Attention: This chapter is based on episode 30, Gonzales in Love. If you've seen the series, you know what to expect. If you haven't, you have no idea what you're getting into. That episode was pretty ludicrous and illogical even by the standards of the series. If you want to, you can stop reading this chapter after the Rafael scene and ignore the insanity that takes place after it. It has little effect on the main plot. I actually almost cut it out, but then I figured that those familiar with the episode might find it amusing. Those who haven't seen it will probably just end up shaking their heads.
Normally I go with the German dub when it comes to names, but I'm making an exception in this chapter. I can't make out what Sella's friend is called in the German dub, so I'll call him Moreno, which is the name he's given on the official website.
THE RIGHT TURN OF THE ROAD
Chapter 21
Commander Raymond kept the shadow of a pleasant smile on his face as he watched the men. He had ordered a training session for that morning and divided the soldiers into two groups. Lieutenant Serrano was leading one of them and Placid the other. Raymond wanted to see what they were capable of.
"Not bad," Jekyll commented by his side. "So far I've been very impressed by both of them."
Raymond let out a hum of agreement and kept his eyes locked on Placid. The lieutenant was teaching some of the men how to handle a crossbow. Raymond wasn't planning to issue the men such weapons, but this gave them something interesting to do, and he was quite curious himself. He had been told that Placid was an excellent shot. It was always a pleasure to watch competent men at work, especially if he could count on them using their skills to kill Zorro.
He pursed his lips in thought when Placid's arrow met the mark yet again. Placid was certainly skilled enough to get rid of Zorro, but Raymond wasn't sure if he was up to the task. He had been informed of how the lieutenant had sent a group of soldiers to be disciplined after they had been bothering the townspeople. In theory, Raymond had nothing against that. While he didn't mind that his men kept the people frightful of the army, nothing changed the fact that soldiers had to be kept in line. No, the problem was the righteous attitude that Placid had displayed. If that was how he truly felt, it was probably a lost cause trying to get an accomplice out of him.
Of course, that didn't mean Placid would be useless. It wouldn't be difficult to use his sense of justice to manipulate him into following all of his orders without question. All he had to do was to paint Zorro as the rebellious outlaw whose actions would hurt the people in the long run.
Raymond could hardly suppress a chuckle as he briefly glanced at Jekyll. Yes, it was quite entertaining to watch these men of honour be so blind.
But amusing or not, it left him with a problem. He needed to find someone to replace Gabriel as soon as possible. Kapital was already working on several projects without his assistance, and he hated losing control over to him. Without someone to do his dirty work for him, most of his plans had come to a halt. On a few occasions, he had considered taking Gabriel back into his service, but that would be a considerable dent in his reputation after so much time had already passed.
Raymond turned his eyes to Lieutenant Serrano who was practising fencing with a few men. He was harder to read than Placid. So far, he had fulfilled all of his duties to near perfection, but Raymond couldn't see the same morality in him. Not that he could see much of anything else, either.
He frowned as Serrano defeated his opponent and rewarded the poor man with some mocking comment. Serrano seemed to treat the world around him as a joke. It was impossible to guess what he was hiding behind that lopsided smile. But Raymond would find out. It was only the matter of time before he knew all about this man.
He turned to glance at Jekyll. "Have you already assigned both of them duties for this week?"
"Yes, sir. Lieutenant Placid will be leading patrol in the countryside," Jekyll said. He hesitated for a moment, as if he wasn't sure if he should continue with his line of thought or not. "Actually, I was thinking of ordering Lieutenant Serrano to do that, but he requested to be allowed to stay in town and keep watch at the station."
"Why is that?" Raymond asked. Nothing ever happened at the station. He couldn't imagine why any young officer, especially one who had just recently been promoted, would want to be assigned there.
"I'm not sure. It might be just my imagination, but I got the feeling he wasn't very enthusiastic about running into any of the landowners who live in the area," Jekyll said.
Most interesting, Raymond noted. "An officer can hardly choose what orders he wants to follow. If Lieutenant Serrano has a problem with any of the tasks you assign to him, send him to my office at once."
"Of course, sir," Jekyll replied.
