ENCOUNTER 2
THE QUEEN IS DEAD
By JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com
Manzana Core - Dr. Helm, the Apple of Our Eye
Jo's Obessessions - HL QoS WWXF Hitchcock
RATING: PG
CHARACTERS: Helm, Marta, Tessa/The Queen, Montoya, Grisham, Vera, OCs Eladio, Rosa, Senor Esteban Nogales and his family
SUMMARY: Goodness, news in Santa Helena surprises everyone.
DISCLAIMER: Everyone you've heard of is owned by Fireworks.
All mistakes are mine as it hasn't been beta'd. If anyone cares to, I'd be honored.
Continuing my Helm/Marta universe... from "Encounter". To be found on both web sites above.
I started writing this piece before "The Counterfeit Queen", "The Serpent", etc, aired. So imagine my surprise when I saw those episodes. :-) I decided not to rewrite because this is AU by now anyway. In this universe, and in my heart, Helm was made for Marta.
I also started writing this when I was under the impression that the Hidalgo's lived in town. Maybe they have a townhouse? :-)
~~~~~
SANTA HELENA
Eladio held onto Marta's uninjured left hand as they made their way from Helm's office to the Alvarado wagon. Leading with her bandaged left leg as it hurt to bend it, she stepped off the boardwalk to the dirt ground. The supplies that had fallen out of her basket during the fall were placed in the back of the wagon. Immediately after she left the doctor's office, a merchant came running over for her to pay for the supplies and Marta promptly paid him. With one last look to Dr. Helm, who was intently watching her every move, she truly hoped that she would be able to spend more time with him in private.
Marta couldn't tell if others could see any remnant of the hell Dr. Helm had revisited by looking at him, but she could. He looked as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. She also hoped she wasn't still flustered from his passion, both emotional and physical. Eladio kept a hold on her hand and was ready to help Marta onto the wagon seat when there was a great ruckus heard down the street. A wagon pulled by two galloping Appaloosa roared toward the square. People rushed out of the way to make a path for it and a table of linens from the shipment toppled and was run over by hooves and the wheels of the wagon.
Helm rushed from the stoop in front of his office to see if the horses were out of control and see if he could stop them. He had controlled many a wild horse who had gotten spooked during intense fighting. He looked over the residents to see if anyone had been run over. The wagon came to a full out screeching halt in front of the Alvarado wagon. If Eladio hadn't suddenly lifted and carried Marta out of the way, she would have been knocked over from the frightened jerk their horses made to get out of the way of the intruders.
Before Marta knew what happened, she was held by both Eladio and Helm at the back of Tessa's wagon after the doctor had protectively ran to her. Then just as suddenly, Helm let go of her waist when he knew she was steady on her feet. The worried and thankful looks they exchanged was broken by the cries of the wagon master who had just roared into town. He stood up on the seat of the wagon and announced to all, "The Queen!" The crowd noise rose from the ones who were able to see into the back of the wagon. Shrieks were heard from women who had spied the load in the back. The man hollered, "The Queen is dead!"
Marta moaned, covered her eyes with her hands, shook her head and fell back against Helm's chest. He spun her around in his arms and laid a hand on her back. He looked down at her closed, clenched eyes and perceived her reaction to have been pretty personal. He asked her, "Do you know who the Queen of Swords is?"
"No," Marta quickly recovered. "But she is our only hope against tyranny." She wanted to rush to the wagon and see her for herself. Tessa can't be dead! The last scare she had when The Queen was shot and threw herself off the cliff to escape capture; when Marta had thought she was dead for most of a day was enough. It just can't be true!
Colonel Luis Montoya walked out of his office with the thought that his most craved dream had just come true. He distinctly heard the words, 'The Queen is dead!' Is it my birthday? How I've longed to hear those words! He arrived on his balcony to see the town people gathered around a wagon that held a prone shapely figure dressed in black. He let out a reflective pronouncement of glee and saw Grisham marching to the back of the wagon. Montoya yelled out, "No one touches her until I do! ", then ran to the stairs.
Grisham stopped immediately and looked up at his Lord and Master's lair. He then ordered his troops to keep back the people. Vera was mortified by the news and looked to Grisham for the truth of the situation. His eyes only glanced in her direction to nod, then saw her husband, Don Hidalgo, rushing as fast as he could after a heavy lunch with other Dons to his wife's side.
Dr. Helm ran to the back of the wagon to see for himself but was pushed back by soldiers. "I'm a doctor! She may just be injured. Let me examine her!"
"You heard him," Grisham tilted his head in the direction of Montoya's house. "No one touches her until he does."
"And you just snap to attention like a nice little lap dog, don't you?" Helm spouted at the man.
Grisham got into Helm's face, "I'm military obeying the orders of my commander. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Before Helm could punch Grisham as he had wanted to from the first time he met him, Montoya barged between them to demand, "Let me see her!"
Montoya reached the wagon that hopefully held his prize. The thorn in his side. The burr in his saddle. The devil in a shapely package. Montoya saw her black leather boot and took in a deep, enjoyable breath. Then he saw her red sash. Her fine silk blouse. Long dark brown hair. A portion of the black lace mask that covered the upper two-thirds of her face.
Montoya stood erect, wanting to savor the moment. He had the notion to rub his hands in glee, but didn't in front of the peasants. He couldn't show emotion of any kind, especially happiness. Never show your weakness. It would only help his peons know how to get the better of him. He calmly climbed into the back of the wagon and turned the Queen's body over. She was a lump, her face remained on its side. Montoya knelt down to see it more clearly and to brush her hair back.
