Chapter 17

Diego summoned Toronado with a whistle, and the stallion appeared as if out of thin air. He patted the horse on the neck affectionately.
"I assume you agreed with Felipe and thought I should listen better?"

Toronado snorted and stomped his hoof three times on the ground.

Victoria stood beside Diego. "Does Felipe know?"

"Yes, from the beginning, he has been my most loyal ally alongside Toronado. He'll want to tell you his story himself."

Thoughtfully, Victoria remarked, "You mean he's not deaf. That explains a lot."

Diego reacted surprised. "Yes, but how did you, all of a sudden, come to that conclusion?"

"I've had my suspicions for a while. Just now, you mentioned how Felipe has always helped you. It explains why Zorro was always so well-informed, especially when Felipe could eavesdrop undisturbed."

Diego kissed Victoria's hand once more. "My compliments on your perceptiveness."

Victoria hesitated before asking, "And your father...? Does he know?"

"No. I planned to tell you after my return from Santa Barbara. I assumed he would guess upon seeing Toronado and the forged papers. However, he was preoccupied with your impending marriage."

"Why didn't you tell him then?" she inquired.

"Because I knew he would rush straight to you and demand that I marry you. I love you, but I don't want a marriage where love is one-sided. Such a marriage is bound to make everyone involved unhappy."

A bitter smile played on Victoria's lips. "But you had no objection when I almost did."

Diego turned to Victoria, lifted her chin and made her look at him. "You forget that I believed you loved don Pablo as little as you loved me, and that it wouldn't make a difference to you. I didn't want that kind of marriage. You're a woman who is perfectly able to make up her own mind on what she wants."

She interrupted him. "I wanted you, but I thought I was hopeless."

"Let's be grateful we discovered the truth in time. For Romeo and Juliet, it turned out differently." After a kiss, Diego lifted Victoria into the saddle.

Diego sat behind her, and Victoria nestled against his broad chest.
He took the reins in his right hand and wrapped his left arm around Victoria's waist.

"As I said, I don't believe I would have gone through with the marriage anyway. At the time, it sounded like a good idea, but as time passed, I grew more and more reluctant."
She kissed Diego's jaw. "Not even a child outweighs having to share the rest of your life with someone you can't love."

"Then I hope that if I ask for your hand in the future, you'll make a more careful consideration than you have so far."

"That won't be necessary. My heart knew all along. It was my mind that refused to listen."

Diego brought Toronado to a halt.
"Do you mean that?"

"Of course. I now understand what you meant when you said that love cannot be forced. It works both ways."

"Victoria, I love you. With all my heart and soul, for as long as I live."

"And I love you. Always have, and always will."

The rest of the ride was completed in silence, both perfectly content in each other's company.

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As they returned to the pueblo, dusk was settling in. Joyful cries greeted them as they approached the pueblo. Her mare had returned without Victoria, and the men present had just agreed to search for him as soon as there was enough light the next day.

Diego escorted Victoria to the tavern. The doctor was warned and after splinting her ankle he instructed her to walk as less as possible. Her helpers prepared a meal, and at closing time, Diego helped with locking up and made sure she made it upstairs without using her ankle.
After a kiss goodbye, Diego said. "I have to go. I want to tell my father the truth."

"He'll be proud of you." Victoria reassured him.

Diego's face twisted into an anxious grimace. "After he manages to control his urge to commit murder, I'm sure."

.

Diego had promised Victoria, so after dinner, when Maria announced she was going home, Diego said, "Father, can we talk?"

"Of course, son," replied Alejandro, grabbing his glass of Madeira and heading to the library. "Is there something in particular you want to discuss?"

Diego settled into one of the comfortable armchairs and cleared his throat.
"I want to talk about Vendaval. His papers."

"Vendaval? What about him?" asked Alejandro.

"His papers. They are fake. I forged them."

"Why would you do that? You know how important they are if we want to breed with him?"

"Yes, I know. I had to. You see, you were right. Vendaval is indeed Toronado."

Alejandro had just taken a sip of Madeira and nearly spit it out as he jumped out of his chair, exclaiming, "That's impossible." He walked briskly towards his office, where a safe containing valuable papers, money, and jewellery was kept.

