Author's note: Please remember that the timeline in this story jumps back and forth. Some scenes are present day; some are up to three months before present day.
Chapter 4
The next morning, Victoria returned to the tavern, packed a bag, and loaded up her wagon with every medicine and bandage she could find. There were blankets, dried meats and fruits, sealed up jugs of water and anything else she could imagine that someone would need if they'd been lost at sea for ages.
She also brought money. Her private stash of funds for the running of the tavern and paying the mortgage on it had been divided in half so that she could leave Tina with enough means to run the tavern in her absence and still take as much with her as she possibly could. Not knowing exactly what she would need to take with her, she took as much as she could
Don Alejandro would not join her and had tried his best to persuade her not to go. "It's madness," he'd said.
"Well, madness it is, then! But I am still going. Diego is out there! I am going to find him."
She was determined and Don Alejandro could see it. So he'd given in on one thing. He'd given her a letter of credit to give to the banker of any port city she visited. There at least would be plenty of funds to see her on her way.
He didn't like her going alone. But he didn't see how he could stop her, short of going with her, and he wasn't prepared to leave the hacienda right now. What if Diego came home and I wasn't here? That was the thought that haunted him. Maybe a part of him did still have a tiny bit of hope left.
He agonized over the decision all that day. Should he send Felipe with her or one of the caballeros? No, no, that wouldn't be proper. A deueña perhaps? But there wasn't time to engage one and he wasn't even sure if it would be possible to convince anyone who would qualify to go on such a mad trip.
By the time he'd changed his mind, packed his own small bag, and arrived at the tavern on Dulcenea, Victoria was gone.
June 10th later
Diego found the water four feet down after a considerable amount of effort and time. Bubbling up quickly from the bottom of the hole he had dug, the water turned the dirt and sand into a thick, muddy mixture. With a piece of the sailcloth he'd found still attached to the chunk of wooden mast that had saved his life, he was able to filter most of the mud from enough of the liquid for the first long, cool drink of water he'd had in days.
Several hours went by before he could even gather any strength to do more. He couldn't believe how exhausted the few hours of digging had made him, but at least it took no physical energy to begin calculating all that he needed to do to ensure his survival.
Shelter was next, but he knew it would have to wait. Night was already falling and the coolness with it. Diego allowed himself to recline against the sturdy, gracefully curving trunk of a palm tree. He was too exhausted from his digging to find or build anything to shelter him from the night. Looking up at the twinkling stars above, he wasn't sure he wanted to give up that view anyway.
Even with the beautiful scenery that lay all about him, his thoughts were mostly of home and the people there he loved. "Victoria…" he breathed as he drifted off to sleep, listening to the steady rise and fall of the surf against the rocky beach.
September 17th
She heard her name whispered on the wind as the wagon bounced along the trail leading away from Los Angeles. The stars were out tonight with not a cloud to obscure them from view. Several times, she reined in the horses just to listen, but when she stopped and the night grew quiet, she couldn't hear it.
It spurred her on, driving through the night, forgetting how tired she was and how little she'd slept the night before at Don Alejandro's hacienda. She met not a soul on the trail. Her thoughts were all the company she had, thoughts of Diego, lying hurt somewhere, bleeding, needing her.
"I'm coming, Diego. Just hold on. I am coming to find you." She whispered her vow to the winds themselves, willing them to speed her comfort to the man she loved.
This time, she would save Zorro.
June 11th
For a full day, Diego drank his fill of the water, staying near to his private source and only exploring minimally the surrounding area. His body needed the moisture restored deep into his tissues and he knew the rest was needed as well.
There was plenty of wildlife surrounding him, offering him unlimited entertainment while he rested. He saw birds of all kinds: blue herons, mockingbirds, finches and petrels. Even an albatross made an ungainly appearance, its clumsiness eliciting a series of chuckles from his audience of one. A few crabs scurried here and there and two noisy sea lions made it clear that they didn't appreciate Diego's intrusion on their turf.
