It didn´t take long for her to regain consciousness. She was still in Zorro-Diego´s arms, who - with a worried look - lightly slapped her on the cheek to help her come to.
"Zorro?" she mumbled astonished. "You are Zorro?"
Zorro in Diego´s clothes nodded. "Yes. I am Zorro. I am the one you made love to a few months ago, and if indeed you are carrying Zorro´s child, then it is my child you are carrying." It was stated firmly enough, but he looked at her face with plain anxiety. Would she be able to accept him as the man behind the mask? Or...?
Silently she shook her head as she took in his features. Diego with Zorro´s mask... It looked ridiculous, but there was no denying: she was looking into Zorro´s eyes. Carefully she pulled back the mask a little. Indeed: put together it really was Diego looking at her. And when she pulled the mask in place again, it was Zorro. It was amazing; she tried it again and again until Zorro-Diego took hold of her hands.
"It´s hard to believe, isn´t it? But it is true: I am Zorro, Victoria."
She nodded speechless; then shook her head vigorously as to clear her thoughts. "But... Diego isn´t anything like Zorro! He can´t handle a sword, he..." Apprehension dawned upon her. "You just pretended to be so... so clumsy?! In order not to draw attention?"
He nodded again. "Victoria..."
But she shuddered and pushed him away. "And you were here, right under my nose all this time, and you never told me!? How could you! You kept me dangling all those years...! You knew how much I wanted a family, and yet you chose not to tell me?! To keep me waiting for seven years?! You are disgusting, Diego de la Vega! I hate you! Well, I hope you´ve enjoyed your power over me, because it´s over!"
Diego turned livid as she ranted on: "You used me, Diego! Coming in to snatch a few kisses, and then off again and heaven knows when I might see you again! I bet it was a nice little offspin of your Zorro-game, wasn´t it? How you must have laughed at me when you came to the tavern as Diego, and hearing me swooning over Zorro! Oh, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!! And now you want to marry me? Well, forget it! I won´t let you play with my heart anymore! There!" She jumped up and slapped him in the face. But Zorro was quick and grabbed her wrist before she could run away.
"Let go of me!" Victoria demanded furiously.
"No!" Zorro´s voice said hoarsely. "You listen to me first!" He jumped up, too, and took hold of her other arm as well. "I have never laughed at you, Victoria! The reason I couldn´t tell you..."
"I don´t want to hear it!" she yelled, and wriggled to get out of his grip. But his hands were strong. Like Zorro´s.
"You think I actually enjoyed this masquerade?" he demanded indignified. "Playing the people´s hero maybe, yes, but do you realize what sacrifices I have to make to keep my identity a secret? My entire life is trapped by this charade! I had to lead my very own father to believe that his only son is a coward, and to see him being thoroughly disappointed in me, over and over again! I have half the town laughing at me behind my back because of my supposed indolence! I have to dress up to court the lady I love, because she mostly overlooks me as myself! I want nothing more than to get married and have a family of my own, but I can´t because of the threat of reprisal from the alcalde! Now you think that is fun!?"
He pulled off his mask in frustration and threw it down on the table. Victoria watched him wide-eyed, and her temper started to fade away as his words sank in with her. The worst of Diego´s anger seemed to subside, too, for he continued in a more sad tone: "Now you´ve sort of framed me into marrying you. It is true: I´d like nothing more, because I love you, I love you more than anything in this world. More than my life. But it also makes me tremble for fear of the conclusions the alcalde may come to when he hears about this. Victoria, do you fully realize that I am a wanted criminal with a prize on my head? Don´t you see that there is every chance of us - you and me - dangling from a rope in no time? The alcalde doesn´t need proof; the mere fact of me marrying you might well be enough for him to conclude that I´m Zorro. And he won´t hesitate to hang you alongside with me, as my accomplice. Don´t you see that I couldn´t risk that?"
It was enough to have Victoria burst out in tears again. "Oh Zorro, what have I done!?" she cried.
He let out a sigh and took her in his arms again. "That´s what I´ve been asking myself, too: ´What have I done?´ But there is nothing we can change about it. I´ll marry you; I wouldn´t have it any other way. That is: if you´ll still have me. But I love you, and I´m ever so tired of waiting, too. I want... I need you with me."
