Chapter 6

Madrid, Spain.

Ignacio de Soto let out a sigh of relief as the stage coach pulled up at the main stop in the centre of the city. He had made the mistake of travelling overland through France and the only thing that kept him from going insane from boredom was the memory of Señora Rosalinda Granado and of the party a month ago. They had a number of dances together, including the promised last dance of the evening and of the stolen kiss he had boldly taken in the rose garden where they had taken a walk in the cool evening air. Their kiss, though brief and somewhat chaste, was like no other for it seemed to both of them, that it was a promise for the future and not just from the excitement of the evening.

Although he was not inexperienced with women, he had never felt the way he did before he met Rosalinda and he came to the astonishing belief that he, Ignacio de Soto, had fallen in love for the first time at the age of forty. Once that realisation struck him, he couldn't keep the smile off his face; he grinned like a schoolboy, especially when he knew that Rosalinda returned his feelings and he decided that once he returned to England, he would formally ask permission to court her.

But now as he stepped down from the stage, he gazed around at the city he loved with its all noises, its unique smells and the grand buildings, he knew he was home. He grabbed his bags and made his way down the street to the well furnished, well respected and somewhat exclusive boarding house near the centre of the city; he had leased out his own private residence when he left to take up his posting in England and the lease still had six months to go before he could reclaim his property.

After he had settled into his suite of rooms, he made his way to the Foreign Office to hand over several but relatively unimportant dispatches that the Ambassador had given to him and on the way, he greeted a number of acquaintances and accepted offers of lunches and dinners. Once his official duties were over, he was free to do as he wished for the reminder of his time in Madrid, including seeing his one time enemy become a member of the nobility; he had no doubts that Diego de la Vega would accept just as he would accept the honour himself.

He went for a walk to reacquaint himself with his beloved city and after having lunch with friends, he returned to his quarters feeling sated with good food, good wine and even better company but as he opened the door to his rooms, his feeling of euphoria evaporated when he saw a folded piece of paper on the floor.

"What's this?" he muttered as he bent down and picked it up and read the words:

de Soto, I have some information that you might be interested in. Meet me at the north end of the Segovia Bridge, 6pm today.

It was not signed and as he moved further into his room, he read and then re-read the note and for a long time he just stared at the piece of paper. He had a very good idea of who had written it but not the reason, however his curiosity was aroused and he decided that he would go to the bridge and find out what this person wanted.

But first he had to send a message to the Garcias and give his apologies; he won't be able to make it for dinner after all.

He arrived at stunning granite bridge with its nine arches that crossed the Manzanares River just before 6pm; he had hired a carriage from outside his accommodation for he had no time to walk if he wanted to make the meeting in time. He paid off the driver and walked towards the benches that lined the walkway alongside the river and he opted for a bench that was in the shade of a large tree and he sat down to wait.

It wasn't long before he felt a presence behind him.

"Buenas noches de Soto."

Ignacio turned slightly as a somewhat dishevelled looking gentleman sat down beside him. "Buenas noches, Armas. I thought I recognised your, shall we say, dramatic flair for writing."

Armas chuckled as he gazed at the river. "There's nothing like a good mystery that brings out the curiosity in people."

"Yes, that's very true Armas." He gazed at the man who had helped him in the past, with many things. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Armas smiled "Ah that's you de Soto, straight to the point as always. As you know there isn't much that happens in this city that I don't know about." he paused as Ignacio nodded. "Well, I have some shall we say rather interesting information that you might like to have."

Ignacio gave a wry smile. "Just like old times."

Armas grinned. "Yes, just like old times where we had both mutual benefits in aiding each other, when necessary of course."

Ignacio turned his attention to the river as he thought about the offer and wondered if it was wise to go back to his old ways of dealing with the less reputable sections of the community in order pursue his own interests. He had an important job with the Embassy which he had no desire to jeopardise over inappropriate or even criminal conduct but at the same time Armas would not come to him if the information he had wasn't important.

"Very well Armas, once more for old times' sake. What do you have?" he asked.

Armas reached into his jacket and pulled out some papers and handed it over to Ignacio.

Ignacio took the papers and read it with a frown. "Madre de dios." he muttered as he read it again. "How accurate is this information?" He forced his voice to sound normal even though he was shocked beyond words.

"I have no reason to disbelieve it. My source has always been correct."

Ignacio took a deep breath as he folded the papers. "Thank you for this Armas, I will see to it and of course you will let me know how I can repay you." he added wryly as he stood up.

Armas chuckled. "That goes without saying."

Ignacio shook his head. "Of course. Adios Armas." he replied as he turned and walked away.

"Adios de Soto."

Ignacio decided to walk back to his quarters; he was in no mood to take a carriage and he needed the time to think. He was stunned and angry by what Armas had given him and he knew that he would have to do something about this man Vargas; he just couldn't stand by and do nothing while his friends were in danger, especially when he himself was involved; albeit indirectly.

A/N - I know this is a rather short chapter but I promise to make it up to you in the next one :)