Chapter 60 – Esteban's talk
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?"
The first one to react was Victoria. She talked fast, addressing the soldier, who, like everybody else, looked alarmed by the sudden noise, but for different reasons, because he didn't know who could be the person in the other room and his circumstances.
"I told them not to leave the new boards leaning against the wall in that room! I told them they could fall! And they still had not taken away that pile of rubbish they left blocking the door! Don Alejandro, I know you have good intentions, sparing your men from the hacienda so they could work for me for a few days, but don't you think they are too inept for the job at hand?"
"No, Victoria. They are fine workers, and experienced in carpentry. I think you are too upset by the situation. Corporal, why don't you take señorita Victoria downstairs to make a calming infusion while we sort that out?"
"The alcalde told me to stay here watching your nephew, no matter what."
"For goodness sake, Sepúlveda! Do you think I am going to run away?" Esteban said. "I can hardly move!"
"No, but…"
"Go on, then. Help Victoria. She's afraid of going downstairs in the dark since she dropped that oil lamp and burnt her dress. I would go to the kitchen with her myself if I could leave this bed."
"Yes, please, Corporal. Can you hold this lamp for me?" Victoria said, grabbing the nearest one from the side table.
"All right," the soldier said, taking the oil lamp she was offering with a shaky hand. "Come on, I'll go with you. But, please don't tell the alcalde I left this room."
"Don't worry. I won't say a word. Thanks."
While they went downstairs to the kitchen, Don Alejandro and Felipe quickly moved the chest of drawers and opened the connecting door, stepping onto Diego's room, and Esteban followed them with a candle. They found Diego struggling on the floor, wedged in between the bed and the wall, face down, with the small side table balancing precariously on his back. He was trying to stand up, but his weak arms always gave way every time he tried. Don Alejandro and Felipe ran to his side, moved the fallen side table off his back, out of the way, and helped Diego to turn around to face him. In the meantime, Esteban left the candle safely on the other side table, in the opposite side of the bed.
"Diego! Are you all right? What happened? I'm so glad you are awake!" Don Alejandro said.
"I fell from this bed, Father. Where am I? This is not my room."
"You are at the tavern, Son. Come on, let's get you back on the bed." Don Alejandro held him under the arms while Esteban and Felipe held his legs to lift him up.
"What… what's going on? Why do I feel so weak?"
"Don't you remember what happened?" Esteban said, resenting one more time the effort of lifting his cousin, while rearranging the bed covers with Felipe's help.
Diego looked very confused, with his eyes wandering around the place, now lit by the candle, looking at them all for answers.
"No."
"Are you sure? Please, try to remember," Don Alejandro said.
Diego kept quiet for a moment, frowning in concentration, until he opened his mouth to talk, looking shocked, struggling to find the appropriate words.
"Yes?" Don Alejandro said, encouraging him. "Can you remember now?"
"I got stabbed in the back. At the plaza. And I didn't make it past the kitchen. Which means…"
Esteban could not stand the sight of that anxious look, with all that pain and shame flooding his cousin's tortured eyes.
"Yes. We all know now, so don't worry," he said, with a sympathetic hand on Diego's arm. "And we are so happy you are finally back with us. We thought you would die with the poison left in that dagger, like Don Luis did."
"Yes, I am so relieved you are awake, Son. You have been unconscious for two, very long, difficult days. And now you have a lot of things to explain. Quite a lot," he said, crossing his arms over his chest to control his already raising anger, once that the worry for Diego's life was finally lifting.
"Not now, Uncle. Leave him alone. There will be plenty of time for that. You can grill him with your questions later, but for now, let's make sure he's all right. Can you call the doctor in?" he said, while offering Diego a glass of water. "Here. Have a drink. Your lips look dry." And Victoria is not here to lick them up.
Diego struggled to lift his arms and hold the glass, so Esteban held it for him while he sipped from it.
"But I want to talk to him. I need to talk to him. I need answers!"
"I'm sorry, Father, but Esteban is right. I don't feel like talking right now. Except with him. Can I talk to my cousin, please? In private."
"Diego? How can you…? Why him first? Why not me?" Don Alejandro said, looking deeply hurt.
"Come on, go get the doctor, and let me talk to him," Esteban said. "Victoria can't stall the corporal for ever, and I will have to go back to the other room. Quick, get out, and let me hear what he has to say, because I don't have much time. And you, Felipe, can you clear all the debris and materials blocking the bedroom door, please? You'll need to use that door carefully from now on if Sepúlveda is all the time in the other room with me."
