The Secret of Zorro
The Kitten and the Fox
Chapters Five and Six
by Ella Christian @1999-2001
Contact author at EllaChristian@aol.com

Chapter Five - Fidelis

After that dawn, two things changed for the young de la Vegas. One was that they abandoned their quarters on the west side of the house and permanently took Diego's old room overlooking the courtyard. Every night Elizabeth gladly climbed into bed and fell asleep in her husband's strong, willing arms. They awoke most mornings at dawn and made love gently, as Diego tried to learn her needs and lead her to a place of trusting and desiring him more fully. Their ease together increased noticeably to everyone in the household, their formality and strain giving way to playful affection. Diego summed it up one afternoon to Bernardo by noting that falling off that staircase was the best thing that ever happened to him and he didn't know why he didn't get drunk more often. This did not set well with Bernardo, who despite his silence let Diego know he didn't think that was funny. What will happen with Zorro? he then asked his master through signs.

Diego shrugged. "He's in retirement."

Bernardo pointed out into the landscape and with a broad sweep indicated all the people, then made the sign of the "Z". 

"Surely justice can prevail for a while without Zorro!" Diego said, though he knew deep down that Zorro's absence was increasingly being felt across the land. 

The other change for Diego and Elizabeth was that, as with all other Californians, Zorro seemed to disappear from their lives. She no longer wandered alone up to the grassy hillside looking plaintively across the vista, lost in her own thoughts. Instead, she took up an active role in the household, planning meals, supervising shopping expeditions, inviting neighbors for dinner, overseeing repair work around the hacienda, and gardening. She began playing chess with Alejandro and proved to be a capable foe, and she tried to get Diego to teach her some of his magic tricks. 

Sitting in the courtyard one evening, Diego and his father were having a cigar and started a chess game. Elizabeth had excused herself to go cut flowers from the overgrown and bedraggled beds she was trying to salvage and revive to the west of the house.

"I see that Elizabeth is attempting to bring your mother's flower gardens back to life!" Alejandro remarked, after making his first move. He glanced at his son. " Things seem better between you two." 

Diego made a move quickly, and said "ouch" as he felt a sharp pain in his side. The broken ribs still gave him trouble sometimes. "They are," he replied to his father's latter comment. 

Alejandro made his second move. "You nearly lost your luck that night," he said. "What went wrong?"

Diego studied the chessboard, and made another move. "Even Zorro can have a bad night," he said.

"Bernardo told me you'd been drinking."

Diego folded his arms. "When Diego has a bad night, Zorro has a bad night," he said. "It won't happen again, Father."

"Well, it better not," Alejandro said, moving another chess piece and taking one of Diego's knights.

Diego raised an eyebrow, his game plan foiled. He studied the board, replotting his strategy.

"It's your move," his father said.

"I know, I know," he said, moving a bishop.

"Oh, Diego, concentrate!" His father fumed, moving a bishop of his own. "Check!"

Diego countered, moving a pawn in the way of the bishop's attack. 

"Zorro's rest can't last forever," Alejandro said. Diego looked at him sharply. "Diablo is starting to rob the stages again."

"I thought you didn't want me out on Tornado," Diego said.

"I don't! You can barely play a game of chess, much less outsmart a bandit!" his father answered, moving another knight.

Diego took the knight with a rook. "Now who isn't concentrating?" he asked.

"You!" Alejandro said, moving his queen into position. "Checkmate!"

Diego stared at the board, realizing his wily father had trapped and strangled him in six moves. He sighed, chewing on his cigar. "You win."

"Yes, and my prize is for you to listen to me! You aren't ready to go out there again yet, but you've got to begin preparing. I know it's been good for your marriage to be home so much, I can't imagine what that girl thought, with you out every night! Cutting Z's in the lancers' pants!"

Diego chuckled, and said, "You're the one who told me not to tell her."

"Well of course you can't tell her! Women cannot keep secrets."

"I believe this one can," Diego said thoughtfully, seeing Elizabeth enter the gate carrying a basket of wild roses. He stood up and walked over to her. "Beautiful," he said, as she held a rose up to him and he smelled it. She gave one to her father-in-law as well.

"I'll put the rest inside," she said, casting a summoning gaze at Diego and leaving them.

"It is nice to have a woman's touch in the household again," Alejandro said. "Though it makes me miss your mother."

"Si," Diego agreed, his eyes following his wife. "Will you excuse me, Father? It's getting late."

"Oh, go," Alejandro waved dismissively. He remembered being young, even if he was no longer.

***

That night, Diego lay in bed trying to listen as Elizabeth chattered on about her day, more talkative than usual. He was tired, having ridden his gelding for the first time since his accident, and he wanted her to stop talking and simply come to him. Instead, as he unbuttoned her dress and then watched from the bed, she took the dress off, put on her gown, folded the dress, and laid it carefully on the chair, all the while talking on about what she had bought at the market, who she had seen in town, and what the latest gossip was. For the first time, he simply dozed off as she talked. He was, after all, only human.

"Diego!" he heard her say, and felt her shove his bad shoulder lightly.

"Ow!" he snapped awake. "Ow," he rubbed the shoulder. "What was that for?"

"You fell asleep on me!" she exclaimed, climbing into the bed.

"I'm sorry, darling, I'm just so tired," he said. "Why did you have to do that?"

"Am I such a bore?"

"No, no," he said, but she was climbing back out of the bed. "Oh, no," he said, more to himself than to her. He was simply not equipped at times for her moods. "Come back," he said. 

"I'm going outside," she said. 

"Why?" he asked, also getting up. "I'm coming with you."

"No you're not," she said.

"Yes, I am," he said, leaning against the bedpost, watching her pull her robe around her.

"Don't you dare follow me," she said, heading for the door. Diego jumped in front of her, pleased to find he could make the move quickly with little pain.

"You're not leaving," he said. 

"Yes I am."

He shook his head, leaning against the door. "I'm bigger than you and I'm not letting you out."

"Then go back to sleep!" she pouted, sitting down on the chair.

He shook his head again, and took her by the hand. "I'm awake now," he said.

