Diego, now dressed as Zorro, cautiously crept along the roof of the tavern, an act he had performed hundreds of times. As he climbed, he continued the debate with himself. He walked over the roof, careful not to draw any attention. In the distance, he saw the de Corazon carriage leaving the pueblo, and he spotted his father and Don Vicente dismounting in front of the church. Just as he had with Victoria's near marriage to Juan, the alcalde surrounded the Church with all of his lancers, waiting for Zorro to arrive. It was only another reason why his trip to visit Victoria was ill advised. Twisting his body to lower it, he told himself harshly that he should just accepted the truth. His heart twisted at the thought of watching her walk up the aisle to another man.
Entering the kitchen window, Felipe's words echoed over and over in his mind. Victoria was not the type of woman to marry without love and, to be truthful, there were more advantages for her to remain single. She was wealthy and independent, unlike most women. When she accepted his proposal, he had known what she would be sacrificing by marrying him. Her eager willingness, even without knowing who was under the mask, had touched his heart. It had been a remarkable show of trust on her part. So, why was she marrying Mendoza?
He glanced around the kitchen, not really expecting to see her there. A part of him wished that she were there, in the room of cherished memories. His eyes rested on the fireplace, but not having the time to reminiscence, he forced himself to turn away. He had to make new memories by abducting the woman he loved, and finding the answers to all those questions that plagued him.
He was walking towards the blanket-covered doorway, when he spotted a boot sticking out from behind a table. He recognized it, having recently paid the large bill for the pair. He rushed over to find his son knocked unconscious. He picked him up by the shoulders and called his name. Felipe moaned and then slowly blinked his eyes. Zorro watched the confusion briefly cloud over the eyes before they became fully aware. His son apparently would be all right, except for a headache.
"What happened?" he demanded, his voice rough with concern.
Moaning again, Felipe sat up straight, clutching his head. "I brought Victoria her bouquet, and I heard someone come in behind me, and then Victoria saw who it was . . ."
"And--" Zorro prompted, impatient as well as worried.
"Fa--Zorro, I've never seen her look so frightened," Felipe confessed. Zorro knew exactly how many life and death situations Felipe had seen Victoria in over the years. "I turned to see who it was, and that's when they hit me."
Zorro looked around the kitchen for people long gone. "Who hit you? Where's Victoria?"
"I don't know! I just got a brief glimpse, and I think--" Felipe stopped, shaking his head. "It's loco. I only caught a glimpse, and I'm not even sure--and there's no reason--"
"Who was it, Felipe?" Zorro demanded, fear beating hard in his heart. Felipe's earlier words had been right: Something was wrong, and Zorro feared it might be too late.
***
Outside the church, Don Vicente and Don Alejandro talked about the wedding. Even the jovial Vicente was even quieter than usual, having sensed his friend's distress. "I think Mendoza is a good man," he said in an effort to comfort. Don Alejandro appreciated the effort. However, his friend was unaware of all the facts, and Alejandro was not free to share them. He frowned at the thought. Was what he felt right now how Diego had felt over the years? Yearning to share a part of his life, but unable to out of fear? Out of terror that the truth would only endanger those he loved?
"He is," Alejandro agreed, not wanting anyone to believe he might think otherwise. Mendoza was a good man. However, Victoria loved his son. "However, I know Victoria is not in love with him."
Vicente laughed at the words. Putting his arm across Don Alejandro's shoulders, he said, "There aren't many people who marry for love, Alejandro! Companionship, help, friendship--those are the reasons for marriage. Love is for poets."
Alejandro looked at his friend, seeing the usual masked pain his eyes. "You loved your Belinda."
Don Vicente looked away in the distance as he answered. "I still do, Alejandro. I just know that marriage is foremost a business. I was blessed that my father chose an angel for me to marry."
Alejandro started to ask a question, one that had bothered him since he first heard about Don Vicente's marriage. "Vicente, what hap--" He stopped speaking when his friend paled and stiffened. He turned, seeing two women rushing towards them at an unseemly pace. Their heavy skirts swirled around their ankles.