After they left, Diego stayed silent for a moment, looking at his cousin's battered body. The bruises on his face look darker, and more prominent, specially around his black eye, and his abnormal body posture told him he was guarding his sore right side.
"First thing: how are you? You really got pummelled in that cellar. Are you coping all right with those fractured ribs? You look awful."
"Look who's talking! I am fine, thank you. Only thanks to you, because you got me out of that cellar before those bastards killed me. Once again, I owe you my life. But don't worry about the idiota; let's worry about you. How are you? We really thought you could die with the poison. You were so unresponsive for so long it looked hopeless."
"How long have I been unconscious for?"
"Two days. How do you feel?"
"Not great. My back hurts, deep in the chest, every time I breathe. And the unhealed gunshot wound in my abdomen is hurting more than usual now. Is it oozing again?"
"Doctor Hernández fixed that wound while you were out, to spare you the pain of doing that while conscious. That was gross. Victoria nearly fainted when she saw that bloody mess, and she was sick. The doctor said you had a fistula and he had to remove all that abnormal tissue that would not heal otherwise. But, when he finished cutting bits and pieces out, the wound didn't look so bad. Have a look. It's quite neat. All the burned skin is gone."
Diego lifted his nightgown to check the wound, disturbing the dressings a bit to have a quick peek.
"Yes. That looks much, much better. Good job I was unconscious when the good doctor cut all that damaged skin and muscle off. I dreaded so much having that done while I could feel it."
"What else do you have?"
"Other than that, I think I am fine, except I feel so tired and weak, and my muscles don't want to move. Is that because of the poison? Do we know what was in that dagger?"
"No. The doctor still doesn't have a clue. Oh, and your jaw looks quite bruised now, nearly matching my black eye."
"This?" Diego said, feeling his jaw, surprised by his two-day-old, coarse stubble. "Nah, that's fine. Now, listen. What I really wanted to ask you is this: how is Victoria? How is she coping with all this? Does she hate me for the deception? I won't be surprised if she doesn't want to talk to me ever again. And by the way, congratulations. I hope you are happy together."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your relationship, of course. What else? If I recall it well, she rejected me twice, as Diego and as Zorro, because she fell in love with you."
"Oh, no. Wait a minute, please," Esteban said, with a hand resting on his forehead, as if his cousin was giving him a headache. "Zorro didn't know about it... but neither did you, of course. What a mess… Look, how can I put it bluntly? He doesn't love me, you fool! She loves you!"
"No, she doesn't."
"Yes, she does. She wanted to tell you that she had changed her mind and wanted to marry you, Diego, but you were supposed to be on your way to Monterey, so she couldn't."
"Felipe said the same, but that is a lie. I saw you two kissing in that cellar, you know?"
"Oh, yes, that. Man, that was so weird. And so embarrassing. I am so sorry you had to see that. But, why didn't you tell her it was you under that mask before it all went so wrong? That's not what a smartarse like you should do, keeping her in the dark for four bloody years!"
"Look, I could see you had received a good thumping already, but I nearly smashed your face again when you said "I thought you were in love with me" just because I gave her a hug, only twenty-four hours after she broke up with me. You had some nerve there!"
"Oh, crap. I never said that! I was going to say: "I thought you were in love with… Diego", when I saw her embracing Zorro like that, but I didn't finish the sentence because she didn't want Zorro upset with Diego. We didn't tell you, Zorro, she was in love with you, Diego, because we were trying to protect you from his potential anger! I didn't mind if Zorro got angry with me, as long as you, Diego, would be safe. Now, in retrospect, I can see all those misunderstandings were ridiculous. Of course, we didn't know it was you under the mask, or things would have been much different!"
"But you still kissed her, and she looked very keen on you, for what I recall. Why would she kiss you then, if she didn't love you?"
"Look, I'll tell you what really happened at that cellar: we were convinced we were going to die, and she complained because she never had the chance to tell you she loves you, and she had never kissed you properly. With her eyes closed she asked me to kiss her as if I was you, Diego, to pretend she had a taste of you before she died. Not me. You."
"What?"
"Yes, I know, it sounds ridiculous now, but it made sense then, while we were there, hanging from a rope with our hands bonded, awaiting death. And I did kiss her, pretending to be you, but I did it for her, not for me."
"And I'm supposed to believe that... Give me a break!"