She got up, marched past him, crawled into the bed and blew out the candle. "Then I'm going to sleep," she said, flopping back and burying herself under the covers.

He shook his head, laughing under his breath, and got into bed, too. He lay on his side a moment, considering the inert lump beside him. Then he slowly slid his hand under the cover, found her side, and started tickling her.

"Ow! No!" she yelped, pushing him away and laughing. "Ow!" she pushed again, without success.

"Ah, she's very ticklish," he said, holding her down and continuing. Laughing and trying to wrestle with him, she tried to tickle him back, but he was too strong and had her pinned.

"Give," he said softly.

"Never," she said. "Oh, help," she laughed, getting her breath. "Ow, ow, help! Where is Zorro when you need him?" 

Diego let go of her instantly, and she regretted the words but could not unsay them. He lay back in the bed, his hands behind his head, looking at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry," she said, "Diego, it just slipped out..."

He looked at her oddly, and not in hurt. The look made her feel only his annoyance, his sense that it was high time she give it up completely. "Goodnight," he said, and turned his back on her. It was the first night since their intimacies began that, although they shared the bed, they each slept very much alone.

***

When she awoke the next morning, he was already gone. She dressed and went downstairs, but no one had seen Diego. She went to the stable, to see that his bay gelding was still in his stall, dozing. She went back to the house, to find Don Alejandro in the courtyard having his morning coffee.

"Father, have you seen Diego?"

"No, not this morning, I assumed he was with you."

"He was gone when I got up. Is Bernardo around?"

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him either," Don Alejandro said. Then his eyebrows raised and he cursed.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, alarmed.

Alejandro caught himself, and said, "Oh, I forgot about something I need to do."

"Well, I need to go into town, maybe Diego is there," Elizabeth said.

"Good idea," Alejandro said, heading towards the house. "I'll look for him here on the ranch."

Elizabeth headed back to the stable to saddle her mare. Don Alejandro went into the sitting room and, making sure no one was looking, opened the secret door into the back passageways that led to Zorro's cave. As he passed through, he noticed that the black cape, mask, and hat, and Zorro's sword, were nowhere to be seen. Cursing again, he hurried down the stairs, and on reaching the cave found that Tornado was gone. He cursed yet again, and went out the cave's passageway into the open air. The small corral next to the entranceway was hidden by a wall of choked weeds and vines, which he pushed through messily and noisily. Finally on the other side, he saw Bernardo standing in the ring, watching Zorro on the horse's back. Tornado was jittery and dancing, having been without his usual rider for over three weeks. Alejandro marched to the middle of the ring and began.

"Down! Now!" he said to his son.

"You can't have it both ways," said Diego, trying to calm the horse and keep his breath as pain shot through his ribs.

"Diego, for God's sake, this is too soon!"

"I'm just testing to see what's possible," came the reply, as Tornado finally stood still. "I'm going to pay a little call on the Sergeant and see what he knows about Diablo's whereabouts and when the next stage is due."

"Don't ride that horse all the way to Los Angeles!" Alejandro cried.

"You think I should walk?"

Bernardo snorted in spite of himself.

"This isn't funny!" Alejandro said to him. "Give it another week, Diego. Please."

Diego gave Tornado a kick, and the horse rose up on his back legs, pawing the air, then came back down. 

"That didn't hurt a bit," Diego said.

"You, or the horse?" Alejandro asked.

"Me! Adios, father, it's time for Zorro to ride again." He kicked Tornado again, and the horse leaped towards the fence and in a great bound went over it and into the woods, his hooves pounding away into the distance. Then Alejandro cursed again. 

Bernardo looked at him, gesturing "what?"

"Elizabeth is on that road, on her way to town in search of Diego!" he said.

Bernardo pointed at himself and then made a riding gesture, asking if Alejandro wanted him to follow.

"Yes, you had better," Alejandro said. "Zorro is in for a surprise."

***

As Tornado raced along the road, his rider was finding himself very much back at home in the saddle. The ribs were painful, still, but he found no problem in controlling the horse or staying on. He spurred his horse harder, and picked up even more speed. His mind was working over how he would enter the pueblo, given that it was broad daylight. It was likely that Sgt Garcia was in the Tavern, so he resolved to hide Tornado in the small shed outside the pueblo walls and slip into the Tavern through the back door. How he would get the Sergeant's attention after that would depend on who was in the Tavern at the time.

Lost in these thoughts, he came up on Elizabeth cantering on her grey mare quite suddenly, and bore past them nearly before he realized who it was. Against his better judgement, he reined Tornado in and turned around to see her cantering towards him.

She, completely surprised to be overtaken by a hurried rider, was shocked to see who it was. "Zorro!" she said, riding up to him.

"Senora," he said, nodding.

"What are you...?"

"I'm sorry if I startled you," he interrupted. "I cannot stop for long. But I warn you, as I have before, that travelling these roads alone is dangerous. You should wait until your husband can do this with you."

"I'm looking for my husband," she said. 

Zorro frowned. "He's lost?"

"No, at least I don't think so. I just don't know where he is and I need to find him."

"Well, senora, if I see him I will send him home to you." He turned the horse to leave.

"Zorro!" she cried. He looked back. She stared at him, and felt her heart leaping. 

"Your servant is coming," he said to her, indicating Bernardo who had just appeared on a rise in the distance, riding his horse. "He'll see you home."

"But I have to go into town," she said. "Diego might be there."

"Don't go into town right now," Zorro warned. He paused, and then said, "the last time you were there when I was, you did a very foolish thing, but you also saved my life. Thank you, senora," and with that, he whirled around and kicked the horse, racing away.

"You're welcome," Elizabeth said, a lump forming in her throat as she watched him disappear over a rise. However, she made herself concentrate on her purpose.

Bernardo rode up. She gestured to him that they needed to go on into town. He shook his head and pointed back to the ranch. She insisted. So did he. 

"Diego!" she said in exasperation, holding her hand above her head to indicate tall. She pointed at her wedding ring. "I need to find Diego," she made a searching look, her hand over her eyebrow.

Bernardo smiled and nodded, pointing back at the ranch.