Victoria sniffed. "Can you ever forgive me?"
He took a deep breath before answering: "If you can forgive me for the secrecy I only kept to insure your safety, I think I could forgive you for forcing me to do what I want most of all..." He smiled. "To marry you and have a family of our own and live the rest of our lives together, as man and wife..."
She looked up at him, and carefully he brushed a trickling tear from her cheek.
"I love you, Victoria," she heard in a hoarse whisper. "I love you so very, very much..."
"I... I think I love you, too," she stammered. "But... but I think I might need some time to get used to the idea..."
He nodded with a sad smile. "I understand." He took another breath before continuing: "But before we decide on how to play this game for the town, we´ll have to find out first whether you really are expecting or not. For if you are, we may not have so much time left before it starts to show."
Victoria shivered. "When does it start to show? For if I really am in the family way, it must be nearly three months already!"
Diego shrugged apologetically. "I don´t know. I´ll have to catch up on that. I could see what I can find out, and come by here during siesta tomorrow, if you like."
She nodded.
"Now what is it that makes you think you might be expecting? Symptoms etcetera," he enquired.
Another shiver went down Victoria´s spine. "I... I..." She found it hard to say her suspicions out loud, as if stating them clearly would turn them into a self-fulfilling prophecy. "I... I´ve been feeling rather uneasy in the stomach. And certain foods and smells make me..." She swallowed with difficulty. "... make me nearly throw up. Do make me throw up. The mere thought of it seems to turn my stomach upside down." Another swallowing. ´Don´t think about coffee!´ she told herself! "And lately I feel so tired that I could sleep for days... And then I´ve missed out on my period twice now. Haven´t had it since I made love to Zo... to you..." She hesitated. "Are you really Zorro?"
He nodded solemnly. "You want proof?"
She didn´t dare to say ´yes´, even though more proof was exactly what she wanted. He saw the emotions crossing her face, and he did the only possible thing he could think of: he cupped her tearstained face in his large hands and kissed her. Softly, superficially first, but as Victoria came to recognize its familiarity, their kiss grew more ardent and passionate.
"Now do you believe me?" Diego asked tormented as he finally pulled away.
She nodded embarrassed. "I´m sorry, Diego. I do believe you. I do believe you are him."
He still looked at her with some doubt. But she put her hands around his musculous chest and snuggled up to him. "I love you."
He sighed and pulled her into his embrace as well. "I love you, too."
xxxxx
It was past midnight by the time he came home and found Felipe waiting for him in the library.
"And?" the young man signed inquiringly.
But Diego gestured toward the fireplace, and they both sat down at the oak desk in Zorro´s secret cave.
"Well?" Felipe inquired impatiently when his patron just kept staring at the wall.
Diego let out a long sigh. "I don´t know, Felipe. It´s not entirely certain that indeed she is expecting. She might be; I´ll have to catch up on some reading to be able to figure out more." Another sigh. "And yes, I have told her. And I will marry her. But we´ll have to make sure whether or not she really is expecting before we can decide what act we´re going to put on for the people and the alcalde." He sighed again and buried his face in his hands. "Of all the ways I have ever imagined telling her... this must be the worst..."
xxxxx
The next day Diego showed up at the tavern´s back door just when Victoria had closed for siesta.
"Buenos dias, Diego," she said. But she turned away immediately with an embarrassed blush to put away a few pots.
"Victoria..." He closed the door behind him, and Victoria noticed he was again using his deeper Zorro-voice.
"How are you feeling?" he enquired cautiously.
"It´s okay," she answered. "Have you come up with something from your books?"
Diego nodded and walked over to her. She was still occupying herself with the pots and pans on the counter; she didn´t have the guts to turn and face him.
He took a deep breath for courage, and then he told her quietly: "It seems the experts don´t really agree on whether one can be entirely certain yet at this stage, but the symptoms you mentioned last night indicate that there is every possibility of you indeed being with child..." He took hold of her shoulders as he noticed her shuddering. Victoria tried to take a deep breath, but her legs faltered, and Diego could only just catch her before she hit the floor. A hiccup and a sob welled up from her chest. Diego pulled her back on her feet and turned her around to take her in his arms. Gently he stroked her back and placed some comforting kisses in her soft hair. "Hey, you´re going to be allright, okay? I promise! I´ll do everything in my power to pull you through this ordeal," he soothed her.
