CHAPTER 7: "DIEGO SHARES A SECRET WITH THE CORAZONS"





Diego drank from his glass of lemonade, his tongue enjoying the delightfully sweet bitter taste. Like every glass of the drink he had sampled here, it was perfectly made and refreshing. "My compliments to Savannah. She knows how to make the ideal glass of lemonade," Diego told him companion.

Swinging her fan, Maria leaned back in her chair and laughed. "And she knows it. If I ever displeased her as a child, she would threaten not to make me any more lemonade. I lived in terror!"

Diego snickered at the image--a little, old woman threatening the precocious child that Maria would have been. Knowing how good Savannah's lemonade was, he could believe the threat had been an effective one.

"How was your trip to Santa Pablo yesterday?" Maria asked graciously. She was always polite. At least, she spoke her mind in a way few Spanish ladies dared. However, he wished she had some of the fire Victoria had: passion instead of politeness.

No, I won't think of her today, Diego ordered himself. He had given himself the same instruction every day for the last three weeks, but his heart, still aching for Victoria, refused to listen. Every morning, he awoke to thoughts that maybe it had all been a nightmare, but all too soon, he remembered the simple, awful truth: Victoria did not love him.

Diego forced his attention back to the lovely señorita sitting next to him. Noticing her beautiful smile and warm eyes, he thought again about marriage. The idea had stayed with him since Don Vicente had extracted his promise. When he finally discussed it with Don Alejandro, his father had been thrilled to hear he was finally considering settling down. However, Diego sensed that his father had some reservations about the marriage that he was not sharing. Diego knew that Maria was fond for him, and he cared for her. It was so much more than most men he knew had, but he yearned for a marriage of love like his parents had. Don Alejandro and Doña Elena had a wonderful relationship that had left a deep impression on a little boy. When Victoria had been his, he believed their marriage would be a lot like his parents.

"It went well," he finally answered Maria, sitting down his glass carefully. Forcing his body to relax back in the chair, he explained, "I had to visit our attorney." Only as the words left his mouth did he realize he had never even hinted to her about his plan to adopt Felipe. He frowned at the thought. Here he sat, considering marriage to a woman with whom he had not even shared one the most important facts about his life. With Victoria, he had yearned, without exception, to tell her the most trivial of details, and often did. He told her the same moment he told his father about Felipe's adoption, since her opinion and joy were as important to him as Don Alejandro's. Would life have turned out any different if he had confessed Zorro's identity that day? Would Victoria still love him?

"Oh, Diego! What's wrong?" Maria asked, concerned.

She thought his frown was from his visit to see Don Armando. "Oh, nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is great," he reassured her. "I needed to see him to finish some more paper work. I am in the process of adopting Felipe," he told her, holding his breath. If she hated the idea, there would be no chance for any marriage between them.

"Diego, that's wonderful. Everyone in the pueblo already says you're like a father to him. I'm sorry, but I hadn't heard the news from anyone. I didn't know," she rushed to tell him.

Diego's muscles relaxed again, and he grinned at her. "I'm afraid it's still a family secret." Maria's smile widened. "We decided to keep it to ourselves until it is finished. Felipe preferred it that way, having been the subject of a lot of gossip when he arrived with me in the pueblo."

Diego smiled and shook his head as he thought about the rumors that had flown about--from Felipe's parentage to the reason for his deafness. It had taken months before everyone accepted that the boy was indeed an orphan that the de la Vegas had taken in after Diego found him alone on a battlefield. "He knew that everyone would be talking about it, but he's smart enough to understand the talk would be minimal if everyone found out at once."

Maria nodded, her face suddenly sad. "Father and Mother did that with their separation. They told no one until Father and I were packing. As long as it was done, they told me, people would talk about it and then forget it because there was no new news."

He reached over and patted her shoulder. Maria seldom discussed her mother, but her absence was felt strongly by both her and her father. From what little he had heard about the woman, he thought she sounded like the perfect wife for Vicente, as well as a wonderful mother. Even though he was unsure what caused the marriage to crumble, but it always saddened him to hear of such things.

"Ah, Diego, my boy, I thought you would be here," Vicente almost yelled as he came out into his garden. Diego could not help liking Vicente, a man who was so similar to Don Alejandro in many ways. Honor, trust, and family loyalty were the lifeblood of these men.

