Chapter 9
"Well, it hasn't arrived yet, Felipe." Diego brushed a hand through his hair and scowled in annoyance as he slipped through the fireplace and into the cave.
The mute gestured at the pieces of some device scattered on Diego's worktable.
"I need that one piece to be able to make the device work." Diego didn't look up as he worked on the curious looking contraption. "I knew I should have bought more supplies the last time I was in Monterey."
Felipe pulled at Diego's shoulder and signed frantically while Diego grinned. The mute had seen this device once before and it had scared the wits out of him, not to mention smoking them out of the cave when it didn't work.
"Oh, I'm sure Victoria would skin me alive if I asked her to postpone the wedding until the piece arrives."
Felipe's eyes widened into huge, frightened saucers and nodded emphatically.
"I've seriously considered it." Diego stopped suddenly, lost in thought.
Felipe held his head in his hands, hoping Diego would not risk his continued health by asking his wife to postpone their official wedding ceremony.
ZZZZ
"Diego!"
Rafael de la Vega pulled his cousin into a strong embrace. "Finally, eh!"
Diego chuckled and wrapped an arm around Victoria's waist. "Yes, well, good things come to those who wait." He kissed Victoria's cheek.
"Indeed," Rafael took the Victoria's hand and kissed it before turning to his own wife and completing the introductions.
"I believe you two have already met," Rafael winked at Diego who simply chuckled as he remembered how the two had behaved when last they were together - A food fight over who would be more suitable for Zorro.
Victoria flushed as she, too, remembered her behavior toward the young woman. It wasn't one of her prouder moments but the mirth in her betrothed's eyes indicated that all had been forgiven if not forgotten.
"Welcome to the family, dear." Margarita smiled politely as she embraced Victoria.
"Thank you for inviting us, Diego." Rafael clasped his cousin on the shoulder. "We wouldn't want to miss this for the world."
"Father will be pleased you received his letter in time." Diego led them all to the library where servants brought tea for the ladies and wine for the men.
"I must say Alejandro's letter didn't give us a lot of time to get here!"
Diego clasped Victoria's hand as they sat opposite Rafael and Margarita. "Well, we didn't want to wait too long."
"Especially not after a betrothal!" Rafael exclaimed. "I can't remember the last time someone in our family was betrothed before an official wedding ceremony."
"It does seem very old fashioned." Margarita smiled politely.
Diego and Victoria exchanged a guilty look. They both knew why they had settled for a betrothal rather than wait the required weeks after the posting of wedding banns; the need for a physical connection after such a close brush with death was too much for them to resist.
ZZZZ
"Oh, all this fuss!" Victoria squirmed beneath the servant's fussing fingers. The younger woman giggled while the older simply batted away the nervous bride's hands.
"It's almost time. Let us finish and we'll be ready to go." Maria, the de la Vega cook and head of the servants, finished fastening the lace veil into Victoria's hair and stood back to admire her work.
"The carriage is ready." Peña, the younger girl, nodded at Maria.
"Yes, thank you. Tell them we will be right out. We're almost done."
The matronly woman turned happy eyes on Victoria. "You look lovely, Doña Victoria. Master Diego will be so happy."
"I hope so, Maria." She grasped Maria's hands and squeezed them tightly. "I want to make him happy."
"Oh, you do, Lady. You do. His eyes are so much brighter, and livelier than they used to be." Maria pulled Victoria to her feet and smoothed the elegant ruffles of the cream colored dress.
This suddenly concerned Victoria and she turned to the woman. "How do you mean?"
Maria covered her mistake quickly. "Oh, it's nothing, Señora."
"Maria . . . ." The warning look in Victoria's eyes indicated that she would not budge from this spot until the woman explained herself.
"Oh, Señora, now that we all know of Master Diego's . . ." Maria smiled, still absorbing the revelation that her young Master had been the pueblo's masked hero all along, " . . . secret, its easy to see why he always looked so tired and sad."
Victoria bowed her head. "I said hurtful things too. I made him sad."
Maria patted the young woman's hand in understanding. "Only because he kept the truth from you. You make him quite happy now."
Victoria's smile widened and her eyes brightened. "Then let's get to the church so that I can show God and the entire pueblo how happy he has made me."
Maria embraced the young woman, happy that she would be joining the family. "The men have already left so there is no need to cover that beautiful gown so that they will not see it."
Victoria giggled at the silly tradition and took a deep breath as Maria led her out of the hacienda and one step closer toward the future she had always dreamed of.
ZZZZ
The pueblo was strangely quiet when the carriage arrived. Either everyone was inside or no one was awake yet!
Ramón Escalante raced down the steps and offered his arm to help his sister out of the carriage. "It's about time! We were thinking you were going to stand Diego up!"
Victoria blushed and turned to Maria, who lifted the train of the dress and held it in her arms. "We were . . . delayed."
"Well, let's go!" he muttered impatiently.
"Ramón, you're behaving as if it's you getting married!" Victoria teased and her brother recognized the nervous tone in his sister's voice.
"No, my little sister is finally getting married and it's my duty to give her away!"
Victoria laced her fingers through her brother's arm and nodded. "I'm ready."
She swallowed nervously when they approached the doors. The de la Vega servants slipped in through a side door and stood flattened against the back of the church, anxiously awaiting the start of the ceremony.
When Victoria heard the music begin, she had this brief flash of Diego sitting at the organ playing the piece. She chuckled at the thought of the handsome caballero playing at his own wedding and then Ramón led her just inside the doors.
The crowd stood and suddenly all eyes were turned toward the lovely bride and her brother as they walked down the aisle.