Raymond spent another moment watching the men practise, but then he excused himself and returned inside. Jekyll's comment had given him an idea.
It was noon, so everyone was taking a break from work. Gabriel had been sitting in shade by their half-finished fence until he had grown tired of watching Basilio and Lupe blushing at each other and listening to the lad's pathetic attempts at complimenting her. Even worse was that she was falling for it. Gabriel had quickly decided that he didn't have the patience for such a display when it was so hot and uncomfortable already, so he had gone to take a look at how things were at the fields.
He spotted three men hunched over their baskets and muttering something to each other. As far as he remembered, they were Atilio, Celso and Edmundo. He didn't particularly care, but he was good at connecting faces and names because he had always liked to know what to call any soldier that he was yelling at.
"Is something wrong?" Gabriel asked.
The men jumped when they heard his voice and turned around. They exchanged brief glances.
"No, nothing," Celso said.
"Then why aren't you with the others?" Gabriel asked. Almost everyone else had gone to find shade and have some water.
"We aren't feeling that tired, so we're thinking about going ahead with the work," Edmundo said with a nervous laugh.
"You're idiots," Gabriel said. Well, he supposed it wasn't his problem if these fools got a sunstroke. Maybe that would teach them. He was about to move on and continue towards the main house, but it was then that he took a better look at one of the men's baskets.
"Shouldn't that be full already?" he asked, trying to recall what exactly Don Augusto had said about their work pace. He had given them strict regulations about how many gallons of grapes he expected the workers to pick every day. Not only that, but he had divided them into groups, and each group had their own goal to reach.
Gabriel had liked the method at first because it had presented him with the opportunity to keep a close eye on the workers and yell at everyone who wasn't working hard enough. Now it was just dull, and he was starting to think that such tight control was a waste of everyone's time and energy.
"Well?" he asked when nobody said anything.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm a little behind, but that's why I'm trying to catch up with the others now," Edmundo said.
"It's not his fault," Atilio was quick to add. "A horse stepped on his hand the other day, and something might be broken."
Gabriel glanced down at Edmundo's hand. It was indeed swollen and bruised, and two of the fingers didn't look quite right.
"If you can't do your work -" he started to say, but the injured man interrupted him.
"Oh, no, it's not that! I'll use the break to catch up with the others, and I'm sure I'll be just fine in a day or two. It's nothing serious," he said.
"Hey! Hey, you there!"
All of them turned to look when they heard Rafael call out to them. The young man was hurrying towards them, pushing his way through the vines and not minding that he was trampling grapes. Gabriel frowned at this and noted that the others were looking quite displeased, too. Well, at least Rafael had got himself out of bed before the afternoon this time.
"What is it?" he asked when Rafael finally reached them.
"I want you to take me to town," the young man said.
"Right now? But everyone will soon get back to work and -" Gabriel started, but Rafael cut him off with a dismissive snort.
"Yes, right now. I'm sure that whatever these peasants are up to here isn't so complicated that they can't do it on their own. Even if it sometimes seems like it," he said with a laugh, but nobody joined in.
Gabriel didn't need to ask why Rafael wanted to go to San Tasco. Ever since his father had left, the young man hadn't done anything productive. He stayed in bed well after noon and spent the rest of the day either napping somewhere outside or drinking and gambling in town.
Gabriel wasn't entirely sure what to do about him. Don Augusto had told him to keep an eye on him but had forbidden him from hurting him. As far as Gabriel was concerned, that rendered him unable to do much. The only thing that could change Rafael into a decent man at this point was a sound and thorough beating.
"Maybe you should take your horse and go by yourself?" he suggested.
Rafael gave him a long look over his nose. The disdain that was written all over his face made it suddenly very tempting to punch him.
"My father left me in charge, and that means everyone here does what I say. That includes you," he said.
"Why, you!" To hell with Augusto's orders! He'd be doing everyone a favour if he gave this spoiled brat what he deserved.
"So, get the carriage ready. I don't have all day," Rafael said. He turned around to leave, but he wasn't looking where he was going, so he stumbled over one of the men's baskets, nearly losing his balance.