Marta had drifted toward the back of the wagon. Dr. Helm motioned for her to join him where he stood. From his angle he had a clear path by which to see the Queen's face. Marta gasped when she saw the woman in clothes she saw Tessa had worn when she left the hacienda that morning.
Dr. Helm bitterly asked, "Is she alive?"
"No," Montoya couldn't help but smile as he checked her body. There was a bullet hole on her stomach and a large blood stain on the wood of the wagon.
"Let me see," Helm tried again.
"No!" Montoya said, motioning to his men to hold the doctor back. They didn't have to told twice. Helm tried to fight off the three who held him back. Montoya smiled, "Now for the unveiling."
Marta felt like she was going to collapse and grabbed Rosa's hand, who she had just noticed was standing next to her. They huddled together, both in agony over the loss of the Queen, along with all the people of the town who had come to look upon her as their savior.
Montoya laid his hand upon the lace mask and pulled it up and off her face. Marta couldn't look. Helm stretched his neck so he could. Grisham pushed some soldiers back and placed himself at the side of the wagon to see for himself. Montoya stared at the face of his adversary. Smiling, he had never been so happy as that moment when The Queen of Swords was truly dead. A giggle escaped his throat that nauseated and infuriated all the people, but they would never let it show. They also knew the concept of keeping your enemies in the dark.
Marta started to cry and held onto Rosa for support, who was doing the same thing. All hope was lost now. They no longer had a warrior to champion the cause of justice. She had lost her charge. Her daughter. Her best friend in the world. Then... Montoya uttered the most peculiar thing Marta had ever heard. He asked, "Who is she? Who has been masquerading as a modern day Robin Hood?"
Marta's head snapped around to look at him. Surely Colonel Montoya would know Senorita Maria Theresa Alvarado. He didn't know the woman? Marta's heart leapt, and caught a glimpse of the dead woman when Montoya stepped down from the wagon. Marta wanted to jump for joy, shout from the rooftops, dance. It's not Tessa! But she couldn't show her relief of knowing that the true Queen of Swords was still alive. She still had to protect her identity. The dead woman was only an impostor who wore the exact same outfit and had the exact color and length of hair as Tessa, but she definitely wasn't. Marta could tell the woman's nose was longer, her cheeks were narrower. Her bone structure wasn't half as perfect as her Tessa's. For further, glorious proof that it wasn't Tessa in that back of that wagon was that neither Montoya nor Grisham recognized her.
Marta's face was a mask of sorrow to match the other townspeople that had fooled even Dr. Helm. He remembered the all of the encounters he had with her. The pain of the people who she protected mixed with his own rediscovered pain and he yelled, "Who did this?! What happened?"
Montoya turned in his direction and asked, "Yes, who did do this? I want to speak to the one who killed the Queen of Swords." But he didn't continue his thought out loud, So I can handsomely reward him.
~~~~~
The corpse of 'The Queen' was dragged from the back of the wagon by soldiers to Montoya's warehouse. While Eladio was in the midst of talking with other men of the community about their lost vigilante, Marta told him that she wanted to go home. Eladio said, "We're going to round up a posse! We have to find out who killed our Queen!"
"Eladio!" Marta got his attention by the loud tone of voice that she had never used. "We must tell Senorita Alvarado what has happened, and there is work to be done."
Helm had heard and suggested that he could take her home as it would give them a chance to talk about what had happened between the two of them. He also wanted to make sure she wouldn't mention to anyone anything from his past that she had seen.
"That won't be necessary, Dr. Helm," Marta guardedly said, trying to keep at a distance from him. It was strange for her to suddenly act in a cordial, polite manner once they were in public. What they had shared in his office couldn't be advertised. As soon as he came to his senses, she figured that he would be grateful for her turning his advances down.
"Robert," he corrected her. "My name is Robert. Please use it." He was going to go on to say that social salutations were no longer right between them.
Marta was in a whirl from so many things. She exhibited passion with him that hadn't been proper that was like a dream. She had seen deep into the doctor's past and didn't know how to handle it. A woman masquerading as the Queen had been killed and Tessa could also be dead. She needed to get home and check on her. The temperature was so damn hot ! "It's the heat, Dr. Helm. It makes us all do things we shouldn't."
He stepped back, taking that as a slam of the door, that she was embarrassed by what happened, worse yet, she was disgusted by him. After what he had done to his father, he felt he deserved it.
Marta thought that may have been how it sounded, but for her own sanity and emotional safety, she let it stand. The she thought, The hell with safety, and took his hand. "I'm sorry. We do need to talk, but not now."
He nodded and tightened his grip on her hand. Another moment passed between them. Marta's mind swam, not knowing if she had another vision or if the passion from his office was still lingering. She took her hand back and yelled, "Eladio! We must leave. Revenge will still be a strong emotion after our chores are completed."
Dr. Helm watched them go and then looked to the warehouse where the Queen's body was taken. Women could be heard crying. Men could be heard planning their revenge, hunting down who killed their Queen. To Robert, they were both useless exercises. He wasn't at all interested in joining the man of the community in a posse, but he could very well might find out the identity of the killer's gun in his own way.
~~~~~
ALVARADO HACIENDA
Tessa sunk down into the metal tub filled with soapy water in the parlor. She had told the servant that she didn't want the water warmed too much, just barely tepid. It was just right. After hours in the hot sun, cinched in a black outfit complete with corset, she thought she would completely melt away. No rustlers had shown up. Nothing happened that morning except she had dust imbedded in her mouth and nose.
She slid down holding her breath and completely immersed her upper body and head. The sensation of being under water made her heart beat amplify and had it's calming effect. The opening and sudden slamming of the door jarred her, making her burst out of the tub. A wave of water flew from her soaked hair when she turned toward the door and she wiped her eyes.