"He's there?" she asked, pointing at the ranch and again holding her hand above her head.

Bernardo shrugged.

"Well is he there or not?" Elizabeth cried. 

Bernardo pointed at the ranch again. 

Elizabeth looked back towards town, the way Zorro had gone. She looked the other way, towards the ranch. "All right, Bernardo," she said, turning her horse towards home. "He'd better be there."

Bernardo looked over his shoulder as she headed away ahead of him, and as he expected, Zorro was sitting on his horse up the hillside, watching. Tornado raised up on his back legs, and Zorro smiled and waved at Bernardo, who gave a thumb's up signal and then went after Elizabeth.

***

When Elizabeth returned to the ranch and again could not find Diego, she roundly dressed Bernardo down for misleading her, though the argument was somewhat futile since the servant could not, as far as she knew, hear her nor defend himself. With Alejandro's help, Bernardo managed to keep her from returning to the stable to re-saddle Cloud Dancer and return to town. Elizabeth, in great exasperation, excused herself and went up to her room, saying she needed to rest.

In Los Angeles, Zorro's gamble that Sgt Garcia would have the Tavern to himself except for a sympathetic barmaid proved good. He stole in and, his sword drawn and aimed at the Sergeant's neck, had a conversation with the soldier about the whereabouts of Diablo, exactly what his movements and crimes had been since his escape from the cuartel, and what stagecoaches were due in. What he learned was more disturbing than the gossip suggested, for Diablo had not only robbed two stages, he had killed two armed bank guards in Santa Rosa and had sent word out to authorities that not only did he intend to continue his rampage, but he intended to eliminate Zorro "whenever the fox comes out of hiding." Sgt Garcia passed on this last message with a gulp. Zorro pondered it, and the Sergeant continued, "we haven't seen you in a while, Senor Zorro. Have you been...out of town?"

"You could say that," came the reply. 

"So...you're back now, and perhaps we can count on your help in stopping Diablo?"

"I'll do what I can." He backed off, and then had an afterthought. "Oh, Sergeant?"

"Si, Senor Zorro?"

"Have you seen Diego de la Vega today?"

"No, I haven't, Senor Zorro."

"Well, if you do, could you tell him his wife is looking for him?"

"Si," the Sergeant answered, puzzled.

"I have just seen her," Zorro explained. "On the road."

Garcia nodded again, wondering why on earth El Zorro would be telling him this. These were things he did not want to know.

His mission accomplished, Zorro returned the way he had come, and Sgt Garcia, with a deep sigh of relief, turned back to his wine.

***

Elizabeth waited until things had quieted in the household and then did exactly what Bernardo anticipated, which was sneak out of her room and make her way out of the hacienda. Instead of going to the stable, however, she went up to the grassy hillside above the garden where she often sat in longing for Zorro during the early days of her marriage. Bernardo watched this with a mix of alarm and relief, the latter because at least she wasn't going anywhere, the former for what it implied about her inner state concerning Zorro and Diego. The servant knew that Diego would not want to deal with another round of being his own rival.

Noting that she seemed settled in her place for the time being, the servant busied himself with various tasks and simply checked from time to time to see that she had not moved. An hour or so passed, and Diego appeared in the courtyard.

"Where's Elizabeth?" He asked Bernardo, who was watering plants. The servant indicated that she was up on the hillside. Diego shook his head, dismayed if not surprised. "That's not good," he said. Bernardo nodded in agreement. Then he pointed at Diego and at the hillside, indicating that he should go find her.

"Yes, I think I should," Diego said. "Excuse me."

He passed through the outer gate and, indeed, saw her sitting on the grass alone, looking out across the vista as she had so many mornings and evenings in the previous month. He shook his head again. This was a setback he rued, and it was going to complicate things greatly given that he knew he would have to leave occasionally to do Zorro's work at times when she would have to wonder where he was going. He leaned against a tree for a moment, watching her on the hillside and trying to think. His father's admonition not to tell her weighed on him heavily, and he knew well enough the danger she would be in to be given the secret. 

On the other hand, the charade he now played was increasingly impossible. Even in their most intimate moments he found himself holding back. He tried to please her, but he knew there was much left unspoken and undone between them. At times he sensed that she, for all her effort to make things work in the marriage, and for all of what he knew to be her genuine affection for him, was still living in the middle of a concession to the hopes and will of the three men who had made the decision for her to marry. She was his now. And yet she wasn't. 

He thought ahead, to the months and years before them, his eyes travelling back into the courtyard for a moment. This crystallized his thinking almost instantly, for he knew his charade would not hold up in the face of many years of marriage and, he hoped, the arrival of children. She had to be told, with or without Alejandro's blessing. It would be far worse if she figured it out for herself and realized he had been hiding it from her all these months. Now, if he told her directly, perhaps she would be so overjoyed that his deceit would be instantly forgivable and they could at last fully know one another.

Overwhelmed with longing, he looked up to the hillside again, to see an awful thing happening. Two strange men had come up behind Elizabeth and, grabbing her, were tying her and forcing her onto a horse. Diego shouted, and began to run towards them. The bandits saw him coming, but could see that he was much too far away to get there in time to stop them. She was already gagged, but Diego could see that she saw him. She continued to struggle, as Bernardo and Alejandro came running, responding to Diego's call. The three of them ran up the hill, only to see the bandits racing off on horseback, pulling Elizabeth along on a third horse. 

"Get Tornado!" Diego said to Bernardo, who nodded and headed back down to the house. Diego looked at his father, who only nodded at him. "Those were Diablo's men," he said.

"Yes, they seem to have figured out that Elizabeth is a way to get to Zorro," Alejandro said. "Do you think they know?" he asked.

"I think they know that Don Diego's wife is somehow of interest to Zorro," Diego said. "Excuse me, Father." With that he headed down to the house, to don his garb and set out to rescue his bride.

***

Elizabeth was taken on what seemed like a long, hard, ride, though she could not tell where they were because the bandits had blindfolded her as soon as they were sure they were clear of the ranch and anyone in pursuit. For all she knew, they had been riding in circles. But rode they did, for hours, and eventually she realized they were going into a higher elevation from the way her horse strained uphill and the scent of pine rising in the air. The San Gabriels, she thought. They had brought her across the great Valley to the north of Los Angeles and up into the mountains. Probably straight to Diablo's lair.

