Chapter 42 – Blame the daisies

The next day all the De la Vegas travelled to the port of San Pedro to bid Don Emilio farewell when he set off for Spain.

In the early morning, Felipe climbed to the driver's seat of the carriage ready at the entrance while Don Alejandro and his brother took the back seat. A few seconds later Diego got out of the house too, rushing to get going.

"Where is Esteban?" he asked when he realized his cousin wasn't at the carriage yet.

"I don't know. Still in the house. Go tell him to hurry up, please. We don't want to be late and suffer the company of my brother for at least another month," Don Alejandro joked.

"You wish," Don Emilio said, also laughing. He knew the laughing would turn to tears later on that morning when he boarded the ship, but for now, laughing and keeping a light mood was good.

Diego rushed back to the house, bumping into Esteban at the front door.

"Esteban, for goodness sake, hurry up! Wait, what do you think you need a sword for? Haven't you realized yet swords are not necessary in Los Angeles?" Unless the alcalde has a tantrum, of course.

"You never know when a sword will be necessary. And I feel more confident and safe with one at my waist. I still can't get my head around you never carrying one."

"You are not planning on practicing Zorro's moves, are you?"

"If I had the chance, why not?" he said, with a mischievous smile on his face. "But nothing is going to happen."

"Leave it."

"No. Consider this sword a statemen, or an ornament if you prefer, like a piece of decorative clothing or something, and forget about it. Come on, we don't want my father missing that ship, do we?"

Esteban walked past him and quickly climbed up into the carriage then. Diego shook his head and followed him.

Great. I hope he doesn't get us in trouble with that damn sword!

ZZZ

After the emotional display of hugs and tears, Don Emilio boarded the ship. Don Alejandro, Esteban, Diego and Felipe stayed at the port while the ship set sail, waving until they could hardly see Don Emilio in the distance.

"Let's go back home," Don Alejandro said. "And you, remember all your promises and behave from now on. Don't give me a reason to send you back to Madrid on the next ship."

"Of course, Uncle. No more getting in trouble," he said rather sheepishly. However, on the way back to Los Angeles, Esteban couldn't keep his promise because only a couple of miles from San Pedro a gang of robbers gave chase to the carriage, shooting their guns at them.

"Don't stop, Felipe! Ignore them and carry on! Faster!" Diego said after evaluating the situation. Only Esteban had a weapon to defend himself, and even if Diego had any he shouldn't display any fighting skills, so their only chance was to outrun the attackers.

Following his instructions, Felipe urged the horses to run faster, until one of the robbers got to his side at full gallop.

"Stop that carriage!" he shouted at Felipe, waving a gun at him, dangerously close to his head.

"Stop, Felipe! Don't try to be brave!" Don Alejandro said, panicking, fearing for the youngster's life.

Felipe looked behind, with his eyes on Diego, waiting for confirmation. Diego nodded then, giving up. After all, those men were only after their money, and that wasn't as important as their lives.

"Stop the carriage, Felipe. Do as they say," Diego said.

Felipe pulled from the reins then to stop the horses. When they halted, the robbers made them all get down at gun point.

"Give me all your money and valuables. Rápido!" the leader said.

"Don't give them anything, Uncle," Esteban said when Don Alejandro reached for the leather pouch he had on his belt.

"I'll blow your brains out if he doesn't!" directing the gun at Esteban.

"Who are you kidding? You fired that gun already, and unless you reloaded while shouting mad at our driver, that empty gun is not a match for my sword."

The thief aimed at Esteban's face and pulled the trigger. The harmless "click" that followed instead of a blast showed everybody Esteban was right, indeed: the gun was empty, and for that reason, useless against a sword.

Esteban punched that man and unsheathed his sword, attacking the others with it. One of the thieves threw his also empty gun at Esteban's head to gain some time to unsheathe his sword while the other mugger shot his second pistol, barely scratching Esteban's arm with the bullet. The leader got up and reached for his sword as well, and the three dangerous men surrounded Esteban, who smiled at them oozing self-confidence.

Diego should have worried for his cousin, but he followed the fight with interest instead, rooting for Esteban in that unfair, unequal swordfight. Esteban had really paid attention to the fencing lesson, because his technique had improved tenfold and he was able to fight them all efficiently, not giving an inch to their advances. Using one of the specific moves Zorro taught him, Esteban managed to disarm one of the bandits, and in true Zorro-style he punched him hard with the hand holding the sword's hilt, knocking him down to the ground. For a moment, Diego had a glimpse of how proud Sir Edmund could have felt watching him succeed as a fencing pupil.

"Diego, do something! Don't just watch; help him!" Don Alejandro said, regretting not to be carrying a sword, or better still, a loaded gun.