"Why are these here?" Rafael asked in irritation. Before Gabriel or the men could even think about stating the obvious, Rafael gave the offending basket a kick and sent it rolling into the vines. All the grapes flew to the ground, but Rafael didn't stop to apologize. He started marching towards the main house with his shoulders hunched in anger and muttering something to himself.
"I must be dreaming," Gabriel said. It just wasn't possible that a grown man could have such a tantrum and not even realise how pitiful he was being. Pablo and the others acted like it was normal, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that someone could really be like that.
"Yesterday he trampled all over the vines when he was taking a shortcut to the mountains. He said he didn't notice them," Edmundo said.
"Juan said that his wife's brother saw him lose a lot of money in a game of dice the other day. I wonder if we're going to be paid at this rate," Atilio added.
"Or if the family is even in the possession of the estate when the time for that comes," Celso muttered.
"Why did Don Augusto leave his son in charge? Even I could do a better job of running the estate," Edmundo said.
"He's hoping that doing something productive will make a man out of him," Gabriel said.
"What?" Celso asked, looking stunned. "He's risking ruining the estate just so that he can teach his son a lesson?"
"Yes," Gabriel said with a disapproving frown, but he supposed that an estate like this wasn't such a big deal to someone as wealthy as Don Augusto.
"Insanity," Edmundo muttered. He took a worried glance at Gabriel, fearing his reaction, but Gabriel couldn't have cared less. He agreed; things weren't right at the Alvarez estate. He had thought he would like Augusto and his way of running things, but he was becoming more frustrated each day.
He didn't feel that either Augusto or Rafael cared about the estate or the wine fields. To Augusto, they were just a way to test his son, and Rafael probably didn't give a damn about anything. Gabriel couldn't claim that the estate was his passion either, but since Augusto and Rafael were in charge, he expected more of them.
"There isn't much we can do," he said and turned to glare at the basket that Rafael had kicked away. "But you can start by cleaning up this mess and getting some rest before you collapse from exhaustion. If that happens, I'll fire you," he said.
He continued towards the main house, not bothering to see if the men did as he told them to. As much as he hated it, he didn't think he had any choice but to do what Rafael wanted. Maybe he would actually get a chance to knock some sense into his head.
As they were on their way to San Tasco, Gabriel tried to tell Rafael that he should start paying more attention to the work at the estate and spend less time drinking and sleeping. He barely raised his voice, and he thought he was being generously patient. Unfortunately, Rafael countered all of his arguments by saying that he hated the estate and that all he wanted was to go back to Madrid.
Gabriel couldn't help but wonder if Rafael was trying to ruin the estate on purpose. Maybe he thought his father would let him go back to Spain if he proved himself an utter failure.
"I want you to wait for me here," Rafael said as he entered a tavern.
"I have more important things to do," Gabriel said, but the young man turned his back on him and marched inside.
Hours passed, and it was starting to get dark. Gabriel felt like an idiot standing by the carriage and waiting for Rafael. To heck with Don Augusto's orders, he decided. He'd go inside, drag Rafael out and then give him the kind of beating that he'd never forget it. Talking wasn't going to help anymore.
He pushed open the door and stopped to take a look inside. Almost all tables were full, but he couldn't see Rafael anywhere. He caught a passing waitress by her arm and asked her if she knew anything about him.
"Don Rafael?" the waitress asked, blinking. "But he left hours ago through the backdoor."
"What?" Gabriel barked, giving the poor woman a fright. She took a startled step back, but Gabriel had already forgotten about her. He marched back outside to the carriage and gave it a kick in anger.
"When I find that idiot, I'll kill him," he muttered.
He left the carriage by the tavern and went around the building to take a look at the back door. He tried to guess which alley Rafael had chosen after exiting and followed it. The streets were deserted, but there was light in nearly every window. Sounds of distant conversation and laughter accompanied him on his way.
Gabriel came to a halt when he saw someone lying in the street. At first he thought Rafael had got himself murdered, and his heart skipped a beat, but then he realised that this man was far too big to be Rafael. He approached the figure, and it was only when he got closer that he recognised him.
