Chapter 7
It was already mid morning when Diego arrived at the tavern joined by his father and Felipe, who were more than curious to meet the woman Diego had invited to Los Angeles.
"Don Diego, you're back!" Upon entering the tavern, Diego was greeted by many friends who had missed him during his absence. He fell behind his father and Felipe while he shook hands with many of them.
Instead of joining his father at the bar who was having a chat with Victoria, he only acknowledged her with a short nod and a "Hola Victoria". Not taking the time to have a word with her, Diego headed straight for the table where Don Pedro and Maria Gonzalez were drinking a coffee.
Alejandro and Victoria looked at each other, both surprised by the way he treated Victoria. "I don't know what has gotten into Diego, but it seems he is cross with you after all," Alejandro remarked.
Victoria felt hurt by his snub, eying him critically as he bowed over Maria's hand before sitting down at their table. "It seems he has found new friends, and he no longer needs his old ones."
Angrily, she left for the kitchen.
It wasn't the time and place to confront Diego with his behavior, but Alejandro decided he would talk about it with his son when they were alone.
Diego introduced Don Pedro and his daughter to his father and Felipe when they joined him at the table. Their talk was soon interrupted when Mendoza approached the table to greet Diego.
"Don Diego, so good to have you back. You were missed during your absence and I was looking forward to your return and our meals." Mendoza smiled joyously. Diego couldn't suppress a smile at the sergeant's remark. Of course, Mendoza had missed Diego's invitations to lunch. The sergeant wouldn't be himself if he didn't think of food.
"Sergeant, it's good to be back and over our next meal you must tell me all that has happened during my absence."
"Don Diego, there will be a lot to talk about. Have you heard about Zorro's latest encounter with the alcalde yesterday before dawn?"
Before Diego could answer he was interrupted by Maria Gonzalez. "Who is this Zorro? There seems to be a lot of talk about him in the tavern. Is he a kind of bandit?"
"Oh no Señorita, Zorro isn't a bandit." Mendoza took a chair and sat down at the table, placing his hat on top of it, welcoming the opportunity to take a break and talk about Zorro. "Zorro is a defender of the people of Los Angeles. Whenever someone is treated wrongly, he comes to his rescue."
"And who did this Zorro rescue this time and what has it to do with your alcalde, sergeant?" Maria inquired.
"You must know, Señorita, that the alcalde has tried to capture Zorro ever since he came to Los Angeles. Since Zorro hadn't been seen for some time, the alcalde thought he'd give him a reason for coming by imprisoning Señorita Escalante." Mendoza pointed to Victoria at the other side of the tavern, "She and Zorro have been in love for years and he always came to her rescue. But, this time we all thought he wouldn't come for her anymore, because he left her in the prison for some days and they have obviously split up."
"But he came for his love?" Maria eagerly wanted to know. "This is so romantic."
"Yes, he came in the night, because the alcalde wanted to hang her in the morning."
"This is absolutely illegal what your alcalde is doing," Don Pedro remarked, outraged. "How can the governor tolerate that?"
"And what did Zorro do?" Maria urged the sergeant to continue.
Mendoza chuckled at little, but hid his smile soon behind his fist to hide the impression that he was laughing about his commanding officer. Trying to stay serious, he continued. "There was much noise outside the pueblo that sounded like an attack and while we soldiers ran to investigate it, Zorro freed the Señorita and then he hung the alcalde from the bell tower."
"He killed the alcalde? Then he is nothing more than a bandit!" Maria exclaimed.
"No, he didn't kill him. Zorro never kills anybody. He fastened a rope around the alcalde's chest and the other end he attached to the bell tower. Then, he made him jump to hang from the tower until he was discovered in the morning." Mendoza couldn't suppress his laughter anymore.
"What is so funny about it, sergeant?"
"It was in the middle of the night when Zorro came and the alcalde wasn't wearing his breeches only his nightshirt that was decorated with Zorro's mark. But, only after the morning bells were ringing, people looked up to the bells and saw him hanging there like a ghost. The whole pueblo saw the alcalde struggling to be freed out of his miserable position.
Because the bells were so loud next to the alcalde's ears, the alcalde still hears them ringing and has preferred to stay in bed. The doctor says that the ringing might last some more days."
"Then you'll be busy the next days Mendoza, as temporary alcalde," Diego added.