"What do you want me to do? I don't have a sword!" Diego said. But, despite his apparent helplessness, he grabbed one of the unloaded guns that lay on the ground and waited for a chance to get into the fight. When Esteban disarmed another thief, that man knew what was coming and manage to avoid the punch that followed, but Diego jumped behind his back and hit the back of his head hard with the pistol butt.

"Thanks, smartarse!" Esteban said when that man dropped to the ground. He carried on fighting the leader then, the best swordman of the trio. Now one on one, he should have won the fight easily, but all of a sudden Esteban stopped in his tracks, hesitating.

"I am very sorry about this, but I need to lie down for a moment. I hope you don't take advantage of this," he said to his opponent. He made a move to pass the sword to Diego, but the leader of the gang fended off the flying sword and it never reached its destination, landing on the ground a few feet away, out of Diego's reach. Without much time left to prepare, and before he managed to lay down on the ground in a controlled manner, Esteban dropped down unconscious and started convulsing.

"What the fuck is he doing?" the thief said, kicking Esteban's sword further away from Diego, who had made a move to take it.

"He is sick. Can't you see he is seizuring?" Don Alejandro said.

"Seizuring? The poor bastard chose a very bad moment to do that!" the thief said, laughing, kicking Esteban's side hard while his comrades regained consciousness and stumbled to their feet, retrieving their weapons.

"Please don't hurt him," Diego said, stepping closer, only to get halted by a sword aiming at his chest. He put his hands up then, surrendering. "Let me tend to him, please," he said while looking at the man convulsing. Please, don't bite your tongue again!

"Stay where you are! And now, give me all your money or I'll kill you all!"

"Father, give him your purse. It doesn't matter. It's only money," Diego said. Don Alejandro reached for the small bag in his belt without hesitation.

"Here. You can go now," he said, tossing the purse. "That's all I have."

The thief grabbed it in mid-air and opened it with one hand to peek inside the pouch while still aiming his sword at Diego. Satisfied, he quickly pulled from the string with his teeth to close it.

"I should still kill you all, or at least him, but he's got enough punishment as it is," he said, kicking Esteban's side again. "Don't let him carry a sword if he can't finish a fight!"

The leader looked at Diego then, still immobile with his hands up.

"And you, stupid, don't let anybody drag you into a fight you can't win!" he added, punching Diego's abdomen with his left fist, following with a right hook to his jaw that left him sprawled on the ground.

The trio laughed out loud as they got on their horses and ran away with the money.

"Diego, are you all right? Get up!" Don Alejandro said, helping him to sit up. Dizzy, Diego took a hand to his jaw, feeling the bone.

"I'm alright. Just give me a minute here."

Don Alejandro tended for his son while Felipe took care of Esteban. As usual, the inconvenient fitting episode didn't last long, and Esteban regained consciousness within a few minutes, a time Diego used to recover fully himself. When Esteban woke up, he took a hand to his face, covering his eyes in shame.

"Don't tell me I passed out while fighting. How embarrassing."

"Yes, you did. He could have killed you so easily, but he was satisfied just kicking you around only," Diego said, helping his cousin up, resenting his own ribs.

"Yes, I can feel that," Esteban said, taking a hand to his side, breathing heavily and limping unsteadily. Diego picked up the sword and handed it back to him.

"You shouldn't use this anymore. I'm sorry, because you did a great job trying to prevent this robbery, and you nearly succeeded, but you can't carry on swordfigthing if you can pass out at any moment."

"Oh, shut up, smartarse! This is too embarrassing," Esteban said, snatching his sword from Diego's hands, but that sudden move set him out of balance and he would have fallen if his cousin didn't hold him up straight, supporting him.

"Diego is right. You should stop carrying that sword," Don Alejandro said.

"We'll see," Esteban said, but he knew they were right. Despite Zorro's lesson, it looked like his swordfighting days were well and truly over.

ZZZ

When they arrived at the hacienda Diego excused himself with the pretext of resting his bruised ribs, but as soon as he could he got to the cave to ride as Zorro. He returned to the spot where they suffered the assault, and then followed the tracks left by the gang of muggers. He caught up with them at their hiding place, five miles from San Pedro.

"Gentlemen, I think you have something that doesn't belong to you," he said, attacking them viciously, irritated as he was by the lack of coca leaves and the beating he had taken before. Caught unaware, they didn't put much of a fight, but with the guns reloaded, the leader managed to fire his weapon before Zorro charged on him, beating him up to a pulp, knocking him unconscious like the other two.

For crying out loud, not again! Zorro thought, looking at the graze on his arm, a wound quite similar to the one Esteban got, but a bit deeper. I'll have to wear an armour like a Knight if I want to survive.

He got the leather purse marked with the initials A.V from the leader's pocket; then took some pieces of rope to tie the hands and feet of the robbers; lifted them on their horses; and took them to Los Angeles.

"Sergeant, I caught these thieves on the way to San Pedro. They assault the travellers coming in and out of the port. I think this belongs to Don Alejandro de la Vega," he said, tossing the purse to Mendoza. "Please, return it with my compliments."

