Diego’s face darkened. His suspicions had been correct. She was a threat to the crown of Spain. Diego was used to fighting petty criminals, but foreign intelligence officers? How much had she misled him? What did she know? What information was she seeking and was it to be used against Spain? He was greatly perplexed by the girl before him.
Diego put his boot on a chair and shoved it over to where Anna was standing.
“Have a seat.”
Anna remained standing in defiance. Felipe was uneasy, as he looked between the two of them.
Diego sighed. “Please.”
She sat. Diego walked over, put his hands on the arms of the chair, and leaned down to her.
“Miss Baker, I am a loyal subject of the crown of Spain. You will tell me the entire, complete truth, or I will turn you over to the authorities in Santa Barbara.”
Anna had seen this moment coming. Her mind was torn. She knew that she was forbidden to reveal what she knew, but she also felt abandoned by the council. There was no one at her back now. She had to fight for herself. Yet the man standing over her had been so kind and gentle. She wanted to trust him. She wanted his help.
The girl took a deep breath. “What do you want to know?” she asked quietly.
“I suggest you start at your commission in the Army and be as complete as possible.”
Felipe climbed onto a stool, but Diego remained standing with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I suppose it goes back further than that.” the girl began in Spanish. “Brigadier-General Henry Hardinge was the chief of espionage for General Wellesley,” she looked up at Diego, “You know General Wellesley as the Duke of Wellington.”
Diego nodded.
“Lord Wyclythe served as Major under Hardinge. While Captain Baker, my father, served with Wyclythe and Hardinge in the War of the Third Coalition, my mother, Matthew and I went to live at Wyclythe Manor.
“I was raised there with James Watson—the man you saw at the tavern—and Wyclythe’s daughter Kathleen. As we grew older and the espionage network grew larger, it was essential that we be included, as well, in order to maintain the necessary secrecy.”
Jealousy stirred in Felipe as he remembered the man who Anna had seemed so delighted to see. Had they been childhood sweethearts?
“In 1815, as Napoleon built his Army, General Wellesley was commanding large factions of Anglo-Dutch troops in the Netherlands. Hardinge’s network, including my father, was deployed to gather intelligence about the growing French army. Do you follow?”
“Yes. I was in Madrid at the time. I remember that the Spanish army was scrambling to build up enough troops to guard the border with France.”
“Yes, the entire continent was scrambling and intelligence gathering became paramount. My father was sent into French territory to spy on Napoleon’s troop movements. On June 14, Captain Baker was killed just outside of Marchienne-au-pont having just obtained important information concerning French army maneuvers.”
Felipe looked up at Anna when she referred to her father as “Captain Baker.” He could see that her wounds were still fresh for her to distance herself from the story.
Anna continued, “The information never got through to General Wellesley, causing substantial instability to the political structure of Britain.”
“How so?” Diego asked, sitting on the edge of the table. Felipe was relieved to see his patron relaxing. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees as he listened to Anna’s story.
“The Duke of Wellington is a Tory. If he had been defeated in this or any other battle, it would have been extremely likely that the Tory government would have been overthrown in favor of the Whigs. Without my father’s information, General Wellesley almost lost the battle.
“The council, intelligence officers serving under Hardinge, did not intend for us to become so involved in the network; we were only children. But the Marchienne-au-pont incident was enough to make them realize the importance of sheer numbers. They pulled everyone they could into active service. James was commissioned and sent to the Black Forest. Matthew was sent to take my father’s place. Kathleen and I began intense training, as well. No one would suspect young girls as British officers.”
Felipe could agree with that statement. His head was spinning from what Anna was saying.
“By the time we finished training, Napoleon had abdicated and surrendered and the war was over. The officers began to return, with the exception of James and a few others who remained behind to maintain our intelligence sources. We then had much information to be sorted, catalogued, and applied to devise greater espionage techniques, including new weapon designs.
“James soon sent word about a little factory in Oberndorf that was producing guns. Lord Wyclythe and Matthew traveled to his post to investigate and returned with many diagrams of new technologies. These diagrams, along with other designs gathered during the war, were used to construct a new gun, one with incredible accuracy and handling.”
