AN: Dear readers, I am not sure how many of you are still following this compendium of stories since I have not posted very regularly, but I trust you still do since, let's be honest, at least I always finish my stories :P It might take a while, and I might publish several others in that time, as well, but still...
Of Men and Legends is my most exhaustive exercise of creativity thus far, and part of me will miss it when it will finally be complete (some five stories from now, this one included) - hopefully before next spring, but I don't make any promises. I'll certainly try! :))))
I do hope you'll enjoy the new instalment! It's romance/suspanse/adventure/humor, as most of the others, and its rating should be somewhere between K+ and T, but I promise I only torture Diego a little bit in this one. :P
Do review if you like the story! Feedback is always important for an author.
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Don Alejandro took over as alcalde the very day on which he was elected. De Soto assembled the men in the plaza one last time for an official salute, held a short speech, then wished the don good fortune. In turn, the new Alcalde promised everyone that he would do his best to prove their faith in him was merited.
When the rather small ceremony was over and the elderly caballero followed the lancers to the cuartel for an inspection and a discussion about their needs in terms of training and strategy, Victoria invited everyone present to a glass of wine on her to celebrate the elections.
"You're in a very good mood!" Diego remarked as he was leaning against the bar, while he was trying to decide whether or not to drink the glass of wine she had placed before him.
"Of course, I am!" She said as she served one last customer who then headed for a small group of peons. "With Don Alejandro as Alcalde, we finally have a leader who will work for the people, not for his own ambition or to enrich himself. Which means tyranny is a thing of the past in Los Angeles!"
Diego nodded and took a sip of his wine. He would have gladly continued that conversation, feeling it was about to close in on the subject of Zorro, but a large group of caballeros came to discuss his father's election with him and possible plans for the pueblo. The De la Vega heir, thus, reluctantly sat with them at a table, leaving Victoria to serve her patrons, only glancing towards her from time to time, no longer bothering to mask the feelings his eyes were betraying whenever she caught his glance.
ZZZ
On their way back to the hacienda Felipe signed, asking what Diego was going to do now that Zorro was no longer needed to fight tyranny.
"Well… I believe the time has finally come for me to tell my father and Victoria the truth. Then, if all goes well, I'll be able to marry her within a couple of months at most." He answered.
"How about the reward on Zorro's head?" Felipe then questioned.
"I doubt my father would want to keep that, especially after finding out it was always me under the mask," Diego stated. "That money can be better used somewhere else."
"When are you going to do it?" The younger man then asked, rather worriedly.
"I'm not sure yet. I'd rather wait a little while longer, and try to prepare them for the news." He answered.
ZZZ
"Unbelievable!" The elderly caballero uttered as he entered the house, slamming the door behind him, just three days after he had taken office.
"What is wrong, Father?" Diego asked, getting up from the chess table where Felipe, who was playing whites, was just about to put him in checkmate.
"De Soto!" He uttered. "Every time anyone had asked him to do something benefiting the pueblo, such as building that new school we've needed for a decade now, a new bridge to Santa Paula, or the works on the riverbank needed to avoid future floods, he always told us he didn't have the money to do it. Of course, he was good at making excuses and at pretending he didn't have the funds. But guess what, Son! He had the funds! In fact, he had more than he needed, well hidden in several hideouts in his office. Mendoza showed them all to me today after I mentioned that, as per my calculations, over 9,000 pesos had been illegally collected during the time of Luis Ramone. It was all there, to the last peso."
"Did the Sergeant also mention if he had shown De Soto the money?" The younger man wondered with a smile.
"What do you mean?" His father wondered.
"You might remember what Ignacio was like when he took over as alcalde." Diego answered. "Don't you think such a man would have been more than capable to take that money and keep it for himself? It would have been easy enough to just blame his predecessor."
"Are you suggesting…"
"I'm suggesting that De Soto never knew about that money because the Sergeant never mentioned the hiding places to him, and he never searched. If I remember correctly, after all, he's only ever used the safe to keep his reserves and the collected taxes." The tall caballero explained.
"So…"his father concluded, "Mendoza never trusted him with that money, but trusts me?"
"Actually, my guess is that the Sergeant never checked the reserves after Ramone's death, either. But, I might, of course, be wrong, and the good Sergeant might have just been waiting for a commander he could trust."
The don nodded a few times, then smiled. "I think I'll choose to believe that. And I have no intention to disappoint him! Tell me, Son, can you help me come up with a plan for improvements so I might know how to prioritize my actions?"
"I'd be more than happy to, Father!" The younger man replied.
For the following fortnight, the two of them were mostly occupied with prospecting the territory, finding people in need of work, discussing fair wagers, and finalizing an action plan for the works due to be started and completed within the following three months.
