Chapter 59 – Alone in the dark

"This is the worse carpentry workmanship I have ever seen in my life!" Victoria cried that afternoon, in another superb acting display. "Look at this crappy piece of banister! It doesn't even match the rest!"

"Señorita, you told us to fix this rail as quickly as possible, and that's what we are doing," Pedro said slowly, in a patronizing tone, the same anybody would use with a recalcitrant child with a tantrum. "You have square top balusters in the still viable portion of the banister. It would take a few days to handmade some new spindles like those, or you will have to wait for a delivery. That's why we are fitting plain, square ones, and why they look different."

"They clearly do look different! And ugly! And wobbly!" she cried, shaking the rail.

"Do you want me to remove the whole banister and replace all the sticks with the plain ones, so they all look the same?"

"Yes! Take it all down now and finish what you are doing with the plain ones so they all look the same, and when you get a delivery of the others, you'll replace them all again. Is that clear?"

"Sí, señorita."

"And when are you going to fix the chandelier?"

"Later, if you let us finish with this first," Pablo said.

"Hurry up! This is taking for ever!" she said, going back downstairs. She heard some customers sniggering about her hysterical, demanding attitude, but she didn't mind, as long as Diego was safe upstairs without people sneaking around.

ZZZ

"De la Vega, how good to see you looking so well already," the alcalde said when he came into his bedroom in the early evening, snooping around. "That means I may be able to take you to jail soon to stand trial."

"Soon? I don't think so. And, if you can see me looking well, maybe you should go to an optician, and order gold-rimmed spectacles, because you clearly can't see a thing without eyewear, blind as a bat."

Don Alejandro gave his nephew a stern look then. What part of "don't antagonize the alcalde" you don't understand?

"De la Vega, please, don't test my patience again because I am not in the mood for your jokes," the alcalde said slowly, in a quiet, but menacing tone. "The only reason why you are still here, in this comfy bed, is because the doctor considers you are not fit enough to stay in one of the cells. You should thank him for that, count your blessings, and shut up."

"And, also because if you do that, Zorro will finally send you to hell as he should have done ages ago," Esteban said, ignoring his uncle's advice. He knew he should be quiet, but he couldn't help it: he hated the alcalde's guts. "How many warnings has he given you already? If I was him, I would have run out of patience by now, and you would be nothing else but a bad memory."

"Alcalde, please, leave my nephew alone for the time being. We still don't know what was in that dagger, he is extremely weak, and he is not going to go anywhere, not even as far as the door to open it. Besides, I think the poison may have damaged his brain as well, so please, don't pay any attention to anything he is saying."

The alcalde ignored the old don's words, busy as he was still trying to swallow Esteban's words, red-faced with rage, while recalling the scene at his office that same morning, when he had looked at himself in the mirror, paying attention to the branding Z mark he now had in his chest, for ever. He wanted to drag that man to jail immediately right then, even if pulling from his hair, but he didn't dare.

"I'll enjoy the vision of your dead body swinging at the gallows so much. You cannot even imagine how much," Ramón said, leaving the room.

"Esteban! Are you insane? Do you have a death wish?" Don Alejandro said after the alcalde left.

"I have been in Los Angeles a little over two months, only, and since then, how many times has he taken me to jail and threatened me with the gallows, torturing me at any occasion, only to let me go free every time that Zorro, my cousin, made him reconsider? I lost count how many. This is ridiculous. Ramón is acting deranged, all the time, like on a senseless, personal vendetta against me. What have I done to him?

"Other than antagonize him any chance you had, dislocate his elbow, and ridicule him in public winning a swordfight while you were handicapped, with your leg injured, among other things? I can't see why the guy can't stand the sight of you, no…" Don Alejandro said, sarcastic. "If he could know you are related to Zorro the top of his head would blow off, you know?"

"I think he is obsessed with me because he can't trap Zorro, yes. That's why. I am his scapegoat, because these episodes of fixation to fuck me up always happened every time Zorro escaped. He runs, and I land my arse in jail."

"Probably. But try to stay away from him, please. Stop provoking him, because the law is with him this time: you killed that well-connected man from Madrid in cold blood, shooting his back, and you did it while protecting Zorro, so that makes you an outlaw's accomplice now, this time for real."

"Give me a break. That's bullshit."

"Maybe, but not for him."

"Well, at least he is right about something: I look a bit better from the last time he saw me. After all the agony I suffered last night, trying to fill up my lungs many times while looking after Diego, the sunken ribs lifted a bit and the doctor replaced the support bandage this morning, while you were still asleep. So, at least I can move a bit better now. That's something positive, isn't it?"

Victoria got into Esteban's room then, looking anxious.

"I saw the alcalde leaving this room. He is fuming! What happened?"

"Nothing. The usual threats to take me to jail. But I held my ground by playing the Zorro card."

"You shouldn't take this so lightly, Esteban. This time he may have some solid, criminal charges to pin on you," Victoria said.

"Yes, because you killed that man." Don Alejandro said. "And, by the way, why did you kill him?"

