Chapter 6

Before he could step forward, Victoria grabbed his arm. "Diego?" she whispered as she fainted, and he could barely catch her before he fell to the ground. "Take her to the kitchen where she can recover," his father pointed at the tavern behind him, as he picked her up.

He carried her into the tavern and through the main room that was deserted since everyone was in the main plaza. Victoria blinked a little but remained limp.

"You can put me down again," Victoria said, opening her eyes as soon as they had reached the kitchen. "I'm all right."

"Are you sure?" he asked after he had put her back on her feet, still steadying her with his arm around her back. "You should better sit down. It must have been the heat. You need to drink something."

"I only pretended to faint because I didn't want you to intervene and risk your life," Victoria admitted. "It was the only thing that came to my mind."

"Why didn't you want me to intervene?"

"Because it's nothing that Diego would do, and the alcalde could have found out who you are."

"I see. I didn't know that. It seems I have to thank you for saving my life with your intervention. You are really as clever as you are beautiful." He took her hand and kissed it looking straight into her eyes.

"No, you can't do this!" Victoria abruptly pulled back her hand. "Not here."

"What do you mean by that? Don't you like me kissing your hand?" He had had noticed the flash of energy between them when they had looked into each other's eyes. It still left him in a heightened mood, and his heart was beating faster. "I know I do."

"I like it," she said, blushing, "but you can't do it here in the kitchen. Someone may see us."

"And that would be bad?"

"Yes, very bad."

"So, I'm not allowed to kiss your hand in public, but I can when we are alone?" He grinned at her broadly. "I realize my life is very complicated when you and my father are throwing rules at me all the time, telling me what I can't do. They make little sense to me, but I will agree if you visit me often." He bowed to her politely. Victoria opened her mouth again to say something, but he stopped her with a sign of his hand. "Don't say anything. You don't want me to bow to you either."

Victoria shut her mouth and nodded.

"Life must be boring between the two of us if I can't properly pay you my respect. No wonder you haven't married me yet if I never told you how beautiful you are. I intend to change that when we are not in public."

Victoria gaped at him with an expression of disbelief as he winked at her.

"Are you all right, Victoria?" His father came into the kitchen to check on them. "I was concerned when you fainted in the plaza."

"I'm all right. I wanted to keep Diego from confronting the alcalde, so I pretended to faint. It was the only thing I could think of," Victoria explained.

"That was good thinking, Victoria. It was the best thing to do in this situation," his father said, throwing him a glance.

"The alcalde is torturing peasants, and you want me to stand by? Do you think this is right, Father? Don't you want to do anything about it?" he challenged his father angrily.

"Diego, please let us talk about this later when we're back home." He pointed at Victoria's helper, who had entered the kitchen to fulfill some orders. "I think it's now time to enjoy Victoria's delicious food that I can smell from the stove."

He was still angry, but he agreed it was better to talk about it in private and joined his father at a table in the main room that was now buzzing with talk from various tables.

As soon as they were seated, a soldier approached their table. "Don Diego, it's good to see you again. I heard you were ill. Are you feeling better today?"

Before he could say anything, Victoria interrupted him, putting a tray with glasses on the table. "Can you imagine, Sergeant, Don Diego not only fell from his horse and lost his memory, but he also managed to get a cold at the same time? So, don't wonder if his voice sounds different today, and he shouldn't talk much either."

He threw her a glare, but she looked at him challenging while she distributed the drinks, putting a glass of juice in front of him and the sergeant while serving his father a pitcher of wine.

"Victoria is right," his father said with a smile. "You should take care and not talk too much, so your voice doesn't get worse." He threw a murderous glance at his father, who appeared all too willing to join in Victoria's scheme to silence him, but his father only grinned. Why didn't they want him to talk, and what was wrong with his voice? And why didn't she serve him wine, too? Only because he was supposed to have a cold?

"I'm sorry to hear that, Don Diego, but at least you can still enjoy the delicious food." The sergeant rubbed his belly.

Victoria had told him he was having lunch with the sergeant often, so it wouldn't be unusual to ask him to sit down. "Why don't you join us, Sergeant, and tell me what is going on in the pueblo? As the editor, I need to be prepared for the next edition of the newspaper."

"That's very generous, Don Diego. I'd like to join you for lunch, but I don't have much time since the alcalde wants us to be on the lookout for Zorro. He expects him to arrive as soon as he hears of José, and I need to post my soldiers on their posts, as always, you know." The sergeant sat down at the table, gulping down his glass of juice before he helped himself to the wine from the pitcher in front of his father.

"As always, Sergeant?" he asked, coughing a little, covering his mouth with his hand, as he decided to play along with his father and Victoria, just in case there was something wrong with his voice.

"It sounds like a real cold to me, Don Diego," the soldier remarked on his coughing. "Yes, placing the soldiers at their locations where they have a chance to catch Zorro." Then Mendoza continued to list all the spots where he intended to post a soldier for the lookout while helping himself to more wine until the pitcher was empty. "I have to go now." Mendoza burped and rose from the table. "Thank you for the wine."

"I don't mind, Sergeant," his father said sarcastically. "I had one glass, and Diego never drinks wine."

Not getting the hint, the sergeant smiled broadly. "I knew you wouldn't mind, Don Alejandro, and I hope your cold is getting better soon, Don Diego."

He never drank wine? What that the reason Victoria didn't serve him any? Didn't he like it? Or was this just another thing 'Diego' didn't do? What other things were there he wasn't supposed to do as 'Diego'? Life was becoming more complicated by the minute and needed to get back his memory urgently.

Impatient to return to the hacienda, he finished his lunch quickly, and his father seemed to be relieved that he didn't want to stay longer in the pueblo, so they were on their way half an hour later.

"Are you feeling worse again?" his father asked, concerned. "Do you want to lie down again? You should have said something, then I could have asked Doctor Hernandez to have another look at you while you were in the pueblo."

"I'm feeling better, and the reason I wanted to return is that I have a job to do."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Have you already forgotten the peasant who is suffering in the stock in the heat? You kept me from protesting in the plaza, but I know what is expected from me."

"You can't ride as Zorro again! You haven't recovered from the concussion yet. You won't even find your way around in the pueblo. How will you escape if you have forgotten everything about it? You didn't even know you had an office until I showed it to you."

"I'm sure there must be a map somewhere, and the sergeant told us where the soldier are posted. I will be prepared by studying the layout of the pueblo and my usual escape routes."

"Please, Diego, you can't go. Not yet!"

"What do you expect me to do? Wait while that man is suffering and dying? You and your fellow caballeros are doing nothing. You voice a protest, and then you wait for Zorro to save the day!"

"You make me feel ashamed," his father said guiltily. "You are right that we relied too much on Zorro all these years, but I don't want you to continue when I know that it's you behind that mask. I can't lose you! You are my only son."

"The peasant in the plaza can't wait until the caballeros of this pueblo make up their mind. I will ride as Zorro to free him. Felipe will help me with the preparations."