With Rosa in the garden and out of her hair, Anna made the bed in peace. Her head ached and when the sheets were straight and the pillows arranged, she lay across the bed and closed her eyes. She still didn't quite understand what had happened that morning. The nearest she could figure was that Roberto had come up with some story and she had unwittingly proved it false. She wasn't looking forward to seeing him again, though she knew the time would come.
The girl rolled onto her back, propped her head on her hands and looked up at the ceiling. The breeze blew in through the open window and the curtains danced. A few strands of hair tickled her nose and she brushed them aside. The de la Vegas were so kind. How life would have been different if they had been sold to them instead of the Martinez! Anna knew, however, that the servants at the hacienda were paid and voluntary workers, not slaves like she and
Matthew.
The breeze ushered in the smell of roses from the garden, and Anna remembered her gift that morning. She smiled; no one had ever given her a rose before. It made her feel special and wanted. Felipe must have left it for me, she thought. He's certainly handsome, but I'll never get to see him unless Matthew lets me. Oh! He can be so sufficatingly protective! Anna's head began to throb. I
need some medicine, she conceded, rose from the bed, and walked from the room.
The barn bustled as the vaqueros went about their daily duties. They were so busy that they ignored the English girl maneuvering around the chaos. Anna finally reached the back loft where Matthew had placed their saddlebags. She lifted the flap and found the large envelope of powder.
"+There you are. I was looking for you.+" Matthew said, climbing up the ladder.
"+Oh? Why?+" Anna said, glancing back at him.
Matthew pulled her to her feet and placed his hands on her small shoulders.
"+First, to make sure you are okay.+"
+"I'm fine. I wish you would stop making such a fuss.+" She said, pushing his hands away.
"+That's my job+."
"+What's the second thing?+" Anna crossed her arms over her chest. Matthew knelt and gathered the bags.
"+Martinez and Roberto have returned to the pueblo, and I must join them. Rosa is not ready to leave, though.+"
"+Still flirting with Don Diego?+"
"+Yes.+" Matthew stood and slung the bags over his shoulder.
"+That's fine. I'll stay here with her until she's ready to go, and then we'll ride
back to town+."
"+You'll be careful?+"
"+Of course! Stop worrying! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself and Rosa. You never acted like this in England.+"
"+There was nothing to worry about in England. Nothing like this.+"
"+Then you shouldn't have agreed for us to travel with His Lordship.+"
"+I regret that decision everyday.+”
"+You shouldn't. It's what we prepared for.+"
Matthew changed the subject. "+I wrote to Michael Hartwell today. He should reply soon.+"
"+I don't want to leave you, Matthew. We're a family.+"
"+I know, but I'm not arguing over this, Anna. You are leaving
and that's final.+" Anna stamped her foot in the hay, but said
nothing. "+Now,+" Matthew lowered his voice and walked toward the
ladder. "+I am going back to the pueblo. Return with Rosa as soon as
you can.+"
"+Yes, sir.+"
"+Don't call me `sir.+'" Matthew stopped his descent and looked up at her. "+And Anna?+"
"+Yes?+"
"+Don't talk to anyone you don't have to.+"
"+Why?+"
"+You know why. Just do it.+"
Diego rubbed his temples as he sat on the bench in the garden. That woman! he thought. Does she ever be quiet? Rosa chattered on about nothing in particular, batting her eyes at him intermittently. Every so often, Diego would nod politely. Unfortunately, this would encourage Rosa to babble on even more. She swished her skirts and fanned herself and flirted unabashedly. Diego prayed someone would interrupt and rescue him.
"There you are, my son!"
Gracias de Dios.
Alejandro strode into the garden, pleased to find his son alone with a woman, even if she seemed spoiled.
"How delightful to see you!" the older Don proclaimed as he kissed Rosa's hand.
"You wanted me to do something, father?" Diego asked hopefully.
"Hm? Oh, no! This is much more important!" Alejandro gushed,
Rosa beamed, Diego sighed.
"Shall we take another turn around the garden, gentlemen?" Rosa asked.
"Why that would be wonderful! Wouldn't it, Diego?" Alejandro said.
"Really, father, I—" Diego began, but saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to find Felipe walking towards them. "I would love to, but… it's time for Felipe's lessons! I'm terribly sorry, I really must go." With a curt bow to Rosa and a nod to his father, Diego took Felipe's shoulder and guided him out of the
garden.
When they were out of earshot, he said, "What took you so long?! That was the most dreadfully boring hour of my life!" Felipe grinned.
The two men walked into the coolness of the hacienda and toward the room that they had converted into a classroom. Felipe began signing to his patron.
"*Thank you for your help on the problem on the board. I did not expect you to give away my mistake so soon.*" He said, pointing to the circled element of the equation.
Diego's eyes narrowed, and he walked over to the chalkboard.
