Chapter Five

Rosarita exited her room the next morning to the sound of raised voices on the patio.

After her night at the beach, she'd come back at dawn and fallen asleep again. Hours later, she'd since bathed and dressed, and now ventured from her room for the first time.

It was her own house, her home. But she was hesitant to leave, and even if Diego didn't owe her anything, and what happened while he was in Monterey was not her concern...

She didn't want to speak to him. That much was clear to her.

The voices were getting louder as Rosarita walked closer, until she was overlooking the patio and saw a man standing, tall, tan and lean, over Diego, who sat at one of the chairs.

"I was intending to leave," the man said. "But things changed. My hair, for instance. What are you doing here in the first place? I thought you also had to leave."

Diego shrugged. "How could I leave without visiting an old childhood friend?" He asked, a glass of wine perched carelessly in his hand.

The stranger started to pour his own wine, but Diego reached out and placed a hand over the decanter. "Not right now, mi amigo," he said, and the man scowled.

"Still keeping everything good out of my reach?"

"You are not their guest," Diego said. "How could I, in good conscience, give you their wine?"

"Whose wine? Milana said the Cortez hacienda and gave me directions, but who lives here that you know?"

"Rosarita," Diego said.

Rosarita waited for the words to sink in. "Who?" The man asked, and in that moment Rosarita recognized him.

"Me," Rosarita said, coming into view by descending the staircase. "And I can still beat you in a footrace."

"Well, who cares about that?" Ricardo asked, actually confused. "Madre di dios, how you've grown up." He said, almost whistling in admiration.

"Madre di dios, how you haven't," Rosarita returned tartly.

"And that's where you're wrong," Ricardo said, reaching to take her hand to kiss. She gracefully drew it away, sitting next to Diego.

"What are your thoughts about the situation with Zorro and his offer of amnesty?" Ricardo asked her. "Do you think he was a fool not to take it?"

Diego, looking panicked, tried to stop Rosarita from answering, but she ignored the motions he made.

"I'm afraid I don't think that's any of my business," Rosarita said. "As a matter of fact, neither does Diego."

At that, Diego's gaze shot to Rosarita, and fully realized the meaning behind her cool tone and impassive voice. He flushed, and turned away from her again.

"Why do you not remove your hat, Ricardo?" Rosarita asked, looking at Diego.

"Ask Diego," he scowled.

"I'm asking you," she said coolly.

"Because our mutual friend decided it would be fun to shave a bald spot in the middle." Ricardo took off his hat, just for a moment, and Rosarita saw the patch of bare skin.

"What possessed him to do that?"

"I heard a rumor of a nasty prank Ricardo had intended to play on me," Diego said, and now his tone was as cool as Rosarita's. "And because it wasn't fair to force Zorro and Anna Maria into that situation. I think he deserved that comeuppance. You can't keep meddling around. It was not your right to convince the governor to offer it."

"I'll tell you this, Diego. That situation had to come to an end, that's all there was to it. I wasn't going to go home to San Francisco, and let you go home to Los Angeles, with Anna Maria still undecided."

"Why should she decide?" Diego burst out. "What is she deciding? Why is marriage a choice she must suddenly make? We were just friends, Ricardo, whether you believed it or not. All three of us, just friends during that time. I was not asking for more."

Rosarita remained silent, surveying the two men, who talked as though they'd forgotten her presence.

"I could have been more," Ricardo said. "You could have been more, had it not been for Zorro, who I readily call a cad for leading her on with no intentions toward her. His not coming proved that."

"Zorro does not exist for that purpose," Diego said, his fists clenching. "I may not know him as well as you think you do, but I know that whatever possessed the Fox to take up his mask was not a woman. It was much more than that. To force him into that corner made him pay a price he shouldn't have had to."

"You speak of him so familiarly," Ricardo said. "I thought you'd be glad to have his true colors revealed. By the way, why weren't you waiting with us?"

"Maybe I heard of you and your messenger's plan just in time," Diego said. "Maybe I didn't want my reputation sliced to pieces, like you did with Zorro's."

"Why get so passionate?" Ricardo said. "And why shave my head?"

"Your lack of hair is far from permanent," Diego spat. "But Zorro's choice is very permanent."

He stood up, his chair almost falling backwards from the force of the motion. "Con permiso, Rosarita. I don't want to stay here any longer."

He went to the stairs, stalking up them with a straight, unmoving back.

Ricardo stared after him. "Huh."

Ana-Carmen entered from the sala, and halted when she saw Ricardo. "Rosarita, we have guests?"

"He was Diego's guest," Rosarita said. "Mama, this is Ricardo del Amo. Senor del Amo, this is my mother, Ana-Carmen."

"Oh, Ricardo," Ana-Carmen breathed. "I did not recognize you."

"I am somewhat taller than I used to be," Ricardo said. "And handsomer, I'd hope."

Ana-Carmen giggled. "Si, both," she said. "Bondad! Are you staying for the night? Oh, no, we don't have a room..." Her voice trailed off, and a flush appeared on her cheeks.

"Do not worry about that, Senora Cortez," Ricardo said. "I came to see Diego, I saw him, and, well, I should be going. I was supposed to already have left for San Francisco."

"Oh, of course," she said. "It was lovely to see you again."

