Chapter 4

The smell of burnt wood still hung on the plaza when Diego steered the carriage into the pueblo.
They came to a stop next to the pueblo fountain.
Where the tavern had once stood, only the remains of the chimneys and two outer walls now stood.
People who had seen Victoria arriving came to chat and tried to encourage her.
Victoria got off and walked over to the mess. Her eyes started to get watery again. The chimneys of the fireplace and the main room were still standing. They rose above everything like two kinds of misplaced towers.

Victoria felt a warm hand on her elbow stop her from coming closer. "We first need to make sure it is safe." Don Diego said.

"Señorita Escalante." Alcalde de Soto walked up from his office. Victoria wiped away the tear on her cheek. She didn't want de Soto to see her cry.
"I'm sorry this happened. Of course, I already started an investigation yesterday into how this could have happened."

"And what are the findings so far?" Diego stood behind her and looked at the alcalde with interest.

"That a fire has taken place. And fortunately, there are no victims. More investigation will follow, but rumours that Zorro may have something to do with it are becoming increasingly clear."

Victoria gave De Soto a venomous stare and snapped. "I know one thing for sure, señor alcalde. Zorro has nothing to do with this!"

De Soto narrowed his eyes and spoke viciously. "Believe what you will, senorita. I'm investigating the facts!
Besides, before I forget, my lancers have taken the liberty of placing your mare in the cartel stables. I assume you're arranging shelter for her."

Diego responded right away by saying. "We'll take her mare to our stables."

De Soto continued with his story. "I would also like to emphasize that my lancers did everything in their power to save the tavern and prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings."

Victoria nodded. She had to bite her lip to prevent tears from dwelling again.
"I am aware and grateful for that. Just like everyone else who helped to put out the fire."

De Soto muttered something unintelligible in irritation. He didn't appreciate that Victoria was grateful, not only to the lancers but to all Los Angeles residents who contributed in some way. Victoria watched De Soto stamp away angrily.

She uttered, "Can you believe it? De Soto actually wants to blame this on Zorro!"

Diego smiled. "He must have thought it was worth a try. I suppose you don't believe it."

"No one will. Besides, I know what kind of man Zorro is." Victoria turned her back on Diego and uttered. "I'll have to write to my brothers about what happened."

To which Diego said. "All in due time. Let's see if there's anything left to salvage first."

.

That evening Victoria went to her room right after dinner claiming to be tired.
Diego had apologized for going to his rooms, needing to write an article about the fire for the Guardian. Either way, the fire was big news and something people expected to read about in the local paper.
Alejandro and Felipe played chess. Victoria did fell tired, exhausted and empty.

After Diego made an inspection round and cleared the right side of the building where the fire had raged the least. She and Diego spent hours searching through the rubble and couldn't find anything of any value.
It was difficult trying to find anything because the building had collapsed, and all was covered by meters of charred wood and debris. Victoria hoped, after Diego had estimated roughly where her bedroom must have been, they would find her savings and the belongings she held most dear. All their efforts to find anything had been in vain. Had anything survived the blaze, it was deeper in the pile of rubble than they could reach the moment.

She would have to wait until tomorrow morning. The men had planned to start to clear the remains before Victoria could even try to find anything serious. Worst of all was the knowledge that somewhere beneath what had once been her tavern, there must be a gold ring adorned with countless small diamonds and a large emerald.
It was the ring Zorro had given her when he proposed to her. Victoria had always carefully stored the ring in a wooden box. And hopefully, she was able to find it again.

Victoria was about to get into bed when she heard a soft tapping against the bedroom window. She slipped into the velvet robe and opened the curtain with a quickening heartbeat. She only expected one person it could be.

All her expectations turned out to be true when she saw Zorro's contours in the moonlight. As quickly as possible, Victoria opened the garden door and threw herself into the waiting arms of her beloved.
He caught her and pressed her against his broad chest. She could feel his heartbeat beating under her hands.

"Victoria, I came as soon as I heard what happened. It's terrible."

Victoria couldn't help herself.
Countless people had offered her words of comfort. She had seen an infinite amount of encouraging and pitying gazes today. Now Victoria was in the arms of the man whose presence alone could be of great comfort. She clung to him. She threw her arms around his neck and wept in tears.
Zorro said nothing. All he did was caress her back tenderly and make soothing noises.

After a few minutes, Victoria began to stammer. "All is ruined. Don Diego thinks anything still standing will have to be demolished for safety reasons."

Zorro offered her a stark white handkerchief.
Victoria blew her nose. It occurred to her that she must look terrible with cheeks wet from crying and red eyes watery. Nevertheless, Zorro looked at her as lovingly as ever. He brushed tangled locks of hair from her face.

"At least you're alright. Although?" Zorro took her bandaged hand in his.

"It's nothing." She waved his worries away. "There are a few blisters on my palm. The bandage is just to protect against infection."

Zorro pressed kisses to the free fingertips. "Is it true that no one was seriously injured? I've tried to make inquiries. All I heard was that there were no casualties."

