Chapter 17
Zorro was dead!
The news spread faster than the fire that had destroyed Don Sebastian's stables. By mid-morning the next day, everyone in the pueblo was talking about the unbelievable news. Half of those that heard it said it couldn't be so! But the ones that accepted the news as true began preparing for the saddest, but grandest, farewell to their hero.
Sergeant Mendoza rode out to the de la Vega hacienda once again to deliver the sad news. It was hard to believe that, only just hours before, he had sat in a room with Zorro and celebrated the news of his amnesty! Now he was dead. Life was just not fair!
Don Alejandro greeted him at the doorway and reacted with such shock to the news that he didn't even invite the sergeant inside! He mumbled something about Señor Olvera having left for Monterey early in the morning to submit the document to the Governor's Privy Council. Mendoza stared at the closed door for a few minutes before heading back to the pueblo. He felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life.
But on the other side of that door, Alejandro had sprung into action. He ran down the hallway and burst through the door to Zorro's room. He was still sleeping soundly and Felipe sleeping in the chair beside the bed.
"Felipe!" He shook the boy's shoulders. "Help me get him to Diego's room. Something's happened. He can't be found here. Hurry!"
Thankfully Diego's room was only two doors down the hall. The drugged, sleeping man was dead weight for the two to carry, and they heaved a sigh of relief as they laid him on the bed in Diego's room.
Felipe was wondering the reason for it all. Then his mouth fell open when he saw Alejandro reach for the mask, pull it away and stuff it in a drawer. There was no hint of surprise on Alejandro's face and Felipe's eyes grew wide.
"Felipe, get one of his nightshirts from the wardrobe. Hurry! We also need to make the bed in the other room and remove all traces that he was there last night. We need to act as if he left yesterday immediately after the meeting with Mendoza and Ricardo."
For the first time, he saw the confusion on Felipe's face and he grabbed the lad's shoulders. "Felipe, Mendoza just came with the word that Zorro is dead! I'm not sure of all the details, but the sergeant is convinced of it. He says they're already planning a memorial service. The pueblo believes Zorro is dead!"
Felipe pointed to the bed and then to Alejandro's forehead, as if to ask, "You knew?"
"Yes, I've known for some time. And this may be the best thing that's happened for him. Even better than that document of amnesty! This will be the real freedom he needs. We will have to get our stories straight. We'll say that Diego arrived late last night, after everyone was in bed. The scorpion sting can be the excuse for his having been gone so long. Wait! What about Victoria! Does she know?"
The boy nodded.
"Good. We'll have to refine all this as we go. But it's a good start. Felipe…"
The boy looked overwhelmed by it all.
"He is probably not going to like this when he wakes up, but he'll understand when he thinks it through. I gave him some of that sleeping draught of Maria's late last night. He'll probably sleep until midday." He patted the boy on the back. "Now go! See to the other room for me. I need to talk to the servants then head to town to see Victoria."
Maria and the other servants were happy hearing that the young Don had returned, but the news about Zorro cast a pall over the entire household. Maria set about preparing a special meal for the young master with tears in her eyes. Zorro dead! It was an impossible thought.
When Don Alejandro reached the pueblo, he saw the further effects of the news there. Everywhere he looked, heads were bowed and faces were long. Most of the women were either openly crying or looked as if they had been. He was beginning to wish he had not embraced the news himself so selfishly.
Inside the tavern, Victoria's girls were serving the customers with much the same air as he had seen about the other women of the pueblo.
Teresa informed him that Victoria had not come down this morning. So Don Alejandro boldly went up the stairs and knocked on her door.
"Go away!"
"Victoria, it is Alejandro. I need to speak with you. Please."
A few seconds later, the door eased open and Victoria stood there with tears in her eyes. "Don Alejandro, I'm sorry. I ..."
"I need to speak to you!" he repeated with an urgency she couldn't deny.
"Very well. Come in."
Once the door was closed, she all but fell into his arms. "Oh, Don Alejandro! What am I going to do!"
"There, there, Victoria, he isn't dead. I know that he isn't dead."
"You do?" She sniffed.
"Yes, and I suspect that you do too." He kept his voice low, almost a whisper. "The time for honesty is now. What do you know about this "death scene" at Don Sebastian's? Just whose idea was it?"
She ignored his question. "Where is he? Is he all right?"
"Yes, he's sleeping soundly in his own bedroom right now. Without the mask. I suspect he will feel much better physically when he wakes up. He obviously overdid it yesterday. Scorpion stings are a little more serious than most people think. He's going to be feeling the effects for the next week or two, if my own past experiences with them are a judge. But emotionally... where is he? What's happened between the two of you?"
"It was my idea. I went to Don Sebastian and asked him to do this. I thought..." She choked on the words.
"And my son did not appreciate your doing this. I can imagine! Well, I think he will come to accept it, in time. But the problem of how to get you two together still remains."
"Oh, Don Alejandro, I don't think he wants me anymore! You didn't see the look on his face. I've lost him!"
"No, my child, you have not lost him. I've seen him pine after you ever since he returned from Madrid. It will take more than this to change his feelings for you. No, he's just reacted to a loss. And Zorro was lost when the alcalde died. I know my son well. He has not worked through that yet. I doubt he will even pick up a sword for a very long time."
"But what if the pueblo needs him?"
"If a true need ever arises, then a legend can always appear out of shadows."
