Chapter 27: Unexpected turn of events

"Señorita." Monastario said as he stood up to salute her.

"Señor." She saluted him back. "What are you doing alone outside?"

"But I'm not alone anymore." He said by smiling.

There was a slight pause, full of unease.

"Please, sit down." He said by indicating the bench where he was sitting five minutes before.

"Gracias, but I'm not staying."

Monastario raised his brow, puzzled.

"What can I do for you?" He finally asked.

Angela briefly bit her lips, this man was intimidating her. Could she tell him about her torments? With a quick motion, she unfolded the fan she was holding in her hand and fanned her face to try to hide her unease.

"Please excuse me, Señor, I didn't want to disturb you." She suddenly said by turning back.

"Señorita, you don't disturb me." He said by grabbing her hand.

He felt her becoming tense under his touch.

"Forgive me, I didn't want to scare you." He said then by kissing her hand before releasing her. "If you want to talk, I'm to your listening, Señorita."

Angela looked at him at length, his blue eyes were bewitching . She finally sat on the bench and invited him to sit next to her.

"Well, what can I do at your service?"

"Well then, it's about Zorro... I believed it was a myth, would you know to tell me more about him?"

Monastario opened wide his eyes, he certainly didn't expect this question.

"If I had to relate you all, one day won't be enough." He said with gravity. "Zorro is not a myth, far from this. He is a man of flesh and blood who appeared to save the people from a tyrant." He explained, like his niece did for Little Diego.

"Did you already meet him?" She interrogated ingenuous.

"If I..." Monastario bursted out laughing. "Please forgive me, Señorita. I didn't want to offend you." He suddenly said in front of her pout... "Zorro and I, it's a long story."

Angela frowned in front of the sudden faraway look of her speaker.

"Would you be Capitán Monastario?"

Enrique found himself with no voice for a short time.

"I was Capitán Monastario. Now I'm just Señor Monastario, at your humble service. Where do you know my name from, Señorita De Santa Anna?"

"Señor Miguel De Granada spoke about you to my brother for a long time."

"You know Miguel?" Monastario exclaimed.

"Knowing him is not appropriate. I just met him from time to time."

"Is he always so carefree?"

"I can't tell, I don't know him like this."

A short silence took place. Monastario smiled, lost in his memories.

"What is the other question which is burning your lips?" He asked by looking at her with a sharp eye.

"Señor." She reddened, confused. "I don't dare ask you."

"Don't be afraid, Señorita, I don't bite." He half joked.

"... You were this tyrant, weren't you!" She dared to say.

"Indeed." He admitted regretfully.

"A man as charming as you." She let slip.

Monastario raised a brow, puzzled and touched. Realizing that she had spoken aloud, Angela became violently red and looked away.

"Don't be troubled, Señorita." He said by grabbing her left hand to kiss it. "You flatter me; such words can only enlighten my heart eaten by guilt." He smiled before releasing her hand to stand up. "If you please excuse me, Señorita, I have to leave for a moment." He bowed to salute her and went closer to the patio's gate.

When he put a hand on it, he felt a presence behind him and turned round. Without allowing him time to react, the señorita stood on tiptoes and stole a kiss from him before running to shelter in the hacienda.

Monastario remained dazed like thunderstruck. From high on the balcony Alejandro, who had seen everything and heard almost all, managed to muffle a good laugh. Señorita De Santa Anna visibly had a crush on Señor Monastario. It was amused that Señor De la Vega went in his quarters.

At the pueblo, the lancers' return didn't go unnoticed. We have to say that seeing them with a bound and gagged prisoner wasn't a usual action. The crowd gathered on the plaza to observe the man. Whispers could be heard... Whispers of stupefaction essentially. A peasant recognized the prisoner. He grabbed a well ripe tomato on his stall and threw it on the prisoner while the capitán ordered the opening of the cuartel's gates. Very quickly the gesture was repeated and Toledano had to give voice to calm the crowd. At that juncture, Padre Felipe arrived and took over from the capitán; inviting everybody to reunite in the chapel.

Toledano ordered to install Señor De Otsoa in cell only when the cuartel's gates were closed. The orders concerning him were simple. It was strictly forbidden to take away his ties or his gag and to enclose anyone else with him. He had to stay alone. Then Arturo went in his office where Raquel called him vividly when he came in.

"Well, well, my dear, why this excitement? "

"Didn't you see the posters when arriving?"

"To tell the truth, no." He answered solemnly.

"Arturo? What's the problem?" She asked in front of his dark face. "Yet, you came back in triumph with the fugitive."

"I'm terribly sorry, my sweet, but... the situation has escaped us."

"Oh..."

"Don Diego fell."

"Dios... Don't tell me that..."

Arturo checked having closed the door before pursuing the topic.

"We all believed it and our prisoner still believes it. The young De la Vega is still alive, keep silent on this point, I beg you."

Raquel sighed with solace.

"What did you want to tell me?" He asked then.

"Go and see on your desk." She smiled.

Pushed by curiosity, he went closer.

"Well, well, well!" He exclaimed by discovering a poster and its content. "And I who was thinking of having time to unmask him."

"You know who he is?" Raquel said, astonished.

"I need proof, but... yes." The exclamation of a little boy is not enough.

"So, who is he?" She asked with eagerness.

"Patience, my dear, patience." He said smiling.

