The Secret of Zorro Diego's Decision Chapters Eight and Nine by Ella Christian @1999-2001 Contact author at EllaChristian@aol.com Chapter Eight The Fate of the Golden Pesos "Keep searching, I know she is here somewhere!" Sergeant Garcia bellowed at his lancers. The dozen men he had brought with him to San Pedro were going from house to house attempting to flush out the wily Consuelo. They were coming up empty-handed. Don Alejandro and Bernardo rushed out of their Inn in the midst of all the carrying on, highly disturbed. Once they arose and agreed that they had to break the news to Elizabeth that they had not found Diego, they were shocked to discover that she was gone. Thus they rushed out into the morning light towards the sounds of Garcia's shouting. "Sergeant! Sergeant!" Alejandro cried, waving. "Si, what is it Don Alejandro?" Garcia asked, breathless. "So far we have not located Seņor...ita Consuelo! Do you know where she is?" "No, no, I am trying to tell you that we cannot find Elizabeth! She rode here with us last night and we went out to look for..." then Alejandro stopped. "Look for whom?" "For...." Alejandro looked helplessly at Bernardo. "For Diego!" he said. "But I thought you said that Don Diego went home...to Seņora Elizabeth?" Garcia said, confused. "He did! But she wasn't there, she was with us!" Garcia got even more confused. "But if she was with you, and he was at your hacienda, why were you...or she... looking for him?" "Because we knew he would try to look for us, since she was with us!" Alejandro sputtered. "Oh, I see," Garcia said, nodding. Then he frowned. "But..." he shook his head. "Did you find him?" "No! And now we cannot find Elizabeth either! She was at the Inn last night when we left, but she is not there now." "Perhaps she went to look for him too?" Garcia suggested. A shadow came between the Sergeant and the sun. He looked around and saw, several yards away and astride the great black horse, El Zorro himself. And on the horse in front of him was Elizabeth de la Vega. "Sergeant Garcia!" El Zorro said, tipping his hand off his hat in salute. "I trust you will give me a moment to tell you something before you tell your lancers to begin chasing me!" he said. "Seņor Zorro!" Garcia exclaimed. "You have returned to Los Angeles from Monterey!" "Temporarily," Zorro said. "I found Seņora de la Vega in the hills above the town, a few moments ago. I wanted to be sure she got safely back to her family." "You were looking for Diego, weren't you?!" Alejandro said hastily to Elizabeth. She looked a little startled, but then said, "Si!" "Did you find him?" Garcia asked. Seeing the two of them sitting on the horse together was very unnerving. They looked so...relaxed together. It was almost unseemly, given that she was becoming obviously pregnant. Garcia cleared his throat. Elizabeth looked at Zorro. "Thank you, Seņor," she said. "Seņora," he smiled at her, helping her slide off the horse. Bernardo hurried over to help as her feet touched the ground. "Sergeant!" Zorro said commandingly. "Si?" said Garcia timidly. "You are looking in all of the wrong places for the Perez woman!" El Zorro told him. "Look on the Maria Cruz. You will find her there, in the company of Capitan Solano." Garcia looked out into the harbor. The Maria Cruz was anchored some yards away from the longest dock, on the deepwater side of the harbor. He gulped. The ocean was a thing he dreaded. "Sergeant," Elizabeth said, "you had better get your men out there to capture Consuelo, before the ship sets sail!" "Si!" he cried, remembering his original mission before the sight of Zorro and the Seņora befuddled him. Several lancers were arriving in response to his shout. "Get a small boat! Get out to the Maria Cruz!" he cried, pointing at the docks. "Stop that ship!" For a few moments confusion prevailed, for some of the lancers aimed their muskets at El Zorro where he sat on his horse. However, Seņora de la Vega stood between the soldiers and the bandito, which disturbed everyone. "The docks!" Garcia shouted again. The lancers headed for the docks, followed by the Sergeant. After a period of chaos and shouting, they requisitioned a large rowboat and then waited while Garcia gingerly stepped into it. They began paddling furiously for the ship. The rowboat rocked dangerously as Garcia stood up and waved at the ship, whose sails were unfurling. Sailors were hauling up the anchor. They were about to leave the harbor for Mexico. Elizabeth, Bernardo and Alejandro stood in a row