ZZZ
In all this time, De Soto was slowly going mad. Never before in his entire life had he spent his days doing nothing, his vineyards required practically no work at that time of the year and he had nothing to keep him occupied.
Because his cook returned to the garrison, the young man Jessie convinced him to hire had taken over the kitchen duties, and was doing a far better job than expected. Furthermore, considering how greatly he appreciated the chance he had been given, the teenager was also spending his free time cleaning and dusting the hacienda, while the other servants, José and Antonio, were sharing the work in the garden and the stables.
Unable to find anything he could ask his servants to do, if for no other reason, even just because he was used to giving orders, Ignacio, thus, spent his first days as civilian writing to every friend and relative of his to inform them of his decision to permanently remain in California, and invite them for a visit.
He had written to his mother and grandmother during his honeymoon, mentioning Jessie, their marriage, Diego acting as his best man, and a few of the other developments which had occurred by that time. Now, he needed to write again to tell them he had given up his career, and that they might never see each other again, for he was determined to remain in that far-away land and might not get the chance to ever return home. The Senoras De Soto were, by that point, too old to move across an entire ocean and a continent just to come live with him, so all that was left for him to do was arrange for his apartment in Madrid, as well as all the possessions he had left behind be sold and the money sent to the two elderly women he was improbable to ever lay eyes upon again.
As he was writing, he let his mind travel to Spain, wondering if his grandmother was already dead, like in that strange dream he had had during the last Christmas. He knew she had fallen ill at the beginning of the year, as his mother had informed him, but he had avoided thinking about it for a while. While he had gotten into the habit of lighting a candle for his sister every Sunday in order to appease her and make sure she wouldn't haunt his dreams again, he didn't much dwell on the gloomy future he had seen in that strange nightmare, certain there was no reason for it to come true anymore.
Still, if his grandmother was to die or had already died that year, that meant his mother, his one remaining blood relative, was to be left all alone in the world, and that was not something he wanted. While a part of him had always resented her for giving up her fortune and name at choosing to marry his father, deep inside he also knew that he would have never existed without that sacrifice she had made.
Giving into some unexpected emotions, after finishing his letter, he added a PS inviting his mother to come live with him and Jessie in California.
The following day, he accompanied his wife to the pueblo, hoping she might allow him to lend her a hand. She did try to, but, after he broke two jars filled with herbs, a syringe, and made a child cry with his bluntness, she asked him to get out and not put a foot in there again unless he needed urgent medical care.
Ignacio thus crossed the plaza to ask Don Alejandro if he needed any help, but the caballero, who had just discovered Ramone's hidden stash, had left for the hacienda only ten minutes earlier.
The former alcalde headed for the tavern in time to have the doors slammed in his face as it was siesta time and Victoria, deep in thought, hadn't even noticed him there.
Head bowed and resigned, he rode home, taking some time on the way to explore the territory, just for the sake of it, and because he had nothing better to do.
The following few days he passed at the hacienda, trying to busy himself by walking around the vineyards, trying to teach his new servant, and finding he still had no idea what to do with most of his time. At some point, he considered asking the De la Vega heir for advice, but immediately reconsidered that idea, certain the caballero would come up with some stupid suggestions like painting, watching the plants grow or admiring the flowers.
Bored out of his mind, he eventually decided to take one of the other dons' advice and go on a short trip. Thus, a little over two weeks after reclaiming his freedom, together with one of his servants, De Soto made his way towards San Diego, then Baja California, where he was to buy a few things for the house, his wife and himself, find out from the alcaldes there if there was any news about the Mexican takeover, and try to find some business opportunities with the taverns and haciendados there who might be inclined to acquire some of his wine. Since his vineyards had belonged to the De la Vegas, in order to convince his potential buyers, he also made sure to buy some of their wine and take it with him.
ZZZ
"You know what your father told me, Diego?" Victoria asked him as he came by the tavern one afternoon in early December, asking about the older don.
"What?" He wondered.
"He wants to offer Zorro a full pardon. He said he will make the announcement in a couple of days, during the gathering he is organizing." She replied. "He will finally be able to take off his mask, and fulfil his promise to me!"
"You think it will have been worth the wait?" He inquired with a sly smile. "A decade is a long time…"
"For Zorro, it was worth it. I know it!" She replied.
"And will you still love him when he will no longer be a dashing hero, and all there will be left, once the mask is removed, shall be the man flesh and blood? Whomever he is?" He wondered, looking to see her reaction to his clues.
"Of course I will! I am not 19 anymore, prey to some romantic illusion. I love the man behind the mask, with all the faults and weaknesses he might prove to have." She assured him, not dwelling on his words. "Besides, it's high time for us to finally marry. I want children before I'm too old to have them anymore!"