He bowed, as she hurried up the stairs. Rosarita walked Ricardo to the gate, and stood there while he adjusted his saddle, then turned back to speak with her.

"I ask you to, uh, forgive my actions as a youth," he said, eyes dark. "I did not know, then, that you would grow up to be such a pretty woman."

"Would that have changed things, then?" She asked, letting his eyes linger on hers without moving.

"No," he said, and chuckled, letting the mood lighten. "It was wonderful to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same, but, you see, I was brought up to tell the truth," Rosarita quipped.

His face darkened momentarily, and she quickly amended the statement."It was nice to see you, too, Ricardo. Ignore that."

"I will have no trouble doing so," Ricardo said, eyes gleaming, and, to her utter shock, he leaned down and kissed her cheek, like a brother would and yet not like a brother would. He took his time straightening up, and Rosarita felt his breath on her cheek long after he had.

"It is in recognition of our earlier, um, friendship, if you could call it that," Rosarita began. "That I didn't slap you for that."

She could still hear his laughter hours after he'd left.

The day dragged on. Rosarita found herself spending time with Amelia, doing simple sewing and trying to ignore the thoughts swirling in her head.

Dulce was still confined to the nursery. Ana-Carmen herself took meals there, and tried to convince her daughter to open up.

She remained stubborn, and refused to say anything.

Around mid-afternoon, Diego wandered into the sala, and quietly approached Rosarita.

"May I speak with you?" He asked quietly, his eyes flicking to Amelia.

"Of course you can," she said pertly. "There is a seat, right there."

After a moment, he nodded and sat down in the chair nearest to hers, obviously unsatisfied with the arrangement.

"I don't know how you...know," Diego said slowly.

"Milana came by, on a ride, yesterday," Rosarita explained, not looking at him. "She wanted my opinion of it, since I'd known Zorro in Los Angeles. Obviously, she had to explain the whole thing for me to understand."

Diego nodded, satisfied with the explanation, but still uneasy. "Our vow," he became uncertainly. "It was not meant to be permanent, was it?"

"I thought it to be," Rosarita said, turning her sewing in her hands. "But it was always just if, if we got that chance." She looked up, and let her eyes meet his. "We didn't, Diego. And I accept that."

With an almost sob, Diego wrenched the sewing from her hands and took them into his own, bringing the right to his cheek and just holding it there.

"I'm not as strong as I thought I'd be," he said, clutching her hand. "I thought decisions would come easier to me when I was grown. But, Rosarita, it's so hard."

"Anna Maria disappointed you," she observed.

"No, because she'd never promised anything," Diego said, drawing her hand to his mouth and pressing a kiss to the knuckles. "That was what hurt the most."

"Love is not something you can promise," Rosarita said. "That's what I have learned. We have changed, Diego. Things just cannot be the same anymore."

"What if I said I wanted them to be?" Diego said, looking at her intently.

"I would not believe you," she replied. "Maybe you want it back for the simplicity but your feelings are not the same. And they do not have to be. I remain willing to just be your friend, as much as it may have disappointed me."

Dinner was interrupted by a maid running into the room. "Pardon me," she gasped. "But Senorita Dulce is gone from the nursery."

After a period of interrogation, during which they learned she'd searched everywhere in the hacienda, the response was immediate. Domingo, Alejandro, Diego and Vincente immediately pushed back their chairs.

"We'll find her," Domingo promised his wife. "She cannot have gone far. Perhaps just to the north pasture. We should be back within the hour."

Ana-Carmen nodded, anxious but not really worried. Dulce had played these kinds of tricks before, just never when she was being punished. She bade her husband farewell, and Rosarita watched them leave.

They walked straight to the stables, not even waiting for their horses to be led out. Even if the probability was that Dulce had snuck away, there was also a darker possibility that gave haste to the searchers.

"I talked to Diego today," she began without preamble. "Mama, if you were hoping for an offer from him, just know that it will not be forthcoming."

Ana-Carmen bit her lip. "Why say that?" She asked.

"He fell in love with someone while in Monterey," Rosarita said wearily. "His feelings for me do not remain, as mine do for him. It is not marriageable love anymore, Mama."

Ana-Carmen sighed. "It would have a been a good match for you to make."

"I know."

"Beyond romance, Diego was a good catch," she continued. "But I should have known better than to expect Don Alejandro's son to marry a Cortez."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rosarita asked, incredulous. "Don Alejandro's pride does not extend to that. And Diego is his own man."

Ana-Carmen shook her head. "The de la Vegas are too grand a family for us," she said. "And I should have known that."

Dulce ran from the hacienda, to her amigos that waited at the foot of the hill. She could see them all: Carlos, Hernando, Tio, Leon.

As she approached, sneaking through the dusky air, she saw them hurry away suddenly. As she watched, they were leaving, running from the house. She could hear the shouts and knew what game they played.

She sank to the ground, too disappointed to continue following. This was the third time in too many days that she had been excluded.

Well, if they wouldn't wait for her, she wouldn't wait for them. She remembered a plot of theirs, to go to a hidden pasture they'd once discovered, and spend the night there.

She'd do it without them.

She didn't need them, after all. Like Rosarita was always saying, they were just picaros. She'd go without them. She'd go without anyone.