Victoria hugged him tight to show her gratitude, but then she looked up at him. "So what are we going to do?"
He sighed. "That´s what we´ll have to discuss now." He took a deep breath and let go of her. "Victoria..." He tried to swallow a sudden lump in his throat, and then he thought of something. He knelt down and took both her hands in his. Victoria noticed there still was a terribly uncertain and frightened look in his eyes when he looked up to her. And he had to swallow another lump before he managed to put his unnerving question to words: "Dearest Victoria, will you marry me? All of me? Not just the dashing hero, but the quiet, peace-loving Diego as well?"
She heard the plea and the fear of rejection in his voice. The unbelievable lack of self-confidence in this man who in fact was the hero of the territory! How sweet, how dear he was to her!
She blinked her tears away. She couldn´t keep him in agony; she had to answer the question. She, too, struggled with a lump in her throat, but fortunately she managed to get out a croaky: "I will."
Diego could not yet believe his ears. "You do?!"
She couldn´t help a loving chuckle. "Yes, I do. Honestly. I do want to marry you. All of you."
His mind struggled to digest her assurance, but then he jumped up with joy and relief and hugged her so tight to his chest that she giggled: "Hey, be careful with our offspring, señor!"
Immediately he let go of her with a sheepish grin. She smiled up to him, and wondered why she had never noticed that Diego - just like Zorro - was quite uncommonly tall. But she loved every inch of him.
"Besides..." Even though a very happy smile now radiated from her face, she couldn´t resist teasing him: "Besides, what are you so worried about? You already had asked me to marry you - the man behind the mask. And I had accepted, had I not? I even have a beautiful engagement-ring to prove it!"
He smiled. "And very soon you will be able to wear it in public. And as for my anxiety: well, things have changed a bit since I proposed to you back then."
She chuckled. "You can say that again..."
"And only yesterday you yelled at me that you hated me and that you´d never marry me," he reminded her.
Now it was her turn for a sheepish grin. "Oh well, you know me... When I´m angry, I always yell first and think later..." She chuckled. But then she sobered. She laid her hands on his chest and looked up into his kind, loving eyes. "Diego, you need never to worry about my love for you. I´ve been thinking about it all night: you have shown me that one plus one does not necessarily make two. Diego is my best friend. He always has been. I couldn´t wish for a better one, and I have always loved him for it - as my dearest friend. The only thing that prevented me from falling in love with him was his apparent lack of initiative and passion. That was something I found in Zorro. But even though Zorro was my passionate lover, we never got the chance to become friends. That was something I had with you. With Diego. So now that my very best friend and my passionate lover have turned out to be one and the same - how could I not love all of him? In his heart, I know now that Zorro is quite comfortable at home with a book, and that he has a great passion for art and science and stuff. And at the same time, I know now that my friend Diego regularly puts his own life at risk to save the people from the alcalde´s cruelty. So one plus one sometimes makes only one man. And that is the man I love with all my heart."
Diego looked down at her. He was so moved by her declaration that for once he was completely at a loss for words. Fortunately, there are other ways of expressing one´s feelings. So he bent down over her and kissed her tenderly.
xxxxx
The first thing Diego did when he came home late that afternoon was confessing a few things to his father. He found him in the garden, busy tending the flowers.
"Father, I would like to talk to you, please."
Don Alejandro looked up. "Well, go ahead, son. By the way, have you heard that preposterous story about Zorro having put Victoria Escalante in the family way? The nonsense! Don Sebastian was here earlier today, and he mentioned it. Can you imagine: Zorro, the perfect gentleman towards all the ladies in general, and particularly towards Victoria! He may be brilliant in many ways, but I don´t see him capable of taking advantage of the señorita like that! He would never!" Don Alejandro got up and took off his gardening-gloves, thus not noticing his son nervously chewing his lip.
"Well, what is it, son?" Don Alejandro looked inquiringly upon his son.
"Ehm... well..." Diego swallowed. "I´d rather have this talk in private. And I have to show you something."
Don Alejandro raised his eyebrows. "In private, huh? Well, where do you want to go?"
But Diego already led the way to the library.