"You heard correvt. At the time of the fire, no one was in the tavern. That is the only bright side. Zorro, I am so sorry..., but...," Stalked Victoria. She had to tell him the truth and was trying to find the courage to bring him the terrible news.

She could delay a little longer as Zorro interrupted her. "Me too. The tavern means so much to you. Is there anything I can do for you to help?"

Victoria shook her head. '"At the moment, I'm getting all the help I could wish. Don Alejandro, don Diego and Felipe are so kind and helpful. And Maria does nothing but mother over me." She remembered something she thought Zorro should know. "Did you hear what de Soto claimed has happened?"

Zorro looked at her questioningly.

"That idiot thinks you have something to do with it." Zorro wanted to say something. Victoria silenced him. "I know you would never do such a thing. De Soto is just trying to give you a bad name again. I want you to know that de Soto can claim whatever he wants. I'll never believe him."

Zorro kissed her hand again. "Victoria, that means a lot to me. Thank you for showing so much trust. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to prevent the fire."
Zorro tenderly ran his lips over her cheeks.

"I doubt anyone could have done anything. Don Diego has promised to see what he can discover about what might have started the fire. His research will be more reliable." Victoria took a deep breath. "Zorro, there is one more thing you should know. I'm so sorry…," Victoria paused. The ring belonged to his mother and must be of sentimental value to him.
"Zorro, the ring you gave me. It was in my bedroom. I searched for it today, but I couldn't find it."

Zorro pressed his finger to her mouth.
"Stt, that's material. You're unharmed. That's more important to me."

"But." Victoria started again. "The ring belonged to your mother. You told me yourself. It must mean a lot to you."

Radiant white teeth gleamed in the moonlight. Did Zorro smile? "That is true. A ring is something you can replace. Had I lost you..., my will to live, it would be gone."

"Oh, Zorro." Victoria felt his arms pull her closer to his body. His lips found hers. Zorro kissed her so intensely that Victoria felt how much he cared for her down to her toes. For the first time in over a day, she forgot all her worries because, at that moment, there were only two people on the whole earth.

Out of breath, Zorro released Victoria. "I fear I have to leave you again too soon. Victoria, promise me, you won't feel guilty about the ring."

She nodded.

"And promise me you'll stay here as long as you need." Zorro ran his fingers over her cheek.

Everyfibre in her body wanted to prevent his departure. Victoria sensed had he had a choice, Zorro would stay with her. That's why she didn't beg him to stay.
And before Victoria knew it, the black shadow had disappeared, and she was holding a red rose in her hands.

.

The following morning everyone at the hacienda left for the pueblo early. The alcalde had said the lancers would help clean up the plaza and make the sight of Los Angeles worthy again. Diego had to put the finishing touches on the Guardian's edition due tomorrow.
Felipe and Don Alejandro had promised to help the lancers. It was mostly to keep an eye out should anything be found that survived the fire.
When Victoria arrived again seated in the carriage, the work had already started.
Many villagers sacrificed their free time to help one of the pueblo's most beloved residents.

The remainder of the right outer wall got pulled down first. Soon after, the first wagons of rubble left for the ravine two miles outside Los Angeles. The debris was to get thrown in there. All that was found and might come in handy during the rebuilding was kept aside.

Dazed, Victoria walked among the remains. She saw shards of glass from the bottles of wine that had shattered in the heat.
Even the red tiles that once formed the floor were almost unrecognizable from the soot and ash.
All the furniture was all or partly burned. Of the kitchen utensils, merely some pots and metal pans, some might be cleaned enough and able to get reused.
Victoria sneezed. The work continued to stir up dust and penetrate the nostrils and throat.

After a few hours of steady, hard work, the kitchen floor was partly visible again.

Victoria searched again for the box where once her bedroom had been. Again she found nothing.
It was most likely the wooden box burned, and the pesos in it had fallen further down and could not yet get seen.
She had kept the ring in a drawer of the dressing table. Victoria found the table badly damaged. The drawer in which Victoria kept the ring was missing. Had the ring falling to the ground? The rubble layer was several feet thick, and the ring could be anywhere in the huge pile of debris.

"Señorita Escalante." someone asked.

Victoria turned, and there was a man who seemed only vaguely familiar to her.

The man stepped over a half-burnt beam. "I am sorry that this has happened. My name is don Miguel, and I represent the bank in Santa Paula. I came to Los Angeles as soon as the news got out."

Victoria managed to put a sort of smile on her face, saying.
"Don Miguel, I'm afraid I can't offer you a beverage."

Don Miguel glared around disapprovingly with a look dripping with horror at what he saw.
Victoria was aware she must look terrible.
Her entire body was covered in a fine layer of dust and ashes. And Victoria suspected that her hair was stiff and had a dull grey colour.

The man coughed politely.
"Understandable, and a beverage is not for what I came. You will understand that given your situation, my bank feels forced to claim the remaining mortgage immediately without further notice."

Victoria heard the words and knew the meaning, yet it refused to sink through to her.

