sentence them for insubordination and put them in front of the firing squad. And the authorities will say he is right.
And when the men do follow his orders? How many innocents will die then? How many children and women will suffer because their husbands and fathers die fighting this injustice?"

Alejandro lifted his finger and pointed accusingly at his son. "So, you want to let de Soto get away with this? And let the people suffer for years to come of this man and his greed?"

Victoria and Alejandro tried to understand how Diego was thinking. Victoria was the first to realize that his attitude was probably some sort of smokescreen.
"And what about Zorro? I know you like to keep the illusion that he is dead. But surely there must be something we can do to get rid of de Soto without bloodshed?"

"Yeah, of course, I'm not letting him get away easy. I only need to think about it calmly. One of the reasons Zorro succeeded in outsmarting Ramón, de Soto and others time and time again was because he always prepared his actions. And, except for a few moments, was not likely to act rashly. My preference is to leave Zorro where he is. That means we have to find another way to deal with de Soto.
Father, Victoria, I ask you to keep this information to yourself for now?" Diego walked to the nearest window and stared aimlessly. "I'm going to…, I think…, maybe…,"

Victoria saw something change in her husband. Something that had always irritated her when it happened to Diego. His thoughts turned to himself. He shut himself off from everything and everyone around him and was no longer capable of any normal conversation.
She had always dismissed it as Diego disinterested in the real problems they needed to face in the pueblo every day. But seeing for the first time how Zorro began preparing a plan to stop De Soto from continuing to exploit the people, she had to admit she was wrong.

"I want to let de Soto know, in a legal way, that he has gone too far. And I think we have the law on our side. But first, I need to find out something like this is regulated by law. If you will both excuse me, I need to think."

Diego went to the cave, followed by Felipe, as they had done for and Victoria stared after the two men as they disappeared into the fireplace.
Alejandro sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It will be best to leave him to it, I think. Now that I know what he is doing, I am sure Diego will solve it the best way possible."

Victoria nodded and felt a brief stab of pain in her heart because her husband was shutting her out.

"Come on, Victoria. Let Diego and Felipe do their thing as they did for years. I hope you will keep me company in the garden? The bright side is this time we know that the fox will not rest until he has come up with a plan."

Diego began frantically flipping through thick books in search of information. Felipe listened patiently, while Diego began to mutter plans and suggestions. He grabbed his writing equipment and began taking notes as the pile of open books on the desk grew larger and larger and time passed on.
"I like that Zorro no longer automatically the one solving the problems. I have a wife to protect now, and with a bit of luck, there will be a child in the not too distant future. What kind of example do I set as a father when, time and again, I risk my life without thinking and not caring first about those who are most important in life.
We will have to rely on the justice system this time instead of the path of crime."

Diego was flipping pages in search of something he could use. As Felipe smiled and nodded to let Diego know, he agreed on his way of thinking.

Hours later, Felipe indicated that he wanted to go to bed. Diego waved his hand, reading in a massive book. He asked Felipe to tell Victoria that he would be following shortly.
Diego was determined to seek the warmth of the shared bedroom and his wife her arms shortly after Felipe left the cave. Were it not for the fact that he soon lost track of time when he finally found what he had been looking for in an old law book.

Victoria had waited patiently, knowing she would only be a distraction, and that was the last thing Diego could use right now. Felipe had already gone to bed after telling her that Diego would soon follow. Tired, she had gone to bed herself, determined to wait for her husband.
She must have been more tired than she thought because Victoria had fallen asleep. When she woke up, she was alone in bed. The moonlight shining through the window illuminating the clock told her it was nearly three in the morning.
So, other than nighttime patrols, there were other explanations for why her lovely husband was never much of an early riser.
Victoria remembered a comment she and her father-in-law had made some time ago. That Diego was a night owl rather than an early bird. That comparison had some merit. Instead of owl, he was the cunning fox, but by no means an early bird.
She threw the covers off, and in nothing more than a thin bathrobe, Victoria headed for the cave to ask her husband to continue his work later and now enjoy a few more hours of sleep with her.

Victoria pulled the lever, the secret door opened, and she slipped in.

Diego was hunched over his desk, busy taking notes. Soft shuffling sounds took him out of concentration, and looking up, Diego saw who was coming down the stairs.

"Victoria."

"I came to try to persuade you to come to bed with me."

Victoria got rewarded with a tired smile. "You? Always, Belleza." Diego glanced at his pocket watch, startled by the time, and gave her an apologetic look.
"Victoria, I am sorry. I didn't realize it was this late."