The air was cooling when she was yanked off the horse and fell to the ground, and led, still blindfolded, down a path in what smelled like a heavy pine forest. She could also smell water, so assumed they were near a lake. The chill continued in the air, and she knew darkness was falling. She was shoved into a building, where she fell on the floor, unable to move because of being bound. They left her there for what seemed like hours, but could have been minutes. 

She knew she was in terrible danger, that these men were murderers and were not above torturing or killing a woman if it suited their needs or desires. The hard ride had muddled her head, she had concentrated purely on remaining on the horse, but now, in the chilly blackness, she could think about her situation. Diego had seen her up on the hillside, he had appeared through the hacienda gates just after the men grabbed her. She knew, therefore, that help of some kind was on the way. But could they track the bandits, could they find her? 

It got colder, and she began to feel more deeply afraid. She could hear nothing except the scratch of pine needles on a window, the whistle of a rising wind in the trees. She lay on a dirt floor, so assumed she was in a shed of some kind. She managed to sit up, as her feet were not bound, and leaned against a post. She moved her legs around, and felt a chair with her feet. She scooted over to it and managed, with great effort, to pull herself up with her elbows on the seat of the chair, and get her feet under her. This allowed her to stand, and she walked very slowly ahead until she ran into a wall. She then inched her way around the walls to find that she was in a very small building, perhaps 9' x 12', which was empty except for two chairs and a table, plus what felt like several coiled ropes on the ground. She sat down on one of the chairs. 

It was getting colder, and she was now shivering. She still had no idea how much time had passed, when she heard a rustle outside, and then a footstep at the door. It creaked open slowly, and someone with a light step entered. She sat completely still. She felt someone behind her, and then felt hands rapidly untying the blindfold and the bandana which was tied around her mouth. She shook her head and looked around, to see that indeed she was in a small outbuilding. She tried to turn around to see who was behind her, feeling the hands again, untying the bounds around her wrists. 

"We must hurry, Senora," he said. "Every minute counts."

"Zorro!" she said, looking up at him. Without thinking she threw her arms around him and clung to him. She instantly felt as if were where she belonged. 

He held her for a moment, and then asked, "Can you walk? Are you all right?" 

She nodded. 

He let go of her, and then taking her hand he led her to the door. "Do not make a sound," he said. He pushed the door open, and led her down a path several hundred yards, where Tornado stood in a thicket. "Get on," he whispered to her, holding the stirrup. It was a stretch for her, as the horse was so tall, but with Zorro's boost she landed in the saddle, swiftly followed by the masked man, who settled behind her and nudged the horse forward out of the thicket and back onto the path. They walked slowly for another several hundred yards, keeping silent. Then Zorro urged the horse forward into a trot, and after another period of distancing, they sped up to a canter. When they reached a creek, Zorro guided the horse into the water. They walked for at least a mile up the shallow creek. Then Zorro urged the horse out of the water, and they resumed their canter along the path beside the creek. Another several miles went by, in forested darkness. Then they approached a clearing, and Zorro stopped Tornado.

"Do you need anything?" he asked her. 

"I'd like to stop," she said. "I need to go into the woods..."

He nodded, and sliding off the horse he helped her down. "I'll be right here."

She went into the woods and relieved herself, and emerged feeling considerably better.

"Do you need water?" he asked. "The creek is clean."

She bent over and took a handful of water from the stream, drinking it in. Then she sat on a rock. He stood by with the horse, waiting for her to gather herself. She looked up at him, standing there so tall and quiet, his long limbs still, awaiting her. Suddenly she felt overwhelmed. She loved him. She needed him. He had rescued her. He was the one who was here. She put her head in her hands and began to cry. He started towards her, hesitated, and then went to her and, lifting her off the rock, put his arms around her. 

"Don't cry, Senora," he said softly. "Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head. "They just dumped me in that place," she sobbed, "And left me there."

"You're safe now," he said, holding her close. "We're far enough away, they won't find you now."

"Take me home," she said, not entirely sure what she meant. 

"We're too far to get there tonight," he said, his lips in her hair, "but there's a place nearby that will be safe for the night. You'll be home tomorrow. Come, let's get back on Tornado and get you to where you can rest." 

He led her to the horse, and after helping her mount he rejoined her in the saddle. Placing one arm protectively around her, he guided the horse further for a while. She settled against him, breathing in the smell of him, it was so familiar. They came to another small clearing where they approached a cabin beyond the creek path. 

"Here," he said, dismounting and helping her down. 

She looked at the place, a one-room building with a floor, a roof and small porch. It was old and seedy-looking, but on stepping through the door she could see it was clean and the bed was made.

"Whose place is this?" she asked.

He stopped just inside the doorway. "Those friendly to you," he answered. "Rest well, Senora."

"But you're not leaving!" she cried, facing him.

"I'll be nearby," he said. 

"No, you can't go," she said, suddenly feeling desperate.

"I promise you, you'll be safe," he said. Even as he said it, he felt his heart turning. 

"Please don't leave me again," she begged, coming to him and throwing her arms around his neck. "I can't stand it." 

Zorro accepted her into his arms and held her tightly. Then, under the circumstances, he did the unthinkable. He lowered his face to hers and slowly, deeply, passionately kissed her, giving himself to her without restraint.

"Elizabeth," he said softly, imploringly.

After the kiss, wrapped in his arms, tasting him once again and hearing him say her name, she gasped, and stepped back. He stood before her, and they looked at each other, she in stunned silence, he with resignation and, in the end, relief. He unhooked his sword belt and laid it down, dropped the cape off his shoulders, took his hat off and, untying the mask at the back of his head, let it fall away.