watching the scene. El Zorro sat on his horse, also watching. The lancers and Garcia were taking so much time that finally he groaned. Pulling off his cape and dropping it into Elizabeth's hands, he gouged Tornado's sides with his heels. To the astonishment of the de la Vega party and all the other gathering onlookers, he guided his horse onto the dock, rode to the end of it, and nudged Tornado to jump into the water. With a splash, El Zorro's horse, his rider still on his back, was swimming towards the Maria Cruz. Seeing this, the lancers managed to organize themselves and row in a more orderly way. "I would like to be on the Maria Cruz when they all arrive," Alejandro mused. ***** The events on the Maria Cruz that morning became legend in Los Angeles. El Zorro arrived ahead of the furiously rowing lancers, and climbed the ropes to the deck. The sailors were still hauling the anchor when he stepped onto the deck. He was greeted by Solano, his sword drawn. El Zorro drew his sword too, facing off with the Capitan. Sailors paused from raising the anchor to gather. "I have no quarrel with you, Seņor Zorro!" Solano cried. "Then you must release the Perez woman to the Sergeant," Zorro replied. "Never!" Solano vowed. He had gained an uncommon affection for pretty Consuelo in the wee hours. A duel ensued, as the two men advanced and parried back and forth across the deck. More sailors gathered to watch, finding themselves in the middle of an unexpected sport. "I promise you that she is not what you believe her to be, Capitan!" El Zorro said, knocking the sword out of Solano's hand and putting his point into the Capitan's neck. Thanks to the hard rowing of the lancers, Garcia and his men finally managed to reach the ship. Unable to climb the ropes up onto the deck, Garcia shouted instructions up from the wobbling rowboat as Corporal Reyes and the others climbed up. They were immediately halted by several of the most fierce and jaded men on the Maria Cruz. They all had their swords drawn and a pair of muskets aimed at the lancers. El Zorro lowered his sword from Solano's neck. Stepping back, the Capitan demanded of Reyes the meaning of this invasion. Reyes simply pointed down towards the bellowing Sergeant on the rocking rowboat below. Solano went to the side of his ship and looked over. "What is it, Garcia?! What is the meaning of this?" he shouted. "I have come for Consuelo Perez!" Garcia shouted. "You're not married to her!" the Capitan bellowed. "Now get these men off my ship or I will sail to Mexico with them all!" This threat flummoxed Garcia for a moment, but then he recovered and said, "I only want the money....please?" Solano frowned. "What money?" "The money she stole from her uncle!" Garcia shouted. "Si, the money," Corporal Reyes said behind the Capitan. Solano turned around and looked at him. "She stole money?" "Si," said Reyes. "A lot of it." He looked to El Zorro for help. "As I say, she is not what she appears," El Zorro said to the Capitan. Solano squinted for a moment, and then turned and disappeared into the hatch leading below deck. A silence prevailed. Then everyone heard shouting from below and felt the boat rock slightly. The next thing they knew, Solano had Consuelo up on the deck with him, the now-infamous money pouch in his hand. El Zorro, sheathing his sword, folded his arms in amusement. "Is she up there?" Garcia kept shouting from the rowboat. "No, Sergeant," Reyes kept answering, until she appeared, when he finally said, "Si, Sergeant." Solano had her in an iron grip, and pulled her to the edge of the ship. "Here she is, Sergeant!" he said. "I value my uniform more than a girl or a few pesos, you can have them all!" "I think maybe it is more than a few pesos," Reyes said quietly. El Zorro threw him a silencing glance. "No!" Consuelo screamed, grabbing at the bag and trying to yank herself away from Solano. "If you think I won't throw you overboard you are mistaken!" the Capitan shouted at her. "Oh, no!" Garcia said, his eyes widening. "Don't throw her overboard! Perhaps she cannot swim!" "I can't!" Consuelo cried. "I can't swim at all! I'll drown!" "You tempt me greatly!" Solano said to her. "Take her!" he said, shoving her at several of the lancers. He opened the money pouch and looked in. "Quite a fortune!" he cried down to Garcia. "Si," Garcia called back up. "Now will you give it to me, so I can return it to Don Francisco?" "Don't, Javier," Consuelo begged, trying to rid herself of the several soldiers holding her. "I don't mind