"Diego, it kills me to say this, because it bothers me no end, and I will deny it if this ever gets mentioned again, specially to her, but at the time, my mouth was so sore with all that pounding, missing one tooth and all, and your stitches still in my tongue, that the last thing on earth I wanted to do was kissing her. That odd kiss felt like dragging out the agony of torture, I swear! What a lame thing to do, kissing her under those circumstances! I am sure she thought I wasn't worth the effort, if she could only judge my abilities as a lover with such awkward exchange of saliva."
Diego laughed then, but the laugh soon turned into a cough and a grimace of pain.
"Shit. Are you all right?" Esteban said, getting closer to him, not knowing what to do.
"Yes. Just give me a moment," Diego whispered, gasping for air. "It hurts. Inside."
Esteban got the glass of water and helped Diego to drink some more, which seemed to help a bit.
"Thanks."
"Here. Let's get you propped up a bit more so you can breathe better," Esteban said, rearranging the pillows against the headboard, so he could sit up. "Better?"
"Yes, thanks," Diego said, settling back on the pillows.
"Yes, the doctor said the stabbing wound was deep, reaching your lung. He didn't think you would make it, with the combination of the poison and that injury."
"Well, what can I say? I am Zorro, a tough and immortal legend, you know? So…I can't die," he said with a cheeky smile.
"Shut up! You are not going to brag about this from now on, are you? Rubbing in my nose that you are the brave, almighty Zorro any chance you get?"
"No. Well, maybe I will, but only to you. Because you, of all people, had seen me in action in Madrid. How come you didn't think it was odd I had changed so much to become this spineless wimp? I always feared you would blow my cover, because you knew I was at least half-decent with the sword at some point, because you saw me practicing with Sir Edmund."
"And you said it wasn't the case, so I believed you. I guess I am too gullible and too naïve to believe everything my trustworthy cousin would tell me, because I had no reason to question or disbelieve him. Why would I suspect you would be lying all the time, to me, to your father, to my father, even to the woman you said you loved? How many times we talked about Zorro and Victoria, and you never said anything? Who is the bigger idiot here? The trustful jackass or the conniving deceiver?"
"Fair point. I guess this is all my fault, and I got what I deserved: isolation, loneliness, pain, and rejection. Now, tell me, how is Victoria, really? Does she still love me after the deception then, as you say? Don't lie. I am through with the lies and the misunderstandings. I need to know, please."
"Of course she does! But she is still trying to overcome the shock, though, like the rest of us. And she is so worried about you, and feeling so ashamed because she didn't know. And angry as well because you didn't tell her when you had the chance. Like your father is. Like I am too."
"Dios, I'm not looking forward to that chat with her. Even less with my father. I had always dreaded this moment, having to explain them everything. It is much easier to discuss these matters with you."
"Well, you'll have to talk to them, because I am not going to act like your bridge messenger. But, maybe I could hold your hand for support while you tell them, wimpy. Would you like that, my little child?" he joked, pinching his cheek as if he was a chubby-faced toddler, which made Diego relax a bit and smile. "At least they said they don't want to hit you, while I said I would love to slap you until your face falls off. They didn't appreciate that comment. They think I am an insensitive, ungrateful monster, after everything you have done for me."
"Well, you also saved my life shooting that man, didn't you?"
At that moment, they heard Victoria talking loudly about how they could stay for longer downstairs, and the Corporal insisting he had to watch Esteban.
"Oh, shit. He's coming back! Someone will explain this to you soon, but for now, please, don't make any noise, and don't try to open that door," he said, pointing to the connecting door between the rooms. "Well, don't try to open any door. I am pretending, like you, so the alcalde doesn't take me to jail for killing Carlos Berlanga. I have no time to explain now. Here, have some magdalenas. You must be starving after two days not eating anything." He placed some leftovers of food from Felipe by his side, on the bed, close to his unresponsive hand, and left the glass of water close by on the side table. "Keep quiet, because Corporal Sepúlveda is in that room, watching me," he said, disappearing through the connecting door, closing the latch and moving the piece of furniture to block it again. He got back in bed just in time, before the soldier stepped back into the room, followed by Victoria, who looked at him with a big question in her eyes. He regretted not keeping his promise to her, because she should have talked to Diego first, but the circumstances didn't allow that. And now, he couldn't let her know Diego was fine, and waiting for her love, so he just nodded slightly, hoping she could understand everything was good.
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