Chapter 24

By the end of the afternoon, sitting under the tavern's porch, Don Alejandro was anxiously waiting for his son who had gone to the alcalde's office to inquire about Felipe's release.

He had just finished his pitcher of wine and ordered a second one when Victoria put before him a jug of what looked definitely not like wine.

"You're mistaken my dear, this is not my order..."

"I know Don Alejandro," she replied, "this is not your order, and no, I am not mistaken."

He slowly looked up at her, one eyebrow arched in silent questioning.

"Don Alejandro," she told him, "you wouldn't want for Felipe to find you tipsy, should he be released tonight..."

"Humph! 'cause you think de Soto will listen to Diego? I don't even know why I let him convince me not to go in there myself..."

"Perhaps to prevent you from taking Felipe's place behind bars?" she retorted tit for tat. "Especially after several pitchers of my excellent Rioja..."

"It's good, indeed," Don Alejandro conceded.

"It's good but it can knock you quickly if you're not careful. Beware, it's a bit treacherous..."

"Don't worry, I still know exactly what I'm doing."

"And it's precisely for you to keep on knowing what you're doing that I brought you this pitcher of barley water instead: it is just as refreshing and it keeps the head cool..."

Don Alejandro pursed his lips in a small disdainful pout.

"Pshaw!" he let out, "I'm no longer a kid, Victoria, I haven't been for a very long time."

"I know this, it's not about that..."

Don Alejandro said nothing and glanced toward the other side of the plaza. Victoria knew well where his thoughts were aimed at. When he suddenly got up with the very clear intention of joining his son and support his words in his own way – the way of a true de la Vega, according to him, which certainly implied reaching to the hilt of his sword – Victoria held him back by grabbing his arm.

"Don Alejandro," she said, "for once I think Don Diego is right. Loosing your temper, lashing out at the alcalde and getting yourself locked up certainly won't plead Felipe's cause. I don't know if the alcalde will listen to Don Diego and release Felipe tonight, but I think he was convinced by señorita Alacen's testimony. According to what they both told me, anyway. So yes, I totally understand your frustration at not doing anything but sit here and wait, but although it feels weird for me to say this, for once let's trust Don Diego and follow his advice. And well, nothing too bad can happen to Felipe anymore, for now..."

Her little speech seemed to temporarily calm down Don Alejandro's fiery temper, who sat down slowly albeit obviously reluctantly.

"And have a taste of my barley water! Perhaps it doesn't match up to a nice little Malaga or Jerez, but I bet you'll like it anyway…"

z~z~z~z~z~z~z

Ten minutes later Victoria was busy serving patrons inside her tavern when she heard Don Diego's and Don Alejandro's voices coming from her porch. Cheerful voices.

She was about to go there to see for herself what was happening when she saw them enter the tavern. Not two men, but three: Felipe was with them!

"And finally the mail had not left for Monterey yet," Don Diego was telling his father, "so he didn't have the excuse to have to wait for anything else to release Felipe."

His right arm was wrapped around the young man's shoulder, who was smiling at Don Alejandro, at Don Diego, at the angels and at the whole world. After two and a half days in jail he was a bit scruffy and unkempt, but the smile that was showing up to his eyes was very good to see.

He made a series of signs which she didn't understand, bar one: the one he used to refer to de Soto.

"Yes," Diego replied, "I think so too: he would surely have been legally able to release you as soon as this morning, but he did it on purpose. Oh, I'm sure it's not against you, I'm the one he doesn't like much... Yet I have never done anything to him, or so very little..."

After this last sentence, Victoria saw him slightly wink at Felipe, a wink which meaning she didn't quite catch. But Felipe's smile broadened: apparently he understood... Probably one of those father-son private jokes nobody else could understand...

"Oh, well," she cut in, "I think the alcalde still resents you for José Riva's case..." she told Diego, reaching the three men. "You know, all this dust in his office, the fake stubble, the sleeping drug in his food..."

"Oh, that..." he answered with a shrug. "But you're probably right, he hinted at it once again no later than this morning when I went to see him with Senorita Alacen."

Victoria turned to Felipe, taking care to position herself right in front of him, her face clearly in his field of vision.

"I am relieved to know you're in the clear. It's a real joy to see you're free."

She dared not add that she had never doubted his innocence, because she was pretty sure it would have been a lie... And he might have not believed her, incidentally, according to the slightly troubled look he had thrown her just the day before when she had visited him in jail.

Yes, this friendship too would need a little mending.

Taking the first step and giving in to both her impulse and her joy at seeing the young man reunited with his loved ones, she hugged him and raised her head and reached up to lay an affectionate kiss on his cheek, despite the scratchy stubble he had grown in the last two days and a half, razor blades being quite unwelcome in jail.

He stiffened a bit but didn't back away and let her do, much to Victoria's relief.

"How enthusiastic!" Diego told Victoria with a crooked grin. "I don't remember you greeting me that way after Ramone had me spend a night in jail for my articles in the Guardian!"

She looked at him, dumbfounded.

Uh... yeah, that might be true, she had probably not kissed him at this time... But anyway, that was not the same! By the way, she wondered out of the blue, how could it feel like, kissing Diego de la Vega's cheek? But she quickly shooed this rather unseemly thought out of her mind. Kissing Felipe… well, that was not the same. It had come to her almost naturally, just like that, an impulse. Out of sheer friendship. Not that she wasn't friends with Diego too, far from it! Only… only here it was Felipe, and with Felipe things were just not the same as with Diego, full stop! It just couldn't be the same, period.

By the way, why, after all? She couldn't tell herself anymore it was because Felipe was just a kid, at nineteen years of age he could decently no longer be considered as such… So why?

And suddenly another thing she hadn't yet thought about came to her mind and covered her current questioning: Dear Lord, she wondered with a bit of alarm, had she just departed from decency by publicly throwing her arms around Felipe's neck and flying into his arms like that? Was it to throw the veil of humour and jest over this that Don Diego had gently joked about her sweet enthusiasm? To save her day, to save her face, to protect her good name and preserve her reputation as an honest woman? Or to discreetly remind her that Felipe was not really to be regarded as a child anymore?

Nevertheless... against her better judgment, Victoria was now curious to know what Diego de la Vega's cheek would feel like against her lips.

"Diego," Don Alejandro gently scolded his son, "don't tease Victoria!"

He then led his son and his grandson-to-be to a table where the three of them sat down.

"Come on," he said, "all this ordeal is over. Let's celebrate! Victoria, my dear, bring us a pitcher of your excellent Rioja, please."

Saying this, he threw a wink and a knowing smile in her direction. Victoria did her best to hide her amusement behind a fake disapproving frown. Don Alejandro smirked and Victoria finally smiled.

And after all, emptying a pitcher between the three of them to celebrate a happy event was really not the same as downing the same pitcher on one's own to alleviate one's anguish...

The other two seemed to notice this silent conversation – of course they did, she reflected, they were experts at talking without words! – but they didn't understand what could be so funny.

After all, Victoria reflected, since Diego and Felipe seemed to have their private jokes and little secrets, then Don Alejandro and herself could have theirs as well!