"Gonzales?" he asked in confusion. The sergeant was wearing civilian clothes. He had no visible injuries, and he was still breathing. What on Earth could have happened to him? Had it been anyone else, Gabriel would have suspected that he had drunk too much on his day off and passed out, but that wasn't like Gonzales.
"Hey! Wake up!" Gabriel snapped and gave Gonzales a poke with the tip of his boot.
Gonzales groaned and stirred. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head and turning to take a confused look around.
"What? Where am I?" he muttered.
"Lying in the street like a bum."
For a moment, Gonzales stared at him like he had seen a ghost. "Now I remember!" he exclaimed. He jumped to his feet and took another frantic look around, this time clearly searching for something.
"What are you -?" Gabriel started to ask, but he was cut off when Gonzales suddenly grabbed him by his shirt.
"Have you seen Sella? Or a man wearing an odd mask?"
"What? No." Gabriel wrenched Gonzales' hands off and took a step back. "What's all this nonsense?"
"Sella was kidnapped by a masked man! He knocked me out. I must go and help her!" Gonzales announced. Without further words, he dashed off down the street, so determined and full of energy that it was hard to imagine he had been unconscious just a moment ago.
"Wait! Do you even know where she is?" Gabriel yelled after him.
"The man must be working for that moneylender. I know where their offices are," Gonzales said.
Gabriel remained where he was, not sure what to think about this sudden turn of events. He wasn't really surprised that Gonzales kept being pulled into odd messes like this. What did startle him was that he was already considering going after him.
"Hey, wait for me!" he called out.
It was surprisingly hard to catch up with Gonzales. Gabriel could recall the many times he had ordered the sergeant to run around the barracks as a punishment for being lazy. He had had to kick and yell to get him moving, but even then he had never seen him this determined. He wondered if it was only because of this Sella or if he had improved even more than he had realised.
"I told you to wait!" he snapped when he finally reached him.
Gonzales turned to look at him, but he didn't slow down at all. "Oh! What are you doing here?"
"You have no plan or weapons. Do you think I'm going to let you go alone and mess this up?" Gabriel replied.
This actually made Gonzales stop for a moment. "You're going to help me save Sella?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.
"It's not like I have anything better to do," Gabriel said. He briefly thought of Rafael, but he decided that if the young man had got himself into trouble, he deserved to sort it out on his own. Maybe it would teach him something. Besides... Gonzales was more important.
"That's wonderful! Together we can certainly save her!" Gonzales said enthusiastically.
They arrived at the money lender's office some ten minutes later. There was light in the windows, but a sturdy iron gate surrounded the building. They weren't surprised to find out that it was locked.
"Damn," Gonzales muttered and wrapped his hands around the bars of the gate.
"Looks like we'll have to climb over it," Gabriel remarked, half-joking. He wasn't sure how to proceed. His preferred strategy in combat was to strike at his enemy with full force, but that was hardly an option now that their full force consisted of him and Gonzales. Neither one of them was even armed.
"Maybe we should -" he started to say, but then he noticed that Gonzales was already half-way over the gate. "Hey! I didn't mean it! You can't just climb over the front gate like that! Someone will see us!"
"There's no time for stealth. Who knows what they're doing to Sella?" Gonzales asked. He grunted as he reached the top of the gate and had to turn around so that he'd land on his feet on the other side. All Gabriel could do was gape. He would have never guessed that Gonzales could move his massive weight over the fence so fast and with so little difficulty.
"Hurry up if you're coming," Gonzales said and went ahead towards the main entrance.
"You can't go in through the doors, you idiot!" Gabriel yelled after him. Had Gonzales gone completely insane? He even had the gall to give him orders! Who did he think he was? His superior?
Muttering profanities under his breath, Gabriel grabbed the bars in order to climb over the fence, but as soon as he lifted his right arm too high, blinding pain shot through his shoulder. He groaned and let go of the fence, staggering backwards and clutching at the painful spot. Damn, now this! He had got so used to the ever-present ache that he had forgotten he wasn't supposed to lift his arm like that.