She stared at his face, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Diego's voice, saying her name. And now what she saw before her was Diego's head on Zorro's body, in Zorro's clothing. Yet she had just been on Tornado, with Zorro. But this wasn't Zorro, this was Diego. Then it hit her. The smell of both of them was the same. The same musky scent, the touch of cologne, the cigars. They tasted the same. Diego's kisses, Zorro's kisses. The long, slow tongue. The way it felt when she lay in bed with her back against Diego's solid chest was like being pressed against Zorro's broad, warm chest when they rode Tornado together. All she had ever been aware of were the differences. Now the samenesses were tumbling like a waterfall all over her, so hard and fast that she thought she would drown. She continued to stare at him, so astonished she couldn't take it in. 

He waited. Then he said, "I wanted to tell you, but..." 

Before he could say more, she reached back and slapped his face as hard as she could. He jumped back, his hand going to his reddened cheek.

"You miserable bastard!" she cried. "You liar!" She pointed at the door. "Get out!" She came at him and shoved her hands on his chest, pushing him. "Get out!"

Diego backed out the door, staring at her in disbelief. The door slammed shut in his face. He stared at the door, and then turned and stood on the dark porch, his cheek still stinging. He then realized that he was in the black garb but without the hat or mask, without the cloak, without the sword. They were inside, with the woman who had just slugged him as hard as her open hand allowed. 

He sat down forlornly on the porch steps. Tornado stood nearby, grazing. He wandered over to Diego and whinnied softly.

"Not the reaction I expected," Diego told the horse. Tornado snorted. "Yes, I guess it was stupid," Diego said. The horse snorted again. "You don't have to rub it in," he said, getting up to remove Tornado's saddle. "What do I do now?" he asked, pulling the bridle away as well.

Tornado reared up on his hind legs and then cantered into the pine trees.

"Run?" Diego asked, as he watched the horse disappear. He looked back into the cabin, to see that Elizabeth had thrown herself onto the bed and was crying herself to sleep. He tried the door, to find it bolted shut. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.



Chapter Six - Habenum et Tenendum

At dawn, Diego slipped into the house through a rear window to retrieve his mask, hat, cloak and sword. Elizabeth was lying on the bed asleep, still fully clothed. He took his cape and spread it over her gently. Then he went back out the window, and sufficiently far from the house, whistled for Tornado. Tossing on the bridle but foregoing the saddle, he mounted his horse and rode some distance to find food in a lakeside house. He silently took bread and eggs while the occupants slept upstairs. Though tempted, he left no mark to indicate who had helped himself to their produce. Better to let them wonder, and better not to give any clues to Diablo.

The sun was rising when he returned to the cabin, where he saw the door open and Elizabeth sitting on the porch, still wrapped in his cloak. 

"I thought you'd abandoned me," she said. Her eyes were red and swollen.

"No," he said, sliding off Tornado and holding up the bread and eggs. "I went to get you some food." He walked past her and into the cabin, thinking, this is going well.

She followed him in, and sat glumly at the table. He removed his hat and the mask, looking at her. 

"Elizabeth..." he said.

"Don't!" she said, holding up her hand. "Don't speak!"

He put his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender, and turned to the task of starting the fire in the woodstove. She sat there watching as he moved lightly around the stove, stoking the fire, stirring the eggs in the skillet, slicing the bread. Finally he put two full plates on the table, and sat down across from her.

"You haven't eaten since yesterday morning," he said, gesturing at her plate. She didn't move. He took a bite and said, "Good!"

She stood up and dumped her plate of eggs in his lap, and walked back out the door, leaving the cape in a heap on the floor.

Not going so well, he thought. He picked the eggs off his pants, scooped two more mouthfuls of eggs down, took a bite of bread, and went out after her. She was standing at the edge of the creek, her arms folded, staring at the water. As he came closer he could see that she was again crying.

"Oh, Elizabeth," he said, coming close but afraid to try to touch her. He reached for his handkerchief and offered it, but she shoved it away.

"I feel so stupid!" she sobbed. "I don't know who you are! Look at you!" She kicked the stones in front of her, shooting them into the stream. "We've been together nearly every day for two months!" she cried. "You liar! You deceiver!"

He started to take her by the arms and she yanked away. "Don't!" she cried. "Don't!"

He backed away again, and said, "Don't you understand how dangerous it is, for you to know this? Don't you think I wanted to tell you?"

"I married Diego de la Vega," she wept, "and I've spent weeks trying to put Zorro out of my mind..." she looked at his face for the first time since she slapped him. "And it was you all along, but...you never let me know..." She broke down sobbing, "...who I was with..."

He came towards her again, and again she recoiled. "You're not the person who can comfort me!" she exclaimed.

"Well what do you want me to do?" he snapped. "Change clothes?"

This only made her cry harder, and made him feel worse and more helpless. She turned her back on him, they stood there several feet apart. He took a step closer.

"Listen to me," he said. "I..." he stopped. In the end, what could he say? He had held back the full truth of who he was from the beginning, and had continued to withhold it even as their marriage began to find its footing. All he could do now was admit it to her and throw himself at her mercy. "Elizabeth," he said, "I have loved you from the moment I first saw you," he started. "And I have tried to love you with all of who I am, I do love you with all of who I am. Do you remember the first night I came into your room? As Zorro?"

She nodded, her back still to him. At least she was listening.

"Do you remember when I was about to leave, and you came after me?"

She nodded, sniffling, remembering their brief embrace and their first kiss.

"My heart stopped when I kissed you," he said softly. " I knew at that moment that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And, do you remember the night I came into your room, in your new hacienda? The night I told you we could never see one another again?"

"Yes," she said, "I couldn't bear it."

"Neither could I," he said, his voice nearly breaking. "I wanted to die." It caused her to turn around and look at him, standing before her in the bright morning sun. "But that night," he said, "I believed that the only way we could be together was if Zorro went out of your life. Our fathers had already agreed on the marriage. I had to win you, as Diego. I couldn't tell you about Zorro, I couldn't run the risk..."

"But you let me marry a man who kept his life a secret," she said bitterly.

"Part of his life," Diego said. "But these weeks with you..." He took her hand, and she let him. "I did deceive you," he said. "For your protection, and because my father exacted a promise from me, but I did it. I hope someday that you can forgive me. But now, you know." He pulled her hand to his chest. "Now there's nothing between us." He dropped to one knee. "Marry me, Elizabeth de la Vega," he said. "Marry all of me."