“Martinez’s gun.”
“No, Senor, it was not Martinez’s gun. It was Lord Wyclythe’s design.
“We found a gunsmith in England who could make the gun to our specifications. It was truly an incredible rifle. The range was huge and accurate. It handled better than any gun I have ever shot.”
“You shot it?” Felipe asked.
“Yes. We all did. It’s thought that this gun will someday become the standard issue of the armed forces.”
Diego asked, “How did Martinez get a hold of it?”
”There was a lack of gunsmiths with the needed skills to make this particular gun. We had to look to foreign sources. There was a gunsmith in Madrid that we felt could be persuaded to covertly manufacture the guns for us. Lord Wyclythe would travel to Madrid to get the guns and Matthew and I were to travel with him.”
“Matthew said that Lord Wyclythe was to attend a medical conference.”
“Yes, we used the conference as a cover. While Lord Wyclythe spoke at the conference—he was, indeed, a doctor—Matthew and I arranged the services of the gunsmith.
“Unfortunately, the gunsmith turned against us and notified the authorities. We were arrested and lost not only the gun design but our freedom, as well. Lord Wyclythe was convicted and is now sitting in prison back in Spain. The question for Spain then became what to do with the gun design?”
Anna was racked with coughing. Diego nodded to Felipe and the younger man retrieved a cup of water. After a moment, the girl continued.
“The gunsmith did, in fact, produce the gun, but for Spain instead of Britain. Martinez, an excellent sharpshooter, was recruited to test the rifle. It had superior performance on the test range, but needed something to win over the minds of the highest ranked officials.
“Zorro is as well-known on the streets of Madrid as he is on the streets of Los Angeles. What better way to prove the gun than to bring down a renowned outlaw? An extraordinary kill to prove an extraordinary gun.
“The officials came up with the idea of Martinez pretending to visit his best friend in Los Angeles as cover to killing Zorro with the new gun. Matthew and I were sent with him in case there were problems with the gun.”
“They wanted you to help them kill Zorro?” Felipe asked.
“That’s what they wanted, but, had they needed us, that’s not what they would have gotten.” Anna looked innocently over at Felipe. “Technical terms often get lost in translation,” she gave a wry smile.
“But why send both of you? Why not just send Matthew?” Diego asked.
“They understood that Matthew and I worked as a team on this project. Matthew was a field officer, he knew how best to use and make the gun. I was back up and support; I knew how and why the gun worked. Lord Wyclythe was our commanding officer and our cover.”
Diego shifted. “So even though you are an intelligence officer, you are not actively gathering secrets against Spain?”
“No.” Anna said, “In fact, the reason James was here was to deliver my discharge papers. Apparently the council considered the mistakes of the Madrid fiasco grievous enough to warrant a complete discharge. If one of Hardinge’s officers is discharged and does not return to England to finalize the order, he is immediately cut from the network and stripped of citizenship. It’s as if that person never existed. The army can then deny anything the person says. That’s why I can’t return to England.”
“Because you didn’t return with James?”
“Yes.”
Diego thought for a moment then said, “You told me that you didn’t know a lot about the guns.”
“I wasn’t completely honest with you.”
“Obviously, but you still led me to the diagram. Why?”
“That diagram was drawn by Martinez, not Lord Wyclythe. From what I could see, it was unclearly written and made several errors, even though the majority of it seemed to be correct. That made it a little easier to tell you about it. I also trusted you; you had come to my defense. Quid pro quo.”
“I see. So I wouldn’t have been able to determine anything from that picture?”
“That depends on whether you knew what you were looking for.”
“Did De Soto ever see an accurate copy of the blueprints?”
“Oh, most probably. Martinez did have them with him. I doubt he would have kept them from the alcalde.”
“Come here and look at this.” Diego said, walking over to the table. Anna stood and followed, Felipe behind her. “This is the diagram I got from Martinez.”
