Felipe watched Don Alejandro carefully close the door to Diego's room. Grandfather and grandson shared identical grim looks. Both of them were worried about the man sleeping on the other side of the door. Don Alejandro jerked his head towards the library, indicating he wanted Felipe to follow him. He was unwilling to take the chance of any noise waking up his son, even though he doubted a cannon blast would wake him at the moment. Diego had fallen into a deep, exhausted slumber. Alejandro had watched him sleep, and wondered how long it had been since he had rested.
He sank down in his seat by the fireplace, exhausted himself and emotionally drained from comforting Diego. He did not even have the energy to be mad at Victoria for the damage she had done. What had she been thinking about last night? She had to have known the pain she was going to inflict on Diego with her confession.
Alejandro watched Felipe, who was standing in front of him. He wished the boy would sit, but he knew it would be useless to ask. Since the young man was so full of nervous energy, he would be unable sit still for long. As it was, the young man was already finding it impossible to be stationary while he was standing. He was bouncing on his toes, and his hands were moving from place to place--hips, side, crossed, uncrossed. Alejandro smiled, relaxing. Felipe, even without trying, had a way of cheering him, but then grandchildren always had a way of cheering up their grandparents.
"You know," he said softly, having realized it soon after Felipe woke up to find a despondent Diego sitting in the library with his father. It was easily apparent that the young man was used to looking after Diego.
Felipe looked at him, scratched his arm, and then nodded. "How long?" He answered by holding up his index finger. "You've known since the beginning? Day one?" Alejandro asked, surprised despite himself. He had thought that there was nothing more that could surprise him anymore. In the last few months, he had found a son that he had not known was missing, only to lose him to death before having a chance to know him.
Then, he had realized that the son he thought he knew did not really exist. Diego had so many secrets from him, mysteries that had only been shared today.
Finally, Victoria, a woman he loved as a daughter, was behaving in strange manner. She had become the pueblo flirt, declaring her love for Zorro an "infatuation", and hurting his son terribly. Her secrets were still her own, but he would fight to find them. His son deserved answers, and Victoria needed to deal with whatever issues she had with Diego.
"What other secrets do you have from me?" he asked softly, somehow knowing the man did. He wished for Felipe to have been honest with him over the years, but the odds were against it.
The fact Felipe was scratching his arm again, and not looking at him, told him to be prepared for some information. Apparently, most of the people in his life had secrets. Taking a deep breath, he waited for Felipe to share, praying that he be able to accept it without any censure. Too much time had been spent reproaching Diego over the years. It was time to listen to those that he loved, instead of complaining.
Felipe glanced down at his feet, took a deep breath, and finally calmed. Squaring his shoulders, like a soldier reporting failure to a superior officer, he said, "I can hear." He said . . ..
Alejandro, unable to stop himself, flinched. Whatever he had been expecting, this revelation exceeded it by magnitudes. It hurt knowing that Felipe had not shared such an important confidence with him. "Obviously, you can speak, too," he replied, his voice only a little shaky.
Felipe looked at him, tears in his eyes, and slowly nodded. "I'm working on it. It's new. I've been trying for years," he shared, his voice shaking in emotion.
Nodding himself, Alejandro stood and walked over to his grandson. There would time for questions later. He thought, with a silent laugh, that he needed to walk around with a piece of parchment with him, so he could write down all the questions as they struck him. Diego and Felipe would be sick of being interrogated when he got done with them. He reached out and hugged his grandchild tightly. He felt Felipe's trembling stop. "I'll ask you questions later," he told him, enjoying the fact that Felipe could hear the words. He would have to take some time to accept all the new information swirling around him today. "I'm so happy that you can hear and speak. It will make life so much easier for you."
Felipe nodded his head in Alejandro's chest. "I know. Diego and I were going to tell you right after the adoption, but--Well, we had planned to before Victoria--anyway, Diego's been so hurt, and I've been worried about him, and--"
Alejandro squeezed him, telling him silently that it was all right. "I understand. Why you didn't tell me sooner, you'll have to explain later." He gently pushed Felipe away, still holding onto his arms. "I'm going to the pueblo to talk to Victoria. I don't know what is going on, but I plan to find out what she's been thinking! I want you to stay here and watch after Diego. You don't need to stay outside his door," Alejandro told him, knowing that the boy would sit there anyway. Felipe nodded, and Alejandro quickly walked out his hacienda, his shoulders squared and his step a march. He had a mission.
***
He spotted her immediately upon arriving in the plaza. She was standing on the tavern's porch, staring at the alcalde's office. Tying up his horse, he walked over to her. "Victoria," was all he said.
She jumped, obviously so lost in thought, she hadn't seen him approach. He watched as she took in a deep breath and turned to look at him. She wore a bland smile, the one she used to deal with customers every day. When she was fifteen years old, he sat many days watching her learn to give it without thought. "Don Alejandro," she greeted him politely. "Isabel is working today, so you can go on inside. We have a new dish by Men--"
"I'm not here to eat!" he hissed in frustration. "I'm here to talk to you, and I would prefer that to be in private."
Fear flashed in Victoria's eyes. She was afraid of him? Had their friendship of the past been so shallow that she did not trust him not to hurt her? No, Alejandro refused to accept that idea. She trusted him, but she afraid. That he would find out the truth?