It finally struck her as funny, to see him in broad daylight in his black shirt and trousers, half-Diego and half-Zorro, on his knee and begging her. A laugh bolted out of her even as she suppressed it. "Look at the great Zorro now," she said.

"Humbled," he admitted. "But desperate for your love, if you will still have him."

"Get up, Diego," she said, "or Zorro, or whoever you are."

He stood up, still holding her hand, his eyes not leaving hers. "I am sorry," he said sincerely.

She pulled her hand away, shook her head, and wiped her tear-streaked face. "I don't know what to think," she said. "The one man I love has just proposed to me, and if I accept him I don't know if I will have one husband or two."

He reached over and touched her tear streaks. "One husband," he said softly. "One husband who needs you more than he can ever say." 

She stood in silence, waiting to see which way her heart would turn. He waited for the answer as well.

She bowed her head and leaned into him, and they embraced at last, standing by the rippling creek. Then Diego lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the cabin, laid her on the rumpled bed, and kissed her deeply. The fire that had been so suppressed and smoldering for many weeks rose up in him and he seemed to pour across her like molten lava. As Elizabeth's arms came around him, her hands running across the black shirt, she felt the change in him. He was open, demanding, it was as if he were starving for her and holding nothing back inside himself. His hands were everywhere, and he was saying "I love you" over and over, his mouth on her eyes, her lips, her cheeks, her neck. They lay there kissing for some time as the sun rose higher, light pouring in from the side window.

Finally she said what she had never said. "I love you, Diego, I love you," she whispered into his ear.

It caused him to stop kissing her and pull her tightly into his arms. "Say it again," he said softly.

"I love you, Diego," she said, hugging him back.

"Oh, Lord," he said, tears in his voice, "I was so afraid I would never hear you say those words to me."

She hugged him tighter, kissing his cheek. "Diego, I love you," she said. "I love you." 

He kissed her again, he could not get enough of her mouth, her lips, her tongue. He reached behind him and loosed the black sash around his waist. She pulled it away with him..

"I think I especially hate all your buttons this morning," he said to her, his fingers at her back.

"And we can't just rip it off, I have no other dress here!" she laughed.

"Turn around, let me get this done," he said, and she rolled onto her side and lay there while he unhooked the tiny loops. He paused to kiss the back of her neck every few hooks. "Get up," he said, when he was finished. She sat up and he pulled her to her feet and yanked the dress over her head in one motion, then pulled her slip over her head as well. He looked her up and down. In a sudden moment of recognition, Elizabeth thought of the first night they'd encountered one another on the dark de la Vega road, and the way his dark eyes looked her up and down behind the mask.

"That was what you were doing," she said, smiling.

He frowned. "What? When?" he asked as he pulled his shirt off.

"The night you and Tornado knocked me down. I remember you looking at me from head to toe once I was back on my feet. I remember feeling like you were trying to see through my clothes."

"Oh yes," he said, taking her into his arms. "Definitely."

"What we've been missing," he said, lifting her off her feet and carrying her the few steps to the bed. Then he stopped and looked to his left, at the door. "Wait a minute," he said. He put her back down.

"What?"

"Put your dress back on," he told her, reaching for it where it lay on the floor.

"Why?" she asked. "I take my clothes off and you're always telling me to put them back on!"

"Just do it, sweetheart," he said. She could hear some mischief in his voice.

"What are you up to?" she asked, putting her slip on and stepping into her dress.

He said nothing, and to her amazement put his shirt back on as well. "Go out onto the porch," he told her. "Don't worry about your buttons, just go on out." He waved her to the door.

Completely baffled, she did as he instructed. The morning was warming up and a breeze met her face as she exited. Everything outside shimmered, and she could hear the wind whispering in the pine trees surrounding the house. She heard him moving about inside, even to the point where she could hear his footsteps and knew he had put his boots on. Mystified, she waited, for several more minutes, and finally sat on the porch steps to let the sun warm her face. She could hear nothing at all from inside the cabin.

Then from behind the house, she heard a whistle, and after that the sound of a horse's hooves. Another few minutes passed, and then she heard the hooves again. Coming up the path beside the creek cantered Tornado, with Zorro sitting on his bare back. He was fully dressed, his sword at his side and his cape flowing off his shoulders. He rode up to the cabin.

"Senora," he greeted her.

"Senor Zorro!" she exclaimed, standing up.

He slid off the horse, pulled off the bridle, and said, "Go, Tornado," and the horse cantered away. Then he went to where she stood. "There is something we must do, Senora de la Vega," he said, standing very close to her.

"I don't understand..."she began, but her put a black-gloved finger to her lips. Then he pulled his gloves off and brushed her face with the back of his left hand, and she saw on it his gold wedding band. She kissed it, and looked up into his face, his dark eyes sparkling at her behind the mask. 

"Senor," she said, "you wear a wedding ring!"

"Si," he answered softly. "I have taken a beautiful bride."

"And I a handsome, dear husband," she told him.

He lowered his head and kissed her. "There are not enough words to tell you how much I adore you," he said, his voice still low, his lips near hers. "The people must never learn that El Zorro has found the love of his life, but Senora, you are the sunlight that guides his path and the moonlight under which he does his good deeds."

Tears came into her eyes and she put her hand on his cheek, touching the mask. "I am yours," she said through her tears. "Yours forever."

He kissed her hand, and said, "And I am yours, Senora, until the end of time." With that, he swept her off her feet and carried her up the steps, across the porch, and to the doorway of the cabin. She looked at the doorway and back up at him, to find him smiling at her. "It isn't a marriage until a man has carried his bride across the threshold," he laughed, pure merriment in his voice.

She laughed too, realizing at last what he was up to. Her arms coming around his neck, they kissed. As they kissed, he carried her through the doorway and lay her on their bed. And in that day, and through the night that followed, El Zorro ravished the very willing Elizabeth de la Vega. At long last they were fully united, in heart, soul and body.

***

The next morning they lay together as light seeped through the window. 