He took place at his desk and noticed then an envelope under the poster.

"Come in!" He ordered while three knocks could be heard.

"Capitán." Garcia saluted.

"Sergeant, everything went well?"

"Yes... I'm here to tell you that, like me, you and your wife are cordially invited to dinner tomorrow evening at the De la Vegas'."

"Thank you, Sergeant."

"You're welcome. Now I have to go and inform Padre Felipe or else Don Diego will be angry with me."

"Don Diego?" Raquel questioned.

"Si... It's him who sent me."

"Sergeant."

"Yes, Capitán?"

"Not a word on his current state to the prisoner. Let him believe that the young De la Vega is really deceased."

"Si... Why is that?" He interrogated puzzled.

"If the prisoner realizes that he failed, it is my opinion that he will want to try again... As soon as tomorrow, we will make him leave for Monterey with the others bandits. Some more lancers will arrive this afternoon."

"Lancers?"

"Yes. I had asked for reinforcements to face an eventual attack from the bandits."

"They arrived a little late... If I can permit me." The sergeant added, realizing to have spoken aloud.

"You may go." Toledano ordered without picking up the sergeant's mistake.

Garcia saluted him and went out of the office. Toledano observed him leaving and took the envelope. By doing this, he noticed the seal on it... The message came from the viceroy. He took then a paper knife and used it to unseal the message.

"Capitan Toledano,

"We've discussed it together in the past and I know that you will agree about this decision. So, I should be grateful if you explain the causes of it to your men; especially to Sergeant Garcia who always had a heart willing to arrest this... bandit. However, to the reading of his reports, I could note that his impressions about him seemed to be divided. If he had to arrest him, he would have done it against his will.

"Another essential point concerns the Fox's identity. If he wants to reveal who he is, he will do it. He is a man of honor and of principles who deserves his freedom... He is not the type to act lightly and his values are reliable."

The viceroy must know his identity to talk about him like this. The capitán thought before pursuing his reading.

"This man has all my confidence and my gratitude."

No more doubt to have, he knows him.

"As for his future, Zorro remains free to protect the people anonymously. Therefore, I'm counting on you to see that it remains if he decides not to reveal in public or to anyone.

"Sincerely yours.

"Don Esteban, Viceroy of Spain."

Now, he must know that I doubt... But, are we thinking to the same person? Arturo smiled by closing the message.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when an exclamation of "what" resounded in the yard. He stood up in one jump and went to see what it was about. Except for Corporal Reyes and Sergeant Garcia, which were talking, all seemed to be normal.

"But as I tell you, Sergeant. It's posted all over the pueblo."

"Sergeant." The capitán called him. "Don't forget Padre Felipe."

The under-heard message had the expected effect and the sergeant went out of his astonishment. Forgetting what his friend just told him about Zorro, he went to the chapel.

"Corporal Reyes, in my office right away." The capitán then said harshly enough.

Reyes gulped, frightened by the capitán's voice. It is true that this latter rarely used this voice and each time that he did, it was advocating nothing good. Of course, the capitán had nothing to reproach to the corporal, far from this thought, but he didn't want the sergeant to unexpectedly let slip the child's words in his talk with the corporal. And as Garcia had work to do, it was logical to call the corporal and to let the sergeant attend to his business.

However, the news about the pardon granted to Zorro had inflamed the whole pueblo and everybody was speaking only about it. The opinions were divided as for his reveal of identity, but a majority would have wanted to know who to thank. Names were mentioned but no one seemed to have the look of the Fox. Added to this news, the former hostages of El Lobo told about their misadventures and their release, and the presence of the Fox on place had astonished no one. And yet, no one had seen him since and one man of El Lobo, who managed to hide at the lancers' arrival and heard his chief talking during his arrest, spread the rumor according which the Fox was mortally wounded. To add more, the bandit misquoted the story, relating that the lancers were the authors of the deadly injury.

The dissatisfaction rose in the pueblo and all agreed. The soldiers had to pay!

During the afternoon, tension mounted on one level at the arrival of the new lancers. Padre Felipe heard a talk between two peasants and remained dazed. Something had to be done to avoid a bloodbath. And there, he knew that words were useless... HE had to intervene. He ran to Avila's office to tell him what he heard and the doctor sighed. This one pertinently knew that HE wasn't in a state neither to fight nor to ride. Willy-nilly, he resigned himself, however, to let Padre Felipe go and warn him… Only HE could clarify the situation before it worsens.

...

The afternoon was on its end when from his bedroom the viceroy suddenly heard the commotion outside. He went closer to the window to see what was happening and discovered the crowd beginning to install barricades in front of the cuartel. Men were armed and visibly getting ready to attack.

A rider came closer, making them react instantaneously...

In the cuartel, the comings and goings from the peasants and caballeros didn't stay unnoticed by the new lancers which got ready to face them without waiting for orders. Nonetheless, the noise got Toledano out of his quarters. He went closer to the gate, ordering to all lancers not to shoot under whatever pretext . He opened the gate a little and went outside to see closer what was happening. It was at that moment that the rider arrived near the cuartel's gate.

"Zorro!" The crowd exclaimed.

"Buenas tardes, Amigos. Buenas tardes, Capitán."

"Buenas tardes, Señor Zorro."

Whispers rose in the crowd.

...

In the cells, the cries of exclamation and protestations of the people of Los Angeles didn't fall on deaf ears.