Diego followed him into the office and watched as his father lit a lamp, opened the vault, searched for the papers and took a magnifying glass from one of the drawers.
"I looked at them together with don Carlos," muttered Alejandro to himself in disbelief.

"Believe me, father. These papers are fake. I forged them on purpose."

"I could have sworn they were real." Holding the papers in one hand and the magnifying glass in the other, don Alejandro asked, "You said Vendaval is truly Toronado. If that is so, why did Zorro sell him to you? And how is it that we can ride him? Toronado isn't the kind of horse that will tolerate just anyone on his back."

Diego remained silent, allowing his father to draw his own conclusions at his own pace.

"Unless..." Alejandro stared at his son, scanning his body.
"No," He started laughing. "You mean to tell me…, No, that's impossible."

Diego nodded slowly.

Alejandro sank into his desk chair. Slowly the face of his father began to shine proudly, a wide grin appearing and his chest almost doubled in size. "I am Zorro's father?"

Not exactly the words Diego had chosen to reveal the secret. But ultimately, the meaning of the words was what mattered, not the choice of words themselves.
"Um, something like that."

"But how? You and Zorro have nothing in common."

"I haven't always been honest with you over the past few years. Not only by hiding that I am Zorro but also by pretending to be someone I'm not."

"And Toronado. How did you come by him?"

"Pure luck. Felipe and I found him when we went searching for a suitable horse shortly after I created Zorro."

"Felipe?" Alejandro reacted in shock. "You mean Felipe knows?"

Diego admitted. "Yes, from the beginning."

"So you confide in a child but not in your own father!" The first surprise started to faint and other feelings started to interfere in don Alejandro's mind.

Diego had been amazed at how long it had taken for his father to express his displeasure.
"I won't claim that I've always made smart decisions, especially not at the beginning."

"Hm." The way this sound was made informed Diego that his father wouldn't simply accept that his son had knowingly lied to him for years.
"How have you kept it a secret for so long? You must have hidden Toronado and Zorro's belongings somewhere."

"The cave behind the fireplace in the library."

"That's impossible." Don Alejandro jumped out his chair. "That passage collapsed years ago. It isn't usable."

"Not any more. Felipe and I cleared it out and reinforced the passage."

Don Alejandro demanded. "Show me."

Diego gestured towards the passage and took a step back. His father briskly walked out of the office, heading towards the library.

.

Shortly after, don Alejandro stood in the cave, his mouth agape in amazement.
"This is unbelievable."
He walked to the table where various instruments were laid out, and Diego always worked on his experiments. He turned around and saw the large mahogany desk with the kite Zorro had used in one of his first appearances hanging above it.
"Incredible." Alejandro examined the butterfly collection and the various drawings and prints on the wall by da Vinci. Next to them was a bookcase full of books on diverse subjects, and right behind the desk hung a painting of a beautiful woman, which he immediately recognized.
"And Victoria? What about her? Why did you break her heart? She does love Zorro so very much."

"Because I thought it was the best thing I could do."

"Diego." In this one word so much disapproval to hear.

"This afternoon, she found out I am Zorro. We talked about it and began to sort things out. Tomorrow, she will break off her engagement. And as Diego, I will take a step forward."

Alejandro looked at his son, his eyes beginning to sparkle. "You mean you're finally going to get married?"

"There are plans in that direction, but nothing definite yet. First, we need to get to know each other a bit more."

Don Alejandro began to grin and dismissed what his son had said as irrelevant.
"Diego, you have known each other since you were children.
I think in due time, I will be able to understand why you kept it a secret from me. I will even do my best to forgive you. But I hope you will understand one thing."

"And what might that be?"

"Now that Zorro is no longer needed, and you're finally getting married soon, I expect to be a grandfather within a year."

"Father, I can't promise something like that."

"I know. But Victoria has put her life and dreams on hold for over seven years because of your deceit. And from what you just told me, she seems even willing to forgive you. So once she agrees to be your wife, I expect you to do everything in your power to make her the happiest woman on earth. And that includes babies."

Since that was exactly what he wanted, it wasn't hard for Diego to say. "I can promise that."

"Good. And now I want to have a closer look at your sword. And you must tell me how you...," Don Alejandro began to fire off his questions.

Diego smiled. It was about to become a very long night indeed.

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