Chapter 6

The next morning Victoria was up at the crack of dawn. She was slightly surprised to find Diego in the kitchen.
Even more so, because Diego gave her the impression of him being exhausted. As if he hadn't slept all night. His eyes were glassy. He hadn't shaved yet and looked a bit pale.

Victoria knew that this was not the case. Right after supper the previous day, Diego had retreated early to his quarters, as he said he was tired from the long journey to Santa Paula. It had been don Alejandro who had kept her company until bedtime. Perhaps Diego had been reading a book till late at night, Victoria thought. She knew from don Alejandro's regular complaints that Diego often forgot the time when he was reading a book that interested him.
Diego sat half asleep behind a plate of cold tortillas from the evening before.

"You're not going to make a habit of this, are you?" Victoria remarked jokingly while pouring two cups of coffee. Maria had beaten her to the kitchen and had put the kettle on.

"Excuse me," Diego jerked up from his half-asleep state.

Victoria laughed. "You, being awake so early. I asked if you plan to make a habit of it?"

Diego yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I don't think so. Victoria, you had said you wanted to go to the pueblo to stock up on food. I thought maybe you could use a hand."

"That's very kind. And I'm happy to take you up on your offer."

Diego yawned again and got up. "Then I'll head to the stable to buckle the wagon."

Victoria could not shake off the thought that Diego had not seen his bed last night. Even though his tiredness was his fault, she appreciated that Diego, famous for staying in bed until noon, offered to help her.

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How correct Victoria her suspicion of the truth, she never would know. Zorro had been out that night to see if he could find traces of what might have caused the fire and search for anything of emotional value for Victoria. Wearily, Diego rubbed his neck, thinking back to the day of the fire.

As soon as Diego had realized it was indeed the tavern on fire. And he had viewed Victoria galloping towards the pueblo in a blind panic. He had sent his horse by the other side into the pueblo to enter the tavern at the back. Diego knew where Victoria kept her savings and had hastily searched under the floorboards. He had overlooked the mirror she had found. He had been too diligent in his search for the ring.
He had searched until he could no longer stand the searing heat of the conflagration.
Once outside, his lungs still gasping for fresh air Diego, running around the building to see what he could do to minimize the damage. To his horror, he had seen Victoria trying to enter the tavern. The heat had been unimaginable minutes prior. And it had already taken him an immense effort to make his way out.
He shouldn't have come two seconds later either. If he had, Victoria would probably no longer be alive.

Afterwards, it had astonished him how much strength he had managed to squeeze out of his body in an effort to get Victoria as far away from the danger as possible.

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It had taken two weeks to clear all the debris from the tavern.
Providing meals was a great success. In no time at all, it was no longer merely the men at work stopping by to fill their stomachs.
In one of the many barns of the de la Vega rancho Felipe and Diego had found an old stove. The stove got moved to Los Angeles, where Diego had used old pieces of canvas to build a simple shelter on the location where her stable had first stood. At first, it had been a riddle to Victoria why Diego was bothering with this.
Many of her regular guests came by and asked if Victoria would serve them a meal. And before long, the open-air restaurant had opened. Travellers who passed through Los Angeles on their way south or north were pleased to quench their thirst and hunger in the tiny open restaurant.

Since then, Victoria has worked each day in the makeshift kitchen. Daily serving breakfast and lunch. The earnings still did not reach what she made when the tavern was open. But she had enough customers to hire one of her helpers again.
Victoria did not yet serve dinner and the meals served were simple. Still, many Los Angelinos did rejoice that there was again a central meeting place in the pueblo where something could be eaten and drunk.

Victoria had spent countless hours searching for the ring. And everyone knew by now that if anyone found a golden ring, it had belonged to her mother. Victoria kept repeating this excuse because it would be stupid to say she had received the piece of jewellery from Zorro.

Diego had made drawings to build a new tavern on what was still usable from the foundations of the old one.

Meanwhile, it had become clear that the fire had started because two brothers had thought it would be exciting to have a small fire behind the building. The parents, poor farmers from the area, had felt guilty. They had offered to sell their farm to pay off some of her debts.
However, the farm was worth less than a tenth of what it would cost to restore the tavern to its original state. And Victoria could not bear to ruin this family's life as much as she felt her life got ruined.

All this time, Victoria was living with the de la Vegas.
Don Alejandro insisted that he liked having her as a guest in his house. Victoria sometimes had her doubts about what don Diego thought of her. He was always gallant and considerate. Yet it had happened several times in recent weeks that he seemed at a loss as to what attitude to adopt. Just three days ago, she had walked into the library. Diego had stood with his back turned to her by the fireplace. He had just about jumped out of the air in fright and spun some muddled tale about how he had a new idea for her tavern.
And last week, he and Felipe had been talking about something. As soon as she rounded the corner, she saw Felipe turning pale with fright, and Diego started to tell some nonsense story about the clouds reminding him of the white sails of a large ship. At that moment, Victoria had planned to ask Diego whether he would mind recommending her a book. The atmosphere between the men had been so cramped that Victoria felt relieved when Felipe had begun to gesture there was something outside that he wanted to show her urgently.
It turned out to be one of the newborn foals Juan had shown her the day before.