"But I didn't even have time to look at it." The men glanced
at each other.
"Has my father been in here?"
"*Not that I know of. I just assumed that you had corrected it.*"
"No, I would have let you suffer until you found the answer yourself!" Diego remarked with a smile. "Ah, what's this?" Diego bent close to the board. Felipe, too, leaned in and saw what he was looking at. Three small circular clean areas were imprinted on the board about half way up from the chalk rail.
"*They look like fingerprints.*" Felipe signed.
"Yes, that's exactly what they are. What do they tell you?"
"*They are too small to be Alejandro's.*"
"Yes, and?"
Felipe's hands were silent.
"*I have no idea*." He finally signed.
"Why would someone place their fingers there?"
"*To stabilize himself?*"
"Yes! Now why would someone have to stabilize himself on the chalkboard?"
"*Because he was not tall enough to reach the corner and had to stretch to reach the error.*"
"Very good!" Diego praised. "So who are we looking for?"
"*Someone small who knows trigonometry.*"
"Who would that be?"
"*I don't know.*"
"I don't know, either."
Rosa waltzed into her guest room. "Anna!" she called.
"Si?" Anna replied, meeting her in the anteroom.
"*Alejandro and I are going to ride into town now. Gather my things*." She said and signed.
"Si, seenyoreeta."
Matthew had taken most of their mistress' belongings back with him. Anna gathered what was left and carried it out to Lady. Alejandro and Rosa had already begun their journey to the pueblo, and were a few hundred feet ahead of the English girl. No bother. She wanted to be alone anyway. So much and yet so little had happened. Anna needed time to form her thoughts. Her mind was strangely blank. Must be the medicine, she thought, and relaxed into the saddle. She saw Rosa pull her horse up short and turn back towards her. Anna sat up straight and trotted Lady to meet her.
"*It's so hot!" Rosa exclaimed with her hands. "Where is my
fan?*"
Anna dismounted and opened her pack. She moved the dresses
aside and all the other knick knacks that Rosa had `needed' for the
evening. There was no fan.
"*I'm sorry, senorita, I must have forgotten it.*" The girl
signed.
"Go back and get it!" Rosa huffed and trotted back up to
Alejandro's side.
Anna sighed, then turned Lady around back toward the hacienda.
Anna arrived at the hacienda, dismounted, and gave the reigns to Miguel, who led Lady back to the stables. The girl walked through the servants' entrance and into the back of the house. No one paid any attention to her as she walked through the hallways towards the guest rooms. Quickly and quietly, she entered the room, located the fan, and slid it into the deep pocket of her dress. She exited the room and walked back down the hallway.
Passing the conservatory, she heard piano music. She stopped by the open door and looked in to see Diego sitting on the bench. The music rose and fell. Beethoven. Such power and passion. She had played hours of it herself.
Diego was immersed in thought as he played one of his favorite pieces. What was Martinez planning? He wondered if Matthew would know. Perhaps Zorro should pay him a visit. And what about Roberto? His sick behavior concerned him greatly. He did not like the idea of such a man staying in the inn of the woman he loved. Light suddenly reflected off the flower vase on top of the piano. He lifted his hands from the keys and turned, suddenly, to see who was at the
door.
Anna jumped. "+Oh! I'm sorry, I-+"
"+It's okay.+" Diego said, motioning her into the room. "+Did you like it?+"
"+Yes, Beethoven is one of my favorites! His music is so strong and yet it can be delicate, as well.+" The girl stopped and looked at her hands. "+I'm sorry. I shouldn't talk so much. Excuse me+." Anna turned to leave the room.
"+Anna,+" Diego called; she turned back. "+It's okay.+" He rose from the bench. "+Where are you going?+"
"+Back to town. I had forgotten Miss Martinez's fan. I can be so careless.+"
"+A fault easily forgiven+." Diego smiled. "+I, myself, was just thinking of going to town and eating a meal at Victoria's. May I join you in your ride to Los Angeles?+"
Anna thought it strange that the don would want to remain in
the company of a mere servant. "+Yes, of course.+" Her voice wavered.
The two rode in silence until the hacienda was out of sight. [The following is in English]
"Matthew told me that you were a tutor in England. What did you teach?"
"Oh, a lot of things. Whatever Kathleen wanted to learn. Her father, Lord Wyclythe, let us practically live in the library. We read so much. It was wonderful." Anna said, reminiscing.
"Any… trigonometry?" Diego asked, looking down from his stallion.
Anna did not return his glance.
"Yes, a little." She replied quietly.
"You were the one who found Felipe's mistake on the chalkboard." Diego stated.
"I suppose there is no use in denying it." Anna replied, still not meeting his gaze.
"No, and there is no reason to." Diego said looking down to her. "Well, other than I would have let Felipe flounder for a while before showing the mistake."
