Chapter 18

Standing before the large wooden door, Pilar took a deep breath.
It was unusual for her to come to the de la Vega hacienda by horse and carriage.
She felt she had no choice. There were too many coincidences to ignore.
It was her duty as a manager to inform her employer, when she suspected something had happened.
Her fear, however, was that Victoria already knew that something had taken place in the tavern.

As the eldest in a family of seven children, Pilar had developed an extra sense for detecting strange behaviour.
Her mother had died while giving birth to her youngest sister. Pilar had been eleven at the time.
Her father had to work the land to ensure that his family would, at least, not starve.
It had been Pilar who had taken care of her younger brothers and sisters.
One of her brothers had complained to her father on occasion.
Pilar seemed to know when someone was up to mischief even before they thought of it themselves.

Yesterday morning, as she entered the tavern, she had already sensed that something was not right.
A closer inspection had made her notice things Pilar normally would have ignored.
Victoria was always very precise in that everything had to be in the right place.
A habit Pilar had picked up.
Still, there had been one bowl that had been placed wrong. That could happen once.
But when Polar entered the main room, she saw something strange lay under one of the tables.
It turned out to be a bandana that, at first sight, had carelessly been thrown under it.
Strange, because Pilar had swept it herself last night, and so she knew for sure that the piece of cloth had not been there the night before.

When Pilar had walked upstairs after the first-morning rush to put away a pile of clean sheets, she had noticed that one of the doors was not completely closed.
Closer inspection of the room revealed that the blanket had disappeared from the bed.
The blanket, so rudely snatched from the bed, causing the sheets to come also partly loose.
Someone had been in the tavern, and at first glance, only a blanket had disappeared.
Had that person been there when Victoria had been in the building?
And if so, what had happened?

The conversation between don Alejandro and Mendoza that Pilar overheard at lunchtime had also worried her.
Zorro behaving strangely and seemingly upset?
Don Alejandro coming to the pueblo to catch up on the latest gossip?
And how uncomfortable the older man had seemed when Mendoza had mentioned Zorro.

The reason Pilar had come to the hacienda had all to do with this and with Corporal Pérez.
The corporal had walked into the tavern just before siesta carrying a wanted poster in his hands.
There were rumours from San Diego that the infamous Estaban brothers got seen in the area.
She had been shocked when Pilar had made the connection between the oldest man on the poster and the bandana she had found.
Those men had been in the tavern gambling and had been very rude.

Pilar thought about it for a moment.
Were these the men who had also been in the tavern at night?
And if so, why had only a blanket gone missing?
And had Victoria been alone with them?
She hoped not.

Not sure whether it was the smartest thing she had ever done.
Pilar decided first to ask Victoria what to do.
That's why Pilar had taken the courage and decided to ride the hacienda. She would try to find out what could have happened and hoped to get reassured that nothing had happened.

Don Alejandro was the one who opened the door.
The old don informed the woman that Victoria was, unfortunately, taking a ride in the area with his son.
He would certainly pass on the message to Victoria that Pilar had come to visit when she wasn't home.
Pilar informed the don about the Estaban brothers and advised him to look out for strangers.
The don thanked her friendly and offered her to ask Manuel the stable help to accompany her back to the pueblo.
A thing Pilar hadn't thought about and accepted the offer gladly.

As she waited for Manuel to saddle a horse, Pilar saw Esperanza was standing in the corral.
The palomino mare stood out quite a bit in these parts.
So Victoria and don Diego were out riding?
Probably it was a coincidence.
The de la Vega's had many horses.
It could well be that this horse only resembled the mare.
Or perhaps even more logically, don Diego was taking the ride on a horse other than his favourite mare.
Yet, Pilar sensed that there was more to it than that.
Alejandro had also made a somewhat nervous impression when she had dropped the name of the Esteban brothers.
Considering, for the moment, she had done what she could.
Pilar was happy when she returned to the pueblo.
She saw the alcalde was also on his guard for the Estaban brothers.
If not to protect the pueblo, it was for the bounty money of several thousand pesos.
De Soto had even sent out three different patrols to search the area.

.

"Diego," his father stood at his office door and beckoned his son.

Diego was on his way to the library to join Victoria and Felipe. The two were indeed not out riding. The bruises on her face and neck were still too visible, and that was why Alejandro had come up with an excuse.

"Have you got a moment?"

Accepting his father would not take no for an answer, Diego let willingly get himself pushed into the office.

"Sit down, son."
His father hardly ever used his office. He found it more pleasant to do his administration in the library.
"Diego, I told you that you could always come to me should you need me."

"I know, father. And I appreciate that very much."

Alejandro nodded.
"And I hope you will do it.
I know you, son.
Indeed, I haven't been much of a father to you over the past years, not being there when you needed me the most." The don, his face cramped in the pain of feeling a terrible parent.

"Father," Diego said, wanting to tell his father there was no need to feel guilty.

"No need. It was your choice. And an understandable choice indeed. But now I do know, and I'm here for you. Victoria requires you to be strong. You don't have to be strong for me. If you want to express what you think and feel, go ahead. I will listen and where I can be of help or be of advice."