Gabriel clenched his eyes shut against the white spots that were dancing before him and tried to decide what to do. He couldn't get over the fence like this. Gonzales had already pushed open the front doors and run inside, so he was of no help. Gabriel cursed under his breath. This one time he could have brought himself to ask the sergeant's assistance, he wasn't there.
When his shoulder no longer felt like it was being torn off his body, he straightened his form and started to walk around the fence. There had to be a backdoor somewhere. With any luck, it would be open and he could get inside in time to save Gonzales from getting himself killed.
He tried not to think too much about what he was getting into. Raymond had always scolded him for being hot-headed and letting his emotions lead him, and it looked like it was about to land him in trouble yet again. Gonzales had better buy him a drink after all this was over.
The gate was locked, as he had suspected. He gave it a kick and yelled at someone to come and open it. He waited a moment until the backdoor of the building was shoved open and a man dressed in blue came out.
"What's this? Who are you?" he demanded to know.
"I came to pay my debt," Gabriel said.
"In the middle of the night?" the man asked doubtfully.
"The sooner I get this off my shoulders, the better," Gabriel said. He sighed in misery and covered his eyes with his hand. "I should have never borrowed any money. My mother always said that it would lead to no good, but I needed it so that I could provide for my wife and five children, and -"
"Alright, I get it," the man cut him off and came to open the gate. "It's your luck it's still the last day of the month. Tomorrow you'd have had to pay one third more."
"Oh, thank you! You've saved me!" Gabriel said as he was let in.
"Yes, yes. Just follow me and -" the man started, but this time it was Gabriel's turn to cut him off. He did it by delivering a punch straight at the man's jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground. Before he could get up and alert the others, Gabriel hit him again, this time knocking him unconscious.
Well, that was easy, he mused as he shook his hand to get rid of the burn. He dragged the man away from sight and searched him for weapons, but he had nothing. Disappointed, he decided he had no other option but to enter the offices, try to find Gonzales and hope for the best.
It didn't take Gabriel long to realise that something was going on. He spotted a group of men running downstairs and talking about some dangerous intruder who was giving trouble to everyone. At first he thought it had to be Zorro because everyone looked and sounded so worried, but he knew that they would have referred to Zorro by his name had he been there.
When he overheard one of the men complain about the fat man who had protected Sella, he knew they were talking about Gonzales. What could he possibly be doing to cause chaos like this? Gabriel supposed the only way to find out was to locate Gonzales and that the logical place for him to be was down in the cellar where the dungeons were.
He wasn't the only one going to that direction, but nobody paid him any attention in the midst of the shouting and hurry. Theodore's men probably mistook him for one of them.
"You go that way! Don't let them escape!"
Gabriel stopped when a man wearing a strange golden mask suddenly emerged from behind the corner to give orders to the others. He was tall and lean and clearly a figure of authority – the others didn't stop to hesitate as they followed the man's command.
This must be the man Gonzales was talking about, Gabriel thought. He pretended to go after the others, but slowed down until he was alone. The masked man wasn't coming with them. Gabriel went back the way he had gone, careful to keep quiet. Something didn't feel right. Why wasn't the man coming with them if Gonzales really was where he said?
He caught a glimpse of the man disappearing through a large door. When Gabriel followed him, he wasn't very surprised to find stairs leading down. This had to be where they were holding Sella, and for some reason the masked man didn't want the others to find her and Gonzales.
He probably wants to finish them off on his own, Gabriel mused.
He heard a surprised shout before he reached the end of the stairs. The voice belonged to Gonzales, and he was telling Sella to stand back. Gabriel entered the room just in time to see Gonzales hurl the masked man against the wall. He slumped to the ground and remained there with the mask half falling off his face.
"Let's go!" Gonzales said to Sella and grabbed her hand, but he froze when he noticed Gabriel standing by the door.
"What's going on here?" Gabriel asked.
"Oh, you found us," was all Gonzales said before he turned to address Sella. "Don't worry. This is Gabriel. He's… well, he's a friend of mine," he explained, glancing hesitantly at Gabriel at his words.
"Nice to meet you," Sella said. Despite their dire circumstances, she managed to put a smile on her face.
"I asked for an explanation," Gabriel remarked.