She turned and looked back at the alcalde's office. Her hands grasped the porch post, and Alejandro saw that they were white. "I'm afraid that I'm busy," she said with a wave of her head.
"Doing what? Waiting for the alcalde?" Alejandro asked, barely able to control his anger. She had hurt his son, and he was going to find out why.
"No, waiting for Mendoza," she snapped. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "He's asking the alcalde's permission."
He glanced over at the green door and then back to Victoria. "Permission for what?" he asked, curious despite himself.
She turned and gave him a bright smile, so false it hurt Alejandro's teeth just to look at it. "To marry," she answered him simply.
So, he found himself distracted from his task after all. "To marry? Mendoza is getting married? To whom?" Did everyone in Los Angeles have secrets hidden away from him?
"Why to me," she said with a false laugh. When did Victoria lose all of her honest emotions? he wondered, before realizing what she said.
He found himself unable to react. Too much had been revealed to him today. He could not feel any more emotions. There had been too many traumas earlier for him to feel anything at her startling announcement.
So, he stood absolutely still for a moment. Then, he realized he was wrong. He could feel. A white-hot rage flared brightly within him. He might love Victoria, but right now, he did not like her much. She kept compounding her own problems. Whatever the issues were between her and Diego, she was making them worse every day. Soon, they would be unable to work through them, but then she seemed to be working to make it harder!
Crossing his arms so he could not shake her, he leaned close where no one else could overhear what he was saying. His anger was so intense he whispered, because yelling would give his rage an outlet, and he wanted to stay furious. "What that the hell do you think you are doing?" he managed to spit out, his turbulent emotions making it hard to speak. He heard Elena's voice in the back of his mind chiding him; as angry as he was, he was nonetheless talking to a lady.
Victoria backed away from him, crossing her own arms. "I'm getting married," she said, her voice remarkably steady. However, the way she held herself reminded him of a spoilt child, confident that she knew far more than the parents. He remembered her wearing that same look when she was nine years old, right before she broke her arm by falling out of a tree.
"To Mendoza? You don't love him," he retorted confidently. While the sergeant had many fine qualities, they were the kind that would attract Victoria's friendship and not her fancy.
She turned away from, looking again towards the alcalde's office door. "I never said I did--to him or to you," she confessed. Even as angry as he was, Don Alejandro's heart went out for her. If he were not between her and his son, he would reach out to her and insist that she let him hug her. He knew her dreams for love in her marriage.
"You love my son." The words tripped over his tongue. How odd to hear them, let alone say them. Never in his wildest dreams had he dared to hope that Diego and Victoria might find love together.
Victoria turned to look at him. She trembled and her face paled. "W-what d-do--"
"I know, Victoria," he said softly, feeling as if he was in the confessional booth with Padre Benitez. "I know who he is, and I know what happened last night."
Victoria hugged herself, her eyes focused on something Don Alejandro could not see. Finally, she again looked at him, but her face was like marble--smooth and hard. "It just happened."
Alejandro stepped off the porch and walked in front of her. Looking her dead in the eyes, he said, "You forget, Victoria, how well I know you. I may not understand what's going on here, but I do know you. You aren't made that way. If you were, you could have made a fortune years ago by doing what some thought you provided with a room." Victoria flinched at the cruelty of his words.
He shook his head and held his hand out as a silent apology. "You love my son, and you wanted to be with him. I can understand that, Victoria, but I can't understand why you keep pushing him away, or why you want to do something so stupid as to marry Mendoza. See, Diego is hurting too much to notice your pain, but I've seen it, my dear. I've watched you waste away more every day since you made your glorious 'decision'. For the first time in your life, Victoria, you lied to me that day, and you've continued to lie every day since to cover it." He took a step closer. "I want to know why, Victoria. Can you not at least tell me why?"
He saw something flash across Victoria's face, but she quickly hid it behind the marble mask. Sticking out her chin, and holding her arms even tighter across herself, she snapped, "I owe you no explanations! I don't want to marry Diego, and I won't. I returned Doña Elena's ring, and that's all you need to know. Now, if you will excuse me, Don Alejandro, my fiancé just walked out the door, and I would like to go speak to him." She was a blur to him as she raced pass.
His heart bleeding inside, Alejandro watched her rush across the plaza to where Mendoza stood. She tossed herself into his arms, hugging him close. Watching Mendoza struggle to handle Victoria's overwrought emotions, he understood his son's earlier confession of confusion. Victoria had tried to act calm and then angry, but his bones told him that both emotions were bogus. She hugged Mendoza like a person desperate for comfort.
He sighed and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, he did know Victoria very well, and when the lovely señorita made a decision, she carried it out, no matter what the cost to herself. She was going to destroy herself and Diego with this ridiculous marriage.
Alejandro turned and reluctantly mounted his horse, feeling years older than he had when he dismounted. He would be unable to say or do anything to change Victoria's mind, and as much as he wished it for Diego, he wanted Victoria to have a marriage of love and laughter, too. He prayed that his son, upon hearing the distressing news of today, would not decide to marry Maria. If he did, she would only be another victim of the tragedy playing itself out in front of his eyes.
