Chapter 11:
He opened the door, "querida, you wanted to talk to me?" Diego said while he closed the door with Felipe in the furthest corner of the room, "Victoria what's wrong?" He asked when he saw her red puffy eyes. Diego's heart stopped at the sight.
Victoria took a deep breath, "Diego, I…" she sighed again, "I am pregnant."
Diego was silent for a moment, this news was a shock for him.
"Diego, say something." Victoria cried.
"pregnant… I am going to be a father." Diego was still a bit shocked, "We need to marry as soon as possible." It was only now that Diego noticed that Victoria was crying again.
"Oh querida, don't cry. Everything will be fine." Diego took Victoria in his arms trying to comfort her.
"It's all my fault, Diego. What will your father say? What if this ruins his business?" Victoria sobbed in Diego's chest.
"Victoria, look at me." Diego tried but Victoria didn't move, "Victoria, querida look at me, please."
His fiancée looked up, noticing Diego's soft eyes, she didn't see anger or regret but love.
"I was as much there as you were. We will talk to my father to make sure that nothing happens. I don't know how he will react but he deserves to know the truth. He won't turn his back on us, querida." Diego said with a soft voice. He wasn't going to tell her how much he feared his father's reaction to this news.
Diego comforted Victoria until she stopped crying. He was going to take his responsibility.
The hours passed slowly until dinnertime. Diego had asked Victoria to rest for a few hours before they were going to face his father about the subject. There would be no chance of hiding this.
"Come on, querida, Maria will close up for the night. I already asked her. I know it's not my place to do so but I wanted to let you get some rest." Diego said softly when he helped Victoria towards the exit of her tavern. She still felt weak and if she had to believe the doctor she would be for a few more days. The best thing she could do for her and the baby was to take his advice.
Diego had read enough in books to know the same thing from the moment that he heard the news from his fiancée.
Victoria nodded softly. She had to take on a brave face not to get anyone suspicious not before they were married.
That was the strange thing in the little desert town. If they found out after they were married nobody would look at them like they had murdered someone. They had taken their responsibilities and that was more than enough.
If they found out before they were married though the tavern and the ranch would have a ruined reputation for a very long time. She didn't understand why people looked at making love that way. There was nothing more beautiful than connecting with each other through body and soul. She didn't think it was fair that this was only for the women lucky enough to get married.
She knew that this could happen but she didn't regret her actions for one moment, not even if Diego's father was going to be enraged about this. Don Alejandro had a temper but there was one thing he wouldn't do, he would never turn his back on them not even after this. That much she knew.
The drive to the De La Vega hacienda usually took about 30 minutes driving with a carriage. They were going to wait after dinner to tell the old Don. What his father didn't know was that Diego had an ace up his sleeve. Something that he discovered recently.
Victoria was more nervous than Diego but Diego now had a way to have his father accept this child. That he would carry the name De La Vega. They tried to act as normal as possible though. The young don had practice enough being the fox but Victoria failed miserably.
"Now I want to know what's wrong." Don Alejandro said after dinner, "and don't dare to say that there is nothing going on."
"I think we best have this conversation in a more private place." Diego sighed
"Did something happen to you know who?" Don Alejandro whispered.
Diego didn't really know how to react to that so he stayed silent for a few moments, he was Zorro after all.
"Not to him in particular, no, but this really is something I want to discuss in the cave there is something I want you to see." Diego finally said in a steady voice. Victoria didn't know how he did it.
His father nodded before following him and Victoria to the library. He was still amazed every time his son pushed the button that was leading to another part of his life, the cave.
"Father, I think it's best that you sit down for this." Diego sighed when they arrived down in the cave.
"Tell me already, Diego, you are making me nervous." the old don said with worry in his voice but he wasn't prepared for the news he was going to receive next.
"Don Alejandro, it's really for the best if you sit down for this," Victoria said in a nervous voice. His father looked confused from Victoria to Diego and back. He started to shake his head.
"Diego don't tell me you are going to say what I think you are going to say!" The old don said nervously, "Don't tell me she is… well… you know."
"Pregnant?" Diego asked curiously to see that his father was on the same line as they were.
"Let's say we need to get married as soon as possible," Diego said without even blinking but with a smile on his face. He wasn't going to give Victoria the impression that he wasn't happy that she was pregnant.
"Diego De La Vega, that's not how I raised you. I always thought you were a gentleman." Don Alejandro yelled angrily.
"It happened one time, father and I am not going to apologize for loving Victoria. We were both coming down from the shock that we almost lost each other plus her finding out about me brought us closer together that night." Diego yelled back with a temper that matched his father's.
Don Alejandro didn't know what to say, not only was he in shock about the pregnancy but he was even more shocked that his son answered him in that way. He may have known that his son is Zorro but he now discovered that he didn't know his son at all.
"I am not going to pretend that I regret what happened and before you decide that this child won't be your grandchild I want you to know something. You see, I recently discovered diaries hidden behind a big rock here in the cave. After looking at them I discovered they were from my mother." Diego said with a dangerous voice, a voice he usually used as Zorro,
Don Alejandro looked shocked, he forgot all about the diaries his dear wife kept. He always thought that they were lost forever.
"Do I need to tell you what makes me say that you don't have any right to be angry at us?" Diego continued, "Do I need to remind you that I have a dead born sister I knew nothing about? That my mother had a stillborn child when she was 5 months pregnant while you were only married for 2 months?"
"Diego, I wanted you to be smarter than me." Don Alejandro said now in a sad tone of voice. He never forgot the death of his little girl. His oldest child. That was the moment that his wife had decided to write everything down. It had been a dark time in their marriage.
"I know I kept a secret from you but that was with a good reason, I was keeping you both safe but what is your reason to never mention that I have a sister, even if she didn't survive," Diego asked, he gave his father the chance to explain himself.
"Diego, you have to know that losing a child at five months of pregnancy is a shame. They don't even get a tombstone at that age. Besides the fact that I was worried about your life before you were born, I didn't want to put that shame on your shoulders." His father confessed to his son, "Please, I understand the reason you kept Zorro from me. Do the same for me."
"That depends if you will turn your back on the child or not because I won't turn my back on the baby," Diego responded by having the hand of his fiancée on his arm, a calming effect on him. Her touch was like magic.
"I would never do that Diego. This child will be welcome but will need to hurry with the marriage. I will make sure that you have a special license so that you can marry in a few day's time. I will do everything I can to keep Victoria from having stress." his father said opening his arms to his very-soon-to-be daughter-in-law. Victoria stepped into the arms of the old don.
"Thank you, Don Alejandro." She smiled in his chest. This gesture made Diego smile. He was glad that his father finally knew that he knew about his sister even if officially the child was never born.
TBC