Diego stood to shake his host's hand. "And why did you expect to find me here?" Had he forgotten an appointment?

Don Vicente gave his big, booming belly laugh. "Well, my boy, you have been here every morning for the last three weeks. I'd call that a pattern," he teased him.

Diego started to deny it, but Vicente was right. He had spent a lot of time over the last three weeks visiting the de Corazons. Their hacienda had been like a refuge for him. At home, he simply brooded about Victoria, but here, his training insisted he be a good guest. He talked to Maria about the various subjects in science that they both loved so well, and discussed issues related to owning a rancho in California with Don Vicente. They all loved talking about the various people of the community, too. Busy visiting them, he did not have time to think about Victoria, or at least not as much time to think about her.

"Hello, my lovely," Vicente said as he leaned over and kissed his daughter's cheek. "How are you doing this morning?"

"I am doing wonderfully, Father. Diego was just sharing some wonder--Oh, I'm sorry!" Maria said with a horrified gasp. "I didn't ask if you minded if I shared with Father."

Diego simply smiled and waved his hand to let her know he was unconcerned. "I'm surprised Father hasn't shared it with him himself. Please, go ahead. We just don't want anyone else in the pueblo to know, yet."

Vicente looked over at Diego and then looked back at his daughter. "Tell me this wonderful news, daughter. You know how I hate not knowing something."

"Diego is adopting Felipe," she shared, excitement dripping from her voice. She did seem pleased about the adoption. Felipe needed love and acceptance, and Diego always made sure he received it. However, he knew for himself, that nothing replaced a mother.

Vicente looked from Diego to Maria back to Diego. Then, a large grin covered his face. He held out his hand to give Diego's a hard shake. "That's wonderful! That boy already sees you as a father anyway. You're going to make an excellent father, my boy."

Diego thanked him, more grateful for the words than he could admit. It was strange, but even after all these years of raising Felipe, he was worried about how good of an example he was going to be. Diego knew the fear was ridiculous since Felipe was almost a man, but Vicente's quick faith helped calm the terror some.

"He already is an excellent father," Maria corrected. "He's already raised Felipe. The adoption just makes it all legal."

Gratitude swelled in him for Maria. What she said was true--he had always been Felipe's father. It was just a matter of legality now, and the law did not make someone a good parent. "Thank you, Maria," he told her, staring into her eyes.

Her smile was shy, and she seemed to suddenly find it difficult to look in his eyes. Several times, Alejandro told him that she was in love with him, but he hoped it was not true. He might want to marry her, but he had no desire for her love. He would never be able to love her back like she would want. Even if he married her, he would only see her as a friend. Hopefully, she felt the same way towards him.

"My Maria is going to make a wonderful mother herself, one of these days," Vicente said, and Diego grinned at the not-so-subtle hint. He watched as a pretty blush bloomed in Maria's cheeks.

"That she will," Diego agreed, unwilling to be drawn into that discussion at the moment. The battle still raged between his mind and heart.

His head said it would be so easy to ask the question. They were simply words. "Will you marry me?" He had asked them before, twice, and found them to be the easiest words in the world to say. However, his heart disagreed violently. Every time he had come close over the weeks, which had been after hearing about each of Victoria's new suitors, his heart had stopped the words in his throat.

Because you are living on impossible dreams, he told himself angrily. You keep hoping for the day that Victoria will realize that she was wrong. You keep hoping for the day that she will run out of the tavern shouting your--Zorro's name. It isn't going to happen! His dreams of love must be forgotten. Instead, he needed to think about his responsibilities, which included marriage.

It was long past time for him to marry after all, having only waited so long for the day he could claim Victoria. Waiting for a day the mask could be taken off forever, before he shared his love. That day would never come now. The lady had tired of waiting. He needed to get married, and have those babies that his father had talked about for years. He needed a companion in his life. Felipe needed a mother.

As he laughed at something Don Vicente said, he glanced at Maria. If he asked her to marry him, it would be a marriage of friendship instead of love, but that could make a good basis for marriage. Vicente was right: They shared many of the same interest after all, so they had much to discuss. She enjoyed spending time with him, and he enjoyed spending time with her. Their families were friends. She was intelligent and pretty. They would make great children together. He just had to ask the one question. It should be so easy . . .





END OF CHAPTER 7

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