a liar," he told her, "but I cannot abide a thief!" With that he threw the pouch at Reyes. "I have it, Sergeant," the Corporal said, leaning over the edge and waving the pouch at the Sergeant. At that moment Consuelo managed to jerk away from the lancers. She leaped onto Reyes's back. It threw him forward. Banging against the side of the deck, his hand flew forward. The money pouch holding the 20,000 pesos soared over the edge of the ship and spilled open. All the many golden pesos flew spinning, as if in slow motion, through the bright sunshine, scattering with little pings into the blue Pacific. Consuelo screamed "No!" in horror. A long silence followed. Sailors, lancers, Captain, Sergeant, Zorro and Consuelo all stared into the water as the pesos disappeared, floating gently beneath the dark, lapping waves. "I think it is very deep out here," Reyes said respectfully. "It is more fathoms than you want to count," Solano replied. "This is a very bad day for Don Francisco," Garcia stated, staring into the water from his rowboat. "He shouldn't have left it in the garden wall!" Consuelo screamed. "You idiot!" she shouted at Corporal Reyes. Everyone looked at her. "But you jumped on me," Reyes pointed out. "I am so glad we are not married," Sergeant Garcia said from below. "You are famous for helping women! Help me!" Consuelo cried at Zorro. "I do not conspire with thieves, seņorita," he answered. "You will need to answer to your uncle and the law about this!" With that he whistled, and climbed over the ship's side to let himself down the ropes and back to Tornado. Everyone watched as he re-joined his horse, who faithfully carried him back to shore. There, they watched him retrieve his cape from Seņora de la Vega. Saluting the crowd gathered at the dock, he wheeled his horse around. With a wave, he galloped away, his cape fluttering behind him. Elizabeth watched him ride away, her heart very full. Even from this distance she had been able to see the splendid, though brief, duel with Capitan Solano. Now, as he disappeared, she was thinking about the brief exchange that had occurred as she rode down the hillside with him earlier that morning. She had placed her hand over his on the side of her belly, and said, "Please don't make this the last time I ever see you." "I seem to get into nothing but trouble as El Zorro now," he answered. "I am solving less, and gaining more headache. Literally." "But I need you..." she said. "You have me," he whispered in her ear. "All of me." Then they were out in the sunlight and Sergeant Garcia was ahead of them. He had pulled his hand away from her and nudged Tornado's sides as they made their approach. Now he was gone. Down to the last moment he had done everything with his characteristic humor and flourish. He had ridden away with his dignity and a knowing smile. Elizabeth realized that seeing his cape waving behind him as he rode away might well be the last she would ever see of El Zorro. She shut her eyes, squeezing back the tears. ***** Elizabeth and Alejandro rode home from San Pedro in silence. Consuelo was in the custody of the lancers and there was nothing more for them to do. When Elizabeth told her father-in-law about Diego's concussion and the luck of finding the healer, the senior de la Vega clammed up and spent most of the journey lost in his own thoughts. Elizabeth was still mad enough at him for letting his son ride away on Tornado with a bloodied head that she had nothing to say, either. A happier silence was prevailing in the curandera's little house on the hill above San Pedro. Bernardo, dispatched by Elizabeth, climbed the hill with his horse to retrieve Diego's clothing. He encountered Felipe on his approach. The boy latched onto him. Despite Bernardo's signals that he could not hear nor speak, the servant was entertained with Felipe's excited rendition of how El Zorro had appeared in the town the night before, took ill, and had spent the night at the curandera's house. Then he had left that morning with the pretty seņora who arrived at dawn. Bernardo made no indication he could understand, but made his own mental note that here was yet another testimony to the mystery of El Zorro and the wife of young de la Vega. It would, he knew, circulate through the town and work its way to Los Angeles soon enough. Worrying over this, he knocked on Lolita's door. When she opened it, they stared at one another, instantly enchanted. He pointed at himself and indicated a tall man and then opened his coat, holding it