Chapter 12
The alcalde was scowling as he led Señora Ruiz to the food tables for more lemonade.
"Ignacio? What is wrong?" She squeezed his arm.
"It's…well, it's just that Diego de la Vega! He…he —" He stuttered with the fury that had been building up inside of him.
"Oh, yes! Isn't it marvelous! They make such a sweet couple," the señora declared as she accepted the glass from him. "Thank you, Ignacio."
"I've long suspected…" he said as he rubbed his chin and looked back out over the heads of the dancers.
"Suspected what?"
"That Diego is …Oh, no matter. How is your drink, my dear?"
"My drink is lovely. Ignacio, what did you suspect?"
"A long time ago, there was this criminal, Pablo Zaragosa." De Soto's eyes found Diego de la Vega in the crowd as he spoke. His eyes narrowed in thought as he remembered Zaragosa and the suspicions the man's death had aroused in him at the time. "He held the pueblo in siege for a time. Ended up getting killed. Fell on his own knife when he tried to kill Zorro."
"What does that have to do with Diego?"
"Well, Zorro was very upset by the man's death. Said it didn't have to happen." De Soto took a sip of his drink and sneered into the glass. "Zorro's always been a bit soft about things like that. But then, later, as they were taking the body out to the cemetery," De Soto pointed with his glass to where Diego stood in the distance, "Diego was also very upset," he said as he shook his head as if he were still trying to puzzle out the reason for it. "He was almost a mirror of Zorro that day. I'll never forget it. Ever since…"
"And you had a thought that Diego might be Zorro!" Señora Ruiz concluded. Then she smiled, and placed a hand on his chest. "Oh, Ignacio, you are so wonderful!"
"Huh?" De Soto looked down at her in surprise.
"Well, it just goes to show how marvelously creative you are in your thinking when it comes to solving crimes. Diego as Zorro, how amusing! How thorough of you that you can't discount even the most absurd idea in your quest to find out who Zorro really is!"
"Well, I …"
"And how the people of this pueblo must love you!" She looked up at him with adoration in her eyes.
Well, they should, it's true," he agreed readily, but his eyes wondered back to Diego. "But I am not so sure —"
The señora stepped around in front of him, redirecting his attention to her and away from the tall caballero in the distance. "Oh, but when they get to know you as I see you, there will be many changes in this pueblo. Mark my words."
As he looked down into her expressive eyes, he was captured once more anew and forgot all about Diego de la Vega. He placed his own hand on hers and said softly, "Oh, mi preciosa, I will mark them every day for the rest of my life!"
As the strains of the last song of the night died down, the remaining couples clapped loudly. The entire evening had been a huge success. With the army of dueñas looking on, the men and women separated, whispering promises to each other of the morrow. What had begun by a simple thing such as a bet was now coming to wonderful fruition.
As the musicians packed up their instruments and the lanterns were extinguished, Victoria and Diego looked about to see the plaza cloaked in darkness. The emptied plates had already been taken inside the tavern as had the chairs, so there was nothing more to do for tonight.
Don Alejandro was saying farewell to the last few stragglers as he rode out toward the gates. He was purposefully not waiting for Diego to ride back with him to the hacienda.
"That sly old fox!" Diego said quietly to Victoria. "He is leaving without me so I will stay and talk to you. I am sure he is afraid you will change your mind."
"And you sound as if you are changing yours!"
"Now why would I do that, Querida?" She had started up the steps of the tavern, and he reached out to grab her hand to hold her back. "Do you know that the new moon is still up there somewhere?" He nodded up toward the sky.
Victoria looked up and smiled. "But you can't see it."
"Oh, but it is there just the same. And the moon is just perfect for taking a walk under, I hear."
Laughing, Victoria came back down the steps, and let Diego lead her around the side of the tavern and out into the night desert.
As they walked, holding hands, beneath the twinkling stars of the night, their conversation was low. They talked of the night and everything that had happened.
"It was a good celebration, wasn't it?" Victoria said, surprised to admit such a thing after the evening had started off so badly for her.
"Oh yes. I would say even more successful than I could ever imagine." They paused in their steps after a while, and he let his arms steal around her, drawing her to him so that her back was to his chest. As he rested his chin on the top of her head, he whispered, "When tonight began…"
"When tonight began, you were a different person," she murmured.
"I am still the same person, Victoria. I always have been."
"Yes, you have and I could not see it." She turned around then to face him. "I'm not feeling very intelligent tonight."
"'There are none so blind as those who will not see.' Victoria, you are a very intelligent woman. You just did not want to see what was before you. I am, after all, a very ordinary man."