"I should have known," she said, stroking the great strong arm that held her close. " I don't know how I didn't know. I think at times I did. The way you moved, the sound of your voice...but I couldn't see it. Not even after we were married. Not even after..." she trailed off, looking up at him. His eyes were a deep fire of flickering green and brown.

"You knew, once," he said. "The night you were hit in the head with the rock, and I took you to a pond to clean the wound. You recognized me that night."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"I don't remember much from that night, except that you told me the horse is called Tornado."

"Yes, and you forgot that for a while, too."

"What would you have done, if I had remembered any of it?"

"I don't know," he said. "Zorro has always been a gambler. It was one more gamble."

"So much holding back," she said, touching his face. "How hard that must be. Even holding back as a lover."

He ran a finger down her cheek. "No longer."

"It was different," she said softly.

"I wasn't the only one holding back," he laughed. 

She snuggled closer to him. "If I could, I would be purring right now."

"Purring!" he laughed. "Are you my little kitten?"

She nodded, making a whirring sound with her tongue.

"Oh, kitten," he said. He kissed her head lightly. "Zorro's price has been high for both of us. But that's over now. " His voice changed, and he spoke earnestly. "Elizabeth, hear me when I tell you that protecting Zorro's secret is a heavy burden. No one knows, except Bernardo, and my father, and now you."

Then it hit her, and she looked at him. "You're in danger all the time," she said. She leaned back and looked at his right shoulder, touching the scar from the bullet hole. "This was a bullet you took as Zorro, wasn't it?"

"Actually, that really was a barroom brawl in Spain. But the others..." he nodded. "It's part of what you must accept and live with now," he answered. He pulled her back into his arms.

"I'll never know when you leave if another bullet awaits you," she murmured.

"Actually, I have long believed I would die by the sword," he said. "But Zorro's luck has held so far, and now he has more reason than ever to return home safely." He cuddled her a moment longer, and then said, "And we must return home safely today, much as I would like to prolong this. Right now everyone is looking for you, including Sgt Garcia and the lancers, and certainly Diablo. He can't be happy that his ransom escaped."

"Nor that it was Zorro who rescued me," she said.

"Yes, he will find that out, if he hasn't already." Diego agreed. He kissed her bare shoulder lightly and got out of bed, reaching for his clothes. "And so will the lancers, somewhere along the line. At that point, the question will become, what has Zorro been doing with you these last two days?" He pulled on the black trousers and shirt, and began buttoning the shirt. "Bernardo is looking for us, too, and he will eventually make his way here, he knows this place."

"Is it yours?"

"Like everything else, it belongs to my father. This is where he and my mother spent their honeymoon."

Elizabeth looked around the tiny cabin. She knew that Diego was born less than a year after his parents were married. "This is probably where you were conceived," she said, with wonder.

"It is," he replied with certainty. He wrapped his sash around his waist, looking at her. "The lancers may get here before Bernardo, in which case they will get you home."

"But I want to stay with you," she said, also getting out of bed and reaching for her slip.

"That isn't possible," he said. "Zorro is the way I came, and Zorro is how I must leave. We can't be seen together if we can help it. It will only complicate things more."

She took a step towards the chair where her dress lay and wobbled. He grabbed her before she fell, and, wrapping a blanket around her, seated her in the chair. "Elizabeth?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, lightheaded. "I'm all right, I think I just need some food."

He reached for the remaining bread, most of which they'd eaten the night before. She took a bite, and made herself swallow it. 

"Better?" he asked. She nodded, but he could see it was her lying nod. He continued to dress, keeping an eye on her. 

"I need to make sure you get home quickly," he said. She nodded and stood up again. 

"See, I'm fine," she said. "I'll get dressed."

He watched her pull her slip on, and she seemed steady. "I'll search the woods to see if I can find Bernardo," he said. "I know the route he uses to come here. If I can't find him, I'll see if I can get soldiers to chase me in this direction, and they will take you home. And when you get there, Diego will be waiting anxiously."

He donned the mask and the hat, placed his sword in its sheath, and opened the door. Then, whistling for Tornado, he looked back at her standing in the sunlight in her long slip. "You are a vision," he told her. Then he stepped out and saddled the horse, while she put on her dress. He mounted Tornado, when she called him back from the porch.

"Diego," she said, half-laughing, "Wait. I need some help." She turned around and pointed at the back of her dress, which hung open with all the tiny buttons and loops sagging away from each other. 

He laughed, dismounted, and came back to the porch, pulling off his gloves. One at a time, he slowly closed the tiny buttons into their loops. Laughing more, he said, "Getting them open is easier than closing them. Oh, wait, I missed one." He undid several of them, backtracking, and Elizabeth began to laugh, too.

"If they could see us now!" she exclaimed.

Their laughter crackled through the forest, as El Zorro finished buttoning his lover's dress. Then he spun her around, took her in his arms, and kissed her. 

At exactly that moment, the sound of horses rose on the creek path, and Sgt Garcia shouted "Zorro! After him, lancers!" Zorro released Elizabeth, pulled on his gloves, and leapt onto Tornado.

"I love you," she said. 

With the flash of a smile he tipped his finger off his hat, then turned and gave the lancers chase.

Garcia cantered up to the cabin and said, "Senora Elizabeth, are you all right? We have been searching for you for two days!"

"Ah, Sergeant," she said, "once again you have rescued me from Zorro."

Garcia dismounted and came up to the porch. She looked fully dressed but somehow disheveled. He thought he had seen Zorro embrace her before riding off, and on peering into the cabin he could see the rumpled bed. "Senora!" he cried. "Zorro did not..." he gulped, "take advantage of you, did he?"

"He rescued me from Diablo's men," she answered. "But Sergeant, where is Diego? Have you seen him?"

"Don Alejandro says he has been in the woods searching for you along with Bernardo, though we have not seen either of them," the Sergeant replied, momentarily forgetting that she had not answered his question. Then he remembered. "But what happened here? I thought I heard laughter. I thought I saw...well, forgive me Senora, but I thought I saw Zorro kissing..."