by his fingers. "You have come for the clothing," she said. "Seņora de la Vega has sent you." He nodded. "Come in," she said. He stepped in and looked around, to see all the herbs and potions and pleasant clutter of the shack. It smelled like sweet grass and lavender. She retrieved the package and handed it to him. "Here is what they left," she said. He looked down at it, and then back at her. "You must go back to Los Angeles now, I suppose?" she asked. He nodded. "But perhaps you can stay for tea before you depart," she said, turning to her stove to start heating a kettle of water. He watched her. When she turned back to him, he smiled and nodded. "Then sit," she said, nodding at the table. "We can tell one another our dreams." He smiled again, sitting down at her table. He was unable to take his eyes off her. It was many hours and many dreams later before he began the journey home. ***** Arriving home in the mid-afternoon, Elizabeth hurried to her room to find Diego stretched out on his back, sound asleep. Usually when she came in he awoke, for he was such a light sleeper, but this time he didn't move. She removed her shawl and came toward him, and then smiled. Her dear husband was doing something he very rarely did. He was snoring lightly. "That is the sweetest sound I have ever heard," she said softly to herself. She came over to stand beside him, looking down at his handsome, relaxed face. He had changed into a white shirt and light trousers. The shirt was unbuttoned at the top and she could see his chest rising and falling as the snoring continued. "Oh, Seņor Zorro," she whispered. She felt at her neck and pulled the gold chain around it over her head. On it glistened the medallion he had given her the night before their wedding, and his wedding ring. She slid the ring off and, slipping it onto her own finger, put the chain back on. Then she reached over and ran the back of her finger down his cheek, unable to resist the impulse to touch him. His eyes opened and he looked at her standing there. "How do you feel, darling?" she asked him. "I think I have been asleep for quite a while," he answered, taking her hand and kissing the palm. "Come here and lie down with me." She got onto the bed and lay down beside him, feeling his arms come around her. "I feel much better now," he said. "Does your head still hurt?" "It hasn't hurt since I laid eyes on you this morning." "It hurt when you put your hat on, after you saw me!" she reminded him, laughing. "No, not since I saw you walk into the room," he insisted. He cuddled her for a moment. "You must be tired, sweetheart, do you want a siesta now?" "I want to lie here with you for a while," she said. He could hear the sleep creeping into her voice. "And," he asked, "did they capture Consuelo?" "She is in the Sergeant's custody," Elizabeth answered. "When we left, the rowboat was returning to the dock. Sergeant Garcia looked very green." "I cannot believe he got into the boat," Diego chuckled. "He hates the ocean." "I suppose you will have to go into the pueblo tonight and find out what they are going to do to Consuelo. Oh, Diego, all that money!" "It was quite a sight," he said, "all those pesos flying through the air. Now there will be a rash of people trying to dive into the deeps to retrieve it. It's very deep water, I hope no one drowns." He kissed her neck. "Don't you want to go into the pueblo with me?" he asked. "It is getting to be less and less acceptable for me to go anywhere. The stares I got in San Pedro today have taught me that going out in public is unsettling to people. Why are men so nervous around this?" "We are in awe, my love," Diego said, nuzzling her neck again. "It renders us so powerless that the only way we can get on with our daily lives is to pretend it does not exist. And the only way we can do that is to keep you out of sight." He continued to kiss her. "Darling I'm sleepy right now," she told him. "It was a long ride..." "All right," he said, pulling his face away from hers after kissing her on the forehead. "You sleep, I will find my Father and go into the pueblo for the news about Consuelo." Somewhat reluctantly he got up, reaching for his tie. "Diego," she said. "What, darling?" She summoned him with her finger, and he came back over to her. She took his hand, slipped his wedding ring back onto his finger, and kissed it. "Oh, now you are really making me regret the decision to go into town," he said, kissing her gently. "I shall never take it off again, for the rest of my