Chapter 14

The dormitory was alive with excitement after the celebrations ended. With every one of over one hundred señoritas vying with each other to tell her own story of what happened during the evening, the din was thunderous. The dueñas made a few futile attempts at shushing the babbling señoritas and finally gave up and sought their own beds, leaving the girls to chatter away to each other long into the morning hours.

Once the topic of Zorro came to the fore, the discussion of all the other men ceased. The señoritas that had actually seen him described every detail, with each girl embellishing a bit more than the last. Some said he had just talked to the alcalde. Some said he had fought with the alcalde. Still others described how he had beaten the alcalde and several of the lancers savagely before escaping into the night shadows.

"Did you not see the alcalde's bruised face at the end of the night?"

"Zorro did that!"

"No, he didn't! I was there!"

"So was I! I saw —"

But the tongues stopped wagging when Andrea's strident voice rose above the din as she held up high the remnants of a black silken mask. With a confident smirk, she slowly turned so each girl could see exactly what she held.

"See this! He gave it to me. All of you saw him for moments. I spent hours with the man!" She looked about her, satisfied that all eyes and ears were glued to her. There was silence for only a moment. Then the questions began bombarding her from all sides at once.

"What is he like?"

"Did you really see his face?"

"Truly?"

"Is he as handsome as Diego de la Vega under that mask?"

"Oh, believe me," Andrea assured the girl, as she found her voice once more, "he is more handsome than that babbling bookworm!" She smiled knowingly. "And so much more of a MAN!" She watched the shock spread from one face to another as they took in her meaning.

Then one small voice came from the young girl at her elbow. "Do you mean you …and…he…" But the señorita could not even ask her question; it was such a forbidden subject.

"Yes! I mean exactly that!" Andrea stated loudly and watched the girl, cowed, step back away from her. "We spent hours wrapped in each other's arms under the moonlight." Andrea held up the mask again. "Is this not proof of what I say?"

"It's torn!" One girl pointed out to her.

"Oh, Zorro did that." Andrea said quickly. "He just couldn't take it off fast enough. He was in such a hurry to expose his secret identity to me. You should have heard the way he —"

"But what about Señorita Escalante!"

"What about that tavern wench?" Andrea asked sharply.

"She is Zorro's woman." Juliana said evenly. Then, as she thought more about it, she said, "Or she was… until tonight."

"Is Zorro so fickle?" Another señorita spoke up in an almost wailing cry.

"But Don Diego —"

"Zorro has been searching for a real woman." Andrea declared to one and all. "He hasn't had even a hope of that until now. Mark my words; Señorita Escalante will never satisfy him after tonight." Andrea took the scarf and patted her neck with it suggestively. "She can have her old stuffy and boring Don Diego!"

"It is true! Don Diego is now betrothed to Señorita Escalante!"

The attention in the room zeroed in on Juliana and her knowledge of what had happened with Diego. As they all sought to hear her answers, Andrea got pushed aside, and she found herself on the outside of the scrum of señoritas.

"Yes, did you not hear his father and Señora Sanchez? They were caught —"

Sarita broke in, "Oh, but you know the dueñas. They always think they see more than they really do. I can't believe that Diego would —"

"Don Diego is a —" Andrea interjected loudly, trying to be heard over the others, but she was ignored completely.

"That is true. Don Diego has always been a perfect gentleman. He would never —"

"That's right! He wouldn't!"

"You can always tell a man of breeding!"

"I heard the de la Vegas are actually related to the King!"

"I heard that too! Do you suppose…"

"But Zorro… who knows about him?" Beatriz wondered aloud, biting her bottom lip as she tried to reason it all out for herself. "After all, he is an outlaw!"

"But the people here seem to love him!" Sarita reasoned.

"Ignacio doesn't!"

"Listen to me! I —" Andrea tried once again to regain their attention, but to no avail.

"That's true too. And he is the alcalde."

"Appointed by the King himself! You would think his word would carry more weight than the average citizen."

"Now just a minute! Why!" Sarita objected. "The entire pueblo says one thing about Zorro, and one man says something else." Sarita shook her head from side to side. "And remember how Ignacio has courted several of us at the same time. That is not exactly an upstanding thing to do!"

"Exactly!" Beatriz seized upon the idea. "That snake!"

"Zorro is a hero…that's what the people say! He fights for justice!"

Andrea put two fingers to her lips and brought the discussion to a screeching halt by letting out a shrieking whistle.

"There! Now, girls, of course Zorro is a hero!" She put every ounce of indignation she could muster into her defense of Zorro. As the señoritas once more turned all eyes upon her, the effect was spoiled by her next pronouncement. "Otherwise, he would never be worthy of me. Did I tell you that —"

"Oh, Andrea, why don't you just be quiet!" Sarita had had enough of her bragging. "No one really believes you have done half the things you claim. Why should we start believing you now! You have been spouting off about these kinds of escapades since we left Madrid, and I, for one, am sick of it!"

Silence settled all around as Andrea stood there open-mouthed. The moments ticked by slowly and no one said a thing. Andrea finally closed her mouth, and with her eyes flaming with hatred, she flounced out of the room.

The sound of the distant outside door downstairs slamming shut caused an instant relief to spread through the long, crowded dormitory room. Gradually, in hushed whispers, the talking began again, but this time, the topics steered clear of Andrea, Diego and Zorro.