"Well, what is it?" Don Alejandro demanded as he saw his son hesitating again in front of the fireplace.
Diego turned to face him. "Father, do you remember when I was about ten years old, that you showed me the secret passageway that led from the hacienda into the hills?"
"That old cave? Yes, I remember." Don Alejandro smiled at his own childhood memories. "My brothers and I used to turn the place inside out. We explored every little corner, convinced as we were that it was the perfect place to hide a secret treasure. And I remember you following similar pursuits at the time. But there is nothing but rocks and dirt down there. Is there?" he added in puzzlement. "Why? Have you found something down there?"
Diego didn´t venture an answer; he just pressed the secret lever and led the way past the moving panel in the fireplace. Don Alejandro followed, and the panel closed again behind him.
When he reached the bottom of the steps, Diego stepped aside to give his father a good view of Zorro´s hide-out annex laboratory. And Don Alejandro looked around in amazement.
"Well, well..." he said slowly. "I had no idea... But this certainly is a perfect place for... what is this?" he asked in wonder.
"A laboratory," Diego explained hesitantly. It seemed his father was so much in awe over the many glasstubes and bekers and everything, that he hadn´t even noticed Toronado and Zorro´s outfit yet. "This is where I conduct experiments. In chemistry, in physics..."
Don Alejandro put down a beker with some green fluid in it. "Experiments?!" he exclaimed. "Well, I suppose I should be grateful that you´re just blowing up this cave some day, and not the entire hacienda!" He chuckled at the sight of Diego´s baffled face. "Just kidding, son. So... what do you do here?"
Diego opened his mouth to respond, but someone else answered before he could and a startled Don Alejandro turned around at the whinnying sound of a horse. His eyes grew wide when he discovered the big black stallion in the corner.
"Madre de Dios," he mumbled. "Diego, why is there a..." He stopped short as his eyes - turning back to his son - passed the coat-rack with Zorro´s outfit: the silk cape, the hat, the beautiful sword, the black clothes... For a moment he just stared. And then he mumbled to himself: "So it is true..."
Now it was Diego´s turn to be astonished. "You knew?!"
"I suspected it," Don Alejandro admitted softly as he tore his eyes away from the masked hero´s outfit to fix on his son. "Oh, not until recently," he added as he saw Diego´s incredulous and rather disappointed expression. "You had me fooled for years! But a few minor details recently made me wonder. By themselves, they were not that extraordinary. But when put together..." He swallowed hard. "My son..." he uttered croaky. "My son... Zorro! My son, the champion of justice, the defender of the people... my son!" He stepped forward and hugged his son. Hard. "Oh Diego, I´m so proud I... I could burst!"
Diego hugged his father back. It felt good to finally tell him the truth. To finally show his father who he really was. And it felt ever so good to see his father finally being really proud of his son, without having to force himself to it. But at the same time he hovered for the second part of the news he had to tell him. A part that was not likely to be received with similar approval.
Don Alejandro let go of him. Diego noticed he beamed with pride, but there was regret in his eyes as well.
"Diego... when I think about all those harsh things I have said to you over the past years... Will you ever be able to forgive me?"
With a shy smile Diego shook his head. "There is nothing to forgive, father. I can not deny that your reproof hurt me - believe me, it was one of the hardest parts of this masquerade. But those remarks were not unjustified towards the Diego I wanted you and everyone else to see."
His father nodded pensively. "Yes. Perhaps you are right. Then maybe I can make amends by being excessively proud of you from now on?"
Diego grinned. "As long as you don´t show it too excessively in public? After all, we wouldn´t want to give the alcalde too many pointers."
"No, definitely not!" Don Alejandro declared. He lowered himself on a chair. "To think that you, my son Diego, have been living a double life all this time... And kept this secret to yourself for what... six years?"
"Seven," Diego corrected him. "And I wasn´t entirely on my own: Felipe has been in it from the beginning. He was the one who gave me the idea in the first place."
"Felipe?!" Don Alejandro frowned in alarm. "Diego, I remember you... well, Zorro... I remember you saying that it was too dangerous for anyone to know your identity because of what the alcalde would do to anyone who knew. And yet you had no scruples letting a young boy like Felipe run that risk?!"