Don Miguel continued. "Senorita, you seem like a reasonable woman to me. It's unusual for a bank to mortgage a woman for such a high amount. And now that the collateral as such no longer exists..., You understand..."

Victoria straightened her back, making herself as tall as possible, crossed her arms and asked in a penetrating tone. "What are you trying to tell me, don Miguel?"

The man rummaged through the papers in his hand, pulled out a document and handed it to Victoria. "I am here to claim the residual debt."

Victoria reached out to take the paper. "What?"

"Well, señorita Escalante. Please try to understand the situation from our point of view. A bank can only be profitable if its borrowers pay off their debt as agreed.

Victoria felt anger bubbling up inside her.
It was only two days ago when her business got burned. And this man dared to come to her and say such a thing. She had never missed a payment on her mortgage. Every centavo was paid on time, even at the beginning when it had been hard. With her teeth clenched and eyes sparkling with rage, Victoria uttered. "Don Miguel. I have always paid the mortgage on time. Do you realize that my tavern got burned? It was a force majeure."

"Señorita, of course, we understand. All I ask is you try to understand the situation you placed your bank in." The man had a fake smile on his lips, which he thought was considerate. The tone in his voice agitated Victoria. He was speaking to her like she was stupid.

"Señorita Escalante, that's why you get a week to get your affairs back in order. Let me see," The man searched for a while between a thick pile of papers and pulled one out. "Ah, here I have it. Si, here it is. The remaining debt is three thousand, four hundred and seventy-eight pesos and forty-eight centavo. My bosses are lenient enough to let the interest expire over this period."

Victoria looked horrified. She hadn't even had that much money before the fire. Even when she found all her savings back at this moment, it wouldn't be enough to pay half the amount.
"But I've always paid on time." Victoria tried again to make don Miguel understand she needed more time. "The next repayment term isn't due for two months." Victoria sputtered. To her relief, she saw Diego approaching. He must have heard the last part of the conversation. Diego was a man who could come up with good arguments. Don Miguel would certainly listen to him. If anyone could bring Don Miguel to reason, it was don Diego.

As Victoria had secretly hoped, Diego did indeed speak after running his eyes over the document. "Señor, forgive me for listening in on you and the señorita.
Señorita Escalante is a good friend of mine. Given the situation, I am sure there must be some understanding that the señorita will need more than a few days to rebuild and get things up and running."

"Señor…,?" Don Miguel looked questioningly at Diego.

"De la Vega," said Diego in a mild tone.

The name didn't ring a bell to don Miguel because he didn't seem impressed by Diego's introduction.
"I am just an employee, and I am performing a task as my employer has asked me to do. In my opinion, the bank is already showing a most generous side. The señorita has one week. Otherwise, all her possessions or what is left will get sold in an auction." Don Miguel looked around disapprovingly. As if he wanted to remind her that the mountain of rubble was not worth a centavo to him. " If you ask my opinion, my employer may already contend that this mess yields a tenth of the residual debt. I am also authorized to inform you that no new mortgage will get granted to you. In case you wanted to ask."
Don Miguel tapped his hat with his hand. "I trust soon there will be a solution. Adiós, señorita Escalante, señor." And he walked towards his horse.

Half the pueblo watched as don Miguel mounted his horse and disappeared from view.
Victoria sank to her knees and burst into tears for the umpteenth time in two days. Diego kneeled next to her and comforted her as best he could.
Diego stroked Victoria's hair.

She sobbed, hiding her face in the fragrant linen of Diego's white shirt.
"What am I supposed to do? Where on earth am I going to get such an amount of money? I have nothing left. Even these clothes aren't my own."

Diego addressed her in a soothing tone. "Victoria, my father and I will gladly lend you the money to pay off the bank and rebuild the tavern."

"I can't accept that." Snottered Victoria. "I will never be able to repay such an amount."

"Do you have a choice? The bank has just said it not lend you any more money. Victoria, let us help you. The tavern will get rebuilt. More beautiful and stronger than ever before. I already have some ideas of how it could be and make some improvements.
We will help you turn it into a thriving business again."
Diego stroked her back.

Victoria pressed her hands to his chest and pushed herself to escape the comforting embrace that felt far too pleasant for her liking.

"Diego, I don't want that. I don't want a better tavern! I want my tavern! I don't want to borrow money from anyone. And I don't need charity!"
Victoria scrambled to her feet.
A large crowd had gathered, and everyone was watching with interest. Horrified, Victoria realized that everything she was doing at the moment seemed to turn into one big spectacle.

The gossipers would love it. From the words, don Miguel had said. To how don Diego had comforted her. In any case, everyone had stopped working and was busy pretending to be doing something when, in reality, all eyes were on her. Victoria couldn't take it anymore.
She ran across the plaza and did something she would never think of doing otherwise. She wanted to escape everything. In the distance, she saw a golden-coloured mare standing by the Guardian's office.
Victoria released Esperanza's reins from the beam.

Behind her, she heard Diego calling. "Victoria, wait a minute!"

She couldn't.
She had to get away and would apologize to Diego later. Victoria mounted Esperanza and made her way out of the pueblo.

.

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