Chapter 34 – How to avoid marriage
As Lucía feared, she was suffering a miscarriage. She was sad, but also relieved, although it was too late. If that had happened only ten days ago, she would not be facing such a predicament now. She would still be an honourable lady, prime for marriage, and nobody would look down at her as they did now.
Remembering Esteban's words, her anger boiled again. How dared he speak to her like that, and threaten her as if she was a mere object passing from hand to hand, from father to husband? She had to do something about him, because no chance in hell she would marry that vindictive cabrón anymore. He was definitely the wrong man for her, and she blamed herself for not choosing bland Diego instead as her prospective husband, who would have been much easier to handle at her convenience.
She knew exactly what she had to do, and she looked forward to seeing Esteban struggling. And afterwards, in a few months, she could still persuade Luis to marry her, eventually, when things had settled down.
Happy with that promising thought, she used some clean rags then to soak the haemorrhagic fluid she was losing, which was quite similar to a heavy period, and she went to bed, trying to relax and forget about the dull pain in her abdomen.
ZZZ
In the morning, Diego went to the tavern to check on Apollo. He wanted to see Victoria, but he didn't trust himself to behave normally in her presence anymore, at least not while he was processing the intense guilt and shame he felt, so he went straight to the stable, trying to be inconspicuous.
At least the horse was doing very well. The bone was healing fast, and he would be ready to walk home soon. Diego had been taking him out on short walks with the splint on, and he was tolerating the movement quite well.
While he was busy changing the dressing under the splint, Victoria showed up at the stables to check on the stallion herself, and she was glad to find Diego there. As she usually did, she leaned on the frame and watched him work while he was unaware of her presence, until he lifted his head and spotted her. He stood up quickly then, looking rather flustered.
"Victoria! I didn't see you there. You gave me a fright!"
"Sorry, Diego. I didn't realize I am that scary."
"No, you are not. It's not that, of course. Never mind. How are you? Is that gash in your back still bothering you?" he said, trying to regain his composure and act normally, drying his suddenly sweaty palms on his trousers.
"I'm fine, thank you. It's nearly healed, and it doesn't sting that much now. I've been using that ointment you made for Esteban and it has worked wonderfully, thank you," she said, coming into the stable, closer to her friend. "I haven't seen you around here for a while. Are you all right? Is that nasty burn healed yet?"
"Yes, yes. That's much better, thank you. You and Felipe took good care of Apollo while I was sick, and I'm very grateful to you both. He is doing really well, aren't you, boy?" he said, patting the horse's neck, and Apollo snorted then, sniffing his sleeve. "He'll be ready to go home soon."
"That's wonderful news, but I have to confess: I'll be sad when that happens. I got used to see you around here."
"Me too. But I'll still come around for lunches, of course. I can't stay away from your albóndigas soup for long," he said with his best smile.
"Good. You are talking like Mendoza now!" she said, laughing. When she stopped, there was an awkward silence, because none of them knew what to say to keep the conversation going.
"Well, it was nice to see you. I'll come back to the kitchen now to prepare some albóndigas for today's menu then. Would you stay for lunch?"
"I'm not sure. We are quite busy preparing the wedding reception."
"Oh, yeah. The wedding…" she said, looking annoyed.
"Are you coming?"
"No, I told Esteban I don't think I will."
"Why?"
"I'm not happy with his behaviour, Diego. I am very disappointed with him. He had me fooled: he is not a gentleman, not at all."
In that case, neither I am, but you don't know that, he thought.
"He should learn from you: the perfect caballero. You would never fool around with a woman before marriage, would you?"
Oh, God. Please, don't go there. Diego shifted his body, uncomfortable, and then kneeled to carry on replacing the splint. One day, when she finally found out, she was going to be so angry he'll have no way to placate her fury.
"I bet your father is very disappointed with your cousin too."
"Yes, very much. But he's going to marry Lucía now, so he will repair his fault."
"Too late for that. Well, I'll see you later, hopefully. Buenos días, Diego."
"Hasta luego."