"Tessa !" Marta grabbed her into her arms and held on tight, as if her life depended on it. She breathed a true sigh of relief, "Tessa, you are all right."
"Of course, Marta," Tessa somewhat giggled, surprised by the sudden overwhelming show of emotion. She had thought of Marta as a surrogate mother since her own beloved mother had passed away and Tessa was warmed by Marta's reaction. The reaction to seeing her was too much, too strong, too strange. Tessa asked, "Marta, what's the matter?"
Marta released her, sunk to the side of the tub and averted her eyes from her naked charge. "I'm so relieved. I'm sorry."
Tessa took her hand, "There's no need. What happened?"
"The Queen is dead."
"What?" Tessa laughed. "What does that mean?" Tessa lost her joviality. "Did the Tarot tell you something?"
"No, I saw her with my own eyes."
"I'm the Queen, Marta. What on earth are you talking about?" She realized that Marta's hand was bandaged and inspected it. "What happened to your hand?"
"Oh, nothing," Marta said, not wanting to share her stumbling. "When I was in town, a man rode in on a wagon that contained the body of a dead woman. She was dressed as the Queen."
"What?!"
"I thought it was you, until Montoya took off her mask, and thank God it wasn't."
"Who was she?"
"I don't know. No one knows. No one recognized her. They all think the Queen is dead."
Tessa is stunned. "Someone has been impersonating me?"
"Impersonating the Queen, not you."
"Marta, we're one and the same."
Marta seethed. "Montoya was quite pleased. I thought he was going to plan a fiesta right then and there."
"So...," Tessa smiled again. "He wouldn't be expecting the Queen's appearance any time soon..."
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing right now, it's just that... that angle might come in handy. The Queen will have the upper hand if he's not expecting her." Tessa saw Marta's sad eyes and thought about the woman who was dead. "It's terrible, Marta. How did she die?"
"She was shot."
"Why? Why was this woman killed and why was she wearing my clothes?"
They looked at each other and Marta stood, holding Tessa's robe up for her to get in to. They ran to her secret closet where she stored the Queen's clothes and weapons. There were three black silk blouses, pants, boots. The clothes she wore that day were in a heap on the floor. "None of my clothes are gone. She must have seen the Queen before and duplicated her disguise."
Marta picked up the shed clothing and inspected them for bullet holes. Habit. To her relief, she saw none. "But why impersonate you?"
"Where was she when she was killed?" Tessa wrapped a towel around her hair.
"I don't know."
"You didn't stay in town to find out?"
"No. I was worried about you. I came right home."
"Marta, you should have asked. You should have found out that information. You should..."
"I am sorry , Tessa!" Marta yelled. "I was worried that even though she was dead, that you could also be, but they just hadn't found your body yet!" The two women looked at each other processing everything that had happened. Marta shook her head and declared, "I can't take it, Tessa. I know you are doing good things. I know people look to you for... I can't take the worrying."
Tessa hugged the gypsy who had been more than a maid, a servant, a confidante. Marta had been a sister, a mother, and most of all, a conscience. "You know I can't stop now. Father showed me my destiny. If I'm killed, that's my destiny also. I can't stop, Marta. Don't even ask me to do that."
Marta sighed and look a deep breath. She didn't have the right to ask Tessa to stop being the only thing the peasants had on their side, but it was so hard. Tessa laid her head against Marta's and said, "I know you worry and I love you for that. I love you for so many things. I need your strength. And I need to go into town. I have to gossip with Vera to see if I can find out who the woman was and why she was killed. If anyone knows, she does."
Marta reacted to Vera's name. That morning started out because she was 'jealous' of her closeness and being able to talk openly to Dr. Robert Helm. As it turned out, Marta had no reason to be and was overwhelmed that she had seen so far into the man, and had shared a ... passion? An intimate moment? A moment of madness? A lunatic fantasy? Marta didn't know how to classify the last few minutes alone with Dr. Helm in his office. Her confused emotions toward the doctor was nothing compared to her wonder about his feelings for her.
Her thoughts were so far into an hour before that she didn't realize that Tessa had chucked the robe and stepped back into the tub. "Would you wash my hair, Marta? I should look nice when I make my appearance in town."
"Of course." Marta needed something to do to take her mind off the events of the day. Marta tried hard to not think about Helm--she should be thinking about the poor dead woman--but she couldn't help it, and she felt shame. When her mind drifted to the imposter, Marta could only think that it could have been Tessa.
As Marta scrubbed her hair, Tessa said, "I should wear a nice dress, it would be expected of me. Should it be black?"
"I should go with you and have that final fitting with Senora Hidalgo."
Tessa smiled, "You aren't making it more elegant than any of mine, are you?"
"Of course not. Just pretty enough for her to be pleased."
"Good, the Public Face of Maria Theresa Alvarado would never stand for that and I'd have to fire you."
They both laugh. Marta was so relieved she hadn't lost her and her heart burst with pride that she had a little something to do with how the young woman had turned out. "Oh, and I found the most lovely rose colored silk that I can turn into a beautiful gown for you."
"Maria Theresa is very pleased by that Marta."
Marta poured cups of water over Tessa's long hair to rinse it as she smiled at how Tessa had completely immersed herself into three distinct personalities. The public face of Maria Theresa, The Queen of Swords, and the true Tessa that wasn't courageous to the point of being a Super Woman, or the bratty, spoiled rich girl. To Marta, Tessa was still the willful, smart child that she loved unconditionally.