At first, Victoria thought that unintentionally or without knowing how she had hurt Diego's feelings that day.
Because he had chosen to dine in his room in the evening. It was a thing Diego often did, according to don Alejandro telling her there was no reason to feel guilty for something she hadn't done.
The old don had not been surprised when Felipe pressed a note into his hand explaining Diego had chosen to dine in the privacy of his private quarters.
The following morning, however, Diego had been there to help her lift the heavy pans of food onto the cart.

Victoria had asked him if she had unwittingly offended him or something. Diego had denied it vehemently. The reason for him to dine in his room the night before was that he had suddenly developed a severe headache. Or that was what he tried to make her believe.
The apologetic grin he had on his face came across as a lie. Victoria even suspected that his ears had turned red at that moment.

And there had been more disturbing moments accrued. Things Victoria had never noticed before. Like that time, she had poured Diego some coffee and, accidentally, their fingers had met. Victoria had felt a strange sensation. And it hadn't been that just one time.
When she was sitting beside Diego at the cart and, their hips touched, Victoria felt her body shiver from a most disturbing sensation.
It was ridiculous her body responded in such a way. She had to remind herself the man next to her was don Diego, a good friend. And she had never felt anything special for him. It was weird that her body did respond to him in such a way as her mind kept telling her it meant absolutely nothing.

Last week, Victoria bought some pieces of cloth at the market. She used them to make two new skirts and three new blouses so that she no longer had to feel guilty about wearing doña Felicidad's clothes.
Don Alejandro had heard this from Maria and had insisted again that she could keep the clothes. Nevertheless, Victoria thought it would feel better to wear the clothes she had paid for herself.
Buying new clothes and two weeks of preparing a daily meal for over thirty men was quite a burden on her savings.

Despite Diego's plan to rebuild the tavern with as little expense as possible, it was to cost more money than Victoria had ever seen together. It was a sum too large to borrow from a friend, no matter how wealthy the family was. And the bank would never give her a mortgage for it.
Victoria began to think more and more that she should give up on owning a tavern ever again. It might be better to use the savings she had left to pay off the current mortgage as much as possible and then look for a job as a cook somewhere. With her experience, she should be able to find work in a large hacienda or get a job in a tavern in one of the larger pueblos near Los Angeles easily.
The latter idea particularly bothered Victoria because most of these taverns got to run by men and were well known for waitresses offering other services besides a nice meal and a bed.
Victoria had never allowed gambling in her tavern. And she had enough experience with men, drunk or sober, to know some plainly thought they could demand such services.

Absorbed in her thoughts, Victoria heard don Alejandro calling for Diego in the distance. She walked into the corridor where don Alejandro met her. "Victoria, have you seen Diego?" He asked her.
As the don said that, piano music suddenly sounded from the library.
"Ah, never mind, I think I hear him." Don Alejandro passed her, stepped into the library, and Victoria heard him say. "Diego, didn't you hear me calling for you?"

Stunned, Victoria remained nailed to the floor. The library? She had just come from there. And then Diego was nowhere to be seen. She hadn't heard the front door open either. Diego couldn't have appeared out of thin air, could he? Victoria wondered, negating the idea right after. No, of course not. There must be a logical explanation for it. Victoria shook off the suspicion she was feeling. It was his hacienda, and Diego had every right to choose wherever he pleased to be.

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That evening was the seventh time since her stay that Diego had missed dinner. Victoria felt sorry for the old don who said he was glad he didn't have to eat alone these days when his son was absent again.

"Oh well," Alejandro uttered to Victoria. "That boy has a weak constitution. I can't imagine how unpleasant it is to get such severe headaches at the most inopportune moments. Although," Alejandro grinned. "Occasionally, I suspect Diego uses it as an excuse to read a new book undisturbed."

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Diego had called Victoria into the dining room and unrolled a large piece of parchment on the table. It was the drawing he had made for the rebuilding of the tavern. Diego explained the improvements he had made. The kitchen had become more spacious. The pantry he had moved from the east side to the north side, where food would usually stay cooler. At the rear of the building, Diego had drawn an indoor outhouse.
Realizing this would mean that she and her guests would no longer have to go outside private business, she told him how fancy she thought it was.
Diego had also moved the staircase further back as it had been in the old situation, making it somewhat narrower. It meant that there was more room in the main hall. Against one of the side walls, Diego's idea was to build a folding stage for performances in the tavern. In the past, Victoria had sometimes indicated that she would like more rooms. Diego had taken this into account as well. He had even placed a connecting door in several rooms so that, if necessary, two small rooms could become one large one or vice versa. In short, on paper, the new tavern looked like a dream.