Anna smiled. "Lord Wyclithe used to do the same thing to Matthew. He never let him get away with anything!"
"So Matthew knows his trigonometry, too, eh?"
"Oh, yes! He learned calculus and geometry, as well. I could never keep up with him."
"How did you two end up in our pueblo?"
"We were sold to the Martinez family."
"Yes, Matthew told me that, but I'm not sure I understand exactly what happened."
"I—I'd rather not talk about it. Please."
Diego nodded and they continued in silence, only the plodding hooves of the horses broke the afternoon. Anna glanced at the road behind her and, seeing that it was empty, spoke quietly. "I never got to thank you."
Diego looked down at her with raised eyebrows. "Everyone needs a little kindness now and then."
"No, not for today. Well, yes, for today, but that's not what I meant. Thank you for last night." Anna clarified. Diego's heart began beating rapidly.
"Oh, the fiesta? It was our pleasure! My father always loves to entertain and—"
"No, not the fiesta!" Anna exclaimed, then looked up at the don. "For last night. At the tavern."
Diego reigned his horse in sharply. Anna halted, as well.
"What do you mean, Anna?" Diego's demeanor had changed. He was not the head-in-the-clouds don she had started her journey with. Now he was serious, determined, strong. This change scared and confused her. Anna stared back, wide-eyed and silent.
Diego sighed, "I'm not going to hurt you. What did you mean by that?"
"I just meant thank you, for, for" Anna looked at the ground searching for the words she needed. "For stopping Roberto, for rescuing me, however you want to put it."
"But, Anna, I, Diego, was at the hacienda all night. Not at the tavern."
Anna furrowed her eyebrows in thought as she answered, "But you, Zorro, WERE at the tavern."
"I am not Zorro!" Diego denied.
"Yes, you are." Anna stated, matter-of-factly.
"What makes you think that I am Zorro?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"Go on."
"Your basic stature, your voice, the way you walk, your eye and hair color, um, your "sleeping" story, and the mustache, the mustache was a dead give away."
Diego stared at the girl perched on her horse next to him, his eyes
narrow and his mouth agape. His heart beat out of his chest. His
world was dangling precariously at the edge of a cliff and he was
clawing desperately for some way to keep it from crashing on the
rocks below.
"Who have you told?"
"No one. I figured with the mask and all, you wanted it kept a secret. Besides, it seemed so obvious, I thought everyone knew. It makes sense though that no one would know."
"Why?" Diego said through a dry mouth.
"Why would Martinez be sent here to capture you if everyone knew who you were?"
"So, he is here to capture Zorro."
"You refer to yourself in the third person?"
"It's become a dual identity."
"Oh, I see."
"How is Martinez going to try to capture, Zor—me?"
Anna looked at her hands. "Matthew and I are not to talk about it."
"I think the circumstances have changed." Diego prodded. "Are you on Martinez' side, or are you on Zorro's side?"
Anna was quiet, and the stillness disturbed them both.
"Anna?"
Anna took a deep breath. "He's a sniper."
"A sniper?"
"Yes. He's one of the most accurate shots in Europe. He has the
finest and most accurate guns manufactured. I've seen him shoot. He's
a genius. And he can hide anywhere to take a shot."
Diego urged his horse to a walk again and Anna joined him.
"What do you know about these guns?" he asked.
"Not much. I'm not really a weapon type of person. Matthew could tell you whatever you want to know. But I don't know how you would ask without revealing your identity. I don't think he would just mention it in passing."
"You could find out for me."
"Matthew would suspect something right away. I normally wouldn't ask about something like that." Anna's mind raced, "However, with the change in circumstances—"
"What change?"
"With Roberto, because he has become violent, Matthew may attempt to tell me on his own. I'll just have to coax it out of him."
"That might work. So Roberto hasn't always been like this?"
Anna thought for a moment. "No, he hasn't. He's grown progressively moody over the course of the trip, and his drinking has gotten heavier, but this type of violent psychotic behavior has not been manifested, at least in my presence, before the last few days."
Diego glanced over at the girl, surprised at the complexity of her response. "That's what Matthew said, too, when he, Felipe, and I spoke." Anna blushed at the mention of Felipe. Diego smiled.
"May I ask a question, Senor?
"Of course."
"Has Felipe been deaf since birth?"
"Has she figured this out, too?" thought Diego. "No," he said, "he lost his hearing and speech during one of the battles of the revolution quite a few years ago. His parents were killed."
"He is a pseudoaphasic then?"
A look of astonishment passed over Diego's face. "Si. That is correct. But how—"
"I told you. I used to read a lot." Anna said, urging her horse to trot faster as the pueblo came into view.
"Somehow I don't quite believe you." Diego muttered under his breath as he spurred his horse to catch up.