~~~~~
SANTA HELENA
Dr. Robert Helm--the strap of his doctor bag firmly in hand--pushed the door ajar and listened for any reaction. He nudged it open a little more to stick his head in to scan the inside of the warehouse that held the Queen's body. All his years of using and knowing firearms could make it possible for him to at least decipher the sort of bullet that was used to end the life of the Queen. He would be able to tell if it was military or civilian for one. By his way of thinking, and how he had read Montoya's reaction, no one was ever going to investigate her death. Helm's investigation was the least she deserved for the good she had done.
No one was in the warehouse. It only held supplies from the shipment that people hadn't purchased, which Montoya received at a discount, and the Queen's corpse. Helm spotted a box of chocolates on top of an open crate. After taking another quick look around for other interlopers, he slipped it into his pocket.
The Queen was lying atop two adjacent boxes in the far, dark corner. He supposed it was to hide her from the masses who wanted the sort of funeral mass fit for royalty. It was unsettling for him to see her, just tossed there. He couldn't do his work in such a dark corner, at such a low position. He set his bag down by a window, stacked up some wooden boxes so she would be at his hip level, then respectfully lifted her.
She had stiffened since the time she had died so it was clumsy to carry her. As gently as he could, Helm laid her on the make-shift operating table. Before going about his duty, he stared at her face. She looked so different now that she was unmasked. He actually had the thought that the Queen was Senorita Alvarado when he cut the ropes that bound her wrists in front of the gold mine. No one should ever assume. The woman had done wonders for the people, had made changes, had saved lives, had fascinated him because she seemed so young yet had skills he hadn't seen in experienced soldiers he fought alongside. The only thing that had gnawed at him was the many corpses she'd left in her wake. He had eschewed that behavior and hated that she killed for him. Why was that guard's life less important than his own? Helm was positive that he'd done worse than any of Montoya's guards.
As he looked at her, he wondered if she would receive the funeral or the prayers by devoted mourners that she deserved. Helm didn't believe in God, but they did. She probably had. He did the best he could by saying a short prayer that he hoped something somewhere would hear on her behalf. The prayer was to save her soul. After saying it, he wondered if he was even worthy enough to have given it.
Helm shook it off. He had done the best he could for her 'afterlife' and decided to do his best with the here and now. He opened his bag and set it alongside her on the boxes. As gently as he could, Helm unhooked her corset, unbuttoned her blouse and loosened the top of her pants to expose the gunshot wound. He took out his scalpel and made the entry wound longer, spread the skin open so he could see into her cavity to search for the bullet. As it turned out, there were many metal fragments.
He set his scalpel down to get a set of tongs from his bag to search for and pull out the largest chunk. Then there was a hand on his arm. Montoya asked, "My good doctor, what do you think you're doing?"
Helm jumped, and then recovered his cool in a matter of seconds even though his heart was pounding. "I'm doing my work."
"This one is beyond remedy, Dr. Helm," Montoya said as he bent his head to the side, indicating his prize. He still couldn't hide his pleasure.
"But her killer can be exposed."
"In what way?"
"If I can find the bulk of the bullet, I'll know the gun it came from."
Montoya laughed and incredulously asked, "How?"
"I've seen a lot of bullets in my day. Each bullet is different."
Montoya openly smiled, "There is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" One of the pleasant things that he had found out about the 'doctor' was that he was a deserter. Montoya hadn't yet found out why, but he would. When he searched for a doctor to bring to the town that he lorded over, finding out that little tidbit made Helm a wonderful candidate. He would be someone he could control. Given enough time, he would find out everything there was to know about Lt. Robert Helm.
Helm didn't answer, only started poking inside her body for the bullet fragment again. Montoya took the tongs out of his hand. "That is not necessary. The killer will only want a reward. If no one claimed responsibility, it is because they don't want anyone to know who did the deed. What is it to you?"
Helm resisted the urge to knock the Colonel over and continue his work, but stated instead, "Even a dead woman is still a patient as long as she belongs to this village."
"Ah, but does she?" Montoya smiled again, "Or rather, did she?"
"You're a happy man."
"I'm dancing on the ceiling." Montoya waved his hand and his men entered farther into the warehouse. Helm knew he wouldn't be able to do anything more to her, but he could preserve her dignity. He quickly closed her blouse over her body.
Montoya hollered, "Bury her, she's stinking up the place." Montoya sweetly smiled in Helm's direction as he said, "Plant a manzana tree on top of her. So I can eat an apple a day. To keep the doctor away."
Helm slowly shook his head back and forth staring at the Colonel. "You're really full of yourself."
"You don't know the half of it."
~~~~~
HIDALGO HACIENDA
Vera Hidalgo stood atop a chair so Marta could pin the hemline of her new lilac dress she had made. Tessa was dressed in an appropriate black dress that she hadn't worn since news of her father's death reached her. She sat on a divan fanning herself as she prodded Vera to talk of anything she had heard about the Queen.
Marta stood, "I've finished. If you would step out of it, I can stitch the hem."
Vera smiled, looked at herself one last time wearing the dress in the mirror and then accepted Marta's hand to step off the chair. She was wearing her highest heels that she would wear with the dress and so that the line of the hem would be perfect and stumbled. "I haven't worn these shoes very often," she said in explanation.
Tessa remarked, "They're marvelous shoes. Wherever did you get them?"
"Gaspar purchased them in Monterey. Aren't they stunning?"
Marta unhooked Vera's dress and she slipped out of it. Tessa continued, "Oh yes. I just have to have a pair for myself." Marta shot her a glance, and saw Tessa wink, then roll her eyes. They shared a knowing smile that they were just pacifying the Senora and her interests.
Marta said, "Tessa, would you mind if I sew out in the square? I would like to talk to Rosa about the silk."
Vera's head spun around, "What silk?"
Tessa hurriedly told Marta, "Yes. I'll be fine here."