One of them was Savannah, the de Corazon's housekeeper, but the other lady was unfamiliar to Alejandro. Seeing the respect for her on Savannah's face, and taking in Don Vicente's response to her appearance, he thought he knew who she was. Her pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes betrayed her English heritage. Here was the little-discussed Belinda.
They stopped in front of his friend. "Vicente!" Belinda whispered so passionately it was almost a yell. "Where is Maria?"
Don Vicente, having begun to smile at her arrival, stiffened at the question. "She isn't here, and you're not going to see her! Savannah--"
"Vicente, she's doing it again! Our daughter needs--" Belinda said in a rush, her voice sounding like beautiful music, even with the panic and fear in it.
"Our daughter needs a mother who loves her and trusts her--" his friend's voice was unusual harsh. Don Alejandro's eyebrows shot up at the sound of it.
"Vicente, why won't you open your eyes? Our daughter has not been the same since Salvadore died! She's become--" Belinda continued to plead with her husband, and Alejandro wondered what they were talking about. Maria was the reason their marriage had ended? What problems could that pleasant young lady cause?
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Felipe running over to him. Turning to watch him, Alejandro was startled by his appearance. Before leaving the hacienda, he had been unable to find his son or grandson. Knowing how upsetting today was for Diego, he had assumed they had dressed and left early, but now Felipe's disheveled clothes revealed a different story. The young man was wearing the clothes he wore to deliver the bouquet, and a small smear of blood stained his shirtsleeve. From the trickle of blood on his temple, Alejandro could only assume he had wiped his arm across his face.
Immediately, Felipe started signing furiously. Don Alejandro could understand that the "Z" stood for Zorro, but the rest were senseless hand-motions to him. Diego always understood Felipe, no matter what the boy was trying to sign. "I'm sorry, Felipe, but I don't understand. Zorro?"
Felipe glanced at the now silent Vicente and Belinda, before taking a deep breath. Alejandro heard Vicente gasp in surprise. "Zorro went after Victoria. She's been abducted!"
"What?" Alejandro exclaimed, briefly wondering if it were a plot of his son's. Then, he realized Felipe would never have spoken if it had been so unimportant. Victoria was in danger!
"Who? Who would want to abduct Victoria?" he demanded. He could hear his own fear.
Felipe looked at Don Vicente for a moment. Biting his lip, he finally answered, "Maria."
"Maria! What on--?"
He heard Belinda whisper, "Oh, no, she's done it again."
Whirling around to look at her, he demanded, "Done what again?"
Vicente was looking at his wife and Felipe both as if they were loco. "She didn't do anything. Even if what you thought about Antonio was true, all she sent him and his wife were threatening letters and black roses! She never harmed or snatched them!"
Alejandro looked at his friend in amazement. Maria had threatened someone? Belinda's eyes never left her husband's face as he spoke. Shaking her head sadly, she turned to face Don Alejandro. "You are Don Alejandro?"
"I am," he said impatiently. He wanted to know exactly what kind of trouble Victoria--and his son--was in at the moment. Itching to chase after them, he remembered the lessons learned as a soldier. Information saves lives.
"My daughter's twin, our son, Salvadore, died almost a year ago. He was killed, in a duel, over a la--No, a woman! No lady would act--Anyway, Maria adored him, Señor. She collapsed after he died, and never really was herself afterwards. Then, she met Antonio Torres, a married man who happened to be a natural flatterer. I knew not to take him serious, but Maria--" She shook her head and sighed. "My daughter fell in love for the first time. Only, it was not right. Antonio and his wife started to receive strange letters, and Alicia started finding dried, black roses at her door. One bunch had a poisonous spider in it! It frightened her terribly," Belinda recited in a shaky voice. Alejandro could see that it was difficult for her to say, especially with Vicente scowling at her.
Her eyes turned to look at the man she was married to, and a sad look crossed her face. She returned her attention back to him, reminding him of a soldier doing his duty. "Needless to say, it was the talk of the entire pueblo. I even gossiped about it. The strain on their marriage was horrible!" She looked at the silent woman standing next to her, and then gasped her hand and squeezed. "Then, Savannah came to me. She told me that how she worried about Maria, that she was afraid she was the one terrorizing the Torreses. Maria kept cutting away at our rose garden, and she laughed so wickedly as she wrote letters. I did not want to believe her. My daughter would not be so cruel. She was a sweet, innocent child before Salvadore's death!"