Diego looked down. Actually, he had never really thought of Felipe in that way. Felipe had simply always been there. As his friend, his only confidant... As his beloved baby brother, who looked up to him no matter what he did... He shuddered as he realized all of a sudden at what risk he had put the boy all those years. "Well, I..." he struggled to explain. "As I said, it was his idea in the first place. So even if I hadn´t told him, he would easily have guessed right away that I was this masked avenger. And Zorro needed an assistant. An accomplice who could come and go as he pleased without drawing attention. And you´ll have to admit that such is easier to accomplish for a servant-boy like Felipe than - say yourself, as a respected caballero. Most of the time people don´t even count a servant´s presence; they act as if he isn´t even there. So all those times that Zorro appeared out of nowhere, that was mostly thanks to Felipe. As was Zorro´s always knowing what was going on in town."
Don Alejandro shook his head. "That´s all very well, but I still think it was quite irresponsible of you to get Felipe into this. And besides: he may be an intelligent young lad, but how could he possibly know what is going on in town? Most people avoid contact with him altogether because they simply have no idea how to communicate with a deafmute!"
Diego smiled. "Exactly, that was just the trick! Felipe is not deaf, father. He can hear perfectly well. He told me he regained his hearing while I was in Spain. But he was afraid that we´d treat him differently if we knew he could hear. So he went on pretending to be deaf. I only discovered by accident that he could hear."
Don Alejandro was silent, trying to digest all this new information. "Well," he said in the end, "it seems I have not only one, but two of those secretive foxes sneaking around the hacienda then." He sighed. "To think that my son is Zorro..." Then another thought struck him: "What about Victoria?"
Diego winced. "What about her?"
His father smiled. "You may have fooled me in many ways, son, but I´m not a complete idiot, you know. I am well aware of your feelings for Victoria Escalante." He chuckled. "Quite amusing, isn´t it? You not standing a chance with her because of her love for your alter ego!"
Diego´s jaw tightened. "Yes, that was a real Gordian knot I got myself in to. And I assure you that it was not even remotely funny."
Don Alejandro tried hard to straighten his face. "Yes, I can see that. But to think that you were your own rival for her affections..." He froze, and Diego looked up in concern and apprehension. "Diego," Don Alejandro demanded hoarsely, "you telling me all this - now... It doesn´t have to do anything with that rumour about...?"
The question remained unfinished, but Diego knew all too well what his father meant. He looked his father in the eye, took a deep breath for courage and nodded as he slowly exhaled.
"Diego, you didn´t," his father reproached toneless.
Again Diego nodded. "We did."
Don Alejandro stared at him in disbelief; then he buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Diego, Diego... What have you done!?"
Diego sighed. "Well, we got carried away one night and..."
"I don´t want to hear it," came the moan from his father.
But Diego continued stubbornly: "I know very well that we were wrong in this, father. We got carried away that time, and I have no other apology to offer than the simple fact that we love each other with all our heart, and if it hadn´t been for Zorro, Victoria and I would have been married years ago."
Don Alejandro looked up. "Do you mean she knew your identity?!"
"No. I didn´t tell her until last night, when she told me she was... ehm... expecting. Probably, that is. But I have every intention of assuming my responsibilities towards her. She has already agreed to marry me. As soon as may be."
Another moan came from his father. "Diego, you can´t just get married like that! You´re a De la Vega! You have responsibilities towards your family!"
Diego´s jaw tightened. "My first responsibility now is to keep Victoria and my child out of trouble. And there will be trouble; I can assure you that! When the alcalde hears about this..." He hesitated. "We´ll try to mislead him by starting other, false rumours. But Ignacio de Soto is not stupid; it won´t take advanced calculation for him - or anyone - to figure out that I am Zorro. And you know as well as I do what the result would be: we´d both be dangling from a rope in no time. So we´ve decided that - if the worst comes to the worst - we will flee from the Spanish territories, and start a new life in the United States. And if it does come to that, I want you to know that I´ve had my will drawn up years ago, making Felipe my principal heir as if he were my first born son. For that´s what he is to me. So if I have to leave the territory, Felipe will inherit everything you leave to me upon your death."
Don Alejandro just sat there, staring at him. "And you sit here, cool as a fish, telling me about the provisions you´ve made in the case of your death?!" he finally struggled out.