"Thank you, Zorro. Don Alejandro will be pleased to recover his money," Mendoza said.

The masked bandit turned his horse around to leave but then the alcalde got out of his office.

"Zorro, stop right there!"

Zorro looked back, and Toronado spun around quickly to face the alcalde. In the nick of time, Zorro leaned to a side to avoid the dagger Ramón threw at him, which whizzed past his shoulder.

"Better luck next time, Alcalde," Zorro said, touching his brim, and then spun the stallion around and spur his flanks to get the hell out of the pueblo before Ramón managed to aim and shoot his pistol. He thought that dagger could be the lethally poisoned one that had killed Don Luis, but he didn't have time to stay and find out.

ZZZ

"I am fed up of this!" a shirtless Zorro said down at the cave while looking at the new graze on his arm, while Felipe applied a small dressing to it. "The only reason why Esteban can behave like he does is because Zorro always comes after him to pick up the pieces. Challenging and antagonizing the alcalde every time he gets near him; getting in trouble one way or another every time he steps out of the hacienda; getting sweet with Victoria, of all women… I'm really fed up of acting like his babysitter, always protecting him!"

"Can you tell him the truth?" Felipe signed.

"Tell him what? That I am fucking Zorro? "Oh, look, by the way, Esteban, I'm Zorro, so stop courting my woman and behaving like a jerk because I'm not going to save your sorry arse anymore!?" Do you think that will work?"

Felipe laughed at Diego's choice of words, because it was quite out of character for him to talk like that, but he was obviously too upset with the whole situation to bother about language. On top of that, he had run out of coca powder three days ago and he was extremely irritable and on edge most of the time.

"What about at least telling him to back off because you love Victoria?"

"That's too embarrassing. And it doesn't really matter. Victoria is in love with Zorro. She won't fall for this puny imitator, and she would never—." Diego stopped talking in denial when he saw Felipe's expression. "Would she? What do you know?"

Felipe told him how he had caught Victoria looking at Zorro the day they were practicing in the garden, and then looking at Esteban, swapping her gaze between them a few times as if comparing the two. Then she had smiled, but with her eyes on Esteban.

"I'm sorry. I think she fancies him. For real."

"What?"

Diego was shocked. He wasn't imagining things then. Not only he was risking life and limb to keep his cousin out of trouble, he was now also in serious danger of losing the love of his querida to him. One thing was doing the right thing, like letting her free while he suffered in silence for the rest of his life, and a very different one was to be dumped by her while she fell in love with someone else. The result would be similar for him, but it wasn't the same. Not at all. It was too humiliating, and he couldn't take it. And her odd attitude the other night was alarming, to say the least, and pointing in one disturbing direction: she could dump him for Esteban at any moment.

ZZZ

Diego got out of the cave through the back door and went for a walk to calm down and soothe his nerves before he returned to the hacienda. He sat down to think right in the middle of a solitary field, enjoying the quiet time, the sound of the wind, the sun on his face, and the happy chirping of the birds. Surrounded by daisies and long grass, he had an idea. As he used to do when he was only a teenager, he idly grabbed one and started plucking the petals, asking the same question as he did back then: does Victoria love me?

"She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves… Esteban. She loves… me… She loves… Esteban…" He carried on pulling all the petals until he got to the last one. "She loves… Esteban." Damn.

He grabbed another margarita and tried again, with the same result. And then another one. And three more.

Bullshit! he thought, throwing the last stub. At least when he was a teenager half of the times he could get a positive result. But not now. He stood up and kicked the flowers furiously, losing it. Even nature is against me now!

He knew he could not carry on like that. He had to decide: either tell her the truth and risk her wrath and fury, or let her go. Anything, before it was too late, before she would make up her mind to marry Esteban, because when she finally took that decision, there was no way to fix it: she would hit the roof if she'd found out the scale of the deception afterwards. Even more than if she found the truth from him now.

ZZZ

In the afternoon, Diego returned to the hacienda, walked through the secret door and then entered the lounge, looking very upset, ignoring his cousin on the way to his room. Esteban stood up, worried, holding his arm when he tried to pass by.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Diego turned quickly, pulling from his arm to release it, and then he threw an unexpected hard punch to his cousin's face. Esteban dropped to the floor heavily. From there, he tried to sit up using his elbows, dizzy, trying to understand what had just happened.

"Why? What have I done now? What's going on?" he said while feeling his jaw, fearing it would be fractured.

"Do you remember you said one day I should punch you for endangering Victoria at the circus?"

"Did I say that? Oh, yes, I did. Blimey."

"Well, today is the day, but don't ask me why!" Diego said, slamming the door on the way out.

Punching his cousin made him feel better, at least briefly, but then he regretted it. The poor fool didn't know where all that rage came from, and he could not blame the margaritas for it.

ZZZZZ