After she left, he sat on a corner with his head resting between his hands, needing a moment to think. He could not carry on like that. He had to find a way to break the engagement as Zorro, and tell her the secret before it was too late, before she would hate him so much for the deception he would not have a chance of recovering her love, ever. But he didn't have a clue how to do it, how to get out of that deceiving loop, and at the same time keep her safe. A gentleman… for crying out loud! I'm not the perfect gentleman: I am the perfect scumbag. And you are going to hate me so much. So much... Maybe I should give up on you right now, completely, because you are never going to forgive me for all the lies.
ZZZ
"Buenos días, Padre Benítez," Esteban said at the pueblo's church that morning. "My uncle Alejandro told me you wanted to see me."
"Yes, my son. Take a seat here with me and we'll talk," the priest said, sitting down on a pew in front of the altar, tapping on Esteban's knee when he sat down beside him. They were alone in the building, so he didn't bother to go to the confessional for privacy. "I am worried about you. Please, tell me, why do you want to get married to Doña Lucía? Why now, when last week you refused to do it?"
"Well, Padre, as a matter of fact, I don't want to. But that's what everybody expects me to do. It is a reparatory marriage."
"So, you don't love that woman then."
"I'm afraid not."
"And does she love you?"
"I don't think so, but God knows what is going on through her head, because she is crazy."
"Do you think she is hiding something from you?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what that is?"
"I think she could be pregnant already, as she claims, but not with my child, and that's why she had tricked me into this marriage."
"Is that what you think?" Padre Benítez said, surprised because Esteban seemed to be accepting that fact quite well.
"Yes, but I can't prove it. Why are you asking? Do you think I can refuse to marry her on those grounds?"
"I heard Don José caught you in bed with her."
"Yes, he did. But I don't know how I ended up there. I think she drugged me."
"Did you make love to her?"
"I don't know. If I knew for sure that I didn't, I would not marry her."
"So, you think she is already pregnant, you aren't even sure you had any sexual contact with her, but you are still expected to marry her to save face. You are in a difficult situation, aren't you?"
"Yes. If you know of a way to bail me out of this mess, please let me know, Padre. I would be very grateful."
Padre Benítez shook his head then. He couldn't tell him what Don Luis told him in confession, and he couldn't reject that marriage based on those suspicions alone.
"I need to talk to Lucía too."
"I know what she will say: that I proposed and then I seduced her; that I made love to her in several occasions; and that she is carrying my child already."
"We'll see. In the meantime, do you want to confess your sins?"
"Ah… no, not now, thank you. I had enough talking for today."
"But you'll still need to go to confession before marriage to be absolved of your sins, so you can receive the Holy Communion at the ceremony."
"I can do that on Saturday morning before the wedding. I'm sure I would have added a few more sins to the list by then," he said, winking with a naughty smile.
"That's not the right attitude, my son. This is not a laughing matter."
"Sorry. Never mind. I'll see you on Saturday. Good bye, Padre. Thank you for your concern."
ZZZ
Lucía didn't want to see the priest. At least, not in church. What she needed to do, was luring Esteban into her father's house again before Saturday, but he would be very suspicious of her now to fall for it again. In the end, she managed to convince her father they should organize another dinner party at home with the De la Vega's and the priest could attend it too with the excuse to talk to the couple before the wedding.
ZZZ
"I don't understand why another dinner party is necessary now," Esteban complained in the late Friday afternoon, when they were getting ready to go to the Beltrán hacienda. "This is my last night of freedom. I should be celebrating doing something else, like getting drunk until I pass out."
"Lucía was very upset with you the other day," Diego said. "She said it is necessary to reconcile before the wedding. Padre Benítez is also attending the dinner party to talk to you both."
"I already talked to him."
"Never mind. You can talk again. Let me help you with that," Diego said, adjusting Esteban's cravat because he was struggling to tie it.
"Not so tight."
"It looks smarter that way."
"If you say so… Look, maybe choking me to death is not a bad idea, after all. Go on, get it tighter."
"Shut up, idiota," Diego said, slapping the back of his head lightly. "Come on, let's go. I think the carriage is ready."
ZZZ
Felipe drove the large landau that evening, carrying the four De la Vegas to the neighbouring Beltrán hacienda.
On the way there, while the others chatted, Esteban withdrew and reflected on the discussion he had with Lucía in the garden. He wasn't proud of his attitude and his words, which he regretted, but he was too upset about what she had done to him and what she had said about Victoria.