“Let me see.” she said, taking the paper. She studied the sheet for a moment. “That is a truly pathetic drawing, if I do say so myself. The schematics are all wrong. I’m sorry; I didn’t realize it was this poor. I thought he could draw better than that.”
“Well, that explains why I didn’t see anything extraordinary.” Diego said. “I suppose I’ll have to scour the alcalde’s office and find a good copy.”
“Why do you need to see the blueprints?”
“If the alcalde has this gun at his disposal, it could give him a great advantage. One should always know his opponent in order to be better able to fight. I might be able to find some way to disable the gun without him knowing or being able to find out why it didn’t work.”
“But he may not even have a copy of the blueprints. Yes, Martinez had multiple copies in case one was lost, but why would he give one to de Soto?”
“De Soto would not let as great a discovery as that slip through his hands. If Martinez had not given him a copy, I am sure that he would have taken one himself.”
“You mean he would have stolen it?”
“Yes, that’s what I mean, and now that Martinez is gone, he would have ample opportunity to have one made for himself.”
“Is there such a capable gunsmith in Los Angeles?”
“No, but there is in Monterrey. I’m positive that it is only a matter of time before de Soto has this gun in his possession.” Diego turned and looked down at the girl. “Anna, you must tell me how this gun works,” he said gently.
Anna closed her eyes and shook her head. “I cannot!” she said.
Diego placed his hand on her shoulder. “Why not? You said you were discharged. Why can’t you tell me?”
“Honor, Senor.”
“Honor?” Diego repeated, raising his eyebrows.
“I vowed to serve my king and my country. I cannot reveal this secret and betray them!”
“But, Anna, don’t you see? Zorro would still be the test case! If de Soto kills me with the British gun, then Spain will see that it is indeed a great invention. If the gun fails to work, the design will be scrapped and only England will realize the rifle’s full potential.”
Anna looked between the two of them and thought for a long while.
“Alright.” Anna said. “Look at the drawing here,” she began and then stopped.
The girl looked up at Diego. “You can’t use this. There are just too many flaws.”
“Anna, this is all I have to use. I don’t have a real copy of the schematics.”
Anna was silent.
Realization passed over Diego’s face. “But you do, don’t you?”
Anna nodded, looking at the floor.
“Show me.”
Anna raised her head, “Where is my satchel?”
Diego turned to Felipe. “Felipe, I think Marta put the bag back into the guest room. Would you please go get it?”
Felipe nodded and walked up the stairs to the hacienda.
With the other man gone, Anna turned back to the diagram. Diego sat on a stool and said, “Felipe told me that you know he can hear. How did you learn that?”
Anna looked over at him with a slight smile. “What he has done is one of the first things you learn as an intelligence officer—to play on people’s assumptions. His mannerisms were completely different from a true deaf-mute. Part of that could be attributed to previous hearing ability, but he still reacts slightly to sounds around him.
“I didn’t understand why he hid his hearing until I figured out that he was working with you as Zorro. I see now that by having everyone assume he was deaf, people would let their guard down and talk more openly. Zorro would be able to learn more.”
“Where did you learn to sign?”
“It was part of my training. We had to be able to communicate silently.”
“I see. You must have learned Spanish, as well.”
Anna turned back to him. “Well, seeing as General Wellesley was commanding the Dutch, it was more advantageous for me to learn Dutch than Spanish, but, yes, we did study Spanish a little bit when we learned that we would be sent to Madrid.”
“Then why did you find the need to sign at all?”
“When we were captured, my Spanish was still very poor. It’s only gotten up to par since I came to the hacienda. I used signs to make up the slack. Matthew also thought it would be best to make me seem as incompetent as possible as an intelligence officer. He thought it would protect me.”
“Is that why you didn’t fight back when Roberto attacked you?”
“If he had gone any further, I would have defended myself as best I could. The day when,” she drew a breath, “when Matthew died, things just happened too quickly.”
“You seemed so scared in the tavern. Was that all an act then?”
“Part of it, yes; part of it, no. I’ve been scared ever since our capture.”
