Felipe slammed his foot against the cot in the jail cell. What could he do now? What could he possibly do from this jail cell? The young man heard the lancers scrambling. Was Zorro out there?
“Alright, men!” he heard Mendoza call, “Company A, search the town. Company B, come with me to search the perimeter. We must find that girl before she leaves the pueblo.”
It was Anna they were looking for! Felipe had assumed that she was in the alcalde’s office being questioned. Zorro must have released her. He sighed, relieved. At least Anna was safe.
Victoria ran into the de la Vega hacienda, not bothering with the formality of knocking.
“Diego! Alejandro!”
Alejandro rushed to the foyer.
“Victoria! What’s wrong?”
“It’s Felipe,” she said, catching her breath, “He’s been arrested.”
“Arrested? For what?”
“Sword fighting. In the tavern.”
“What?!”
“They were bounty hunters. They had arrested Anna. He was defending her honor.”
“Oh, no. Diego will want to know. Diego! Diego!” he called. “Argh! That boy is never around when he should be. Come on. I’ll go with you back to town.”
Felipe sat on the edge of the cot and leaned his elbows on his knees. He watched an ant crawl across the sandstone floor toward the door of the cell. It heaved itself over a blade of straw and another blade of straw. Then still another. Felipe tilted his head and leaned forward, getting down on his knees to look at the straw.
It was not straw at all but copper hairpins. Anna’s. He picked them up one by one and lined them on the palm of his hand. Eight. They had been straightened out, and each had an identical twist in the upper and lower third of the wire. That’s strange, he thought. He ran his other hand through his hair as he thought, then sat back down on the cot. He rolled the wires on the palm of his hand and noticed that two stuck together, wrapping around themselves at the bends. He sat up straight and rolled all of the pins together. They formed one large, thick wire. But why? Why would she have—
Then he knew, a smile growing on his face. Zorro had not released her. That girl had picked the lock with her hairpins. He laughed and shook his head. Felipe began to wonder, though, if she was indeed safe. If Zorro wasn’t with her, was she out there on her own?
Felipe walked to the door of the cell. With a look at the pins, he reached his hands through the bars and put the pins in the lock. He closed his eyes and tried to jimmy the lock.
The main door to the jail swung open. Felipe started and dropped the pins.
“Felipe!” Alejandro said, Victoria following him into the jail. “Are you alright?”
The young man nodded his head.
“Victoria told me what happened, that you were defending a lady’s honor. She said you put on quite a show. Your first sword fight! Bravo, my boy!”
Felipe smiled at his patron. He wondered what Diego would have to say about it.
“Have you seen Anna?” he signed.
“No, the alcalde and his men are looking for her now, and when they return I will get you out of here.”
Victoria said, “Don’t worry, Felipe, I’m sure she is fine. Zorro will see that she is safe.”
Zorro paused outside the pueblo. There was little moonlight and he did not worry about being seen. Zorro could see the soldiers searching for something, though he wasn’t sure what. He pulled his telescope from his bag and peered through it at the town. Yes, they were definitely looking for something, or someone. He closed the scope and tucked it away in his saddlebag.
Movement caught his eye. Far on his left, he saw a huddled figure behind a tall clump of grass. He watched as the person slunk backwards to another covered area, slowly moving away from the pueblo. Her skirts blew in the slight sea breeze. He knew who it was.
Zorro guided Toronado over to the girl. Anna saw him and stood straight from her hiding place. He leaned down to pull her up into the saddle. In silence, she clung to him, and he rode back to the cave.
Anna climbed down from Toronado and walked into the cave. Zorro also dismounted and followed her. The girl sat on a stool and rested her elbows on the table. Leaning her head into her hands, her long hair fell loose around her. Zorro saw the blood on her side.
“You’re hurt. Let me look at it.”
“No. It’s nothing. It’s my own fault anyway,” she said, then exclaimed, “How could I have been so stupid!”
“Why did you leave the cave?”
The girl shook her head. “A deer.”
“A deer?”
She spun around on the stool. “A deer! It was hurt,” she waved her hands, angrily, “and I went out there to help it. Oh! How moronic could I possibly be?”
“Why didn’t you wait for Felipe or myself?”
“I tried, but Toronado was getting nervous, and I thought I would only be a minute—“
“Animals don’t make Toronado nervous. He was probably nervous because of the bounty hunters. You should have waited!” Zorro said.
“I know!” Anna exclaimed. “I know!”
Zorro was about to reply, but he stopped and sighed. “Anna, you made a mistake, and a compassionate one at that.” He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders, “Knowing all that you’ve accomplished and trained for and achieved, it’s hard for me to remember that you are still so young. I see it’s hard for you, too,” she looked down, “The mistakes of youth are often painful, but necessary nonetheless. Now, you get cleaned up,” he said, turning back to Toronado.