"Oh," she interrupted, putting her hand to her head. "I'm feeling faint." He helped her to a chair, and two more lancers rode up, followed by Bernardo.

"The others are still following Zorro," Cpl Reyes reported, but then he shrugged. "His horse is very fast, Sergeant."

"Si," said Garcia. He noticed Bernardo. "Little One, where is Don Diego? His wife has been found!"

Bernardo pointed further up into the hills, indicating that Diego was riding somewhere in search of Elizabeth.

"You should find him and tell him she is being escorted home by the lancers," Sgt Garcia said. "Tell him to meet us at the cuartel, as I will need to question her about what has happened." He looked at her. "If that is all right, Senora."

She nodded, knowing that really she would have no choice. As Garcia went to get on his horse, she nodded to Bernardo to let him know she was all right. He then nodded back and left, following the trail Zorro was blazing far ahead.

***

The return trip to Los Angeles went rather slowly, thanks to Garcia's famously turtle-like pace and Elizabeth's occasional lightheadedness. Most of this was feigned, as a way of keeping Garcia from bringing up too many questions about her disappearance and what happened with Zorro. However, by the time they got to the cuartel in the pueblo, Elizabeth was truly exhausted and immensely relieved to see Diego standing at the door of Sgt Garcia's headquarters, looking anxious. A number of other townspeople had gathered as well, for the word had spread that the lancers were returning with Elizabeth. Diego took one look at her sitting rather pale on her horse and acted on impulse. Going to her, he pulled her off the horse and carried her in his arms to the carriage he had brought from the hacienda to take her home. He placed her in it, and immediately stepped in himself. Taking up the reins, he looked at the people standing around and realized what he had done.

Senora Corinna Cahuenga's mouth was open. Beside her, Senorita Clementia Bocca was also staring. The proprietor of the general store, Senor Estavez, was standing there with his arms folded, a look of astonishment on his face. No one said a word. But Diego realized he had just done a very un-Diego-like thing with his action. The truth was, he avoided ever doing anything in public besides riding, drinking, and talking. He never displayed any physical strength or ability whatsoever, except to do something deliberately clumsy on occasion. Yet in front of half the pueblo he had, with great ease and assurance, lifted his wife off a horse, effortlessly carried her twenty yards, and placed her in their carriage without so much as a grunt or groan. He could see the shock on the faces in front of him. 

"But Don Diego, we haven't had a chance to question your wife," Sgt Garcia protested, oblivious to the moment that had just occurred.

Elizabeth leaned on Diego, laying her head on his shoulder. He sensed her weariness by the sheer weight she was giving him. "I think she is much too tired now, Sergeant," he said, his arm coming around her protectively. "We'll come back into town once she has had a chance to rest."

Garcia knew when he had lost. "All right, Don Diego, but we really must be able to talk with her soon."

"We'll see to it," Diego said. "And Sergeant, thank you. For finding her."

Garcia smiled, though he had a sinking feeling. "Si, Don Diego, we are glad she is all right. Adios, Senora Elizabeth."

Elizabeth waved at him weakly, but kept her head on Diego's shoulder. As they rode away, Garcia and Corporal Reyes watched.

"Poor Don Diego," Sgt Garcia said. 

"Si," Reyes said. Then he looked at the Sergeant curiously. "What do you mean, Sergeant?"

Garcia shrugged. "I think it would be hard to share your wife with Zorro."

Reyes stared at the Sergeant. "Excuse me?"

"Think about it," Garcia said, and with that he went into his room, leaving the Corporal standing on the porch, thinking about it.

Corporal Reyes turned to see his fellow townspeople still standing there, watching as the de la Vega carriage disappeared up the road. "What are you all looking at?" he asked.

"I think perhaps marriage is turning Don Diego into a better man," said Senor Estavez thoughtfully.

"Oh, si, and a more romantic one!" said Senorita Clementia.

Reyes frowned. "Isn't that what marriage is supposed to do?" he asked.

"Si," said Dona Corinna, "but how often does it really work?"

***

At last they retired to their room. Diego and Elizabeth had made the drive home mostly in silence, but not the stony silence that so often prevailed in the early days of their marriage. Instead, Elizabeth was nestled beside him, her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed, dropping in and out of sleep while he guided the horses and watched the horizon, anxious simply to get her home without further interruption or incident. He also spent a good deal of mental time worrying over his blunder, though he had no regrets about following his heart when it came to taking care of his beloved. Bernardo joined them midway, and rode along behind them. Once they got to the hacienda, they'd had to deal with both Don Alejandro and Don Carlos, who clucked about and made them eat supper. Finished, Elizabeth pled exhaustion and Diego accompanied her upstairs.

Once he shut the door, Elizabeth fell across the bed, still fully clothed. He lay down beside her.

"I can't move," she said.

"Neither can I," he said. There was a pause. "The Sergeant got you back without too much hounding?"

"I kept 'fainting,'" she said. He looked at her, alarmed. "No, not really," she said, "although I still feel a little funny. But this was all to keep him from asking a lot of questions. He saw you kiss me, Diego. It's probably going to be all over town."

"Did you deny it?"

"I avoided the question, changed the subject, and fainted at least three times."

He laughed. "How long can you keep that up?"

"As long as it takes, I guess," she said, shifting to put her head on his shoulder. "That's better."

His hand stroked her hair. "So they think El Zorro had his way with you, do they?"

"They do."

"Well, they'd be right," he laughed softly.

"They would," she laughed too, but then sobered. "But at Don Diego's expense."

"Not the first time," Diego said. He thought about it. "If we keep together and ignore the gossip, most of it will die down," he said. "Do they think you cooperated?"

"That's what they're trying to find out."

He smiled. "They need to ask me about that."

"Yes," she said, her voice drifting. She dozed off again, and he lay there next to her with relief, reflecting on the latest turn of events. It was better this way, far better. She had to know. Yet a true test of their union lay just ahead. It would particularly test Elizabeth's strength, for the night would soon come when he would have to leave as Zorro. Diablo had to be dealt with.

And so the young de la Vegas took up their lives together, fully united at last, and together facing the complexities of protecting the secret of Zorro.