La Luna de Miel Chapter Fifteen: Intrigue

"Ah, those men again" Carmen whispered as they sat sipping coffee and enjoying pastries at a sidewalk cafe. "They are coming this way." she breathed, at once feigning an interest in the local paper unfolded on the table between them as the two bearded men approached, still wearing heavy soled boots but without their woollen suit coats. They wore white shirts.

"Señores?" a waiter approached the men. The two were seated at a table just a few feet away, closer to the street than Carmen and Mano, but near enough so that that any conversation might be overheard by the young couple, both of whom had a passable command of French.

"Nous devrons choisir l'heure parfaite. Il faut que personne n'aurait le soupçon éveillé."

"Ca c'est le problème. Parce que les autres en ont déjà discuté."

"Mais…" the one furthest away dropped his voice and neither Mano nor Carmen could hear more. The men discussed keeping everything secret and choosing the perfect time. Time for what, Mano wondered? Carmen looked away.

In a bright voice Carmen said, loud enough for all at the sidewalk café to hear, "Mi corazón, would you like to take a walk around the beautiful municipal gardens?" He smiled, took her arm and assisted her to rise, leaving some pesos on the table and leading her at a casual yet steady pace down the street, away from the two strangers.

"Manolo, did you hear those men?" she asked as they neared the corner.

"Yes."

"I begin to fear they may be here for no good reason, my husband."

"Oh, surely not," Mano's voice trailed off as they walked.

"Why not?"

"Chiquita, this is not our concern."

"I think it is.

"Well for now, can we just proceed to the hotel? You need your rest, querida."

"Yes, but Mano, must we walk so fast? she asked, almost breathless. Preoccupied, he had not realized how long his strides had been. I guess we are both too curious about those men, he mused.

"I am sorry," he said, slowing the pace.

Once in their suite, they shut and barred the door. Carmen collapsed on the sofa but Mano started to pace. "My darling, those Frenchmen do seem to be everywhere."

"Yes," she agreed. "Do you think they are criminals? Or plotting some kind of intrigue?" She laughed as she said this, but her eyes gleamed and Mano thought she seemed excited by the prospect of intrigue.

"Oh, certainly. I am sure they wish to reinstate French rule," he laughed. "And of course they have chosen Hermosillo to begin their petite revolution. I mean, why would one try to overthrow the government in Mexico City when one can start here?" His voice carried an edge of good humored sarcasm. "Ah, they must mean to capture the governor himself and hold him for ransom! That must be it!"

"Ah ha," she laughed. "Have you been reading those penny dreadfuls again?"

"Excuse me? You know I only read Cervantes."

"My love, it is ridiculous, I know. But those men do not fit. They do not belong. Something is not right about them."

"Eh? Well, perhaps," he admitted. "Their accents were an odd sort of French, did you not think? And if they were foreign why would they require the disguise of beards? Their faces would not be known. Why draw attention to themselves with their bizarre appearance?"

"Had you considered their very actions might be a diversion?"

"Oh you mean they could be drawing the attention of the authorities away from something else?"

"Yes, my darling, that's exactly what I mean. While we were having coffee just now, I was reading the local paper. One of the headlines concerned the arrival of a famous jewel as part of some world tour. Why one of the stops would be Hermosillo, I cannot imagine, but it seems to be so. A large ruby will arrive tomorrow and will go on display to the public for only two days. At the governor's mansion, no less. It is called the Sangre del Este. And, Manolo, there is to be a grand ball to mark the occasion."

"Could they be after this ruby then?"

"It is possible," Carmen acknowledged. "But then why sit around speaking French and talking about the governor's mansion if you plan to steal something from there?"

"True. Perhaps it is a diversion," Mano suggested. "The local policía will be involved in protecting this jewel and security will be strong. Many will be occupied marshaling the public who wish to view it. This means other locations will be left with only skeleton staff or no protection at all."

"Exactly, Manolo, exactly!"

"What do you suggest we do about this, mi corazón?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Perhaps we could mention our concerns to the police?"

"And what shall we tell them? That we have overheard two people pretending to be French threatening to do something to the governor's mansion or person?"

"Ah, no, that would not work, would it?" Carmen sounded a little less sure now and Mano's mouth curved.

"We could try to find out who their friends are though," he proposed.

"And how would we do this?"

"What about following them, perhaps listening to more of their conversations?"

"Mano, we are here on our honeymoon. I wish to spend time with you, but I do not want to spend it in following some strange men around. Besides, don't you think they might notice us, if we keep turning up in the same places as they?" Mano had to admit that he had other designs for this luna de miel than trailing odd characters across the city. Still.

"Look, Carmenita," he said.. "The doctor has said you must rest, sí? And if we just take small walks each day around the hotel and certainly no further than the governor's mansion, we might bump into those fellows again, might we not?"

"Hmm."

"Could we then not listen un poquito to their conversation and see to whom they are talking and then go and tell your father's friend?"

"I suppose so" Carmen conceded. "But if we do not bump into them within the next day or so, we are going to forget all about them and concentrate on enjoying our time in this beautiful city, aren't we? Mi vida?" She reached up to stroke his hair and smile into his eyes. He leaned over to give her a long kiss. She is very charming, he reflected. And she is very good at that and at other things, too, he observed.

VKS & MJRod claim the creation of Carmen Navarro, although we took her first name from a David Dortort script proposal. We also are the creators of the Vargas clan , Rancho Navarro and its people including Delgado, and all of the characters in and around Hermosillo. We would have nothing to create were it not for our favorite western, "The High Chaparral," to which we pay tribute.