Chapter 9. Theater, third act.
Diego and Don Alejandro arrived early in the morning at Los Angeles and got off their horses. They were arguing. Diego watched around him while they were tying their horses to the post in front of the tavern. When he saw the alcalde peeking out alerted by one of his soldiers he motioned to his father.
"I don't care who he is. He has no right to threaten you like that," said Don Alejandro.
De Soto left the barracks pretending to meet them by chance.
"Nice day, it looks like it will be cooler than yesterday." he said approaching the two gentlemen. Then he saw something. Diego had a Z on his jacket.
"Don't tell me you've encountered the masked menace?" he said incredulously.
"I'm not going to talk about it." replied Diego grumpily. He was partly not pretending, he had found it difficult to have to spoil one of his jackets.
Don Alejandro was indignant, and continued to protest addressing his son. "You know that I have always defended that man, but this time he is not right. Victoria is a single woman, and she was not engaged to him. If he prefers you, whatever the reason, he is not the one to forbid you."
"For the last time, father, you were there too. He has not forbidden me to marry Victoria. He has threatened me if I don't do right by her."
"Or if you are unfaithful to her, he has said that one way or another she will be your last conquest." added Don Alejandro. "Who is he to decide what you have to do once you are married? That's something between you and your wife."
"So that thing about him being unwilling to kill is nothing more than a hoax, what I suspected." said the mayor satisfied.
"Well..." said Don Alejandro. "He has not spoken of killing him."
"Let's change the subject once and for all, will you?" said Diego in exasperation.
"So, if he hasn't threatened to kill him but she would be his latest conquest it means that..." said de Soto having a sudden inspiration. "It can't be. Has he threatened to mutilate him?"
Diego turned and started walking towards the tavern with long strides. "I'm going to get Victoria." From Diego's reaction, de Soto guessed he had hit the nail right on the head, which made him feel exaggeratedly pleased with himself.
"I'm going with you, I don't intend to leave you alone for a moment." said Don Alejandro.
The de la Vega entered the tavern closely followed by the alcalde. Both the waitresses and the customers stared at the three men. Victoria was in the room and was the first to react. She couldn't stop the blush from rising to her cheeks as she looked at the de la Vega's, and it seemed to her that everyone noticed, so she reddened even more. She cleared her throat and said in a slightly stilted tone, "Good morning. If you would like some coffee or orange juice you can have it while I finish serving a few more breakfasts."
Diego and his father sat down at one of the tables. The alcalde approached them, but Don Alejandro looked at him grumpily. "Did you want something, señor alcalde?"
"No," de Soto replied. "I'll sit at that other table."
One of the girls came over to ask what he wanted to drink. The tavern patrons could be heard whispering as some pointed to Diego's jacket.
Don Alejandro looked around and spoke low so that only Diego could hear him. "I don't like that we said that Zorro has threatened you with...you know. It seems to me that it is not like him."
Diego sipped at his juice and replied quietly as well. "The alcalde is liking that both Zorro and I have weaknesses. It has amused him greatly and will keep him distracted from the truth."
Pilar came into the kitchen carrying some dishes and looked at Victoria with wide eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she said excitedly.
"Tell you what?" asked Alicia from the sink.
"She's going to marry Don Diego."
Alicia turned to Victoria moving a little oddly due to her excitement.
"Really?"
Victoria tried to remain calm; the other two girls were nervous enough.
"Yesterday Diego asked me to marry him and I accepted."
"That's not all that happened." said Pilar smiling.
Victoria reddened again. "There's work to do." she said grabbing a pot of coffee and some plates to return to the main room.
"So it was you who left that mark on his neck?" asked Alicia dead curious.
"What I do with my fiancé is none of your business." said Victoria annoyed. She immediately walked out the door, leaving the other two girls trying to contain their laughter.
"What happened?" asked Alicia to Pilar.
"I'll tell you what Mendoza told me he heard from the alcalde."
Victoria served a few more customers before approaching the table where father and son were. "We can go now."
"Good." said Don Alejandro leaving some coins on the table.
When Diego got up Victoria saw his jacket.
"Did you run into Zorro?"
Diego avoided her gaze.
"Diego, tell me what happened." she said in a firm tone.
"He told me that if we want to get married he won't stop it, but if I disrespect you in any way I will regret it." he said with a frustrated tone.
Victoria was immediately offended. "Well that's nice of him, but I can stand up for myself."
"We'd better go talk to Padre Benitez." intervened Don Alejandro.
Diego offered his arm to Victoria and the three of them left for the church. They rounded the building to knock on the door of the parish office.
"Good morning, what can I do for you?" asked Padre Benitez somewhat puzzled by such an early visit.
Diego looked around and saw that there were several curious onlookers watching, of course with the alcalde among them.
"Padre, Victoria and I have decided to get married, and we want the banss read as soon as possible."
Padre nodded, looking worried. "Please come in." he indicated.
Don Alejandro entered with them, and the padre motioned for them to sit down.
"Do you have the certificate of bachelorhood from your parish in Madrid?"(1) the priest asked Diego.
"Yes," he said pulling an envelope from his pocket. Here you are."
"What is that paper?" asked Victoria.
"My parish priest in Madrid signed a certificate stating that I did not marry while I was there. It's done to avoid cases of bigamy."
Victoria nodded.
"Yes, there are a lot of scoundrels out there on the loose." said Don Alejandro without thinking, but then he noticed the look Padre Benitez was giving Diego.
Padre Benitez looked worried. "Marriage is a sacrament not to be taken lightly. You will have to go to confession the day before you receive it."
"I usually go to confession at Santa Paula." said Diego. "I have known the parish priest for many years."
"Yes, I know, you told me once I talked it over with you because I thought you never went to confession, but if I'm going to be the one to marry you I want to make sure you go into the marriage knowing what you're doing."
Diego was worried. He didn't like lying to a priest. The parish priest at Santa Paula didn't know him more than superficially, and his confessions were vague enough that he didn't go so far as to say that almost every lie he told involved a mask, a cape, and a black horse. It was going to be much more difficult to confess to Padre Benitez without him knowing what was really going on.
Note (1): Since the 16th century there were continuous population movements in the Canary Islands and the Spanish territories in America that made the parish priests unaware of the situation of many people who wanted to get married. To avoid bigamy and all the problems that it brought also in the civil field, including the legal status of the children of the couple, the people who came from other territories were asked to provide a certificate to prove their bachelorhood and freedom.