"Si, I hate all the paper work, but it's better than laying traps for Zorro or having to chase him across the countryside. Without the alcalde's scheming it will be quiet around here. I wish you a pleasant stay here in Los Angeles, Señor, Señorita." Mendoza bowed before he left.
"This Zorro seems to be an interesting man," Maria stated.
"Oh, not you, too," her father exclaimed.
"What do you mean by that?" Maria inquired, uncomprehendingly.
"I think you were too young to have heard it, Maria," her father explained, "but four years ago Rafael came for a visit here to Los Angeles with your cousin Margarita shortly before their wedding. When this Zorro," Don Pedro spoke the name with some disgust, "appeared, Margarita was so infatuated with the hero that she called off the wedding. She and another woman created a real scandal when they threw food at each other in the middle of the plaza fighting over Zorro. In the end Rafael and Margarita were forced to leave Los Angeles at once. Rafael managed to persuade Margarita to come back to him, but his family no longer consented to his marriage with Margarita. It took quite some time to smooth it all over between the families, until they could get married after all. So please, Maria, do me a favor and stay away from this 'hero'."
"I never knew Margarita acted so foolishly. You never told me, Father," Maria exclaimed, surprised, "but, you should know me enough that I'm not like Margarita. Why should I pine for a man who seems already spoken for? I'd rather settle for someone who is still free."
After that the topic went to more general themes. Don Pedro and Alejandro found a common interest when they talked about the problems of managing a large hacienda while Diego and Maria talked about the places to see in Los Angeles.
Diego was torn between his roles. On the one hand, he had to keep the impression of the dull studious man he had assumed so long ago, and on the other hand, he tried to be more open and himself as he had been during his stay in Monterey. If he appeared suddenly as charming as Zorro, the alcalde would become as suspicious as if he suddenly developed fighting skills. So he had to change his appearances. He was still charming as Diego to Maria, but somewhat less than in Monterey, and as Zorro he had no intention to charm anyone any more.
As their conversation continued, it soon became time for lunch, which they shared in the tavern. As usual, Diego ordered only juice with his meal.
"Why is it that you don't drink any wine?" Maria asked. "Haven't you recovered from your cold yet?"
Diego felt the need to explain himself. "As I have told you before, I'm a scientist and working on some experiments. Some of them require a clear head and a steady hand to stay safe. I'd rather refrain from drinking alcohol than fall victim to an unwanted explosion." He continued to elaborately explain some specific chemical reactions, losing the interest of his audience quickly, as intended, so that nobody might suspect he had quite different experiences, with swords and bullets, which kept him from drinking.
After lunch Diego offered to show his new friends around in the pueblo and invited them for dinner later at the hacienda.
His explanation gave Victoria something to think about. She had always assumed Diego never drank because he didn't like wine, not that he refrained out of necessity. Now she found out that she had been wrong all those years. Where else was she wrong in her opinion about him? He could be charming indeed from the way he treated Maria Gonzalez.
Z Z Z
On their way back to the hacienda, Alejandro addressed his son. "Diego, please tell me why you are cross with Victoria. What has happened between you?"
"I'm not cross with her and nothing has happened between us, Father. Things have changed now. That's all I want to say about it." Stubbornly, Diego gave no more answers.
When they reached the stables, Alejandro noticed the additional horse that occupied the box next to Diego's Esperanza. On closer inspection Alejandro identified it immediately. Surprised, he turned to Diego.
"What is Rafael's Estrella doing here? Did you bring her from Monterey?"
Both horses hadn't recovered fully from the hard ride Diego had subjected them to and the fact couldn't be missed by an expert horseman as Alejandro.
"She is in bad shape and so is Esperanza. Is that the reason you weren't riding her today? Diego what have you done to the horses?"
"Oh, nothing. Rafael lent me his horse so I could be a little earlier in Santa Paula to consult our lawyer because of Victoria. I raced them a little, but they are obviously a little out of shape because they weren't ridden much in Monterey."
Diego knew the story was a little feeble, but he had stayed close enough to the truth to make it believable. His father would never guess that he had ridden from Monterey in little more than a day and a half and then back to Santa Paula again.
Alejandro looked at him doubtfully. Diego was leaving something out, but he couldn't fathom what it could be, and after a look into Diego's blank face, he knew he wouldn't get any more information from him. What did Diego mean when he said he raced them a little? These were good horses and it took more than a little race to put them in a shape like that. He'd never understand his son. At one time he seemed to have forgotten everything about horses, and then, suddenly, he was giving his horse a race.