As Marta left with her sewing bag and Vera's dress over her arm, she heard Vera once again ask, "What silk?"
~~~~~
Marta settled herself on a bench in the shade in front of the blacksmith's shop and put down a blanket to protect Vera's dress from the ground and gathered it loosely in her lap so she could finish the seam. Rosa hadn't happened by. Along with herself, she noticed that everyone who wasn't in the direct employ of Montoya had a black band on their arms.
Helm walked out of warehouse, escorted by two soldiers. The Queen's body had been taken out the back door so no one would see her. People of the town were taking turns lighting a candle in the church for her soul. As Helm returned to his office, he spotted Marta sitting on the bench.
He stared at her as she spotted him and quickly averted her eyes. He didn't like that, he took it to mean that she was appalled by him. In fact, she was embarrassed by the way her heart flipped when she noticed him. He was even more handsome than he had been in her mind's eye.
Helm wanted to talk to Marta again, needed to see her, be close to her. He started to walk to her, but a woman who Helm knew was her friend, Rosa, sat on what should have been his place on Marta's bench. He went into his office to retrieve a roll of bandages then walked to them. Rosa saw him and whispered to Marta how handsome Dr. Helm was, for a gringo.
"Yes," Marta smiled still furiously stitching up the dress, then was surprised when he took her arm. She had seen him walk into his office and certainly didn't expect him to appear.
"Marta, how are your wounds?"
"Fine, Dr. Helm."
Rosa was floored that he would just walk up and talk to Marta. Sure, he treated her wounds earlier, he was a doctor. But to pointedly converse with her out in public was above and beyond the call of duty. Highly unusual. He was of a different class and all the servants knew their place. The fact that Marta was a gypsy with healing potions and powers of her own completely amazed her that the doctor would need to make a follow-up visit.
Helm looked at Rosa and politely asked her to excuse them. She did, with a look to Marta, and a knowing smile. After they were alone, Helm asked Marta if she would prefer going to his office, or if he could check her bandaging there. Marta wanted nothing more than to be completely alone with him again, but said she shouldn't. "Tessa will be ready soon and she should be able to find me."
"She's in town? Now? How is she feeling?"
"She's sad, Dr. Helm. As we all are with the loss of the Queen."
He nodded in agreement and sat next to her on the bench. He waited for her to stop stitching, but she didn't. So, taking matters into his own hands, he look hers. He slowly unwrapped the bandaging he had done just hours earlier, but only looked at her face, into her eyes. He whispered, "How are you? Really?"
"I'm fine, Dr. Helm."
He smiled. "That seems to be your mantra today."
He saw the wound and how it was clean but swollen, red. She hadn't changed the bandaging or administered any of her own remedies. "Is my modern medicine good enough for your wound after all?"
"I haven't had time to take care of it." He dabbed a clean damp cloth on the scrape and rebound it in fresh bandaging. "The more important question, Dr. Helm, is how you are doing. What are you feeling?"
He looked to her, amazed. Had she gotten the gist that he was excited just to be in her presence, although leery of what she might think of him as a man? He said, "I'm confused. I need to talk it out with you. We were so rudely interrupted."
She blushed. Her instinct was to not talk at all, but just spend time with the man. He whispered to her, "What do you think of me?"
He was overwhelming. Marta asked, "What do you mean?"
"I'm sure you think the worse of me."
"No, not at all," Marta was thrilled he was talking so blatantly about their shared kiss. She felt like a school girl once again, something she hadn't been or felt in years and years. The doctor had a power over her that seemed to make her mind turn to mush. Her situation was hopeless and she knew it. She was fascinated by Helm but couldn't, shouldn't do anything about it. She was a servant and he was from a class family. He had been a soldier and military was held in high esteem in America. They were from two very different worlds.
Helm leaned close to her and whispered, "You did see what I had done?"
She looked around to make sure that no one could hear her and said, "Your father. Yes. It was terrible that you were put in that position, Dr. Helm. If it wasn't you, it would have been someone else. That's why I asked how you are doing. It wasn't the crime, Dr. Helm, it was that you had to do it that makes me sad."
Marta continued without a thought to who may be around, or how Helm's reaction was. "I don't miss your father. I can live very well knowing that he is gone." Because she had spoken so boldly, she was going to stop, but couldn't. She continued, "Forgive me for saying that. He was traitor. Devotion to family, country, morals, they're the most important things in life. I could even go further to say that I am glad he is dead. He killed many innocent people by his deeds."
Because he was stunned, she fell silent, knowing she had gone too far. "I am sorry for confessing, but you asked."
Helm slightly nodded, the only gesture that was visible to her or to anyone who happened to have looked. What he was feeling inside was complete and utter relief. He still had to accept his deed in his own mind, and that he never really had a chance to know his father, love his father. He never had because of pride, laziness. Marta had accepted it with no hindrances. He had been so scared to reveal the truth of himself because it ate him up inside. One day, he just might be able to forgive himself and he had Marta to thank.
"I'm sorry," Marta said again, not knowing at all what he was thinking as he wasn't showing her anything.
He quickly took her hands in his and said, "There is no need. Thank you." He wanted nothing more than to kiss her again right then and there. In front of everyone on the square. To take her into his arms and carry her off to his room. The months since first laying eyes on her and just thinking she was attractive had grown. He had tasted her and his appetite had turned to hunger. He knew more about her soul, her limitations, her wants and needs. But he couldn't. He couldn't even lift her skirt to tend to her wounded knee without raising a few eyebrows.