"It all sounds very nice. But how much will it cost to realize it all like this?"

"Victoria," Diego sighed. "How often do we have to tell you not to worry about the money?"

"That's easy for you to say. You don't have to cough up three and a half thousand pesos in just over five months when you don't even have a quarter. And how am I supposed to pay the workers to build the tavern? Many people have helped with the demolition without asking for anything in return but a hot meal. They are not going to do that with the rebuilding. And neither do I want to ask them. Most of them need every peso they earn if they don't want to not starve to death. More and more, I think it would be best if I sold the land.
There must be someone who wants to start a tavern. I got thinking I could go live with Francisco. He is living in Venezuela at the moment.

Pondering, Diego looked at her. "Victoria, will you allow me to make you a business proposition?"

"Diego, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't want your family's money!" Victoria was agitated now.

"I wasn't going to suggest such a thing. Listen, sell me the tavern for one peso."

Victoria's mouth fell open in surprise. What kind of absurd idea was this? "A peso? Diego, have you lost your mind? Even a ruined frying pan is worth more than one peso!. You're even worse than the bank." she responded angrily. The proposal was absurd.

Don Diego remained calm. "Victoria, will you please first listen to my proposal and then tell me what you think.
Sell me the ground for one peso. I will rebuild the tavern as in the plans."
Victoria had opened her mouth again to give her opinion. Diego continued unruffled.
"When everything gets done and is to your liking, you will run the tavern for me. You will pay me a percentage of your earnings every month. And as soon as I get my investment back, I'll sell you the tavern for one peso."

Victoria thought for a moment and then said. "But that's going to take years? And then I'll have to work for you all that time?"

"No, you are to be your boss. You may run the tavern as you see fit and have done all these years. I won't interfere with anything. Victoria, you have shown over the years that you have exceptional business instincts. Look at the outdoor restaurant. In just weeks, you have made it a success."

Victoria hesitated for a moment before daring to ask him.
"You act as if it's your idea and your money. Where are you going to get the money? What does your father think of this? I know the de la Vega's are rich, but surely it's your father who owns all this?" With a wide gesture, Victoria made it clear that she was talking about the rancho and everything that went with it.

Patiently, Diego explained everything further. "That's right. I haven't inherited anything from my father's side of the family, not yet, that is. I do hope it will be many years before it happens. However, my mother was not exactly impecunious either. She left me enough money to be able to carry out my plan as proposed without me missing out. My father is not involved in this at all. If you agree, we can officially put everything down on paper. Perhaps Padre Benitez would like to act as an independent witness."

Victoria uttered. "And what about the interest? You are talking about a business proposal. That must mean you think you can make money from it. So how much will it be?"

"I'm sure we'll work that part out. It will be less interest than you have to pay at a bank. And there's no hurry to pay it back either." The don reassured her.

"I don't know. It still feels like a loan." Victoria baulked as she saw all sorts of problems looming. "Diego, and what if you get married, have children? What if I get married? What you're suggesting is going to take many years. And a lot can happen in that time."

Diego sighed. "Victoria, you don't have to decide right now. Just think of it. As we recently discovered, a lot can happen in a day. We can have everything officially recorded. Though for me, your word of honour will be enough."

"Diego," Victoria sighed. Diego's offer was extremely generous and tempting to accept. "If, and mind you, I said if, I accept it at all, I want to pay the same interest as I would have to at a bank."

"We'll talk about that later. What do you say? Do we have an agreement for now? You will at least think about it?"
Diego held out his hand. Victoria's mind was racing. If she said yes, it would solve all her problems.
All of a sudden Diego muttered. "My other suggestion was making you a wedding proposal. But I suppose you are not into that?"

Flabbergasted, Victoria stared at Diego. Until she realized he must be joking. So she laughed and remarked. "You better be careful with those. If it wasn't for Zorro, I might seriously consider it." Victoria teased him, smiling. "Don't look so surprised. You are a kind man and a good friend."
Victoria shivered. Again there was the weird sensation she had felt a couple of times before. "Diego, don't worry." Victoria quickly reassured Diego and mostly herself. "I know you were only kidding. Your sacred bachelor life is safe for me." Victoria turned her eyes off the young don and gazed with a new interest at the drawing.
"And you promise not to interfere with anything for how I plan to run the tavern?" Victoria changed the subject, also wanting to know if Diego had meant what he said on the matter. She was too independent having a man like don Diego dictating her.

Diego reassured her. "It will be your tavern except on paper. You will be able to do everything as you see fit. Give it a few days to think things over. My offer will remain unchanged."

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