"You are making no progress with the woman!" Inez told Gilberto the following morning, as the man was considering what to take as present for Victoria that day. "And, if the count is also pursuing her, your chances are diminishing by the minute."

"I know… I just can't understand why she keeps rejecting me," he replied. "I should just have her arrested and keep her in jail until she falls in love with me."

"Why not take me up on my offer, then, Son?"

He had thought about his mother's proposed solution, but something, somewhere inside his mind, it just felt wrong, no matter how he tried to justify to himself the idea. "It is not how I want to do this. Besides, I still have some aces up my sleeve. Perhaps one might just do the trick."

"And Don Alejandro? Have you been making any progress in destroying him?"

"Not yet, Mother. I am yet to think of a plan to bring him to his knees…"

"You said he has money in the bank."

"Yes. Enough for him to still be considered a rich man despite no longer owning a hacienda."

"Then why not find a way to deprive him of that money?"

"How? Rob the bank?"

"No… But maybe trick him into giving that money away."

"Trick him…"

"Blackmail him, perhaps? I know something about Don Alejandro… Something he did once…"

"And what is that, Mother?"

"He killed his brother, Gilberto. He shot him in the back, then blamed the deed on one of his soldiers, who had witnessed the crime."

"He shot his brother in the back?"

"Yes, Son! His brother, Alfonso, was the true heir to the De la Vega fortune, and Don Alejandro couldn't have that. He, thus, took his chance when his brother was distracted and murdered him in cold blood."

"How do you know this? How long have you known this?" the young man asked.

"A while. I discovered it while looking into his past. I didn't tell you because I wanted to spare you the pain of knowing you are the son of a fratricide."

Gilberto stared at her, an image of Diego's smiling face coming to the forefront of his mind, then remained pensive. "Have you any proof of the murder?"

"No… As I said, another man was blamed for it, but…"

"Then that information cannot be of any help. I need to think of something else. Perhaps there's someone he cares about and I might use…" As he said that, Gilberto stopped and folded his arms across his chest. "Perhaps that's it…" he said. "You just gave me a good idea, Mother! An idea of how to kill two rabbits with one stone."

Saying that he headed for the pueblo. His first stop was the tavern where, after jovially saluting several dons, he headed for a table occupied by three farmers to whom Victoria had just taken the bill. After greeting them, he remembered one of his guardsmen had, while in Los Angeles, misbehaved towards one of them, pushing him aside; so, in recompense, he offered to pay the men's bill. To Victoria, he said it was a sign that he was a changed man, and offered her a large tip, which she gave to Alicia. He frowned a little, but left content, for, in truth, he just wanted the bill.

ZZZ

"Five thousand pesos!" De Soto exclaimed after opening a large envelope a messenger had just brought him and pulling out about 20 wanted posters. "Sergeant!" he then called.

"Si, Alcalde?" Mendoza asked as he entered the office.

"I want these posters distributed all throughout the territory. And I want the men to be even more vigilant. This Joaquin Correna and his men seem to be headed for Alta California. That unless they are already here," he said, then sighed, sitting down in his chair. "On the other hand, if I were to be the one to catch him, I'd be five thousand pesos richer…"

It was while he was contemplating the praises he'd receive for capturing one of the most notorious rebels in the Spanish colonies that the door opened and Risendo came in.

"Leave us!" the colonel turned haciendado ordered the sergeant, who hurried to take the posters and leave, saluting the two superior officers. "I need a few good bandits," he informed De Soto as soon as they were alone.

"Bandits? I can give you lancers, but bandits?" the alcalde replied puzzled.

"Didn't you recently lock up some? Another gift from Zorro, if I remember correctly…"

"Yes. But I had to send them to San Francisco to stand trial. My lancers left with them yesterday morning, at dawn."

"Then you can still catch them," Gilberto said, and Ignacio needed no more clue to understand it was an order. Thus, after Risendo explained to him his plan, the alcalde informed Mendoza he would be away for a day or two, then mounted his horse and headed north. He did so inwardly cursing Risendo for forcing him to do what he was about to do.

ZZZ

Around the same time, some two miles away, the count was having a glass of juice in the courtyard.

"Good morning, Don Sebastian," Don Alejandro greeted him a while later, finding him about to finish his glass.

