Chapter 7. Espionage.
Half an hour later the lancer entered the office.
"Mi alcalde, el seƱor de la Vega has entered the tavern."
The alcalde smiled and tied his beard. "Well, soldado. That's all."
The lancer squared his shoulders and withdrew. The alcalde got up from his chair and walked out the door to the square, in the direction of the tavern, peering into where there was light. He saw that on the right side of the building something was still lit. He walked over to the window and listened.
Diego had been attentive to the lancer keeping watch, and had been looking out the other window, hidden in the shadows, so he saw the alcalde heading that way.
"He's coming." he said to Victoria. She was on the other side, close to the position the alcalde was approaching, who was drawn to the light like a moth. Diego stood next to her and signaled.
"Diego, it's time for you to go. Thank you for helping me, but I have to go to sleep."
"Just a few more minutes, I hardly ever get to enjoy your company, you're always so busy you don't have time for a friend."
The alcalde smiled, thinking Victoria would get rid of him.
"Well, with my job I have little free time."
"I know, you deserve to spend more time doing something you enjoy."
"I like working at the tavern. I do it well and the customers enjoy my cooking."
"Of course, you're a wonderful cook."
"Sycophant." thought the alcalde.
Diego continued. "But there are more things in life besides working. What about your heart?"
"My heart is none of your business." she said defensively. "Besides, lately I've heard it said that you're a seducer and take advantage of women. Is that what you're trying to do with me? Convince me with pretty words and then find someone else?"
"Of course not. You are different from the others. I would never play with your feelings."
"But you once told me you loved a woman who is in love with someone else."
"I thought you were in love with Zorro, and he with you, but I'm not so sure anymore."
"You mean I am that woman? And what do you mean when you say you're not sure?"
Diego did not answer the first question, which de Soto thought was a good move, but answered the other question directly.
"If Zorro really loved you he would have dropped that mask and married you, either here or by taking you with him far away where no one knew you. You say that I try to seduce you with pretty words, but isn't it he who addresses you flattery and then runs off not to return for many days?"
"He says that one day he will take off his mask." she said, in an almost tearful voice.
"But that day will never come. You will have wasted your youth waiting for him, and you will no longer have the chance to have children of your own. Tell me. has he made you any promises?"
This part was difficult for Victoria, because even though she already knew the truth it still hurt her to think of all the time she had spent waiting for him. She waited a few seconds and finally answered. "He told me that he would make me his wife but that he couldn't formally ask for my hand because he didn't know when he will be able to stop acting like Zorro."
"But he doesn't know when that day will come either. I offer you a different life, I am not like him, I am here for you. And I will always be by your side if you accept me."
"You mean marriage?"
"Yes, because you are the woman I spoke of, the woman I love. I'm asking you to be my wife."
The alcalde blinked in confusion. Was this a trick to woo her, or was the fool in love with her? He glued his ear to the window even more so as not to miss a word.
"And what about the other women?" she said in an angry tone.
"There are no others, only you."
"Tell me the truth." she said very firmly. "If you intend to be my husband I must know everything about you."
The alcalde heard Diego throat clearing. "There she got you." he muttered.
Diego finally replied. "I never made promises to other women. They weren't like you, they were a desperate attempt to forget you for a while, to console myself for not being able to have the one woman I really want."
"I don't know if I can believe you."
"There have been other women, but what I felt for them was only a mirage, a pale reflection of what I feel next to you. If I have you I will never look at another. Let me prove it to you."
Diego's tone was desperate, but the alcalde was unsure of his sincerity. However that wasn't all he could think about. "That phrase is pure gold, I have to write it down before I forget it."
The alcalde forgot prudence and walked over to peek through the window. He saw Diego standing in front of Victoria. He had taken one of her hands and was caressing it. She was looking at him with wide eyes.
"I don't know if I can trust you." she said.
"I give you my word. My heart is yours forever." he said reaching up to caress her cheek. She did not pull away, but leaned slightly into his hand, and de Soto knew she was lost. "It worked for him, how skillful."
Diego slowly moved closer to her finally kissing her.