"Oh, only because he was about to slice open your son's back with a sabre, that's why," he said, in a casual tone.

"Who killed the others?" Don Alejandro said, choosing to ignore that unsettling remark.

"Look, the alcalde let these three men walk free, as I said he would do. Zorro confronted them by the back door, where they were waiting for their horses. While on my way to help him, Sepúlveda opened that door, carrying a load of weapons for them. When he saw Zorro, that coward dropped all those weapons and ran back inside. It all happened in a flash then, while I crossed the plaza as fast as I could. The three men grabbed the weapons and Zorro could only charge at them, impaling one of them with the sword."

"Oh my God! Did he? He never killed anyone!" Victoria said.

"He didn't have time to do anything else. They were too close to try to disarm them one by one, or to run away. But unfortunately, he charged so hard his sword got stuck in the door. That's when Berlanga attacked Zorro, and I shot him. And to be honest, I am quite proud of that, no regrets whatsoever."

"And who killed the third man?" Don Alejandro said.

"The alcalde did. He shot me, but Zorro pushed me out of the way, and the bullet hit the other man's chest instead, missing us both. So, if I am guilty of killing Berlanga, the alcalde is guilty of killing the third man, who had surrendered, and had his hands up. He begged me not to kill him, and I wasn't going to."

"And who stabbed Zorro with the poisoned dagger, and when?" Victoria said.

"I have no idea. Maybe when he was helping me up. I don't know. He never showed signs he had been hit. I guess it was the alcalde."

"Now, I need to know one thing," Don Alejandro said. "What I still don't understand, because you haven't told me, is this: why did these men from Madrid kidnapped and tortured you? What did they want?"

"I don't know."

"No, of course you do. Your father mentioned the Duke of Cádiz when you arrived here. He said he had to get you out of Madrid quickly because you kept getting in trouble while seducing other men's fiancées. And you had done the same to the heir of this Duke, because you couldn't keep it in your pants."

"Is that what you want to believe?"

"No, it is not "what I want to believe." It is what I want to know, but I won't know unless you tell me the truth. But you are not going to, are you?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

"You are so irritating, Esteban. Give me a better reason than that!"

"All right. Do you know why Diego didn't tell us his secret? Felipe says the main reason was to protect us, to keep us safe. Consider I am doing the same for you by not telling you, or anyone else."

"Stop taking the piss with your games! I'm serious here. Don't compare his reasons to your whims, please. If you are too embarrassed and you don't want to tell me, fine, don't tell me then, but don't try to compare your troubles to his, please. It is offensive, to say the least."

"All right, whatever. I'm not telling you, so don't insist."

"Don Alejandro, I'm sorry, but I have to intervene here," Victoria said. "I can't keep listening to this senseless bickering between you two. I think Esteban is right, as unlikely as it may seem: whatever the issue was with those men, he's telling the truth when he says he wants to protect you by not telling you, or anyone else, for that matter. While on that cellar, I never found out what they were talking about, but they kept asking me questions about this Duke, and they kept asking him who knew what had happened at Madrid, and beating him up mercilessly because he didn't tell them. They were only interested to know who knew what was going on to kill them all before they could spread the secret, I think."

"Yes, precisely! You are absolutely right! Thank you, Victoria." In your face, old man! He thought, moving his hands forward in a sequence as if punching an imaginary opponent, a bad move he regretted immediately when it bothered his ribs.

"Really? Is it that important? Then the secret cannot be you offending a man by seducing his fiancée, can be? Is has to be something more serious than that."

"Yes. Exactly. And you really don't want to be involved. So, don't insist."

"All right. But then, how can I help you?"

"You can't, but you know what? The only person who knows half the truth is… him," Esteban said, pointing at the connecting door. "Because I told Zorro after he rescued me from that cellar. He can help me with this issue when he wakes up."

"You know, the more you talk about this enigmatic conundrum, the more I want to know about it. I am itching to know what's going on now."

"Well, tough. You heard Victoria: I am covered in bruises and broken inside because I didn't want to tell them anything, so you won't get a word out of me. Not even with torture. So, don't insist, please."

"All right, I won't insist. But I want to let you know one thing: as much as I find this extremely annoying for me, I still appreciate your wit and integrity. And I am proud you are a man with principles and values, after all, like a true De la Vega. It is a pleasant surprise."

"Thank you. Now please, let's change the subject. What do we have for dinner today, Victoria?"

"Pollo al ajillo con arroz."

"Excellent! I love garlic chicken. I can't wait!"

ZZZ

Felipe was listening as they talked, with his ear on the door. His stomach was rumbling when he heard the words "pollo al ajillo." As he knew the alcalde wasn't there, he knocked on the door.

"That's Felipe. Open the door," Don Alejandro said, moving the piece of furniture out of the way one more time. She unlatched that side, and Felipe stepped into Esteban's room.

"What happened? How is he? Is he awake yet?"

"No, he is the same. But I'm hungry and I heard you mentioning pollo al ajillo," Felipe signed with a cheeky smile on his face. "I'll have dinner now and then I'll go to the hacienda to tend for Toronado again."