"That's a long story. Maybe we should first -" Gonzales started, but then they were all alerted by a sudden clink.
The masked man had stirred, and the slight movement had made the mask fall off. Now that his face was revealed, he looked much less intimidating. He had thin features and dark brown hair. He didn't look very malicious, but maybe that was only because he was still unconscious.
"That's… That's Moreno!" Sella cried out. She wrenched her hand from Gonzales' hold and rushed to the fallen man's side.
"What? But I thought he was dead," Gonzales said.
Gabriel couldn't make any sense of what was going on, and it was starting to irritate him. Everyone else seemed to know more than him.
"Wasn't Moreno the name of the friend who got Sella into this in the first place?" he asked, but Gonzales didn't seem to hear him. He was staring at Sella and Moreno with shock written all over his features. Gabriel could understand that. It was impossible to miss the worry and affection on Sella's face as she tried to get Moreno to wake up. It looked like Gonzales had competition.
Well, he supposed it was a good thing that Moreno was unconscious and an enemy. They would just leave him here and –
"We'll take him with us," Gonzales decided.
"What? But didn't he just try to stop you from saving Sella?" Gabriel asked.
"I'm sure there's a good explanation," Gonzales said.
"No, there isn't, you idiot!" Gabriel snapped, but Gonzales had already hurried to Sella's side. Together, they lifted Moreno off the floor so that Gonzales could carry him on his back.
Gabriel decided that if Gonzales wanted to be stupid, it wasn't his problem. All he wanted now was to get out without trouble, and if he had to play along, so be it.
"I think we had better get going. Those other men could be here any moment now," Gonzales said. There was a determined gleam in his eyes that made Gabriel think back to the accident at the mines and how easily Gonzales had taken control of the situation. Just like then, he felt compelled to let the sergeant be in charge.
They ran up the stairs and turned left. Gabriel told them about the backdoor, and they decided that it was their best chance to make it out. As they hurried to reach the other side of the building, Gabriel couldn't help but take a closer look at Sella. It was no wonder that Gonzales had fallen for her. The blonde hair that was tied back and the slender frame made her appear delicate, almost frail. She was frowning in fright and worry, even now that she had been rescued. Gabriel didn't much care for such timid women – they were boring – but he had to admit that she was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that Sella could have freely chosen almost any man. He wondered if she'd even give Gonzales a second thought.
Then there was Moreno. Gabriel could have understood the sense in taking a hostage, but it appeared it wasn't as simple as that. Why would Moreno be working for Theodore if he had caused all this trouble in the first place?
They found the backdoor and ran outside, only to come face to face with half a dozen men. The group included the guard Gabriel had tricked and knocked out when he had first entered the offices. The man didn't look very happy.
"That's the guy!" he told the others and pointed at Gabriel.
"I don't know how you made it this far, but it ends here," one of the men said. He was taller than the others and was holding a long wooden club in his hands. As Gabriel scanned the group, he didn't see anyone carrying firearms. They probably didn't want to alert the army's attention by shooting in the middle of the town.
"Sella, you had better step aside," Gonzales said. He slid Moreno's unconscious figure off him and raised his fists in a defensive pose.
"Be careful," Sella said. She knelt by Moreno's side to make sure he was alright.
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this," Gonzales said to Gabriel.
"You didn't drag me into anything," Gabriel remarked, feeling a little sour. He had wanted to help and be useful, but Gonzales hadn't needed him at all at any point in this.
Something about his words seemed to strike a chord in Gonzales because the man flashed him a brief grin before turning his attention back to their opponents. There were six men, so the odds weren't in their favour. That, however, didn't seem to bother Gonzales. Before Gabriel could even suggest that maybe they should try something else, he had already rushed to attack the men. Judging by the alarmed expressions on some faces, the men had fought against him before.
"Isn't he strong and brave? He has been protecting me since the beginning," Sella commented.
Gabriel just grunted. He could no longer say he was surprised by Gonzales' competence, but he had no more time to dwell on that. One of their opponents thought he could be clever by attacking Gabriel to get to Sella. The man charged at him with his club raised, and Gabriel had no choice but to use his left arm to block the attack. He stumbled from the impact and groaned at the pain in his arm, wondering how many similar strikes it would take to break bones.