Don Alejandro saw the tears in her eye as she struggled to continue. Her lips trembled as she spoke. "But she wasn't anymore. She was a malicious, horrid woman. They caught her delivering the roses one day, and she insisted that someone else--a mysterious man--had given them to her to deliver, but by then everyone was suspicious of her behavior." Shaking her head, she explained, "She was obsessed by Antonio. By the end, he couldn't breath without tripping over her. The constant accidental tripping Maria did into Alicia was beyond belief. She even knocked her into a rose bush full of thorns once."
"You always believe everything your friends tell you!" Vicente snapped at her. Sweat dripped from his red face.
"And you refused to look at any of the evidence!" she yelled back at him, unwilling to let him speak. "You turned a blind eye to how our daughter was acting. She wasn't herself!"
"She was grieving!"
Belinda stomped her foot hard, and the dry dirt from the plaza swirled around her feet. Sighing angrily, she turned to look at Don Alejandro. "I don't know why she would want to harm this Victoria, but I do know that she's become as obsessed by your son as she was by Antonio. I came to Los Angeles because I feared for him."
A chill pass through the caballero's body, and his horror was mirrored on Felipe's face. "My son has loved Victoria for years."
"I did not know that, and there is no reason to believe Maria knew it," Vicente began to protest. Belinda nodded at her faithful servant, and Savanah held out a handful of letters to her patron. He grabbed them from her hands with little care. At first he scanned the pages quickly, angrily, but Don Alejandro saw the horror overcome him as he read the words. He looked up to his wife. "She didn't write these." There was no conviction in his words anymore.
"Yes, she did, Vicente. Savanah found them after you told her to clean that desk for your use this morning." Belinda put her hand on Vicente's chest, as if trying to comfort the heart that beat within it.
"Madre de Dios!" He gasped in pain. "It's true, isn't it? Maria--my poor Maria."
Belinda took a step closer to her husband. Both of them were crying as she said, "I knew you'd one day accept the truth."
"And come back to you, you said," he said, placing his hand on her cheek. She nodded, looking up at him.
Alejandro turned to Felipe. "Go tell Mendoza and the alcalde what has happened. I'm going after Maria and Victoria. Maybe I can help Zorro," he said, struggling to hide his own fear.
"I'm going with you," his friends said hesitantly but with commitment. Looking at the broken man, Don Alejandro thought of Gilberto, and his own hope that underneath the rage there was a good man. He easily understood why Vicente had not wanted to believe such a horrible idea about his own daughter, just as Don Alejandro was unwilling to accept truths about both of his sons. He nodded and smiled reassuringly at the man.
Then, he turned to run to his horse, desperate to get to Diego. He had to help. Funny, his son could be fighting cutthroats at the moment, and he would not have been as concerned. He knew Diego could handle bloodthirsty pirates, but he was not so sure he could fight an unstable woman whom he considered friend.
***
Zorro finally caught up with the women, having been forced to abandon Toronado at the bottom of the cliff. His animal friend neighed in concern as Zorro climbed. Somehow, Maria designed a pulley system for her and Victoria to use. The scientist in him admired her skill, even as the man recoiled from the planning it indicated.
His heart in his throat, he pulled himself to the top. However, his worse fears were not realized. There stood Victoria, beautiful and frightened but unharmed, in front of him. Unfortunately, Maria was closer to her and had a gun pointed at her chest. Why would she want to hurt Victoria?
"I knew you would come," Maria said with an unnatural smile on her lips. "You followed your heart."
That statement surprised Zorro. In a way, it was true, but it sounded odd coming from her mouth. Something about the way she said it . . .. Her voice was unsteady and shrill.
"I think you need to let the señorita go," he said in his best Zorro voice, trying to frighten Maria into stopping this loco game. Why would she want to harm Victoria? Trembling, Victoria mouthed for him to go, making him wonder if she knew more than he did. One thing was certain; he was not leaving without Victoria.
"Oh, no, Diego," Maria said in a singsong voice causing Zorro to flinch. She knew who he was? "See, I thought the wedding would be enough. After she was married, you would have married me, but then yesterday, you told me that I was wrong. I knew you were right, just like always. She has taken your heart, and we need to get it back. I know you cannot hurt her, but I'm going to get your heart back for you, Diego."