Felipe returned to the cave and placed the bag on the table in front of Anna. The girl emptied the contents and turned the bag inside out. Picking up a small knife on the table, she deftly slit the seam and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Carefully, she unfolded it and smoothed it out on the table. Felipe and Diego leaned in close to see. Unlike the drawing, these schematics were very well drawn.
“That’s it.” Anna said. “You can see that it is a .54 caliber rifle with a thirty-three inch barrel, so it has a smaller barrel and a lower caliber than the Escopeta musket that the lancers use. It doesn’t have half the kick that the Escopeta does. No need to close your eyes and brace yourself when it goes off.”
“That in itself lends to accuracy.” Diego said with a half-smile.
“Yes, but even the Baker gun, which also has a lower caliber and less kick, is only sighted at 300 yards.”
“What is this gun sighted at?”
“1200 yards.”
Felipe and Diego looked at Anna, stunned. Such a distance!
“It’s accurate to 1200 yards?” Diego asked, unbelieving.
“Yes.”
“How?” Felipe signed.
Anna pointed to the barrel of the gun in the drawing. “The rifling or groves in the barrel of a Baker gun---“
“Any relation?” Diego interrupted.
Anna smiled. “Not that I know of. Ezekiel Baker lives in London. We were in Gloucestershire.”
“Go on.”
“The rifling in the Baker gun is 1 to 136. That means that it takes 136 inches for the bullet to make a complete rotation. This gun has 1 to 48 rifling. It allows for a much straighter and more controlled shot.”
“But that amount of rifling would warp the bullet. How would it work with a grease patch?” Diego asked.
“It doesn’t use a grease patch to lubricate the bore. It uses a combination of tallow and beeswax with paper. We also played around with a few elongated bullets.”
“So why hasn’t the British Board of Ordnance issued these rifles to all of their troops?”
“This type of rifling is extremely expensive. The Master-General also wanted more testing to be done. It was unknown how the gun would handle in battle.”
“How much does it weigh?”
“Well, we constructed ours out of walnut and it was just under five pounds—a little heavier than the Baker—but it was very balanced and easy to handle,” she smiled, “even for me.”
Diego picked up the drawing and admired it. He shook his head in amazement. Anna looked over at Felipe. He smiled at her and she blushed.
“1200 yards, you say?” Diego said.
“1200 yards.” Anna confirmed.
“Unbelievable.”
“It’s,,,” Anna began to cough, “amazing.” she choked out, as the paroxysm overtook her.
As Anna continued to cough, Felipe took Diego aside and showed him the bloody handkerchief. Diego looked concerned and turned back to the girl.
“Anna, it’s late.” he glanced at his watch, “It’s almost three o’clock. I think you have done too much this evening; you must rest.”
“Senor, please tell me. Are you going to turn me in?”
Diego paused. “No. I don’t think that you are a threat to my country, especially since you have now been discharged. I do think that your defense will be difficult. You have a long struggle ahead of you if you choose to stay and try to prove your innocence.”
Anna exhaled and closed her eyes, “Gracias, senor, I am in your debt.”
“Now,” Diego began, “You must get some sleep, but for your safety, you cannot return to the hacienda. Your clothes are with the bag over there and there is a cot that we keep down here that you may sleep on. Will you need anything else?”
Anna looked down at the muddy gown. “I’ll need a dress to wear tomorrow, or today, rather. I think there was a work dress in the armoire in the guest room.”
“Yes, I think there was. I’ll have Felipe bring it down to you. I’m going to turn in, too. I hope you sleep well.” Diego turned and walked up the stairs with Felipe following.
Anna called after them. “Good night, Don Diego. Thank you again.”
As their footsteps receded up the stairs, Anna sighed and looked around the cave. There were many things that piqued her interest, but she felt so terribly weak that all she wanted to do was to lie down and sleep.
Picking up her nightgown from the table, she walked over to the cot in the corner and sat down on the blanket. Not wanting to be immodest, she did not undress. Instead she waited patiently for Felipe to bring her the workdress. Her eyelids were so heavy and the small, creaky cot so inviting. She would only lie down for a moment…