life," he said. Now, she sighed. "What?" he asked. There was no point in bringing any of it up again. She had heard the finality in his voice this morning. If he were pledging never to take off the ring again, he had not reconsidered. She was relieved he was home and was acting like himself again. Perhaps she could get used to a world without El Zorro. "Never mind," she said. "I must sleep. Come home with a good story." "I shall try," he answered. "I trust I will be able to report that Consuelo is either jailed or otherwise chastised for her mischief. They will need to protect her from Don Francisco!" Pulling on his coat and running his fingers through his hair, he looked over at her where she lay. Her eyes were already closed. He had learned by now that carrying the baby tired her out, and she had barely slept the night before. He came back over to her and kissed her cheek. "I love you," he told her. "I am so glad you found me this morning." "I love you," she replied softly, not opening her eyes. "And I would have looked for you all the way to the ends of the earth." He smiled. She would have. Chapter Nine The Moonlight Garden Alejandro joined Diego for the ride into the pueblo, sharing his son's curiosity about Consuelo's fate after being retrieved from the Maria Cruz. It was on this journey that he confessed his overwhelming guilt about letting his son ride away with a concussion, as well as the trick he and Bernardo had played. Diego was touched by his father's obvious remorse, and held nothing against him. By now he understood how opposed they all were to his decision. "Where is Bernardo?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "I don't know," Alejandro answered, suddenly puzzled. "Elizabeth sent him to that curandera's house to get the clothes you left there..." "Si, I told her to do that..." "And I have not seen him since. He should have been back some time ago. How long can it take to retrieve a bag of clothing?" Diego shrugged. "Perhaps he was there and we missed him." As they approached the pueblo, they saw that the gates to the cuartel were open. The lancers were back. "It will be interesting to see who is in the jail," Alejandro said as they rode towards the open gate. Garcia strolled out, and saw them coming. "Don Alejandro, Don Diego!" he greeted them. "Sergeant, you are home," Diego said, dismounting and walking to his friend. Alejandro joined them. "Tell us what happened in San Pedro," Alejandro said. Peering around he could not tell that anyone other than the usual set of loiterers were in the cuartel jail. "I will, but first I must ask, Don Diego, if you are all right?" "Si, Sergeant, why do you ask?" Garcia looked at Alejandro, and then at Diego again. "Why, because Seņor Zorro appeared in San Pedro this morning with Seņora Elizabeth, who had been looking for you!" "Ah!" Diego said. "Yes, she told me she saw him this morning. There was quite a mix-up, you see. She and my father thought I was in San Pedro, but I was here all along!" Garcia nodded. "And you did not see Seņor Zorro?" he asked. "No, of course not. How could I, if I was here and he was there?" Diego asked. "That is a good point," Garcia agreed. "I will tell the two of you, I was very happy to see him, even though I should have tried to arrest him. It made me hope he will not return to Monterey forever." "How does everyone know he has moved to Monterey?" Diego asked. "Well, except for his appearance this morning he is never here. So he must be there!" Garcia said. "Everyone knows he likes Monterey. Besides, he told me he was only here temporarily. That was his word. 'Temporarily.'" "Ah," Diego nodded. "Sergeant, what happened?" Alejandro asked again. "Did you find Consuelo Perez and return her to her uncle?" "Father," Diego interceded, "perhaps we should invite the Sergeant to the Tavern to tell us his tale. I have a feeling it may be a long one." "Ah, Don Diego...." Garcia began gratefully. Alejandro nodded and waved them towards the Tavern. Once they were there they sat at a table and he ordered wine. Garcia began his tale of excitement and disaster on the Maria Cruz. "All twenty thousand to the bottom of the sea?" Alejandro said, when the story was nearly at its end. "I could not tell from where I was watching on shore if perhaps you had saved some of the money from this fate." "Si," Garcia said sadly. "All twenty thousand. We watched them hit the water and sink. One, by one, by one. It was a terrible thing." "And did the Capitan throw Consuelo overboard after