"Do you want to eat now? And then go to see Toronado?" Victoria asked, and the youngster nodded. "I guess that's fine."

She had a peek into the other room then. Diego was the same, resting unconscious on that bed, and things didn't look like about to change over the next hour or so. By then, the tavern would be closed and they could be with him again.

She closed the connecting door, leaving Diego on his own, and Don Alejandro replaced the chest of drawers to block the way.

"Come on, come downstairs with me," she said, taking Felipe's hand. "You must be starving."

"I'll go too," Don Alejandro said. "Pollo al ajillo. Delicious."

"Don't forget to bring me some. I hope it doesn't happen like with the albóndigas this time, and I don't have to wait to eat my portion tomorrow," Esteban said, sulking.

ZZZ

Ramón was at his office, fuming with Esteban's insolence. He hated that man so much he wondered why was he still alive. He should have killed him or had him executed already, as he had so many chances to do so since he arrived at the pueblo. And those idiots from Madrid didn't deliver either, and now they lay in a pine box at the cemetery.

He looked at the dagger, back in his drawer. That should have killed Esteban, but it didn't. And now it was useless to try again, unless he used it to stab his heart directly. But he could never do that, and the main culprit for that was… Zorro. He had a look at the Z branded in his chest one more time then. Zorro had promised to use that Z as a landmark to pierce his heart with his sword the next time he stepped out of line, and for once, he had to believe he was capable of such thing, because that was exactly what he had done. One of the soldiers had seen Zorro charging forward to kill Matías, impaling him against the door. Ramón had never pictured Zorro killing anyone like that. So, he better took his threats seriously from now on.

But, he couldn't let Esteban free, despite Zorro's warning, because he had really killed Carlos Berlanga, shooting him on the back, and he had to pay for that, regardless of what was going on between them. He still didn't know what the issue was, or what exactly happened at Madrid, and he didn't care. And, Esteban could try to escape at any time, helped by Zorro or not, and he couldn't allow that to happen.

"Mendoza!" he shouted, closing the drawer.

"Sí, mi alcalde?" the sergeant said, coming into the office in a hurry.

"Send Corporal Sepúlveda to the tavern. He'll stay guarding Don Esteban de la Vega all night. He should be watching him closely, in his bedroom, not to left his side at any moment. Understood?"

"Sí, mi alcalde. Ahorita le digo."

ZZZ

"So, the alcalde couldn't just leave him in peace, could he?" Don Alejandro said after dinner, sitting in front of the seat the soldier had taken, upset by his inconvenient presence in Esteban's room. Diego was now on his own, with Felipe also in Esteban's room, reluctant to go to the hacienda now, hoping he could sneak back into the other room at some point.

"The alcalde ordered me to stay in this room all night watching him, and that is what I am going to do," Sepúlveda said, uneasy. "Not that I really want to be here, Don Alejandro. But I have to follow orders. I'm sorry."

"Well, you can watch me sleep, eat, use the camber pot… This is going to be so much fun for you, Corporal," Esteban said. "Amazing stuff!"

Victoria finally closed the tavern for the night, also going upstairs to Esteban's room, where they all kept silent for about an hour, looking at the walls, counting the minutes, on edge, wondering if they should remove all that debris piled at the front of Diego's room to get access to that door that way.

ZZZ

Diego woke up that night, coming back to life after two days unconscious in that bed, at the worse possible moment. He didn't know where he was, and he felt confused, surrounded by darkness. Moonlight was creeping through the window close to his bed, around the loosely closed shutters. He tried to lift his arm to open them wider so he could see better, but his whole body felt like a dead weight, unresponsive to his command. Still, with some effort, after a while he managed to lift his arm high enough, but he had to stretch his whole body to reach the window from the bed, ignoring the pain in his back and over the gunshot wound. While doing so, leaning over the edge of the bed, when his hand finally reached the shutter he lost his balance, and his own body weight tipped him over the edge. He tried to steady himself, reaching for the small side table, but his slow, unresponsive muscles, could not react in time to prevent his fall, and he dropped to the floor like a heavy brick, dragging the side table and the bed covers along with him.

ZZZ

Everybody in the adjacent room heard the loud thud. The De la Vegas and Victoria looked at each other, panicking, not knowing what to do when Sepúlveda said:

"What was that? Who's in that room?"

ZZZZZ

AN – Happy now? He is awake! Yay! And… with a cliffie, because I know how much you love those… heeeee. Well, maybe not. Oops. Sorry.

And, sorry for taking more than 12000 words of dirty secrets. But don't complain, because I could have split that in 6 chapters of 2000 words instead of 3 of 4000, expecting more reviews that way, (some trick other writers use), but… I said 3 chapters would do when I posted the first part, so…I kept to that "promise")

I have 3 more chapters done now, so I'll carry on posting daily unless the wifi at the camping site by the beach is crap (setting off tomorrow with the caravan for a little break before the kids start school). Thanks for reading, and keep reviewing, please!