But none of the wildlife came very close. Curiously, they stayed away, keeping to a perimeter of about 25 feet away from Diego's spot near his precious water hole. From that, he deducted that there must indeed be another water supply close by that he had not found. A pity. It would have saved him a lot of work.
The night was cool and the weather held. He slept on and off, relaxing deeply into the rhythm of the island and its wildlife. It was certainly a peaceful place and good for the soul. But being here was still the problem despite all that.
How am I going to get back home? Don't give up on me, Victoria! The thought repeated in his mind as he sighed and lay back against his favorite palm tree. Victoria, I miss you.
September 19th
San Pedro's port was a bustling one. Victoria found the harbormaster's office and waited for over an hour before he would see her.
He was well aware of the missing caballero from Los Angeles. Letters had gone back and forth the past months from agents in Spain as well as those from the pueblo. Yes, he knew that young de la Vega was a very important man. Yes, he was well aware there were connections as far up as the court of the royal family of Spain. But no, there was no further word. There were no other sightings. There was just nothing else he could do. He couldn't help her.
Victoria left the office holding back her tears and not knowing what to do next when she heard a voice from the alleyway hailing her softly.
"Señorita!" A young boy with blond hair stood there, dressed shabbily in fairly gaudy colors.
"Yes?" She relaxed a bit when she saw how young the boy appeared. He was younger than Felipe. There was no threat here.
"Señorita, you look for the caballero from Los Angeles? Yes?"
"Yes, yes I am looking for him. Can you help me?" She walked forward eagerly.
All of a sudden, a hand from the shadowed alley to her left reached out and covered her mouth. Another hand encircled her waist and she was lifted off her feet and drawn into the shadows. All attempts to scream were futile and resulted in little more than a muffled sound that was lost in the busy harbor side.
"Shh…shhh….there now. No one's going to hurt you, Señorita Escalante. You're safe. Just don't scream."
The strong hands turned her around to face her attacker. He could feel her relax as surprise replaced her fear.
"Jim Jarrett!" What are you doing here?"
"The same as you, I imagine, Señorita. Diego de la Vega is missing. I'm going to find him."
"Oh, Jim!" She wanted to cry with relief. At last, someone was willing to help her search for Diego. And surely a former pirate would know just what to do. She hugged the huge man with all her might.
"Now, what did the harbormaster tell you, Señorita?" He looked around him suspiciously, motioning her to keep her voice low.
Victoria relayed every bit of information she had to the man while they both stood there in the darkened alleyway. Jim only nodded at certain times and his jaw was set.
When she was finished at last, she asked, "But why are you here? You're supposed to be in the Caribbean."
"I'm here because I heard of young de la Vega's plight. At first, it saddened me. Then it made me mad that such a thing could happen to him. But when I finally realized what Don Alejandro must be going through, I knew I had to act. I almost lost my boy too once, you know?" He looked down at the boy beside him and smiled. "Don Alejandro was kind to me when I was in need of a measure of kindness. Don Diego was too. And there's also another thing…" His voice trailed away as a man passed behind them. He let the man go out of earshot before he continued, "I've been shipwrecked too. Stranded for five years. And I was a pirate. A gentleman such as Don Diego, well, his chances are not as good as mine were to survive something like that for as long."
Victoria smiled and thought, "You'd be surprised!" There was one bit of information she couldn't tell Big Jim. But that only put the odds in Diego's favor.
"So come, we've got work to do," he said as he led her further down the alley.
"But my wagon! It's full of supplies." She pointed to the wagon that was still within their sight.
"Good! I'll have my men come back for it. But for now, we need to get you on board and settled." He looked her up and down. "Got any sea legs under that skirt?" he asked with a grin.
"If I don't now, then I will have before this is over, won't I?"
"That's the spirit!" Jim slapped her lightly on the back and led her away down the alley so they could make for the isolated bit of coast where his ship was moored.