She smiled at the wonder of the idea.
"But truly, times are changing. De Soto knew what was coming and I think that's why he became so …well, so …"
"Evil!"
Don Alejandro smiled. "No, 'desperate' might be a better word. But he's gone. I, for one, am going to do everything in my power to see to it that the new alcalde will be someone good for Los Angeles. If I have to go to Madrid myself, I now feel like our voices will be heard." He gave her a big smile and then said seriously, "Now our problem is just how you're going to let this pueblo know that you will marry my son!"
"Then you do approve!"
"Goodness, my child, yes. Now, with Zorro's death, we're going to see just how good at play acting you are. I think the memorial service will be just the spot for the first transference of your 'love' over to Diego. You will need to be comforted. He has broad shoulders. Do you see the picture?"
"Yes... but do you really think he will —"
"I know he will. But you and he will have to be careful. I should say in three or four months, six at the most, this pueblo will begin to wonder why you and my son never married years ago."
"But Don Alejandro, aren't we... I mean, shouldn't we be discussing this with him instead of planning it all ourselves. Deciding on going to Don Sebastian without telling him was what he got so angry —"
"Perhaps, but hasn't he been doing a lot of deciding about all of our lives these past few years without consulting us? Serves him right to get back some of his own!"
Alejandro entered the bedroom, and threw back the curtains, letting the bright afternoon sunlight spill across the bedcovers. "Time to face a new day, my boy! Rise and shine!" he said a little too loudly just to be sure he pierced through the veil of slumber.
Diego answered with a few grunting noises and reached a hand up to rub the sleep from his eyes. With a start, he knew something was wrong. His mask was gone!
His father continued his cheerful tirade. "So! How are you doing this morning? That potion of Maria's certainly forces one into health-restoring sleep, doesn't it?"
Diego's eyes darted quickly about the room. He was in his own bedroom! In his own nightshirt! What had happened while he had slept?
"You've been out for a night and half a day now." Alejandro smiled, but Diego's face reflected the total confusion he felt. While his father spoke, he was trying desperately to make sense of the situation. The last thing he remembered, he had been dressed as Zorro in the bedroom down the hall...
"I've had some experience with scorpions in my time. Once when you were a just a baby, one of the servants lost a child because of one. A little girl of only four years died in just a few hours." Alejandro's face clouded at the memory. "Diego, I lost a son I did not even know once. I never want to know the pain that losing you would bring." He looked solemnly at his son with eyes that threatened to spill over with tears.
"Father, you —"
"No, Diego. Don't even start with the explanations or excuses or whatever your quick mind is devising. Today is a time for truth. And here it is. You are a free man. You're in love with a beautiful girl. You have a father that is not getting any younger and he wants grandchildren before he dies!"
"Father, what are—"
But Alejandro went on as he paced about the room, "When you went to rescue Victoria, why didn't you take those ruffians on? I've seen Zorro overcome greater odds than you faced that night!"
"You knew!" Diego gulped as he digested the information.
"But you chose a rather passive approach for the ultimate 'man of action,' didn't you. Now, why do you think you did that? Fear? Hardly! The only person you've ever been afraid of is Victoria!" Alejandro laughed. "Inability? No, that's never been a problem for El Zorro!" Alejandro gave a flourish with his hand as if he were wielding a sword. "No, you chose to do it that way because an accident has robbed you of some of your confidence. How effective do you think Zorro will be without his sword? Hmm? And just how confident will you be to draw that sword when the vision of an impaled De Soto will flash across your mind every time you do?"
The truth of his father's words stung. The subject was uncomfortable. "How long have you known?"
"Quite a while. I first suspected when I saw you fight Gilberto. After that, well, I just started paying more attention to a lot of little things. I haven't figured it all out yet. You still have some explaining yet to do. There has to be a secret passageway I'm unaware of somewhere in the library..."
"In the fireplace," Diego admitted sheepishly.
"Ah! I knew it! The way you'd disappear so suddenly and then reappear when I had just... well, I've thought that I was losing my mind on more than one occasion, I can tell you. And Felipe? Somewhere along the line, he's recovered his hearing, hasn't he?"
Diego nodded.
"Can he speak as well?"
"He is able to, but he won't. We have worked on it. But I am not sure he will ever use speech normally. I almost feel it is a punishment he has placed on himself."
"Must run in the family." Alejandro clapped his hands together. "Well, I want you to get up and dressed. You'll take it easy today, and I have Dr. Hernandez coming out later this afternoon to look at that hand."
He shushed the protests Diego tried to make. "No, it'll make me feel better. And I do want him to see if you're up to going to the memorial service tonight."
"Memorial service? So they're finally going to have one for De Soto?" Diego asked.
"Maybe the good doctor should look at your head too! No, the memorial service is for Zorro. He's dead, or hadn't you heard? I've already played cupid for you. Victoria will be there, beautifully crying for her dead hero. And you, the dashing, handsome, available young caballero will be close by to offer your condolences and dry her tears." He smiled broadly at the shocked look on his son's face. "You know, I think I may try my hand at writing a novel. I think I may have a flair for it!"
Diego laughed.
"That's more like it! This isn't the end of the world. It's just a transitional period. And frankly, I think California is going through one too. I just received word from a friend in Mexico City that Spain is having more trouble in their war strategies than we thought. Now, get dressed. I'd like to discuss it with you. Maria will have 'breakfast' waiting for you."