Slowly she walked over to the desk. "It's so late, it's almost early. Oh, I should have known it would be like being married to don Diego. He always forgets about the time when he has his nose in books. Your father has been complaining about it for years." Victoria had a teasing grin on her face. "You wait until you find out what it is like to be married to a tavern owner. And there was a big party, after which I have to do cleaning up, and my feet hurt so much I can barely walk." Victoria was now standing next to him at the desk.

Diego leaned back in the large, mahogany chair and pulled her onto his lap."If that happens, I will carry you home and massage them."His left hand slid from her knee over her shin to one of her feet. "Your feet are freezing."

"That is of the stone floor here. The floor in the tavern is made out of wood and never feels cold. Have you made any progress with your idea of what to do about the Soto?"

Diego gently was rubbing her feet warm in his hand. "Yes, I have collected quite a few laws that show that what he has done is unacceptable. Currently, I am writing a letter to a good friend of mine who might be able to help. He is a high-ranking officer and stationed in Santa Barbara since recently. If I can prove to him, de Soto is a fraud. He has the authority to put de Soto in jail, awaiting a court of justice. He can be here in three days. Which is much faster than a letter sent to Monterey in the hope the governor will ever read it."

"Then why didn't you write to him before? This fraud is certainly not de Soto's first crime committed."

"I only received notice last month that he got promoted. His niece recently married the governor's son. And he made a good impression on the man who offered him a job as a representative. It is hard to address the governor personally. It is easier to get in contact with an emissary. And being an old friend of mine, he might listen and willing to help."

"You mean, like that emissary, we visited in Santa Paula en never heard of again."

Diego occupied, kissing his wife on her shoulder, but he managed to mumble. "I am convinced, my friend will at least listen and see what he can do."

At that moment, Victoria her eye caught the portrait on the wall behind the desk. She had seen it before but had not asked about it yet. Other times she was in the cave getting distracted by one of the thousand other fascinating things laying, standing or moving around. "That painting," as she pointed it out. "Did you paint it?"

Diego looked over his shoulder to see what Victoria was talking about. "Yeah, it's called, Mona Lisa of the pueblo." Diego ran his lips over her forehead.

"How did you do it? I mean, it looks a lot like me. And I never posed or anything."

"Victoria, all I have to do is close my eyes to see you and remember every facial feature of yours. Do you like it?"

"Yes, the resemblance is striking. I think it is a shame the painting is hanging here."

A deep laugh echoed through the cave. "I would have preferred to hang it in my bedroom, but that was impossible at the time."

Victoria took another good look at the portrait on the wall. "We can still hang it in the bedroom or the small parlour if you want."

"We can do that. I have grown quite fond of seeing it hanging here. I could make another painting of you where you do pose for." A tone in his voice was suggestive of what kind of art he had in mind. Meanwhile, Diego had discovered that the graceful beauty on his lap was wearing only one piece of clothing, giving him plenty of opportunities to enjoy her soft skin.

"I thought you could see my facial features by just closing your eyes, and that there was no need for me to pose. You know I dislike sitting still"

Did she see correct, were his ears colouring slightly red? "Your facial features, yes. But some physical features need further study to do justice to your beauty for the kind of painting I have in mind."

Victoria had a hunch that Diego wasn't talking about simply sitting still to pose. "Mmm, tell me more." As she dug her hands in his hair, pulling his face closer to hers.

"Well, first, I have to do a thorough investigation. It requires me to study every inch of your body meticulously." His hands wandered up and began to pry the belt loose.

Victoria swallowed while his hands touched her body. "Oh, that sounds like a time-consuming thing." Deliberately, Victoria tried to make it sound innocent.

"Very time-consuming," Diego nodded. "Could easily take weeks or even months. But I plan to work on it day..., and night." The bathrobe was easy to push off her shoulders, Diego his breathing quickened.

"Day and night?" She was holding her breath.

"Oh yes, and especially the nights."

She was half-naked on his lap, smiling wickedly. "It is night now. Maybe you can start today?"

Soon they were both too distracted by each other to remember why Victoria had come to the cave in the first place.

Already the sun was beginning to lighten the horizon when Diego and Victoria slipped out of the cave. Finally, heading for their bedroom.

.

.

I intended this to be the final chapter. Leaving Diego and Victoria alone in the cave, only recently married, is my mistake. I should have known they take advantage of it.
Well, let us hope Diego studies enough to make another lovely painting, but not get distracted too much by it right away. ;)