Chapter 3 - Something in the Water

The sound of soft footsteps woke Marcus Grisham, but before he could stir, he felt something cold at his neck and warm leather over his mouth. In the dim light coming through his window, he made out a shadowy figure next to him.

"I need to ask you some questions, capitán," a female voice whispered. He knew it had to be the Queen of Swords. "Will you promise not to yell for the guards? I'd hate to have to slit your throat."

Grisham nodded and felt her remove her gloved hand from his face. The cold metal dagger still stayed at his throat. Grisham tried to move an arm only to discover he couldn't. She must have tied his arms to the bed.

"I always knew a woman dressed in black leather had to be kind of kinky. Did English get too boring for you?"

"Why don't you shut up so you can live to find out?" the Queen replied coolly, pressing the dagger just a little more firmly against his neck. "Word is you've been pursuing señorita Alvarado. Why?"

"Jealous?" Grisham asked. The Queen pressed her knee into his stomach in response.

"Keep up the jokes, and I'll hurt you lower."

"All right," he acquiesced. "Montoya wants me to marry señorita Alvarado."

She eased up the weight on his stomach at the honest answer. "For her land?"

"Yeah, and the water rights."

"But why now? Didn't Montoya try to get you to marry the Alvarado girl when she first returned from Spain?"

"That was a disaster. Montoya said she might be more interested now. It's almost two years later and she still isn't married. She isn't getting any younger. I think there's more, though."

"More?" the Queen prompted.

Grisham realized he had an advantage. He didn't think she'd really kill him. She'd had multiple opportunities so far, but he was still breathing. "Untie me, and I'll tell you."

"Now why would I do that?" she asked innocently.

"Because you want to know who Montoya was talking to."

"You're right, I do want to know, but I'm not going to untie you." She moved her knee lower and pressed it uncomfortably against his groin. Grisham let out a gasp of pain.

"Fuentes and Higuera," he whispered through clenched teeth. The Queen moved her knee away, placing her foot on the floor. Grisham gave an audible sigh of relief as she moved away from him. He heard a metallic clink against the dresser.

"A little compensation for your pain and suffering. You might want to see a doctor about that bruise."

"Wait, aren't you going to untie me?" Grisham asked in mild panic.

Silence was his only answer from the empty room.


The Queen of Swords rode quietly through the dons' lands outside of town. She only had a couple hours left before the rancheros would rise to start their workday. She started near the hacienda of Don Fuentes, which conveniently shared a border with the Alvarado holdings. The other dons had long complained Fuentes' ranch was dirty, but Fuentes tried to blame the late Don Aguilera for the death of his cattle.

A slight breeze lifted her hair on the cool night. As she neared the hacienda, she realized it also carried a foul smell, which only got stronger as she approached. As a landowner with her own livestock, she knew it wasn't cows or horses she smelled. It was more like rotten eggs. Perhaps the dons were right and Fuentes' hacienda was filthy. What little she could see in the moonlight looked in order, but the sleeping cows were thin.

The Queen followed the smell to a spring on Fuentes' land. If this is what the livestock drink, no wonder they're sick, she thought. She emptied out her canteen and filled it with the malodorous water in the hope that Doctor Helm could identify what was wrong with it. As the sky began to lighten, she directed Chico home. She was going to need some sleep to make it through Tessa Alvarado's day.

Tessa overslept the next morning and hurried to find Marta. She found Marta in her room, curly head bent over an embroidery hoop as she worked. Marta looked up as Tessa entered the room.

"I have a lunch date with Capitán Grisham. I'm going to be late!" Tessa exclaimed. "That is, if he isn't too tied up."

"Tessa, what did you do?" Marta sounded scandalized as she followed Tessa back to her bedroom.

"The Queen needed some information last night," she said, stepping into her petticoats.

Marta yanked on the corset laces. "You found out why Grisham is courting you."

"Yes-ow! Not so tight, Marta. I still need to breathe." Marta let up on the laces and helped Tessa into her bodice. "Montoya wants the hacienda. If Grisham marries me, Montoya controls the puppet strings."

"But this is nothing new," Marta said. "Why now?"

"Don Fuentes and Don Higuera have something to do with it, if Grisham can be believed. I'm still trying to figure it out. Until then, I need to play along with Grisham and Montoya's game."


While Tessa had worried about running late, she found herself waiting alone in the cantina for Grisham. She was actually starting to feel guilty about leaving him tied up when she saw him approaching. He didn't seem any worse for wear.

"Good afternoon, capitán. I was starting to worry something terrible had happened to you," Tessa greeted him with wide-eyed seriousness.

"Just busy protecting the people of Santa Elena." Grisham gallantly kissed her offered hand. "Maybe there's someplace more quiet we can have lunch."

Tessa mustered her most coy look despite the sour feeling in her stomach. "That sounds wonderful," she purred.

So for the second time in as many years, Tessa found herself sharing lunch on the beach with Grisham. This was a much less elaborate affair-no waiter, no table, and no fancy champagne. Strangely, she felt like he might have actually learned something about her since that first ill-fated luncheon. If the man beside her didn't spend half his time trying to kill her or steal from the innocent on behalf of his master, it would have been a very pleasant outing.