The world tumbled into disarray. She was going to kill Victoria! So, he could love her. The words they had said yesterday echoed in his brain. "You should get it back . . .."
He felt weak, unable to act. He did not know what to do. Without thinking, he left his whip on Toronado, and he was too far away to use his sword. He knew that if he took a step closer, Maria would fire that weapon. Even a novice could hit at such close range, and he saw her practice one day; her aim was deadly accurate.
"Maria!" He jumped, surprised by the addition of a booming voice into the tense situation. Barely moving his eyes, he saw his father, Don Vicente, Savannah, and another woman approach Maria from behind. They apparently knew where she was taking Victoria and rode here directly.
"Maria, what are you doing? You can't just a kill a woman!" Vicente said to his daughter as he dismounted. Everyone else remained on his or her horses, and even from the distance, he saw the tension in them.
"Oh, I'm not going to kill her, Father. She's going to jump off the cliff," Maria said pleasantly, as if discussing a new dance. "You weren't supposed to be here. Diego and I were going to get his heart back, and then we were going to look at the pulley I designed. I knew he would be impressed with it." Diego recoiled at her words, unable to believe she could think he would discuss her scientific discoveries as they looked down at Victoria's broken body.
She continued to talk gaily. "I think my little box could have some use one day. Imagine, being raised to higher ground in a box on a pulley! I knew Diego would admire it. He enjoys science as much as a I do."
"Diego isn't here, Maria. You need--"
Maria's laughter reminded him of an animal's. "Are you blind, Father? He's standing right next to me. I admit that the costume is silly. It's a total waste of his time, but don't worry. After we are married, I'll get him to give it up."
"That's Zor--" Vicente broke off, startled by the thought. He looked to Don Alejandro for confirmation. Zorro nodded at his father, and Vicente saw the gesture for what it was. The surprise on his face would have been amusing at a different time.
Vicente wiped his hands on his pant legs and then continued to slowly approach his daughter. "Maria, he loves her. Even if she jumped, his heart would go with her. My heart stayed with your mother. Distance and death do not take love away!" Holding out his hand, he pleaded. "You know that's true, Maria. You still love Salvadore. His death didn't change that fact."
His words were a mistake. They all saw it in the way Maria's chin snapped back and the way her face twisted. "You're wrong!" she screamed. "I hate him! He died, and left me, and I hate him."
Zorro's muscles tensed as Maria smiled at the woman he loved. "I'm sorry, Victoria. I actually like you." She began to pull the trigger. Zorro heard someone yell, and he was not sure if it was him. The shot echoed through the trees.
As the smoke cleared, Zorro remained frozen in fear. Maria dropped the gun, and his heart started to beat again.
"Papa?" Maria said in the voice of child. She sank to her knees beside her father. It was then Diego realized what had happened: Vicente had jumped in front of Victoria, taking the bullet for her.
"Papa?" Maria said again. Suddenly, the blonde woman jumped off her horse. "Vicente!" she screamed, running to the injured man. She stumbled to his side as Zorro rushed to hug Victoria. His ladylove shook in his arms, and for a moment he feared she would break his ribs. Alejandro and Savanah joined them within seconds.
"Papa, Papa, Papa," Maria said over and over. She was rocking herself like a small child. Tears streamed down her face. Savanah sank to her knees beside the young girl, and Don Alejandro stood, shaking, over his friend.
"I'm sorry, Baby," Vicente gasped, reaching a hand out to both the ladies in his life. Zorro winced as he saw where the bullet had entered his stomach, realizing that Vicente was a dead man. Medical science could do nothing, yet, for a man that had been gut shot.
"Vicente," the blonde woman whispered disbelieving. Her skirt was becoming soaked with the blood draining from the man. The don raised his arm and caressed her face. Zorro could see the love on the man's face. The pale woman must be his wife Belinda, Maria's mother.
"You're leaving me," she gasped.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to, my love. Just when I got my sense back, too," he whispered, smiling despite the agony he was obviously feeling.