He caught a hold of the club when the man tried to strike again and twisted it from his hands. Without his weapon, the man wasn't much of a threat to him – it took just one hit to the face to send him flying on his back to the ground. He didn't get back up, either because he was unconscious or because he thought he had better pretend to be.
After about ten minutes, the only ones still standing were he, Gonzales and one of the enemy group. He took one look at them, then at his unconscious companions before he decided that he wasn't up to facing them alone and pretended to faint as well.
"Time to go. I know a place where we can hide until everything is sorted out," Gonzales said. He hurried back to get Sella and Moreno.
"Did you hurt yourself?" Sella asked in worry when she noticed Gonzales' face.
"No, this is nothing," Gonzales said with a dismissive laugh, even though he would no doubt have a black eye and some nice, purple bruises in no time.
There was a low moan from Moreno, and everyone turned to look at him as they realised that he was waking up. Sella was immediately by his side again. This time even Gonzales noticed her worry, but he was quick to hide his frown.
"We had better go," he said gently and went to lift Moreno over his shoulders.
"I didn't know you could fight like that," Gabriel pointed out to Gonzales.
"You learn to use your fists when you have seven siblings, but it's not a very useful skill in the army," Gonzales replied, and Gabriel couldn't help but chuckle.
"You two could finally tell me what's going on," he said.
"Oh, that's right. It completely slipped my mind," Gonzales said. He proceeded to explain the situation to Gabriel, but things didn't really make that much more sense after that. It turned out that Sella was the granddaughter of a rich English nobleman and that her ring was the only proof of her heritage. Theodore, the moneylender, had wanted to force her to pay for Moreno's debts with the ring so that he could substitute his own daughter for Sella.
"I've never heard anything more ridiculous in my life," Gabriel said.
"I had a hard time believing it, too. I never knew my mother was of noble birth," Sella said.
"And what about him? I thought he was dead," Gabriel said and pointed at Moreno.
"We don't know, but there must be some explanation," Gonzales said. Gabriel didn't miss the grim expression on his face. He was probably worried that Sella might choose Moreno now that he was alive after all, but Gabriel didn't think Gonzales had any reason to worry. After everything Gonzales had done for Sella, there was no way she could refuse him. She would have to accept if he asked if he could court her, no matter what her feelings for Moreno were.
There was a sudden moan from Moreno. They decided to take a short break and see if he'd be able to walk on his own.
"Where… where am I?" Moreno asked after Gabriel and Gonzales had placed him to rest against a tree. He blinked as he tried to make sense of his surroundings, and his eyes were soon locked on Sella.
"Oh, Moreno," Sella said, but she didn't dare take a step closer now that he was awake.
"Sella, is that you? I haven't seen you in such a long time," Moreno said. He tried to get up, but abrupt pain in his side forced him to lie back with a groan.
"I think you owe everyone an explanation," Gabriel said harshly.
"He just woke up. That can wait for later," Gonzales said, but Moreno shook his head.
"No, he's right. It's time I tell you everything," he said. He glanced at Sella again, but he quickly turned his eyes away, as if he was suddenly too ashamed to even look at her. He kept his gaze down as he started to talk and gave them the final pieces of the puzzle.
Some of what Moreno said was old news to them. He had needed money to help his sick mother, so he had gone to Theodore. However, the man had tricked him and demanded back much more than he had ever borrowed. His men had come after Moreno and had taken him to Theodore who already knew of Sella's ring and wanted to get his hands on it. They had planned to kill him so that they could force her to hand over the ring, but then Theodore's daughter had fallen for Moreno and wanted to spare his life. Moreno, too afraid to try anything, had promised that he'd join Theodore and help him to get the ring.
"I'm sorry about everything. I know that what I did was wrong," Moreno finished.
"Damn right it was! And now you'll -" Gabriel started, but Gonzales cut him off before he could give Moreno a piece of his mind.
"We'll talk about it later," he said.
Gabriel couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with Gonzales. Here was the perfect chance to make Moreno look bad, and he wasn't using it. Was he really that stupid?