Tessa stretched her feet out in front of her, dainty black shoes peeking out from under voluminous black skirts. The dark material was warm from the sunlight. A blanket protected her dress from the soft sand and shell fragments. The wind whipped her hair, making her grateful Marta had tied part of it back that morning.

Thinking of Marta, she knew her duenna would scold her for the lack of propriety. While the Queen of Swords could do many things a lady should not, Maria Teresa was a proper, virtuous lady...on the verge of spinsterhood. No wonder Montoya thought she'd marry Grisham this time.

Grisham was surprisingly quiet as they watched the waves roll on the shore. It seemed like the ideal opportunity for Tessa to do a little digging.

"I expect you will wish to write to my Uncle Alejandro soon," she began casually. "To ask for my hand in marriage."

Grisham paled visibly under his tan. He hadn't really thought the plan would go this far. "I suppose so."

"And of course, he would want to travel here for the wedding. It would take some time for him to arrive from Spain." She prattled on, "You must have some family in the United States. I don't even know where you grew up."

"Virginia," he replied. "I haven't seen my family in a long time. I'm not even sure they're still alive."

For the first time, Tessa felt sympathy for Grisham. "Do they know you're here?"

"No. And they can't." He looked at her seriously. "I ran into some trouble in the army. I can't go back."

And that's why you're here as Montoya's lap dog, she thought. "I'm sorry," she said aloud. This was not going the way she had expected. Tessa knew how it felt to be in a strange place without family, and empathy got the better of her as she laid a hand on top of Grisham's.

Grisham returned her a genuine smile. "You're getting a bit ahead on the wedding planning considering I haven't asked you yet."

Tessa blushed. "Well of course you're going to. You practically did when I first met you."

"I guess I did," he ceded as he leaned in to kiss her.


"Damn him!" Tessa swore as Marta helped her change into the Queen's clothes.

"The doctor?" Marta asked, as he was most often the target of Tessa's ire.

"No, Grisham," she replied, yanking her blouse over her head. "He was being nice today. Acting like a real person."

Marta took the blouse from Tessa before she tore it. "And it's easier to hate someone you don't see as a person."

"I always wondered what Vera saw in him. I guess he isn't all bad."

Marta handed her the long, red silk sash. "So I should start making your wedding dress?"

"Marta!" Tessa exclaimed with indignation. "I'm not going to let it get that far." She tied the sash low on her waist. "There might be an engagement party, though."

As she rode toward town in the cool evening, she was thankful for the shorter days of winter. She had plenty of hours of darkness to skulk around as the Queen, when it was much easier to avoid detection by Montoya's soldiers.

With her canteen in hand, the Queen tried the back door of Doctor Helm's office but found it locked. Throwing the canteen strap over her shoulder, she opened the adjacent window and climbed through. She found Doctor Helm once again at his desk.

"Two days in a row," he said without looking up. "I'm starting to think you enjoy my company."

"I need your scientific expertise," she said, placing the canteen on the desk in front of him.

"It appears to be a canteen."

Placing her hands on the desk, she leaned down to eye level. "Funny, doctor. The water inside is from Don Fuentes' hacienda, but there's something wrong with it."

Helm unscrewed the canteen cap and nearly immediately replaced it.

"Aren't you going to test it?" she asked.

"I don't need to. Was the water warm when you collected it?"

"Yes."

"You've never been to a Roman bath, have you?"

"No. I've heard of ones in Cataluña. What does that have to do with anything?" She was starting to wonder what sort of joke the doctor was playing on her.

"The water is from a hot spring. The rotten egg smell is a mineral called sulfur."

The Queen followed as he went to pull a book from the shelf. "Is it poisonous?" She tried to read the book over his shoulder but realized it was in English and she could only recognize a few words.

"Thinking of picking up a new career?" he asked, turning over his shoulder to look at her. His face was very close to hers, and she once again found herself distracted.

She blushed and fervently hoped the room was dark enough for him not to notice. "Only if you have texts in Spanish. I can't read that," she said, pointing to the page.

"While I can't imagine wanting to drink water that smells noxious, the water itself isn't dangerous." The Queen's expression turned to disappointment as she heard her theory dispelled.

"However," Helm continued, "the sulfur mixes with air to create a gas that is poisonous with enough exposure. I'm no ranchero, but I've treated enough of them to hear about Don Fuentes' sickly herd of cattle."

"So he does have a reason to want the Alvarado land."

"You think Fuentes is behind this?" the doctor asked, returning his book to its proper place on the shelf.

"Fuentes and Higuera. Montoya needs someone to buy the property."

"I don't understand what would prevent Grisham from keeping the money for himself."

Strangely, the Queen found herself reticent to share Grisham's secret. "Montoya must have something on him."

"Montoya stockpiles secrets just like he does gold. But nothing yet explains Higuera's involvement. How do you know he's part of this scheme?"

"I may have convinced Grisham to share some information last night."

Helm turned to stare at her with a shocked look on his face. "You what?" he blurted.

"It's a lovely night for a ride," she commented, deliberately ignoring the doctor's outraged expression. "Could I convince you to join me at the Higuera hacienda?"

"You want my help breaking and entering into someone's home?" Helm was no longer sure which topic he should be upset with her about.

"I don't plan to break anything."