"And Zorro wants nothing more than to give you that family." The caballero confessed, then noticed his mistake just in time. "At least, that's how I'd feel if I were him." He added.
The taverness offered him a large smile before turning around to dust some more wine bottles. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror above the bar and her smile faded.
The moment she had turned around, Diego became concerned. Ending the secret he had been carrying for so long was not exactly easy, and was no longer certain how the people he loved most would react at finding out, especially since neither Victoria nor his father seemed able to catch any of the clues he had been giving them. Those thoughts caused him to unconsciously frown, and the young woman didn't miss that.
Seeing how she could hardly guess what he was truly thinking, however, Victoria misinterpreted his expression.
As she, turned back to look at him with wide-puzzled eyes, he just put on a charming grin which was in complete dissonance with his earlier expression, thus only confusing her further. "Victoria, I was thinking… If you are free tonight, I would very much like you to have dinner with us at the hacienda. There is something I must talk to you about." He uttered, looking straight at her.
"I'm afraid I am not free!" She lied, nervously, certain she needed some time to think things through before giving him a chance to tell her anything they might both regret.
"Tomorrow then?" He insisted.
"A… Alright. Tomorrow." She answered with a nod, then hurriedly left, heading for the kitchen.
Victoria had tried once before to extract a love confession from Diego as she had been, on occasion, fantasizing about him loving her. She also knew she harbored more than brotherly feelings towards him, but had done her best to suppress them and to find faults in him that might lessen their intensity. Then, after Zorro had proposed, and considering everything that had happened between the two of them, she started dreading both those feelings and the perspective of Diego responding to them, confessing his love for her.
ZZZ
"Don Alejandro!" Victoria called as soon as the caballero entered her tavern, a while later, together with Mendoza and some of the lancers. "May I have a word with you?"
"Of course, my dear! What is it?" He replied as he smiled and shook hands with some of the people there.
"It's something private." She replied as she headed for the kitchen.
The caballero excused himself and followed her. "What may I do for you, Victoria?" He wondered.
"It's about Diego." She told him. "Don Alejandro, do you think it possible that Diego might be… in love? With… me?"
"I… I don't really know, my dear! Has he said or done something to indicate he is?"
"Well… I'm not completely sure… But these past weeks I've kept noticing some glances he's been giving me. In fact, I also… noticed… such glances that day when we were taken by those bandits, remember? He was behaving very strangely at the time. Then he stopped, and everything seemed normal. But he started doing it again… and, earlier, we were talking about how Zorro might now take off his mask, and I might finally marry him. Diego looked… sad. I saw him through the mirror, so he doesn't know I noticed that. But… What do I do if I'm the reason why he was sad? Diego has always been there for me, since he returned from Spain. He's my best friend, and I want him to be happy with all my heart. Had Zorro never existed, I wouldn't think twice before accepting his courtship, should he prove to want to court me... if you'd consent, of course. But I already made a promise to another man. If Diego is in love with me, why has he waited so long to say anything?"
"I really don't know what to say, Victoria. My son is hard to understand at times… I'd like nothing better than for you to become a De la Vega, but I was always certain Diego only sees you as a little sister… What could have happened to have changed that, I can't imagine."
"But if I'm right, what should I do? He invited me to dinner tomorrow evening at the hacienda… I think he plans to tell me then. But I already agreed to marry Zorro, Don Alejandro. I can't accept Diego, and I don't want to break his heart." She confessed.
"I don't want you to break my son's heart, either!" He answered. "I don't know what to say… I'll try to have a discussion with him, and I'll help you decide how to approach the matter afterwards."
She nodded gratefully, and the don returned to the taproom. By the time he arrived home that evening, though, after a few more hours spent listening to some of his friends' ideas about running the pueblo, Diego was already asleep, so he couldn't have the needed conversation with his son.
ZZZ
The following morning, nervous about the dinner to follow, the De la Vega heir woke up early, decided to spend some time in the cave, ordering his things and taking his proper goodbye from a secret, adventurous life he was to soon give up in exchange for a far more tranquil one with the woman he loved.
He cleaned and ordered the flasks on his worktable, arranged his papers, cleaned Tornado's stall, then put on his black clothes one last time, and went for a ride.
ZZZ
I the meantime, Don Alejandro woke up, searched for Diego, gave up at not finding him anywhere, ate his breakfast, and headed for his office.
"Have you talked to him?" Victoria eagerly asked when he came by the tavern for lunch.
"I fear not. Last night he was already asleep when I arrived home, and this morning he was gone God-knows-where by the time I woke up." He answered.
"What should I do then? Should I say I'm too busy and cannot make it to dinner?" She wondered
"No, you've already promised him you'd come, and Maria has started working on the menu he'd given her since last evening. Just… Just hear him out and let him down kindly…" The older don encouraged her.