"What are you doing?" he asked once they continued down the road. Moreno and Sella were walking behind them, but truth to be told, Gabriel wouldn't have cared even if they heard him.
"I'm so angry I can barely think straight. I can't believe Moreno would betray Sella like that," Gonzales growled. His fists were clenched, and he was stomping rather than walking.
"Then why won't you say that?" Gabriel asked. Really, all Gonzales needed to do was to tell Moreno off and have him arrested. It would solve all of his problems.
"I need to calm down first. I won't accomplish anything if I lose my temper," Gonzales replied.
"You're an idiot," Gabriel said.
Some time later, they reached a hut near the coast. Gabriel volunteered to stay outside and keep watch in case Theodore's men came after them. The others went inside to tend to Moreno's wounds and to talk about the situation. Gabriel hoped that Gonzales would have the sense to send Moreno packing and ask Sella to be his fiancée. He deserved it after this mess.
After a little time had passed, the others came out of the hut. Gonzales was looking pleased with himself, so Gabriel supposed everything had gone well. However, Sella and Moreno waved goodbye to him and started going down the path that would take them to the shore.
"Where are they going?" Gabriel asked.
"To England. I told Moreno to take Sella to meet her grandfather," Gonzales replied.
"What? Why?" Gabriel blurted out. Was Gonzales insane? How could he let a woman like Sella go with another man? And without a fight?
"Because it was the right thing to do. Moreno deserves another chance. He never wanted to hurt Sella; he was just afraid," Gonzales said. He turned to look how Sella and Moreno reached the shore and the small boat that was there. They'd be at the docks in no time, and then they'd be gone from San Tasco forever.
"You're a complete fool. After everything you did for her, Sella couldn't have said no to you. All you had to do was ask her to stay with you," Gabriel pointed out.
Gonzales shook his head. "I could see it in her eyes that she loves Moreno, even after what he did. I don't want her to stay with me out of gratitude or guilt."
"What does it matter why she stays with you as long as you get what you want?" Gabriel asked in exasperation.
Gonzales turned around to look at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Of course it matters. How could I ever be happy with a woman who doesn't really love me?"
"You'll regret that decision in no time," Gabriel said.
"I doubt it," Gonzales said.
"We wasted the whole night and got nothing in return," Gabriel grumbled. It wasn't bothering him now, but he could already guess how much his shoulder would be aching in the evening. Plus, he was tired, was most likely going to be late for work, and he had no idea what had happened to Rafael.
Gonzales glanced at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but... to be honest, I didn't ask you to come."
"What, so it's my fault now?" Gabriel asked.
"Of course not!" Gonzales hurried to say. "You just had no reason to help me, so I'm surprised you bothered."
"I shouldn't have," Gabriel said. He noticed the way Gonzales' shoulders slumped at this. "You never needed me. You saved Sella all on your own."
"But I'm still grateful! Something could have gone wrong," Gonzales said. He turned to look out to the sea where Sella and Moreno's boat could barely be seen now. The new day was starting to dawn, and it was almost painful to look. Gabriel didn't miss the somber look on Gonzales' face as he watched the lovers' boat disappear.
"I told you you'd regret it," he remarked.
Gonzales shook his head. "No. It hurts, but I know it was the right thing to do."
Gabriel said nothing. For a while, he just stood there with Gonzales and wondered what he should do next. He hoped that Rafael had somehow made it home without him. The workers at the estate probably knew what to do even if he wasn't there, but Pablo and the others might start to wonder about his absence. However, he found that the most pressing matter on his mind was how upset Gonzales still looked.
"This is ridiculous," he said.
"What?" Gonzales asked.
"What do I have to do to make you stop staring at the sea like that? Buy you breakfast?" Gabriel asked.
"Of course not. I just -"
"That was an offer, you idiot."
It took a moment before Gonzales got what he was getting at, but once he did, his face was lit by a surprised smile. As they started the walk back to San Tasco, he was almost back to his usual cheerful self and couldn't stop talking about what a great adventure he had had. Gabriel grew tired of listening to him in no time, but he supposed that this one time he might endure it.