"You could never be ordinary. I have told you that before. Besides, the other señoritas didn't think so. You could have your pick of them, you know."
"Well, I do think I could have… Andrea." The name was barely out of his mouth before they both started laughing.
About a dozen insulting comments came to Victoria's mind about the señorita, but she kept her silence and let Diego speak first.
"She is not that happy a person, Victoria. I do not think she will last very long out here," Diego said softly, and she could tell he was genuinely concerned about the señorita. Something in her knew that it was the type of concern Zorro would feel for anyone, and she didn't feel any jealousy. But it did raise a question.
"Just how," she stepped forward, out of his embrace, and turned to him, "did she get Zorro's mask anyway?"
Then he told her of his encounter with the alcalde and the señoritas.
"They attacked you?"
"Like a pack of wild dogs. I would rather face armed lancers anytime." Diego continued to relate the rest of the story. Victoria began to giggle and she couldn't stop.
"It didn't seem so amusing at the time, I assure you!"
"But you're talking about something that happened to Zorro and you reacted to it like —"
"Like Diego?"
She sobered as he completed her thought and looked deeply into his eyes. "Yes. Not really like Zorro at all." She looked at him curiously. Tell me, are you Diego who wears a mask to become Zorro…or are you Zorro hiding behind the mask of Diego?"
He returned her gaze and shook his head slightly. "A bit of both, I imagine. The only thing that is important is …that you love me either way."
"I do. I have." She said the words sleepily, and turned to resume her place in his arms again, content to be resting against him and staring up at a sky full of stars.
"You are tired. We should be getting back…"
"No, no. This is nice…and I was just going to ask you about the gibbous part." She felt his body begin to rack with silent laughter and she started to giggle again, but then unmistakably, the sound of the alcalde's voice cut through the quiet night.
"Diego!"
They both turned to see De Soto striding across the stretch of sandy desert and heading straight for them. The two young people pulled apart, and Diego stepped in front of Victoria in a protective move.
"Diego, I've been looking for you everywhere!" Then, almost as an afterthought, he addressed Victoria. "Ah, Señorita Escalante. Now, Diego, I was hoping —"
Diego and Victoria exchanged puzzled glances.
"Alcalde! It is rather late. I was just walking the señorita back to the tavern."
"Oh….well, fine…I'll walk with you. Now, Diego," he began as he turned toward the tavern and grabbed Diego by the arm in a familiar manner.
Exchanging regretful looks behind the alcalde's back, there was nothing for the couple to do but head back toward the tavern. Their walk under the new moon had been spoiled by the alcalde.
"I need your help. You write poetry…I want you to help me —"
Diego stopped, his shock at the unusual manner De Soto was displaying toward him showing in his face. "You want my help with poetry?" When De Soto nodded, Victoria chuckled.
"Oh, if it is that important, I will leave you two to it. Diego, I suspect I have some dishes to attend to before I retire for the night." She extended her hand to him, and he kissed it elegantly. "I will see you tomorrow?"
"Of course, Victoria. We have much to discuss."
"Goodnight, Alcalde." She turned to walk toward the tavern with Diego looking longingly after her.
De Soto hardly noticed. "Now, Diego, Señora Ruiz is…well…rather…"
"Señora Ruiz?" Diego nodded, watching De Soto carefully. "She is quite a woman, Alcalde."
"Oh, Diego, you have no idea! She's …she's…" De Soto let the words hang in the air as he sighed heavily and happily.
"Oh yes, she is." Diego grinned to himself. "And the poetry?"
"Oh, yes. I need some better poetry. She deserves something so much better than I've been able to write…here….look at this. Do you think you can help?" De Soto handed him a wad of papers with scribbling all over them. "I don't even care if it rhymes or not!"
"Alcalde, if I am to help you in this, I have to know. What are your intentions toward the señora?" Diego asked seriously.
"Intentions! My intentions are to marry the woman, of course!" De Soto looked at Diego in complete surprise. "I would be a fool to let her get away!"
Diego smiled. The alcalde had been referred to as "a fool" so many times he couldn't count them all. It was nice to think that, for once, he was trying to avoid being one.
Author's notes:
Thanks to all for the reviews! They are like manna!
CW- I like the idea that one of the medals is a posthumous one…may have to use that idea.
Beverly and Becca- you guessed about the mask rightly – the famous mask from the garden scene. We all knew she just had to keep it.
But plot? What plot? I don't really do plots….I've written through chapter 13 and I have absolutely no idea how to end this story!
Hopefully, the keyboard does!