As his face lost it's tightening and he slowly smiled, Marta knew that he wasn't offended by what she had said. To the contrary. She fully realized that he wanted her. There was no doubt. His neck was turning red. His eyes were glazed over. The only part of him that touched her, his hands, were very warm. He whispered, "Will you come into my office?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation.
Just then, Tessa arrived ready to go home. "Dr. Helm, good afternoon. Marta, we must go."
Marta started to gather Vera's dress and stood. Helm stood with her. "Senorita," he directed toward Tessa. "I'm in the middle of conversation with Marta. Could you spare her for the rest of the afternoon? I promise to have her back at the hacienda by dinnertime."
Tessa looked at Marta, who hadn't registered anything on her face except surprise, which Tessa didn't understand. Then back at Robert Helm. "I suppose... but that's very odd, isn't it? We have work to do. Marta, I talked with Vera's butler and he... gave me some information."
"Information from a butler?" Helm smiled.
"Yes," Tessa said, focusing on how Marta hadn't yet moved. In fact, she was looking out of the corner of her eye at Helm. "Dr. Helm, it's a private matter. About the running of my estate. Marta? Can we leave now?"
Marta flustered, "Yes, of course, I must go back." She exchanged a look with Helm, who wasn't pleased. She could feel Helm's hand on her back, then he helped her gather Vera's entire dress in her arms. "I must get the dress back to Senora Hidalgo and then I will be ready."
Tessa told her, "Hurry. I'll be at the wagon."
Helm watched as Marta scurried down the square back to Vera's and wondered if she was doing so because it was expected of her to snap to attention when the mistress called, or if she was running away from him. He definitely had to talk to her without interruptions. He sighed and regarded Maria Teresa, who's plans were obviously more important than anyone else's. When Tessa climbed into the carriage with the help of Eladio, Helm was impressed that she was affected enough about the Queen's passing that she was wearing black, but thought she went overboard by dressing herself in head to toe black on such short notice. Also, she was a Donna. The Dons Helm had talked to didn't seem to care one way or the other about the Queen, except if they were one of her targets.
He called to her, "You seem to be handling the heat quite well, Senorita."
Tessa remembered what alibi Marta would use if anyone asked about her absence while shopping this morning and replied, "Yes. Thank you for your concern."
"Oh, of course," he said as he lazily stepped down from the boardwalk to her carriage. "That's my job."
"And you do it so well."
"How would you know? I don't believe I've ever treated you. Except for headaches, and you still have them."
Tessa recognized her bungle. She was talking about his delicate but knowledgeable handling of the Queen's wound after being shot herself while tied to a post. The only time he had treated Tessa Alvarado was when she told him she had a headache so she could prod him for answers. She hurriedly said with a winning smile, "But I hear things, Dr. Helm. You're one of the treasures of Santa Helena."
He laughed. "Then they're in more trouble that I even suspected."
Marta returned Helm took her arm, helping her into the carriage. He whispered to her, "I will talk to you later."
"Yes," Marta said as Tessa signaled the horses to ride. The carriage swept down the square as Marta continued looking back at Helm, getting further and further away from her.
~~~~~
ALVARADO HACIENDA
The ride back to the hacienda was silent because Eladio was in the back and could hear any conversation. Just after arriving home, Tessa jumped out and told him, "Eladio, I won't be needing the carriage for the rest of the day. Would you take of it?"
"Yes, 'm," he said, moving to the horses toward the stables.
Marta had mechanically hopped down to the ground and followed Tessa into the house, her mind still on the man in town. When she entered the foyer, she stood in thought trying to tell herself that it was just the heat of the moment. The intensity of Helm's past. That he only wanted to see her again to make sure she wouldn't tell anyone his secret. Any excuse but to admit that she was completely enamored with him and it wouldn't be a possible coupling at all, for so many reasons.
She noticed that Tessa wasn't to be seen. "Tessa?" She walked through the house to find her. Tessa was half undressed in the secret closet. "What are you doing?"
"I have to be Queen and ride."
"Why? Where?"
"Do you know what I was told?" Tessa motioned for Marta to untie the back of her petticoat. "That woman may not have been a champion for justice. She may only have dressed as me to rob people! Can you imagine?"
It felt freeing to be able to take a deep breath after she was untied from her formal attire. Tessa took many deep breaths. Marta asked, "What are you saying? What did the Senora tell you?"
"Not Vera, Jorge, her butler. He heard a rumor that's been floating around for a couple of weeks that the Queen robbed the Nogales', you know, the ranchero down by the sea. Can you imagine! People had been talking about the Queen in that way, quietly, to themselves. They were scared to speak the truth because the Queen of Swords is beginning to be like a Goddess in the county. I hadn't heard any of that! Had you heard anything? From Rosa? Or any of the workers?"
"No, of course not." Marta was as stunned as Tessa. She thought back, "Yes, I did hear that the Nogales' were robbed, but I certainly didn't know that it was the Queen. I would have brought it up in conversation if I had."
"I was thinking of paying a visit on the Nogales' as Tessa, to give them money because I just found out about their plight. But I can't do that. I hate that Maria Teresa can't be so giving."
Marta held up the Queen's blouse for Tessa to slip her arms in the sleeves. "So, I'm going to pay a visit as the Queen."
"Senor Nogales will probably shoot you on sight."
"Marta," Tessa smiled back at her as she said, "I'm not going to waltz up to the front door. I can take care of myself. At least, the Queen can." She buttoned the blouse as she mused, "How much longer the charades need to be nurtured, I don't know. Maybe when Montoya's dead? I find the truth of my father's death? Then I can finally be myself and the world will be perfect."
Marta handed her the corset and massaged Tessa's shoulders. "Life will never be perfect, Tessita. But it will be a grand day when people aren't under tyrannical rule, and the person responsible for the Don's death is held accountable."
