Chapter 33

On the way, no matter how hard Diego was trying, he failed to make Luz say what she apparently was passing over in silence. And yet it was not for lack of trying.

"And besides," he was now saying as a bump on the road caused his passenger to wince in pain, "I am glad that light has been completely shed on your unfortunate encounter with Felipe. Because everything is now clarified, isn't it? There isn't any grey area around that anymore?"

Taking his eyes off the road for a split second he peeked a discreet glance at her: her right hand was supporting her left elbow, pinning her arm against her chest. Diego took pity on her: she had probably overestimated her condition and the unevenness of the road was transmitted to the cart, and then to its passengers, and apparently went straight up to her injured shoulder.

She was pressing her lips together: was it due to a – vain – attempt not to let her pain show, or an effect of the frustration she felt at Diego's strange question?

"The misunderstanding is indeed cleared up," she finally answered with a benevolent smile, "and I fell as happy as you do about it. Now we can all forget everything about this, and go on with our lives, in our respective ways. Or at least, I'll be able to go on mine as soon as I am fit enough to ride again."

She was quite good, acknowledged Diego who couldn't help but note that she managed not to answer either yes or no to his questions. 'Don't ask me to deliberately lie' he remembered she told Felipe. And for now she was keeping to it perfectly.

Diego started to realise it would be much more difficult to get her to talk than it was with Mendoza, especially when the sergeant was hungry or had a dry throat.

"Felipe too is very grateful to you," he said. "But he has probably already told you as much himself..."

"Yes indeed," she answered. "We managed to exchange a few words before I joined you for this short jaunt to the pueblo. Well, when I say 'words'..." she paused a bit. "And I have to admit it was quite arduous. I'm afraid I'm not very good at understanding him..."

However, she was good at evading questions, Diego thought. Oh, yes, she was very good. And good at changing the subject of conversation too. He was starting to realise that he would have a harder time with her than he first believed he would.

In a sense he was feeling a little less annoyed at this idea that he should have, he noticed with a touch of surprise; but truth be told, the player in him didn't dislike a bit of a challenge from time to time, and for this very one, he seemed to have found an opponent worthy of himself.

'I won't say a word about it as long as I'm not asked anything specific' she had also promised Felipe.

'As long as I'm not asked anything specific'... This last part echoed in Diego's mind, the problem being that precisely he didn't know what on earth could this 'something specific' on which questioning her be about... In short, he was going round in circles, and in this game she had elements he didn't have at his disposal.

It was not quite true, he suddenly reflected: there was at least one thing he knew that she was unaware of: he knew she was hiding something about Felipe, something he did, and she didn't know he was trying to worm it out of her.

At least she didn't know it yet, provided he hadn't just given himself away with his seemingly trivial yet leading questions. And if he wasn't careful to remain as subtle as possible, he would lose this only advantage he had over her.

Of course, another far more direct and straightforward approach would have been to downright tell her that he knew that she hadn't told him everything and that she and Felipe were hiding something else, and to ask her point blank what it was. This would certainly qualify as 'specific' to her, and perhaps would she answer his question.

Only this plan, as simple and effective as it might seem, had a huge flaw: the señorita would surely wonder how Diego could have gotten word of this while he clearly didn't happen to be in the library at this time, and was even supposed to be far away from there when she had her conversation with Felipe. And finding a credible explanation that didn't involve the existence of a secret passage behind the fireplace would prove to be tricky, since as nobody else passed by the library at that time no one could have reported to him this part of their conversation.

So he decided to pause in throwing questions at her, even indirect ones; but he continued talking to her about Felipe, hoping all the same that in the course of the conversation she would lower her guard and let the beginnings of a clue slip out.

That's how when Diego stopped the carriage in front of the church, walked around the wagon and held out his hands to help her down, she knew everything or almost everything of the circumstances under which Felipe had lost his parents, lost his hearing and met Diego, whereas Diego for his part had learned nothing more than what he already knew about the encounter between Felipe and señorita Alacen.

She hadn't said anything either of the reasons that caused her to want to see the padre, letting them believe – yet without having ever said so – that she was seeking his spiritual support, his prayers, or wanted to confess. It was only because Diego had read her private correspondence that he knew she had something else to discuss with him.

Yes, she was pretty good at letting people believe what they assumed, but was probably much helped in this by the fact that people were generally quite prone to make assumptions and preconceived ideas.

He made a mental note to always remember this about her, as long as she was staying at their hacienda: she seemed to be making a very clear distinction between lying by commission and lying by omission. And if she seemed highly reluctant to the former, at least according to what she told Felipe, her conscience appeared to far better come to terms with the latter. Perhaps was she offloading the blame for this on the fact that the fault partly rested with others, according to the well-established principle stating that 'anyway people will always believe and assume whatever they want, I'm not responsible for that'. Morally questionable, perhaps, but hardly challengeable from a purely logical point of view.

And after all, Diego reflected with renewed lucidity, when it came to lying, himself could hardly act as moral authority, of paragon of virtue!

He was escorting the señorita to the door when the padre came out of the church and, surprised, greeted them:

"Oh, buenos dias! I was about to go out for an errand, Diego, but if you're here to see me, I can postpone it..."

"Buenos dias, padre," he replied. "Actually, I'm not here for..."

He paused. The padre was looking at the newcomer: of course in such a small pueblo any unusual event spread out by word of mouth, and although he was absent at the time, the padre couldn't not have heard of the young woman's eventful arrival, nor of her ensuing stay at the de la Vegas'.

Another far more disturbing thought made its way through Diego's mind: two young people, one of whom was invited by the other's family, were coming together to see the priest: perhaps the padre was expecting them to have come here to talk about marriage?

Oh no, Diego thought, not him too! For pity's sake!

But the padre had now turned to the señorita:

"What can I do for you, my child?"

Her answer surprised Diego:

"Buenos dias, Father; are you Padre Benitez?"

Well well, Diego wondered, she doesn't even know him by sight? So they have never met?

"Indeed I am, my child," he confirmed. "Can I help you with anything?"

"I'm Luz Alacen, padre. You've invited me to come to see you and to visit the mission whenever it would suit me... I'm sorry to turn up here unannounced, but I thought that anyway I'd travel as fast as any letter I would have sent... Obviously I couldn't know that some setback would hold me up..."

"Oh, yes, of course! I'm glad you came, my dear daughter. So you're the one to whom happened this unfortunate mishap that the whole pueblo has been talking about since I came back yesterday!"

Unable to come up with any pretext as to why he should impose any longer, Diego took his leave of them and didn't hear the rest of their conversation as they entered the church. He went back to the carriage, grabbed the reins and led the horse to where it wouldn't block the way; then he went about his business and saw to his obligations for the Guardian while waiting for the mail-coach.