Chapter 26. Reencounter.

At dawn the next day Diego and Victoria were awakened by the noise of a group of horsemen approaching the house, and the voices of Don Alejandro's cowboys.

Diego woke up immediately and pulled on some pants before going over to peer through the window.

"What's going on?" asked Victoria still somewhat sleepily.

"I'm going to find out." he replied. He dressed at full speed and headed out the door. In the hallway he ran into his father.

"I don't know who they could be."

Marina joined them from the guest wing. "I heard my brother's voice."

"Are you sure?" asked Don Alejandro.

"Yes, it was him."

"Good, then I will go out to meet him."

"I'll go with you." volunteered Diego.

"I would prefer that you not let yourself be seen until we are sure." said don Alejandro to his guest.

Father and son approached the front door, and saw their foreman escorting the count to the front door, while four men waited behind.

"Buenos días, señor. If you come looking for your sister, she is staying with us and you will be able to see her immediately." said Don Alejandro as soon as he opened the door. "Please come in." then he turned to the other man. "Ernesto, offer the count's men something to drink and breakfast if they need it."

The foreman nodded and walked over to where the other men stood.

"Welcome." said Don Alejandro stepping aside to allow the count to pass.

Diego also saluted with a nod, which the other man responded in kind. "I also welcome you. I will notify your sister, she awaits you impatiently."

"Thank you, Don Diego."

Don Alejandro accompanied his guest to the library and offered him to take a seat, but he preferred to wait standing until his sister arrived.

Marina was in the hallway, accompanied by Victoria and Leandra.

"I'm sorry that because of me you are awake so early." said Marina to Victoria.

"Don't worry, I don't think we would have been late going out to get breakfast." replied Victoria good-naturedly.

"Good morning." said Diego making himself noticed. "Your brother is in the library."

"Thank you don Diego." she said heading that way.

Diego and Victoria looked at each other, Victoria gestured towards the front area of the hacienda and Diego nodded, so they followed Marina.

Seeing her enter, the count took a step towards her.

"Marina, are you all right? When the notary told me your will had arrived I feared the worst."

"I'm fine. Emiliano kidnapped me, but luckily I only got a few bumps and scratches."

"He hit you?"

"'Yes, he did, but he's dead, so it's no longer important."

Don Fadrique's face hardly changed expression, but he felt sorry to see that his little sister, the cheerful and innocent girl he had known, had become hardened because of the people who had taken advantage of her.

"I shouldn't have left you here alone."

"I wasn't alone, and you couldn't have known Emiliano would try something like that."

Diego decided to approach the kitchen to see if Maria could put out some breakfast even though it was so early. The cook was already at work, she looked at Diego and nodded without stopping preparing slices of bread.

"In a few minutes we will be able to offer you some breakfast." said Diego. "If you want to talk in private you can go to the library."

"Yes, thank you." said the count, realizing he was speaking in front of the inhabitants of the house.

Marina and her brother retreated to the library, while the others remained in the dining room.

"Tell me what happened. I only know that Emiliano and his men took you by force from the church."

"That's right. Emiliano put me on his horse and we fled. Further on, the horse began to go lame, so they left two men and the horse behind and put me on another horse by myself, although one man was holding it by the bridle. As soon as I dared I jumped down to the ground to at least try to slow them down, thinking they would be chasing us. Luckily, Zorro was able to find the trail we left and they soon caught up with us."

"Isn't that man, Zorro, a masked bandit?"

"From what the inhabitants of Los Angeles say he isn't. Apparently he helps them."

"Then he assisted in your rescue."

"Yes, he did. Then Ignacio confronted Emiliano, although he was wounded because when he kidnapped me he shot him."

"Then I suppose his wound is not serious."

"He will recover."

"Did the soldiers capture the other men?"

"Ignacio decided to let them go. Without their chief they could no longer do anything."

"So you were rescued by the soldiers with the help of el Zorro."

"And from Don Alejandro and his men."

The count reflected on this last piece of information. "Did the de la Vega ask you for anything in return?"

"No, at no time."

"Why did you make a will?"

"I was advised to do so by Don Diego, and his father and Father Benitez agreed that it would protect my son and partly me as well."

"I did not read your will; I left immediately on learning that I had done so, fearing that something bad had happened to you. Halfway there I met some soldiers who informed me that you had been kidnapped."

"When I made the will I didn't know that anything like that could happen to me. I did it only as a precaution."

"On the advice of the de la Vega."

"That's right."

"I suppose in the will you mention them as beneficiaries."

Marina frowned, not making sense of what her brother meant. "No, they appear as witnesses, but they wouldn't receive anything, I made the will to protect my Diego and me, and he's the only beneficiary."

"So their advice was disinterested."

Marina nodded. "They did it as friends, not for profit. It seems there are still some trustworthy people left in the world."

Fadrique couldn't help but suspect there was something shady going on. "You mention in the will who would take care of your son if you were to pass away?"

"Yes, you would be his guardian."

That ruled out the only possibility that the de la Vega people were interested in the money. It seemed strange to him, accustomed to having to negotiate with unscrupulous people.

Marina thought for a moment how to explain it. "It was what Don Diego advised me. When I told him I didn't trust any of my suitors he told me that the will would protect my son if anything happened to me."

Don Fadrique felt somewhat ashamed that he had not suggested it himself, but he did not want to admit it in front of her. "Yes, that's good advice."

"Padre Benitez also told me to find a way to keep my future husband from controlling my entire fortune. I let him read the banns, although I'm still not sure about marrying Ignacio."

For Fadrique that she should marry and go far away was the best way to solve the problem, his fiancée had made it clear that she did not want a scandal to affect her image in society, but neither was he willing to sacrifice his sister at all costs. For years he had been told that she was a burden, and that luckily his mother's inheritance would make her get a good husband and stop being his problem, but he still remembered the sweet and loving girl she was, and regretted thinking that what happened had been her fault. For a while he didn't know what to say.

"All right, I'll give you more time. I will say that we prefer an intimate wedding, most of our relatives and friends in any case won't want to come to such a secluded place. If that wedding finally doesn't happen I'll hide it easily, but without a husband who will protect you and your son?"

"And if I marry Ignacio, who will protect me from him when you are gone?"

"There is a lawyer in Santa Paula, and besides, it seems that Don Diego has legal knowledge. I will study a solution so that you will have control of your assets, whether you marry or not."

Marina sighed. "Control of my assets? I have no idea what to do with them."

"What I can think of is to find a way for you to have a trustee to keep an eye on your husband or prevent you from being taken advantage of if you're on your own. If you just let your properties bring in income without selling anything you can live comfortably."

She nodded, feeling more relieved.

" All right, that puts my mind at ease."

"So. Are you going to want to continue seeing Señor de Soto?"

"I suppose so."

"I will authorize him to visit you, but always properly supervised."

" Agreed."

"What is it that worries you about him?" asked Fadrique, remembering what she had said about how he had hardly ever spoken to her.

"It is Ignacio. He treats his soldiers badly, and I fear that in time he will treat the boy and me the same way."

"I have already spoken to him about that matter, I assure you that you will not have to live with him if he disrespects you in any way."

"I would like to know what you say when you talk about me."

"These are conversations between men, it's better if you don't intervene."

"I see, I'm just an ignorant woman." she said with a mixture of anger and sadness that again gave her brother food for thought.

"I will consult you on any decisions that need to be made that affect you and your son."

She nodded, though she wasn't sure she could or would make those decisions, she was too afraid of being wrong.