He hugged the distraught Maria to his side. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. She just kept mumbling "papa". "I'm sorry. I let Salvadore down, and I swore I wouldn't let you down, too," he tried to explain to her. Diego doubted she heard him, with her mind too lost to grief.
His wife, now sobbing, whispered, "You didn't let either one of them down. You are a great father!"
"I know better," Vicente told her with a wry grin. He gasped in pain; his breathing becoming more labored. His eyes rested on his friend Alejandro and then to the two lovers holding each other. "My stubbornness caused so much pain. I'm so sorry," the dying man forced through trembling lips. "I'm so sorry."
Zorro barely heard the approaching horses before they arrived. He relaxed when he saw Mendoza and Felipe. Mendoza jumped down from his horse and scampered over to where everyone stood around the dying man. "Madre de Dios! What happened? Are you all right, Victoria? The alcalde said it was just a trick, but--"
Victoria pulled herself away from Zorro's chest, but remained in his arms. "I'm fine, Mendoza," she said, shaken but regaining control. Don Vicente's blood was splattered across her face and clothes, and Diego saw a bruise forming where Maria had hit her earlier.
"I'm sorry," Don Vicente gasped again, this time talking to Mendoza. Victoria could see Mendoza also realized that the man was dying. There was no way to help him, no way to even ease the pain. "My daughter is not well."
"She was healthy enough to nab Señorita Vict--" Mendoza looked around at the faces surrounding Don Vicente. Understanding dawned in Mendoza's eyes. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry. She always seemed so nice."
"Oh, she was always a sweet child," Vicente told him, gasping desperately for breath. His eyes were focused on his wife's face, even as he spoke to Mendoza. "I'm afraid she realized a secret and her mind couldn't handle it."
Diego felt Victoria stiffen next to her. Don Alejandro looked down, stunned, at his friend. None of them had considered the fact that Don Vicente might want to turn in Diego. Did he want some kind of revenge?
"She realized that Don Diego is in love with Señorita Victoria," he sighed instead. His breathing was becoming shallower, and his eyes glassy.
Mendoza simply nodded, as if being told the sun rose and set every day. "Sì, he's been in love with her ever since he came home from Spain." Diego barely kept his jaw from dropping open. "I think Victoria is in love with him, too," Mendoza went on to confess. Victoria's jaw did drop.
"You love Don Diego?" Diego, dressed as Zorro, asked her. He doubted Mendoza heard the fear in his voice, but his family and Victoria did he was sure.
Tears welled in her eyes, but her shaking stopped. "Oh, yes, I love him very much."
"Then, why are you marrying Mendoza?" he asked, his voice rough. Maybe he could finally have his answers.
"Because she's afraid," Mendoza answered for her. "She was afraid Diego doesn't love her, and she was afraid of becoming a caballero's wife."
Victoria looked at him oddly, as if wondering where he got such a ridiculous idea. "I could see the fear on your face," he told her with a smile. "I agreed to marry you because I was hoping Diego would get jealous and act, but I guess it didn't work. I was sweating in my dress tunic in the church hoping he would show when Felipe ran up to tell me--Did you know that boy can talk?"
Victoria's laughter was choked, as if she were ashamed to have feelings of joy at such a sad time. Diego understood the conflicting emotions running rampant in her; he felt them, too. She hugged Mendoza close, and Diego realized he felt no jealousy. To think of the two of them together was absurd!
"Yes, I did," Victoria answered the sergeant's question. She put her hand on Felipe's face, and Diego saw her silently ask for forgiveness, a request Felipe silently told her was unnecessary. "He just brought me a message from Diego when Maria arrived." Diego realized she was protecting him, giving him a reason for not being in Los Angeles. "I didn't get a chance to send him a reply."
Then, she turned to look at the horror playing out beside her. She sank down to her knees with tears streaming down her face. She smiled at Don Vicente, and he tried to return it. The pain made his lips twist in agony instead. "Thank you," Victoria whispered.
"Least I could do. Marriage is for love," he mouthed back to her. He gently kissed his shaking daughter's hair, and looked at his wife. "I love you," he tried to say. Belinda nodded, the tears drying on her face. The shock of the shooting was beginning to numb her mind. Leaning forward, she kissed her husband goodbye. Wearing a smile, the big man faded away.