It felt awkward for both men.
The older one became more aware than ever before, his son had kept his true emotions hidden more often than could be counted.
The other realized Zorro more than ever before he never had a counsellor, and it felt nice to have one this time. Sure, Felipe had frequently listened and supported wherever he could. Yet, consciously or not, Diego had protected the boy from his most intimate feelings by hiding his deepest troubles, fears and worries.

Diego had answered the questions Victoria had asked him as honestly as possible. He had spared her the most gruesome details.
His father was one of the few men Diego knew who knew what it felt like to take someone else's life.
Zorro hadn't committed the murder. Diego had done the final part.
It wouldn't make any difference in a court of law.
Even the men being wanted criminals, murderers themselves, did not change the fact Diego did feel responsible for his actions.
His father could understand that there was indeed a difference.
Diego vented his heart. His father did not judge. It felt good to be able to tell someone the whole truth.

When Diego's voice had gone hoarse, and the conversation had come to an end, Don Alejandro told what Pilar had come to tell. Both decided to ask Pilar to speak the truth to the alcalde. The bodies were in a ravine over twenty miles out of the pueblo. Pilar had only seen the men during the daytime. She was not to suspect anything else going on. Diego was to warn Victoria, probably Mendoza would stop by to ask questions whether she had seen the men.

.

Everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. Mendoza and private Lopez had indeed come to the hacienda. The two lancers got easy to rebuff. Diego told them that Victoria was lying in bed with a headache. And her ever-courteous husband didn't want to disturb her.
The special ointment Diego made from marigold and rose oil worked well to reduce the bruises. And two days later, Victoria dared to ride in the company of Diego to the pueblo.

.

As don Diego had promised, Victoria immediately reported to the alcalde and told him she had seen the men visiting the tavern. But after that one time, she hadn't seen them again.
The alcalde took the statement for truth. He suspected that the reputation of a certain infamous local outlaw had caused the Estaban brothers to decide to use Los Angeles only as a transit point. The brothers thought it was too risky to try anything on Zorro territory.
And by now, the men had moved further north or south. His best-trained lancers had found nothing disturbing within a radius of more than fifteen miles.
Another reason to hate that annoying man. Where was Zorro when he needed him? The reward on the heads of the men, dead or alive, was enough to be a nice addition to his personal income. After five days of patrolling and extra men standing guard, de Soto had to accept. The Estaban brothers most likely had only been passing by.

.

"And I hereby, declare the King Ferdinand of Spain school in El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles del Rio de Porciúnculis officially open!"
The moment de Soto swung his arm down, a salvo of gunfire got fired.

There had been some fierce discussions on the name. De Soto wanted to name the school after him. The dons had disagreed. A lot of them had contributed. In the end, after Diego had a chat with de Soto, talking of shared memories of Spain, Madrid and the King, de Soto had suggested this name to the dons.

Half the pueblo was present, standing at the small adobe building that, from now on, was the brand-new school.
After the gun salvo, the children cheered and ran around the building, which consisted of two classrooms and a small living area for the teacher.
Felipe and some workmen of the de la Vega rancho had built a swing and a seesaw under Diego's instruction. So that there was also some play equipment for the children to enjoy themselves during the breaks.
All in all, no one could argue the new school building wasn't one of the best they'd ever seen.
Don Diego was at the forefront, doing his duty as editor of the Guardian. Beside him stood Victoria, looking as lovely as ever.
The needed teaching materials were to come from Monterey and should arrive by the end of the week.

It was busy in the tavern. Many people had decided to add lustre to the festivities by having lunch there.
Diego inwardly had a laugh when Victoria couldn't withstand offering her assistance and stood behind the bar within ten minutes after entering, serving customers.
It had been twelve days since he'd found her in the tavern. During the days, he was with her as much as possible. And the times he could be with her, it was his father or Felipe staying by her side.
At night, Victoria fell asleep peacefully in his arms most of the time.
However, it had happened eight times that an unexpected movement from one of them woke her up in a panic. Diego hoped it would wear off with time. He was well aware it wasn't him Victoria was scared of. It didn't change the fact that every time it happened, it did hurt him.

Fortunately, she seemed to have forgotten about it for at least now. Victoria had a kind word for everyone, cheerfully answering all questions. Others probably hardly noticed that her smile was shallower than usual, and her eyes were less bright. She had lost some weight and seemed a bit more nervous.
Although Victoria bravely tried to hide it for her husband, Diego knew she needed time to recover.

It was busy. Pilar hardly had the time to think, and she was glad about the extra help Victoria gave.
She hoped to have some talk with her employer. The orders kept coming up, and there simply wasn't any time.
And when it finally started to calm down, Victoria had left when Pilar was working in the kitchen.

.

Victoria had left the pueblo in the company of Alejandro. Diego had to work on the newspaper. The next edition was to be out in two days, and he still had a lot of work to do. He had been neglecting his job as an editor because he wanted to be with Victoria.
He had done as much as possible at the hacienda. But the actual printing process had to be done in the office of the Guardian.
They had discussed the matter in the morning.

Her physical injuries had fainted away. It was time to start to pick up their usual habits again. And that meant Diego working on the newspaper when it was time to print, Felipe helping him. And Victoria after, spending some time in the tavern, returning to the hacienda.
The men attacking her were no longer a threat. It didn't change the fact Victoria was happy she didn't have to ride back to the hacienda on her own, but was accompanied by don Alejandro.

.

.