Marta shivered when she saw Tessa fully dressed as the Queen. There could be so many people after her. Danger from so many directions. Not only Montoya, Grisham, any of the soldiers who had orders to shoot to kill on sight, but also Senor Nogales. He was a widower who had lost his wife in childbirth that last winter and had children to raise on his own. After being robbed once, he could be like a mother bear protecting his young. Marta felt terrible for him that he had been robbed. She seethed with anger that a woman would masquerade as a savior, then turn the tables on someone who laid his trust in her.
Senor Nogales was a young man, not yet thirty. He had to be somewhat naive. He probably opened the front door for the Queen and poured her a cup of tea before she cleaned out his cupboards. If the rumor was true, there could be more of the fake Queen's victims that would like to take revenge on her Tessa. The knowledge that the fake Queen was dead and that news had spread throughout the land didn't ease Marta's mind.
Marta grabbed Tessa before she could walk out to the stable with her weaponry in all its places. The dagger in her boot, her whip on her belt, the sword in her hand. Their hug was long, tight and mutual. Marta whispered, "Watch your back, Tessita."
"I always do, Marta. Thank you. I'll be back in no time."
Then, Marta's interminable wait for her return began.
Tessa walked out the side door and ran to the stable so none of her workers could see her during the magic hour. The last gasp of sunlight meant that the workers were finishing up in the fields and would be returning to their homes on the Alvarado property for a waiting meal by their wives. After a good meal, they would probably gather around a fire to sing songs before turning in for the night. As Tessa made her way to Chico's stable, she wondered if she would ever be welcomed at one of their gatherings. Marta attended them all the time. Tessa had once, but everyone never forgot that she was their mistress. No one had a good time.
As she saddled Chico Tessa knew that one day she would be a part of them. They would accept her. Be comfortable around her. One day. She climbed atop Chico and clicked the reins. Before long, they were roaring down the lane toward the Nogales hacienda.
~~~~~
NOGALES HACIENDA
Esteban Nogales had just finished his meal with his three children. His 12 year old daughter, Sofia, had her nose stuck in a book that he had purchased for her before that diabolic Queen had taken their nest egg. His five year old son, Alessandro, was still grumbling about the carrots that Sofia had cooked. His eight month daughter was asleep on his arm. He motioned for Sofia and asked, "Could you lay Maria down for the night?"
"Yes, Papa," Sofia immediately said. She took her little sister in his arms and kissed her head as she walked to the bedroom that they shared.
Esteban stood and started taking plates to the wash basin and ordered his son to do the same. "I'm still hungry, Papa," the boy complained.
"You should have finished your food," was all Esteban said as he cleared the table.
"I hate carrots."
Esteban shuffled the hair on his son's head and said, "We can't afford a cook this year. Be nice to Sofia, she's doing the best she can."
"Does Natalia hate us?"
"Of course not," Esteban said in surprise. "What gave you that idea?"
"She left us."
"She doesn't hate you. Natalia had been with us since before you were born. She had to leave because I can not afford to pay her." Esteban noticed that his five year old didn't understand. "Reales. I know you don't understand, and maybe this is an important lesson for you to learn. I'll explain finances to you. We have to save for a little while. Hopefully she'll be back."
Alessandro wrapped his arms around Esteban's legs and started to cry. "I want Mama."
Esteban's heart tightened. "I do too." He bent down and hugged his son. "We'll see her again one day. She's looking over us to make sure we are fine."
"Then why did that bad woman come? Couldn't Mama stop her?"
"No," Esteban tenderly said. "Mama can only watch." He heard his workers talking that day that the Queen was dead. Esteban had never in his life been glad for someone else's death, but when he heard, his heart leapt with joy. "We are fine. Are we? We still all have each other."
Alessandro nodded and patted his father's back and he held him. Esteban laughed. "Now eat the rest of your carrots if you're still hungry."
"All right," Alessandro grumbled.
~~~~~
The children were all in their beds and another day had come to a close. Esteban was finishing his nightcap and staring out his bedroom window at the sea down the rocky cliff. His eyes floated from the window to the portrait of his late wife, Maria Louisa. It was on the wall above her vanity. The low dressing table and her upholstered stool that she sat at every morning and every night to brush her long black hair, to put on her makeup. He hadn't had the heart to touch a thing. To move it would be violating her memory. If only he had gotten her to Dr. Helm sooner, he may have been able to save both Maria Louisa and their new born daughter. Esteban knew Helm did the best he could. He had said it was infection that claimed his beloved wife. There wasn't anything the doctor could do.
Esteban looked back out the window at the crashing waves in the moonlight. He had to get his mind off that terrible day he lost his wife, but gained another beautiful daughter, or he wouldn't be able to sleep. He heard a door open in another part of the house and turned around to listen. He figured it was Sofia, who was a sleepwalker. One night he found her sitting on the front stoop after walking out of her room and out of the house. He rushed out of the bedroom to see where she could have gone this time. If the door opened, she could wander outside and get hurt.
When he ran into the living room, he got the shock of his life. The Queen of Swords was standing before him. "Out !" Esteban yelled. "Get out of my house! There's nothing else to take."
"I didn't come here to rob you, Senor." Tessa held her hand up and hoped he would calm down. She looked him over and didn't see a firearm. "That wasn't me. I swear that wasn't me."
He looked at the door of his son's room and was scared that since she hadn't come there to rob them, she had returned to harm them. She had lied the day she robbed them, he didn't believe a word she said now. He started to move toward the bureau in the living room that held his gun.