Esteban didn't have the intention of mistreating Lucía. Luckily for her, it wasn't in his nature to do that. But he wanted to teach her a lesson, and get her on edge just thinking about the grim possibilities of such an awkward marriage. In the 1800's women still were, after all, the men's property: first, they were the property of their fathers, and then their husbands'. He hadn't made the rules, but he could take advantage of them to scare her. Lucía had tricked him into marriage, but she should better behave from now on, if only subdued by the threat of an abusive husband.
"You are very quiet, Son," Don Emilio said, interrupting his train of thought.
"Ah? What?" Esteban said.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"No, I didn't. What was that?"
"I said I'm travelling back to Spain in two weeks' time, on the next ship from San Pedro. That way, I can get to see you married, getting settled, finally behaving like a caballero and out of trouble from now on, or so I hope, and then I can go back with your mother."
"That's fine. Don't worry about me, just leave me behind in California married to a viper. I'll be alright," he said bitterly.
"Esteban! Stop it! Lucía is a nice girl, and a sole heir. She will inherit her father's hacienda one day, and you'll be set. I'm not leaving you struggling in a pit, am I? Besides, she was your choice: if you didn't like her that much, you shouldn't have got involved with her."
"Don't get me started on that once again, please."
He went back to sulking, lost in his inner world, and the others left him alone for the rest of the short journey, changing the subject.
ZZZ
That night, Lucía made a real effort to behave like a gracious host, smiling kindly to everybody, specially to Esteban. Before dinner, she had a quick chat with Padre Benítez, and told him how happy she was to marry Esteban, the love of her life. When he tried to question her real motivations, she had excused herself to go to the kitchen to check how the cooking was going. At the kitchen, she helped serving the portions of the starter: arroz con champiñones. When no one was looking, she discretely poured the contents of a small bottle into one of the dishes, making sure it had an extra portion of mushrooms to identify it easily.
"This one has extra mushrooms. It is for Don Esteban. He likes mushrooms," Lucía said, showing the plate to the servant.
"Sí, señorita. Este para Don Esteban," the woman said, taking that dish.
ZZZ
Esteban sat at the middle of the table, opposite to Lucía. Don José had arranged it that way so they could talk, but Esteban wasn't very talkative, avoiding her soon to be wife, hardly looking at her. Then, to her dismay, when the first dish was served, he didn't look very keen on it either.
"Why did I get the dish with more mushrooms? I don't like them much. Do you want to swap?" he said to Diego, who sat at his right.
Damn, Lucía thought, grasping her fork tightly, annoyed by the inconvenience.
"No. You eat them. Don't behave like a spoiled brat, please. You are old enough to know better."
"I am a man in death row. I should be able to choose what I want to eat in my last supper."
"Shut up and eat. These mushrooms are very nice, actually," Diego said, tucking in, smiling at Lucía.
When Esteban started eating his portion, Lucía relaxed her hand, and carried on with the charade of the kind host, keeping a close eye on Esteban. In the end, she was delighted to see he had eaten the whole dish despite his complaints.
ZZZ
After dinner, Don José suggested sitting at the front garden. It had been a hot summer day, and it was nice to enjoy the refreshing breeze of the night.
"Where is your cousin?" Padre Benítez asked Diego. "I want to talk to him. I haven't had the chance yet tonight."
"I don't know. I haven't seen him for a while. Wait here, I'll go find him," Diego said, going inside the house.
"Esteban, here you are. Padre Benítez wants to talk to you," Diego said when he got into the parlour, to find him standing there on his own. His cousin had removed the tight cravat and was tugging at his collar, as if he needed more air to breathe. He looked quite pale, and his forehead was covered in sweaty drops. "Are you all right?"
"No. I don't feel very well all of a sudden."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know, but something is wrong." He complained in pain then, clutching his stomach, bending forward. "Not those damn stomach cramps again!"
He walked a few unsteady steps towards Diego, but then his legs gave way. He stumbled forward, hitting a side table, toppling all the stuff in it, and then he fell to the floor, face down. Diego ran to his side and turned him on his back to face him.
"Help… me," Esteban said, before he started foaming and growling, tensing his whole body, showing the white of his eyes.
"Father! Uncle Emilio!" Diego shouted. "Help!"