Victoria could see Diego standing with his father and Felipe at the front of the church and could see her brother Francisco standing opposite them. She focused on Diego, on the eyes that followed her every single movement. They glimmered brightly as they looked at her, only her.
Soon, they reached the padre and Francisco stepped to the other side of his sister. The music stopped and the padre raised his arms.
"Dearly Beloved. We are gathered here, in God's Sanctuary, en El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles, to join Diego Sebastian de la Vega and Victoria Elena Escalante in the most holy bonds of matrimony."
The padre smiled kindly at Victoria's brothers. "Who gives this woman to this man?"
"We do." Francisco and Ramón said, taking their sister's hands.
The padre smiled and turned to Alejandro.
"And who gives this man to this woman?"
With a very formal, "I do," Alejandro stepped forward and took his son's hand.
Together, Alejandro, Ramón, and Francisco placed Victoria's hand into Diego's and wrapped a small golden-threaded cord loosely around their wrists.
"Diego, Victoria. Please kneel." The padre smiled at the couple as they slowly fell to their knees atop the cushions that had been prepared.
Diego held Victoria's hands and barely heard the padre's words as he watched the radiant woman that, in a few moments, would be his wife. Bonded together in sight of God and a church full of witnesses with an unbreakable vow.
"If there is anyone here who knows why these two should not be joined in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Alejandro glanced around the crowd, challenging anyone to speak. Much to the relief of the bride and groom, no one uttered a word.
The padre's eyes dropped to the couple kneeling before him. "The covenant you are about to make before God and these witnesses is the most sacred you will ever avow."
The padre smiled down at Diego.
"Diego, Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to Victoria in marriage?"
"I have." He squeezed her hands.
"Will you love and honor Victoria for the rest of your life?"
"I will." The devotion radiating in his eyes caused tears to drip down Victoria's cheeks.
"Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?
Diego's eyes danced and Victoria blushed furiously.
"Yes."
Benitez turned his attention to Victoria and gave her a kind smile.
"Victoria, Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourself to Diego in marriage?"
"I have."
"Will you love, honor, and obey Diego for the rest of your life?"
"I will." A twinkle of mischief crept into her glistening eyes.
"Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?"
Her earlier embarrassment forgotten, she squeezed Diego's hands and smiled saucily at him.
"Yes."
"Diego, repeat after me. I, Diego Sebastian de la Vega take you, Victoria Elena Escalante to be my wife. I vow to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life."
Diego repeated the words with such tenderness and emotion that more tears sprang instantly to Victoria's eyes.
"Victoria, repeat after me. I, Victoria Elena Escalante, take you, Diego Sebastian de la Vega to be my husband. I vow to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love, honor, and obey you all the days of my life."
Tears dripped down her cheeks as she repeated the padre's words and the smile that spread across Diego's face caused an involuntary tremor to race down her spine.
The padre turned to break the bread and offered a piece in turn to each member of the wedding party. He did the same with the wine. Once communion was finished, he raised his hands. "Let us pray."
When the prayer and blessing was completed, Diego and Victoria stood. They laid the bouquet of freshly cut roses Victoria carried in the arms of the statue of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of Guadalupe was the guardian of marriage and the presentation of the bouquet to her symbolized that she would watch over the couple.
As a final traditional symbol of their union, Diego and Victoria lit one large candle with much smaller, older, ones that they had received as children at their own baptism.
The padre smiled and raised his hands.
"Diego, Victoria. With the power given to me by the Almighty God, I now declare you bound together as husband and wife."
The cord loosely surrounding their hands fell away and Diego slid his fingers down her cheeks, cupping them gently in his large hands. Tears dripped down her cheeks and he brushed them away with his thumb as he dropped a tender, sweet kiss to her parted lips.
ZZZZ
The reception party was still going strong, hours later, and now Alejandro and family were dodging drunken guests as well as those who had already passed out from excessive consumption of alcohol.
Diego had disappeared hours ago leaving Victoria to mingle with the guests alone. Alejandro could tell that her smile was forced and every time she caught the ranchero's eyes, he could see her fury growing. Diego had better get back, and soon, or he was probably going to be spending his wedding night sleeping in the barn.
"What errand can he possibly have had to do during our wedding reception!" Victoria seethed as she walked out in the garden with Alejandro.
"I'm sure it was something of great importance, my dear," Alejandro tried to reassure the woman, but each passing moment just saw her temper rise.
"Something to do with that contraption he dragged in front of the church today, no doubt." She muttered with barely contained fury. "Diego tried to explain to me how that thing worked but refused to tell me what it would ultimately do."
Alejandro chuckled. Oh yes, his son had a lively one in Victoria. He could hardly wait for their first argument.
Much to Alejandro's relief, Diego appeared a few moments later with a large smile on his face. "Well, it worked!"
"Son, whatever you are doing had better be one very large and very expensive gift for Victoria." Alejandro rested his hand on Diego's arm and indicated the bench the new Doña sat on talking with her brother. "She's mad. Fuming mad and you need to go rectify the situation before you find yourself sleeping in the barn tonight."
Diego chuckled. "Yes, father. I expected she'd be upset with me. I think I'll be forgiven for it, though."
Alejandro watched with a delighted smirk as his son confidently walked over to the bench and smiled down at his wife. The ranchero winced as the Victoria glared daggers at his son and said something he was probably glad he was not close enough to hear.
Before long, Diego had an arm wrapped around Victoria's waist and was leading her out of the garden.
"Yes, son, go have your argument in a place not so public." Alejandro laughed and returned to his wine glass.