Diego raised his eyebrows in wonder; then he laughed shortly. A laugh with no joy. "Father, you may be thrilled to have Zorro for a son, but according to the government I´m nothing but an outlaw. And on top of that a prize-catch for every bounty-hunter in the territory. Every time I dress up as Zorro could be my last; Zorro can get a bullet through his heart the moment he leaves this cave. I have to think of the possibility. And after a few close encounters with death, I thought it better to make up my will. Just in case."
They both fell silent for a while. "But even if De Soto wouldn´t suspect a thing," Diego continued tormented in the end, "how could I possibly go on putting my life at stake as Zorro? How could I possibly risk widowing Victoria? And the last thing I want is for my child to grow up without a father..." He shuddered, and Don Alejandro couldn´t possibly be blind to his son´s distress. He placed his hand comforting over his son´s.
"Yes. Marriage, and especially fatherhood does tend to change a man´s outlook on life. But that´s something you´ll have to come to terms with yourself, son. All I can say is that I am convinced you are going to be a wonderful father."
Diego smiled weakly in response, but all of a sudden he sat up in awe as the magnificent felicity struck him: "I am going to be a father!"
"Yes, and I am finally going to have those grandchildren I have been bugging you about for years!" his father agreed.
But yet another worry popped up in Diego´s mind: "You will accept Victoria as my wife, won´t you? And our child as your grandson? For if you plan to treat them as pariahs because of... Then I´d rather leave for the United States right away!"
Don Alejandro smiled somewhat wanly. "Now when did you hear me say that? Relax, son. Ever since Victoria lost her parents, I have felt a particular responsibility and love towards her. As if she were the daughter I never had, for she reminds me of your mother. I thought you knew that. And as for this child... well, I can´t say I am very happy about the way it has been conceived, but that is hardly the child´s fault, is it? So how could I blame him for something his parents did?"
Diego smiled warily.
"I understand, son," Don Alejandro continued in a lower voice. "At least I think I do. You and Victoria have loved each other for so long, while unselfishly sacrificing your personal happiness to fight for a public cause... But remember the proverb of the pitcher going to the well? I think you both may have had enough. Seven years is a long time to put your life on hold. You have done so much for the people of this pueblo; you have given up so much of your own life... Perhaps the time has come to reclaim your life and seek to enhance your own personal happiness. And to be honest, son, I think you´ve deserved it."
Diego sighed. "That´s what Victoria said, too..."
xxxxx
At that moment Felipe came bursting in through the secret passageway. Upon seeing Don Alejandro sitting there, he halted with a puzzled frown, but then he turned his attention to Diego and started signing hurriedly.
Diego´s jaw tightened. "The alcalde has got word about the story and he has put Victoria in jail," he translated for his father as he jumped up to get changed.
Don Alejandro jumped up, too. "I´ll come with you!"
"No!"
The new commanding tone in his son´s voice startled Don Alejandro to a halt. "But I..."
"No!" Diego repeated as he changed into his black shirt. "I am already putting you in a lot more danger than I should wish now that I had to tell you my secret. I will not have you put out your neck unnecessarily. I can handle the alcalde, don´t you worry about that. But you stay here, comprende? Zorro rides alone!"
Don Alejandro looked a bit hurt. "Son, I just want to help you!"
"The best way of helping me is by staying here, father. Otherwise I might have to rescue you as well as Victoria."
"But this is madness!" Don Alejandro raised his voice. "There will be heaps of lancers, and..."
"Which has never bothered Zorro before, has it?" Diego enquired coolly. He put his hand on his father´s shoulder; all of a sudden the son claimed authority over his father. "Try to keep the same blind faith in Zorro´s abilities that you´ve always had, father. Even now that you know it´s me. Don´t forget that I misled you as much as Diego de la Vega as I did as Zorro. Your son Diego is fully equal to the generally admired skills of Zorro. So don´t make me tie you up. You stay here, and I´ll handle the alcalde by myself. As I´ve always done."
For a long moment, father and son looked one another in the eye. Two strong wills combatted in silence. And it was the father who had to give in to the determination of the son: "Allright then. You go alone. But I´ll be worried sick till I see you return safe and sound!"
Diego chuckled self-confidently. "Yet another reason why I never told you."