Esteban started seizuring then. Diego grabbed the nearest chair and broke one of the thin wooden legs to place it in Esteban's mouth between his teeth to prevent him biting his tongue.
"Hold his legs!" he shouted when his uncle came into the room, while he held his chest and arms tightly.
"What's happening?" Don Emilio said, visibly frightened, kneeling to hold his son's legs down.
"I think he's been poisoned."
"Poisoned? How?"
Diego saw Lucía looking at them from the other side of the room. Her face didn't show any concern for her soon to be husband. Instead, more than worry, she showed something like… expectation? And the hint of a smile. Suddenly, it all made sense to Diego.
"Lucía! What did you give him?"
"What? I didn't give him anything. What's wrong with him?"
"I don't have time for this! Tell me how you poisoned him!" he cried, releasing Esteban to walk to her side. He held her upper arms then, shaking her. "What did you use? Tell me so I can treat him!"
"Let go of me!" she complained, wriggling to get free of his strong grip.
"Maldita sea! You are going to tell me!" he said, shaking her harder.
"Diego! What are you doing?" Don Alejandro said, puzzled, when he came into the room with his friend, alarmed by the commotion and the cries.
"Let go of my daughter!" Don José said, getting in the way until Diego pushed her away. "Are you all right, darling?"
"Yes, Father. He's gone crazy."
"No, you are! You are crazy! He warned us about you, but I didn't believe him!" Diego said.
"What are you talking about?" Don Alejandro said.
"I swear to God, if he dies…" Diego threatened her with his index finger.
"What? What are you going to do if he dies? Ah?" she said, defiant.
"Tell me what you used! What was it? Aconite? Bitter almonds? Hemlock?"
She laughed then, and Diego slapped her hard.
"Diego! Good Lord!" Don Alejandro said, holding his arm so he would not slap her again.
"Get away from her!" Don José cried.
Padre Benítez was looking at them with his jaw dropped. Then another suspicion formed in his mind.
"Is that what you did to Don Luis's wife too? Poison her to give her a heart attack?" he said.
"Yes! She was too young to die of a heart attack! Like Esteban is!" Diego said.
Lucía looked confused then. She wasn't expecting that accusation coming from the priest.
"Lucía, tell Don Diego what have you done so he can treat him, before it's too late. You'll burn in hell otherwise."
"I'll take my chances on that, Padre."
Diego gave up then and came back to his cousin. He felt Esteban's pulse and had trouble finding it, because it was weak, slow and erratic, but at least he wasn't convulsing anymore. He took the piece of wood from his mouth and kept it in his pocket, in case he would need it again later. Esteban gagged then, and before he was sick, Diego turned him quickly so he could throw up on the floor, and not choke with his own vomit. He had a quick look at the stomach contents then, identifying the pieces of mushrooms, even sniffing the revolting puddle, but he still didn't have a clue what Lucía had used to poison him. But whatever it was, it was acting fast, and he didn't have much time to treat him before the poison would be fatal.
"I need to get him to the hacienda as soon as possible! Father, call doctor Hernández. Tell him Esteban has been poisoned, but I don't know with what exactly."
"I don't have a horse, Diego. We all came in the carriage."
"Take mine," Padre Benítez said. "Esteban didn't get to confess his sins yesterday. I have to administer him the last rites now, just in case, to put him in good terms with the Lord."
"Vamos, hurry up. Let's go." Diego lifted Esteban's limp body then, and ran outside to get him into the open carriage. Don Emilio and Padre Benítez followed him in, and Felipe climbed quickly to the driver's seat.
"Drive, Felipe! As fast as you can!" Diego shouted.
ZZZ
"Lucía, what's going on? What have you done?" Don José said, watching his friend galloping away with the Padre's carriage.
"Nothing," she said, coming back into the house.
Don José followed his daughter with tears in his eyes. The scene in the parlour had been quite similar to what had happened to his late wife a year ago. She had also felt sick all of a sudden, had a fit, and her heart had stopped shortly after, dying in his arms before he could do anything. Lucía never liked her stepmother, and now he had to wonder.
"Lucía, wait! Did you… did you kill your mother?"
She turned around then, furious, and the look in her eyes chilled her father's heart.
"She was not my mother!"
ZZZZZ