"Is it still morning?" the young man replied with a yawn.

"Indeed, it still is…" the elderly man said. "You didn't sleep well?"

"I did… But I only went to bed quite late in the night…"

"Someone kept you up that late?" the elderly man asked somewhat suspiciously.

"Indeed..." the count answered, inwardly delighting himself at noticing the suspicious look in his father's eyes.

"Oh? Who?"

"Alexander the Great." The elderly caballero looked at the young man rather dumbfounded he felt the need to explain. "I received yesterday a copy of Arrian's History of the expedition of Alexander the Great and conquest of Persia. Rafael decided to leave it on my bed table, and I felt compelled to read it."

"I see…" Don Alejandro said, clearly relieved.

"You were out with the vaqueros?" the count asked, changing the subject.

"No. I was just inspecting the stables. Some works were needed after the recent rains, and I wanted to make sure they were done well."

"And?"

"Well, they were mostly well done. The few issues I found will be fixed by tonight."

"Excellent. Then, maybe, tomorrow morning, after breakfast, you'll accompany me to the pueblo…"

"You finally decided to go to Los Angeles?"

"I believe it is high time…"

"Then it will be my honor to accompany you." the elderly don said with a smile.

ZZZ

The following morning, around 9 a.m., the people in the plaza watched in awe as the count's beautiful carriage passed the gates and stopped in front of the tavern. As the young man stepped out, several of the peons there took off their hats and greeted him politely, unsure how to address him.

"¡Buenos días!" the count greeted back with a kind smile and a slight nod, as Don Alejandro followed him.

Entering the tavern, they headed for Victoria. She had been serving customers but came to greet them as they walked in.

"Señorita, it is lovely to see you again," the count said, taking her hand to kiss it.

She smiled at him somewhat surprised by his gesture, considering they had a rather large audience, and all eyes there were focused on them. "You too, Your Excellency," she uttered, slightly embarrassed, as she stared at him.

"Would you be so kind as to offer us some of your lemonade, my dear?" Don Alejandro asked after a few moments, partly regretful to interrupt them, partly glad to do so for he had easily noticed the attraction between the two, and had more than one reason to be reluctant in allowing the young woman to give her heart to the nobleman.

"Of course," she said, then stared at the count at realizing he still held her hand.

The young man let her go, then turned to follow Don Alejandro towards a table occupied by some of his friends, who were, just before their arrival, discussing the escape of the bandits Zorro had caught some weeks earlier.

"Your Excellency," one of the dons greeted, standing up as the count shook each of their hands in turn, "did you hear the news? Some bandits escaped while being transferred up north to stand trial."

"Really? How? Was there an ambush? Was any of the lancers injured?"

"Fortunately no… As for how they escaped, the lancers who were escorting them returned telling everyone it had been Zorro to free them…" the same don recounted.

"Like that makes any sense!" another uttered.

"Zorro was the one to catch those thugs in the first place. Why would he free them?" another one agreed.

"Because Zorro is an outlaw and he probably realized he had more to gain by enlisting those bandits to help him in his perfidious plans," the alcalde uttered as he neared the table, his appearance leaving everyone speechless.

"That is not true, and you know it, De Soto! Zorro is not like other bandits!" Don Alejandro rebuked.

"He is, indeed, I admit, a far more redoubtable adversary than other bandits I have met in my career. But I will see him hang, just the same. You can be certain of that," De Soto retorted.

"Well, if this Zorro is, indeed, as dangerous as you make him out to be, Alcalde, I surely hope you capture him soon enough," the nobleman replied. "In the meantime, I will make sure the hacienda is always properly guarded…"

Ignacio smiled at the man, certain he had left him with a positive impression, and, nodding his goodbye, headed for the bar, where he asked for his lunch to be delivered to his office, motivating that he was too busy to afford the time to have a proper meal at the tavern.

The count subtly glanced at him as he left, then returned to the conversation with the dons, a smile on his face.

"Don Sebastian," Don Alejandro started to say as they left the pueblo, about an hour later. "regarding Zorro… The man may be an outlaw, but only because he stands up to De Soto…"

"I know." The count answered.

"Then… What you said about the hacienda being properly guarded against Zorro…"

"I never said that… I do believe the hacienda should be properly guarded, but it is not Zorro who worries me."

