visit: sat down to dinner with Diego and Felipe that evening. Felipe pulled out her chair for her and pushed it back in when she sat down.
"Thank you, Felipe. Diego, where's Don Alejandro?"
Diego spread his napkin over his lap and smiled. "He wasn't feeling too well, so he retired early." After a prayer, the three began to eat their dinner.
"Diego, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me."
He looked up from his plate. "Well, I'll try to."
She smiled. "My grandfather used to brag about his best student, the only one to beat him in a fencing lesson. And he said that that student is now the possessor of his championship saber, the same saber that Zorro had." Diego looked a little shocked that she had noticed. "I was wondering how Zorro got my grandfather's saber."
"Well, Zorro could have stolen it. You know how bandits are."
"But whom did he steal it from?"
"Well, I heard that Zorro was in France a few years ago. He could have stolen it there." Diego smiled disarmingly. Mara blinked at him a few times and resumed eating her meal.
-----
Later that evening, Mara sat in the study reading one of Diego's books. She heard noises coming from the fireplace and got up. She hadn't seen Felipe since dinner and Diego was in his room. She shut the book that she was reading and set it on the sofa. Bending over, she started to explore the inside of the fireplace. Two of the panels were solid but the third was hollow.
"Hello, what's this?" She smiled at her discovery and backed up so she could stand again. She ran her hand over the mantle and under it, over the sides and up the fronts - and on the secret button. The small door opened and she entered the room behind it. She walked down some stairs until she came to a big cave with tables and glass bottles in it. Everything looked quite used and cleaned as if someone was in there every day. She ran her fingers over the bookshelves and the desk and then she saw Toronado. She looked bewildered. "What is a horse doing down here?" She walked over to him and pet his slender neck. "Hello, boy. What are you doing here?" She stopped and gasped when she saw Felipe in a corner of the stall. "Felipe, what are you doing down here?" He swept the floor for a second and pointed to his broom. "I see." She walked back into the big room. "Felipe, what is this room?" He signed to her that it was Diego's laboratory. "Oh, Diego is a scientist?" Felipe nodded.
"Felipe, Mara! Where are you?" They both looked up at the ceiling.
"It's Don Alejandro!" She started to run up the stairs but he stopped her. He looked through a spy hole in the wall and then let her go. They ran up the stairs and entered the study. Mara picked up her book and Felipe sat down next to her, both pretending to read it. Alejandro walked into the room and was taken aback.
"Ah, there you two are. I just checked this room though... How did you ...oh, never mind. Felipe, where's Diego?" Felipe said that he was sleeping. "Well, if he wakes up, tell him that I want to speak with him." Alejandro left the room muttering, and Mara and Felipe silently laughed together. ---Cue that funny music that plays when Diego and Felipe are almost caught and they laugh about it.---
-----
Mara walked around the De la Vega's courtyard before bed. She admired their beautiful garden and veranda. How she wished that she had a house like it. She jumped when Felipe touched her arm.
"Felipe, I thought that you were asleep." He smiled and shook his head. He signed a little and she watched him. "You want me to keep the cave a secret?" He nodded. "Of course, Felipe. I was wrong to be there in the first place." She flushed and looked down because Felipe was staring at her. He reached out and ran his fingers on her cheek. Her heart was beating fast as he leaned in to kiss her. His lips brushed hers for a second.
"Mara!" Diego walked out of the back door and Felipe backed away from her. "Oh, there you are." He looked at Felipe and then back at Mara. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?" Mara smiled at him.
"Of course not, Diego." She grinned and began to walk back to the house. She stopped in the doorway and looked back with a smile.
-----
Mara got up the next morning feeling light-headed. She almost forgot about her meeting with Zorro, but remembered before she went back to sleep. She jumped out of bed and put on some black riding pants with a peasant blouse and tan vest. She put on a locket and clipped parts of her hair back on each side. She heard a knock at her door and got up to answer it. It was Alejandro.
"Ah, Señorita Mara. I see you are up early." She grinned. "Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Thank you." She closed the door and finished getting dressed. When she was done, she started going to the dining room but stopped. She heard voices and they were arguing. She walked over to the doorway and flattened against the wall.
"Father, Felipe is entitled to make his own decisions. If he wants to marry someone, then he should do it."
"Diego, he's still a child. He's not old enough to make a commitment like that."
"I was his age when I went to college."
"Yes, but you were more mature. More ready. Besides, they aren't even the same age."
"Yes they are. She might seem older, but she is 19, just like Felipe." Mara looked blankly at the wall in front of her. Who were they talking about? Felipe loved someone else? But he had kissed her!