This had been the first time she had ever laid eyes on Senor Nogales and didn't realize that he was so young. So handsome. So tall. His dark brown wavy hair looked as if it hadn't been groomed for a while. Then she realized that a barber was the last thing on his mind after he had lost his fortune. "Senor," she started again. "I came to talk to you about what happened with the other Queen. I am not her. I promise that it was someone else who took advantage of you and your family."
"There are two Queens? Impossible."
His hand opened the top drawer and immediately the Queen was there, shutting it. "There is only one Queen, Senor. Me. The fake Queen, the robbing Queen, is dead."
Her hand covered his on the drawer and he yanked his hand down, not wanting to touch the intruder. He didn't even want to look at her, certainly didn't want her in his home again. "What do you want?"
"The truth. I want you to know the truth. And to give you this," she said as she reached into her pocket.
Esteban jumped back, fully expecting her to pull out a knife or gun. "No, I have children. I'm all they have."
What she pulled out of her pocket was a leather pouch. "This is 100 reales, Senor. It was all I could spare at the moment." She held the pouch out to him. He hadn't moved. "Take it."
"Never. I don't want anything from you, except for you to leave and forget where I live."
She tossed the pouch on the table in front of the red velvet couch. "Senor, I have to know what happened when she was here. Who she is. If she had accomplices. If there are more that needs to be stopped before another family can be affected. Please help me."
He was taken back by the softness of her voice and non-threatening bearing of her body language. As he looked her over, he did get the feeling that she wasn't the same woman who had visited before. The other woman had been gruff, had pushed Sofia to the floor, demanded everything, was taller. The woman before him was more feminine, kindness oozed from every pore. He looked at the pouch on the table. "How much is in there?"
"100 reales, Senor. I would have given you more, but I can't. I have...." she was going to say workers, but that might have given her identity away. She had to be careful. In the short time in the man's presence, she was ready to drop all of her defenses and couldn't understand it. "People who rely on me," was how she finished her sentence.
"You don't have to do that. People may need the money more. It wasn't your fault I was... stupid."
"You weren't stupid, Senor."
"Yes I was. I trusted her and let her into my house and I'm trusting you now. Stupid." Esteban picked up the pouch and held it out to her. "We aren't starving, Senorita. We'll be fine in a year or two, provided my ranch is prosperous. Give this to someone who really needs it."
He saw Alessandro standing in the doorway to his bedroom and Esteban ordered, "Go back to bed."
"That's the bad woman," Alessandro moaned. "She'll take me."
Tessa gasped. She needed to know what the other Queen had done to them. The little boy had lost his mother, then robbed by... knife? Gun? How could anyone be so callous as to scare a child?
"No. This is the real Queen, son," Esteban confidently told the boy. "She was trying to replenish our funds, but there is no need. Go back to bed. I'll be in after I show her to the door."
Tessa smiled to the boy, but he wasn't comforted as he sunk back into his dark room, a terrified look on his face. She told Esteban, "Senor, I'm so sorry for what she did."
"Why? Were you her accomplice?"
"Of course not. I just feel bad."
"Well, thank you." He watched her put the pouch back in her pocket and for a moment wished he had taken it. Natalia could return that much sooner. He heard she was working as a seamstress in the village. When he let her go, they were all affected, she was a member of the family. He suddenly said, "Wait."
Tessa looked at him, the pouch half way into her pocket. He said, "I changed my mind. The coins will only go to hiring back my children's nanny. They miss her. They need her. She's the only mother they have. May I have it?"
When he held his hand out, she gladly gave it to him, smiling. He said, "I will pay you back with the first payment I receive on my crop. Where can I send the coins?"
"You don't have to pay me back."
"I will repay you. This is only a loan."
Tessa saw that he was a proud man and didn't want to interfere with machismo. She nodded. "I will return after harvest."
He nodded in return and held his hand out to shake on it. It would be the only contract they need. "We have a deal, Senorita... or is it Senora?"
"Queen is fine," she said. They shook on it and kept hold of each other's hands for moment longer. She could tell he was trying to see her behind the lace of her mask. She had the thought of whipping it off to reveal who she was. For a moment. They dropped hands and he retreated. She asked, "Did she come to your hacienda alone?"
"Yes."
"There wasn't anyone waiting outside?"
"I don't know. I was in here comforting my children after she ran out of here."
Tessa's heart sunk visualizing what must have happened in that very room. "Well, it's late. Thank you for your time. I'll do everything I can to find out who did this to you and your family."
"Why? I heard she was dead, but I didn't quite believe it."
"To make sure there aren't anyone others ready to take her place."
She walked to the door and he hurried around her to open it for her. The manners honed into him since he was a child was always in the forefront when he didn't have to be on guard. She smiled to him and was ready to make her leave. He said, "You may talk to Senora Heche. The German widow."
"She was robbed also?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how many have been?"
"The two of us, and whoever killed her, I suppose while she was robbing them."
"How long has this been going on?"
"Widow Heche and I are the only ones I know of. I suppose having children and being an only parent was attractive to her as victims. That's all I know, Queen. Why haven't you heard the talk?"
Tessa held up her hands and shrugged. "I guess I've been busy. But I know about it now. It won't happen anymore."
They looked at each other and Tessa softly asked, "Will you not tell anyone I was here? That I'm truly alive? My being dead my help in the long run. I can surprise Montoya that way. He wouldn't be expecting me."
Esteban deeply smiled and shook his head with respect for the tales that he had heard of the Queen. "Aren't you ever scared?"
"All the time," she confessed. "But I can't be."
"Your secret is safe with me, Queen. Come back at harvest and I will repay you."
Tessa nodded the affirmative and walked out the door. What she heard next made her heart leap. She heard him say, "Or sooner, if you so desire."
THE END
But there's more to come in the series...