Zorro left?" Diego asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. "He nearly did, but we restrained him. We brought her back with us and took her to Don Francisco." Alejandro winced. "Si," Garcia said. "She will be washing dishes at the Bocca hacienda for many years, I fear. Dona Leonora was quite put out, between the pesos and discovering that Consuelo is still..." he gulped. "Unmarried." "I think you managed to dodge a bullet there, Sergeant," Alejandro observed. "Oh, si," Garcia said. Then he smiled. "And Seņorita Clementia, she was very kind to me." Diego perked up at seeing the look on the Sergeant's face. "Clementia, eh?" he said, his eyebrows rising. "Perhaps you let yourself become enamored of the wrong cousin, Sergeant?" Garcia smiled sheepishly, nearly blushing. "Perhaps, Don Diego." He took his last drink of wine from the glass and looked about. "I believe I must go on a long patrol now," he said. "Since Seņor Zorro has returned, we may want to be a little more vigilant. At least that is what they will ask me...if they ever come to see me again. The army..." he shook his head. "You are a fine acting commandante, Sergeant," Alejandro said. "And I do not think Seņor Zorro will cause you more trouble," Diego assured him. "Perhaps he is already on his way back to Monterey." "I still wonder how he knew where the Seņorita was," Garcia mused. He looked at the two of them. "He knows many things, that Zorro," he said. With that, he rose and excused himself, leaving them sitting at the table. "That is uncharacteristic," Diego observed. "He didn't stay here, he didn't order another drink. He wants to go on patrol? What has gotten into him?" "Perhaps he wants to go on patrol in the neighborhood of the Bocca rancho," Alejandro smiled. Diego laughed, nodding, and poured his father another glass of wine. It was not long thereafter that Diego excused himself, saying he needed to ride home and do some thinking along the way. Alejandro raised his glass to his son and said, "You cannot disappoint me, Diego. But I am not the person you must consider." ***** Diego rode home slowly, turning everything over in his mind. At the point in the road where he should go towards the main entrance to the rancho, he veered instead to the left. It was the path that led to the entrance to the box canyon, beyond which was Tornado's cave. ***** After her siesta, Elizabeth arose to a quiet, empty house except for a few servants. She decided to take a long walk, by the duck pond east of the house. Then she made her way around to the west and strolled slowly through her garden. How can so much have happened in only ten months? she asked herself. How can it be that a year ago I was on a ship from Boston, traveling around Cape Horn on waves the size of mountains with my father and a few trunks? How can it be that a year later I am married to the finest man in California and carry his child inside me? She thought about all that had happened. Falling in love with El Zorro. The arranged marriage. How disastrous it all had seemed. The stunning moment when he revealed himself at the little mountain cabin. The magic that followed. The trip to Monterey, the kidnaps, the near-rape, and then those soft, grey mornings holding his hand and walking with him on wet sand. This little baby doing her tiny somersaults deep inside. I am going to be a mother, she thought. She thought of her own mother. As she did so many times, she looked to the skies and asked for Catherine Sullivan Matteo's wisdom. Oh, Mommie, she thought, how can it be? You were right when you told me to trust him. But now...he is giving up some part of himself for me...for us...that I cannot accept. Yet I must accept it. It is his decision. He is right about it. And yet he is wrong...and she found herself on the verge of tears as she headed slowly towards the stable. Diego, oh Diego. El Zorro. Zorro. He would tell me it is all the same, Mommie. But it isn't. Tears welled up into her eyes, thinking about how he had looked, lying there on the curandera's bed. Riding away on the great black horse, his cape fluttering behind him. "Oh, my," she said aloud, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent a sob from coming out. "Living with you is so hard, but how can I live without you?" ***** It was twilight. He found her in the stable beside Blanca's stall, weeping. He stood there in the doorway for a moment, watching her as she sat on a hay bale with her head in her hands, her beautiful hair falling around her face. He wanted to run to her, pull her into his arms, comfort her. Instead, he approached slowly, so silently that she didn't hear him. "Seņora," he said gently. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. El Zorro stood before her. "Oh," she said softly. She put her hand over her mouth to stiffle a sob. "I suppose you have come to say a last goodbye to me." He only smiled at her, offering his gloved hand. She looked at it, and then up into his hazel eyes behind the mask. Despite the tears, he could see the beautiful sea in hers. He made a summoning gesture with his fingers. She reached up and took his hand. He led her quietly through the stable yard and out to her garden plot at the foot of the grassy hill. Tornado followed them at a distance. El Zorro stopped, still holding on to her hand. Half a dozen low bushes were at their feet, planted that morning. "They are gardenias," Elizabeth said, her eyes down on the plants. "I have decided to make this a moonlight garden." "Moonlight garden?" El Zorro said, pulling his glove off and lifting her chin with his finger so that she looked at him. She blinked, the tears still coming. He put his arm around her and she pressed her cheek against the silky black shirt he wore. "All white flowers," she tried to say. "I have never heard of that," he said, putting his lips in her hair. "It sounds very beautiful." He felt another sob well up in her chest, making her shake. He put his arms around her completely, pulling her against him. He began to sway slowly as he held her. "I cannot possibly say goodbye to you," she said softly, moving with him. "You do not have to, Seņora," he said. "I will always watch over you. Did I not promise you that once?" "Si," she said. "You did." "I meant it then and I mean it now." "But how can you watch over me if you do not exist?" she asked. "Sweet Liz," he whispered in her ear. "How can El Zorro leave his beloved, and his little fox-kitten?" "He can't," she said mournfully. "That is right," he said. "He can't." He kissed her head gently. She raised her face to look into his. "The people," she said. "They need El Zorro too...not just a memory of him, not just a legend." He nodded at her, a half-smile forming on his lips. She stopped, staring up at him. "No matter what we choose, my love, danger lies ahead," he told her. "Danger for us all. But I have gone on a long ride tonight. Perhaps that hit on the head did me some good, in the end." He hugged her against him, pressing her head into his shoulder. "If are truly ready to continue with El Zorro in your heart...." he smiled a little wider, "and in the secret passages in your house...and in the pueblo and across the arroyos..." he smiled more broadly still, his face lowering to hers, "...he will not resist your will. He never could, Seņora." "Are you...saying you will continue?" she asked him, the tears still in her voice. He nodded. "Si. Unless the day comes when you say to me, 'No more.'" He laughed softly. "Or until the day when Seņor Zorro is no longer needed. Whichever comes first!" Her arms came up around his neck and they kissed deeply. "I am yours forever," she said. "And I am yours, Seņora, until the end of time," he said. With that El Zorro kissed his beloved in her new moonlight garden yet again. She kissed him back, her tears springing up anew. ***** On the hilltop above Elizabeth's garden and the de la Vega hacienda, where the live oaks grove stood, Sergeant Demetrio Lopez Garcia sat on his big brown horse staring down at this scene with El Zorro and Senora de la Vega. His mouth was wide open. He could not hear what they were saying, but he could see what they were doing. He had come into the night for some air, to ponder his newly discovered feelings for Clementia. He liked this spot above the de la Vega place, it provided such a pleasant vista, for watching the sunset. Little had he expected, as the twilight set in, to witness Zorro himself leading Don Diego's wife out of the stable and into the little garden the Seņora appeared to be planting. At first he simply could not believe his eyes, and had kept rubbing them thinking that at last he had drunk one too many glasses of wine. But as the scene unfolded, Garcia realized what was happening. It is all true, he kept thinking to himself. However, and whyever, she did it, Don Diego's wife was El Zorro's consort. And the baby....Garcia saw the way the bandito held the Seņora. There could be no doubt. The baby was his, and El Zorro knew it. Now, Garcia watched Zorro