"Then?"

"I am a famously rich man. There are plenty of those who seek to deprive me of, at least, part of that fortune; and would do so at the risk of the lives of those in my employment or living under my roof…"

"Yes… You are right, of course," Don Alejandro said pensively.

"As for De Soto," the count uttered, "were I a betting man, there is one bet I would make when it comes to him."

"And what bet is that?"

"I would bet that his days here are numbered."

"You intend to take action against him, then?"

"Trust me, Don Alejandro! Whatever will eventually lead to De Soto's demise will be of his own doing. Such men can easily make enemies but rarely need them at all…"

ZZZ

The following morning, Victoria headed for the house of one of the poorer farmers living a couple miles away from the pueblo. The man, who had, together with his wife, taken in two orphan children to raise together with his own when the orphanage was closed, had had a bad harvest, and his family was suffering. After finding him in her kitchen one day, trying to steal some leftover food, Victoria took pity on the man and decided to help him. So, whenever she could, she would take his family whatever she could spare from her kitchen: extra beans or grains, leftover food, fruit, and vegetables she could go without.

She was about a mile from the pueblo when she heard a voice behind her, causing her to turn and see who it was.

"Señorita Escalante!" she noticed Gilberto Risendo shouting as he galloped towards her. "May I escort you?" he asked as his horse reached hers.

"I do not need an escort, Don Gilberto, and, should I need one, I would not choose you," she answered as she continued on her way.

He pretended to be heartbroken at hearing that. "I really don't understand what I did to cause you so much offense. Why is it you cannot find it in your heart to forgive my previous behavior?"

"Because you never changed, nor will you ever change your ways. I know men like you well, Señor Risendo."

"When we first met, I behaved recklessly," he admitted. "I know that. But, in my defense, it was my first official appointment and, to be fair, I was not certain I deserved the trust the king put in me…"

"And I doubt you do, seeing how you returned here after completing your mission instead of heading for Spain."

"I returned here because I could not endure being separated from you. When I arrived in Mexico City, I was but the shadow of the man I truly am. I knew, then, that my heart was forever yours, and I could not go on until I'd convince you of that. Why won't you believe that I have feelings for you? Feelings I have never had for anyone else? From the moment I saw you –"

"You tried to imprison me!"

"Only because you had already imprisoned my heart… I misbehaved, I know! I was confused… I am no longer confused, though. I know exactly how I feel about you, now! I would even die for you should you ask me to."

"Well, then… There's a cliff over there!" she pointed north. "You are welcome to throw yourself off of it!"

Leaving him baffled, she hurried the pace, her horse soon starting to gallop.

Gilberto stayed back, cursing through gritted teeth, then smiled as he noticed three riders heading towards the young woman.

Steering his horse into a gallop, he hurried to reach her.

"¡Hola, Señorita!" one of them greeted the young woman as they blocked her way, causing her to stare nervously between him and the other two. "Such a beautiful señorita, all alone in the wilderness… We should make sure you don't lose your way…"

"I know my way, Señor, so kindly let me follow it," she said.

The three men laughed. "Of course, Señorita! We wouldn't want to inconvenience you," one of them said as he guided his horse a little back, making room for the young woman to pass.

Just as she did, however, the other two neared and grabbed her, forcing her off her horse.

"Let go of me!" she ordered, doing her best to oppose them. "Let go!"

"You heard the señorita! Let her go!" Gilberto ordered at that precise moment and, unsheathing his sword, started fighting one of the bandits, while Victoria and the other two, who were holding her, watched.

The fight lasted several minutes, Gilberto proving himself quite the accomplished swordsman. However, seemingly annoyed, at some point, one of the bandits holding Victoria put a knife to the young woman's neck. "Give up or she dies!" he threatened. Gilberto seemed to consider his options for a moment, then let his sword fall, raising his hands. "Don't hurt her," he said. "I will give you whatever you want, just don't hurt her."

"We don't care about what you can give us, Señor. We care about what someone else can give us," one of the men said, then, nearing Gilberto, he used his pistol to hit him on the head, leaving him unconscious.

"Take him, too! Perhaps we can also get some money off of him, as well," the bandits' leader instructed.