“Where are you going?”
“Felipe went to find you. I’m just going to make sure he didn’t get into any trouble.”
The alcalde was in a foul mood when he returned to his office. It didn’t help to find Alejandro and Victoria there waiting to bail Felipe out of jail. It would have been too much had he known that Zorro was hiding in the shadows. Alejandro paid the fine, and the two men walked with the senorita to the tavern.
Felipe stopped at the porch. “*I need to get something. May I run a quick errand?*”
“Hurry, Felipe,” said Alejandro, “We need to return to the hacienda.”
Felipe nodded and rushed away. He soon returned, and he and Alejandro made their way to the hacienda.
When they arrived at the hacienda, Alejandro burst through the front door yelling, “Diego! Diego!”
Diego walked into the foyer.
“What is it? Where have you two been?”
“Felipe has been in his first sword fight!” the caballero said proudly.
Diego crossed his arms solemnly over his chest. “A sword fight?”
“Yes, my son,” Alejandro said, not understanding Diego’s concern. “A sword fight.”
“*I didn’t have a choice.*” Felipe signed.
“You always have a choice.” Diego said. “What was this all about?”
“Felipe was fighting for Anna’s honor. Two lowlifes in the tavern were saying disgraceful things about her and he took care of it. Impressively, Victoria said.”
Diego said nothing.
“What? No praise? No congratulations? Diego, what is wrong with you?” Alejandro cried, “Felipe is becoming a caballero right before your eyes and you can find nothing to say?”
“Violence is never a thing to be praised. However, it is necessary to defend the honor of a lady.” He turned to Felipe, “I’m glad you went to Anna’s defense.”
Felipe nodded. The other two men continued to talk, but Felipe’s mind was far from the foyer. He knew that Diego had found Anna, or else he would still be out as Zorro. He assumed that she was in the cave and he was impatient to see her. Diego could sense his restlessness and placed his hand on his father’s shoulder, guiding him to the salon. Felipe quickly went to the fireplace, pressed the hidden button, and ducked into the cave.
He wished he could make some noise to warn Anna of his approach.
Cautiously, he turned the corner, then saw to his relief that she was
dressed. She had changed into the freshly washed blue gown and stood,
barefoot, brushing her hair, her back to the doorway. The young man stopped
for a moment to watch her hair gleam in the lamplight. His heart ached with
the beauty of it; he longed to feel its silkiness running through his
fingers.
He breathed a prayer of relief that she seemed uninjured. After seeing the
blood on the ground, and hearing what those bounty hunters had said, he hadn't
known what to expect. If they had harmed her, Diego would have a hard time
stopping him from making them pay!
Feeling his eyes on her, Anna turned to him. Felipe went to her and enfolded her in his arms. She leaned against his chest, and he kissed the top of her head.
Tenderly, Felipe combed his fingers through her hair. Anna closed her eyes, tilting her head to his touch. The young man took her brush from her hand and turned her around. He slowly ran the brush through her hair and smoothed it with his hands. It felt exactly as he had imagined. Anna turned back to him.
Felipe paused and then signed, “*I was so worried.*”
Anna shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said, looking up at him.
Felipe could see her eyes brimming with tears. “*No, you’re not. What’s wrong?*”
The tears spilled onto her cheeks. “James was executed in Santa Barbara!” she cried.
Felipe was stunned. The dangerous reality of what Anna was involved in was suddenly clear.
“*Who told you this?*”
“The alcalde. He was either going to execute me, as well, or extradite me to Santa Barbara for execution there. Felipe,” she said trembling, her face wet with tears, “I’m so scared.”
Felipe pulled her to him, and she buried her face in his chest. He was scared, too, but he would not allow such a thing to happen. He would die first. Felipe looked down at her. He wanted to hold her, but he could not speak without his hands. The familiar frustration welled up within him. He needed to see her smile.
Felipe stepped back and cradled her chin in his hands. He kissed her cheek, tasting the salt of her tears. He straightened and held up one finger. Anna looked confused.
With a slight smile, Felipe pulled a small bag from his pocket. It was made of dark purple velvet and tied with a cream colored silk cord. Anna looked from the bag to him, his smile mirrored on her face. He carefully opened the bag, then took her hand, holding it palm up. Ivory hairpins fell into her hand. She gasped.
“They’re beautiful!” Anna exclaimed.
“*Not nearly as beautiful as you, mi querida.*”
Felipe set the bag on the table and swept her hair away from her face. Anna’s eyes were shining as he slid a pin in place and did the same on the other side.
“But how did you know?”
Felipe shook his head. He ran his finger from her ear to her chin and bent to kiss her.
Diego cleared his throat.
Anna started and pulled away from Felipe. Her cheeks blushed and she bit her lip. Felipe felt slightly annoyed as he turned to his patron.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have much to plan. Michael Hartwell has returned.”