lift the pretty Seņora up into his arms and carry her to his tall black horse in the shadows. Garcia knew he should hurry down the hill and arrest the bandit. He knew that poor Don Diego was back at the Tavern unaware of the famous visitor at Rancho de la Vega. He knew that if he interceded, he could be responsible for exposing everything and breaking Don Diego's heart. He knew that if he did nothing, he became a conspirator in the hidden life of Elizabeth de la Vega, and a keeper of the secret of Zorro. Yet as he watched El Zorro gently put the Seņora on his horse and then climb up to sit behind her, Sergeant Garcia could not bring himself to do his duty and make his arrest. Whether Don Diego really knew or not was not his business. He vowed, then and there, never again to speak of any of it to his friend or to anyone else. What he could see, undeniably and from many yards away, was the open passion and deep devotion between the Seņora and El Zorro. The marriage to Don Diego had, after all, been arranged. And who could say what was at the heart of any marriage? In a world where one is "always choosing between hard choices," as the Sergeant liked to say, he felt he somehow owed this to El Zorro. Don Diego was his friend, of course, and always would be. But Zorro had bailed the Sergeant out more times than he could count. It was also well known that the Fox had devoted himself to Elizabeth Matteo before the marriage to Don Diego had been arranged. Perhaps, the Sergeant speculated, the rescue from Diablo and their day at the little mountain cabin last September had simply presented an opportunity that neither the Seņora nor the Fox could resist. He sighed. In some matters, even the magnificent El Zorro was only a man. Garcia watched as they disappeared down the road. He nudged his horse's sides with his heels, leaning the reins against the gelding's neck to steer him in the direction of Rancho Bocca. He suddenly looked forward to seeing Clementia. ***** The months that followed were merciful in their quiet. To the amusement of everyone in the pueblo, Sergeant Garcia began a delicate courtship of Clementia Bocca. Consuelo lurked in various corners and tried several times, unsuccessfully, to sneak off. The Sergeant's girth began to shrink a little, and he was seen more frequently with a clean shave. Clementia was proving to be of good influence. The rains came and went. On the mornings after they blew over Diego would take Elizabeth on slow rides along the road, where they would breath in the clean, cool air and gaze at the snow-capped mountains towering to the north and east of the pueblo. Elizabeth's night terrors subsided entirely. As Elena had promised, her belly grew. The baby began to move and kick with more and more vigor, causing the couple to laugh uproariously at times. Late at night after they retired Diego would sometimes let his cigar burn out and then place it on Elizabeth's belly until the baby's movement knocked it off. Once in a while he would produce Zorro's hat and leave it on Elizabeth's stomach until the baby made it shake. They swore up and down that it had to be Zorro's child because the hat fit so well. The rumors that Zorro had moved to Monterey persisted, though no one could quite pinpoint where they came from. Reports of his appearances there, on moonlit nights, would occasionally filter down the Camino Real. It was of course coincidence that the de la Vega servant, Bernardo, was on errands to the capital at just the time El Zorro's appearances in central California were reported. As the winter passed, the young de la Vegas comforted one another, walked the ranch together, anticipated the new life to come, bickered cheerfully over possible names, and kept tenderly to themselves. Diego began to believe that, having decided to keep El Zorro, his wish for the diminished necessity of his alter ego was finally coming true. This was a welcome thought as he watched Elizabeth's changing shape testify to the growth and looming arrival of their baby. Ever cautious, however, he increased his time spent in the pueblo as the early California spring began, listening for what was stirring up in the countryside and among the soldiers. His experience told him that springtime usually inspired new activities and injustices among the people, which in turn summoned up the need for Zorro. It was in mid-April, as Elizabeth approached the final month of her pregnancy, that events transpired which guaranteed that his respite from El Zorro was at an end.