Part Three of Five
Act Three
Over her screams came the sound of a whip cutting through the air. It wound itself several times around his neck and he was violently pulled away, releasing Vera in the process. He dropped to his knees and quickly unwrapped the choking leather whip from around his throat as he gasped for air. He stood up and saw a masked woman, dressed in black, standing less than ten feet away, in front of him. She held up her arm, with whip in hand, above her head and with a twisting motion, wrapped it around her waist, laying the grip down on her shoulder.
"Please tell me that Carlos was adopted," said the Queen.
Rubbing his throat with his hand, he said, "Ahh, you must be the Queen of Swords." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Señora Hidalgo crawling away, out of sight. He would take care of her later.
The Queen countered, "No, I am your fairy Godmother, and you must be the Colonel's evil, dead nephew from France."
He was startled at this and replied, "Your are as lovely as you are intelligent. How could you possibly have found out that I was the Colonel's nephew?"
She smiled." Because you’re as stupid as you are lustful; you just told me."
"Then, you must die along with your friend here," he replied.
He took a few steps towards her. Placing her hands on her hips, she said, "Come on, lover boy. Let see you try and throw me over the cliff. Maybe you'll be the one learning how to fly."
He stopped and hesitated for a moment. Then, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Guards, come here. Quickly!"
A half-dozen armed rancheros, carrying muskets, came running into the ruins. They made a circle around the Queen and Rameriz.
Again, an evil smile came to his face. "Shoot her," barked Rameriz in a very determined voice. None of them raised their muskets as they just stood and looked at each other. The Queen turned slowly in a circle and looked each of them in the eyes.
Rameriz angrily yelled, "I said, shoot her!"
Finally, one of the rancheros set the butt of his musket on the ground, leaned on it and said, "When my young daughter was sick, the Queen brought her medicine."
A ranchero on the opposite side of the circle did the same and said, "When Montoya was going to shoot my brother, the Queen broke him out of jail."
The other four then lowered their weapons, also. Rameriz walked over to one of the rancheros and tried to take his musket away from him. When the ranchero wouldn’t let go, he grabbed the man’s sword instead and pulled it out of the metal scabbard.
The Queen immediately drew her rapier.
Rameriz stepped back into the middle of the circle and turned towards the Queen. "It looks like I will have to do this myself," he said as he leveled and pointed the sword at the Queen. He motioned to the rancheros to step back.
As the Queen took an en guard stance, the rancheros backed away.
"All right Rameriz, any time today," she said.
He swung his sword from side to side as he stepped towards her. She countered each of his three moves as their blades smashed into each other with three loud metallic clanks. He lunged towards her, thrusting his sword in an attempt to run her through. At the last moment, she moved her hip to the side as his blade just missed her. Before he could regain his balance and pull the sword back, she grabbed his blade with her left hand and used it to punch him in the face with his own weapon. He released his grip and staggered back a few steps.
She threw his sword to the side as he held his hand on his jaw and pleaded, "Please, not the face."
Stepping forward, she punched him again, right between the eyes. The smack was so loud that two of the rancheros turned and looked away. This time, he fell down on his back. She came and stood over him, placing the tip of her rapier in between his legs.
He cried out, "You wouldn’t kill a unarmed man, would you?"
With that, he grabbed a hand full of dirt and threw it into her face, blinding her. He quickly got to his feet and went for his sword. As soon as he picked it up, a ranchero had the muzzle of his musket pressed against Rameriz’s head.
The Queen shouted, "I hate it when they do that!"
One ranchero pulled out a white handkerchief, while another retrieved his canteen. He removed the stopper and poured water over the handkerchief being held by his friend. Then, the first ranchero walked over and handed the wet handkerchief to the Queen.
"Gracias, amigo," said the Queen as she wiped her eyes.
Rameriz saw that the ranchero who was holding the musket on him was watching the Queen and not him. He bolted, and pushed the musket to the side as it fired. Then, he began running to his horse, which was outside of the ruins.
"Do you want us to go and bring him back here for you, Reina?" asked one of the rancheros.
She watched as he galloped off and said, "No, I'll catch up with him later."
Then she heard a groan. She went over to a hole in the wall and looked outside. Vera leaned against the wall, bending over and holding her stomach.
"Vera!" the Queen cried. The rancheros all hurried over. Vera was moaning in pain.
"You have to get her to Doctor Helm! Please hurry; she is very ill," said the Queen.
A ranchero said to another, "Go, bring the surrey closer and we'll carry her to it."
"Wait. Before you go into town, remove those green uniform jackets or Montoya will shoot you on sight," said the Queen.
They all removed the jackets and threw them into a pile on the ground. One of the rancheros said, "This is much better. I don't want to be a soldier anymore. I want to be a farmer again."
"Si," replied all of the rancheros.
The Queen nodded and smiled with approval.
Pedro drove the surrey while his friend stayed in back with Vera. The other four former Council of the Dons’ policemen, now back to being rancheros, followed on horseback. The road was very rough, and even moving at a slow pace the ride was bumpy.
The ranchero with Vera placed his hand on Pedro's shoulder and spoke into his ear. "You had better stop for a minute and take a look back here."
Pedro pulled on the reins and, as soon as he was stopped, climbed over the seat and into the rear of the surrey. The six had given their sleeping rolls for Vera to rest on. She was now unconscious and very pale.
"Señora Hidalgo looks very bad, and she has stopped moaning," said the ranchero tending her.
Pedro touched her forehead. It felt hot with fever. He looked down the road and then around to orientate himself. "Santa Elena is still many miles away. I don't think she will make it. We have to find help closer, and soon."
By now, four rancheros had dismounted and were gathered around. One of them said, "Marta will be able to help her. She is a healer."
"Si, and the Alvarado hacienda is not very far. We'd better go there before she gets any worse," replied Pedro.
The four mounted up while Pedro climbed back onto the seat. They turned and began moving in the direction that would bring them to the Alvarado hacienda.
Pushing shut the wine rack that concealed the secret room of her hacienda, the Queen was once again Tessa. Walking down the hallway leading to the front room, she happened to look out of the window and noticed Vera's surrey parked in the turn-around. Puzzled, she turned around and headed for the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen, she saw the six rancheros who had been with Vera. Four were sitting at the table while two were standing. They all had cups in their hands and were drinking coffee.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded. Then, realizing that she had almost made a slip of the tongue, continued in a milder tone of voice, "Are you here to visit Marta?"
The four who were sitting stood up.
"Please, pardon us, Señorita. I am Pedro. Señora Hidalgo was attacked by Don Rameriz. La Reina des Espadas rescued her and the Don ran off. The Señora became ill and the Queen told us to take her to town. The Señora started burning up with fever and we knew that Marta was closer than the town. I hope you don’t mind," said Pedro.
"Pedro," said Tessa softly, "if you had not come here so Marta could help, I would never have forgiven you. You did good, Pedro," she said as she put her hand on his face and smiled.
Tessa heard Marta enter and turned to her, "Vera became very ill. They came here, it was too risky to try and make it to town with her."
"I know; she is in the guest room, resting. I gave her some herbal medicine but she needs Doctor Helm," said Marta. Tessa pretended to be shocked, as Marta explained to her about Don Rameriz's attack on Vera.
Pedro picked up his hat and said, "I'll go into town and bring back Doctor Helm."
Tessa placed her hand on his chest and stopped him, "No, that will be too dangerous now. If you were able to get Vera into town, she would be safe with Doctor Helm. I am afraid the ride to town might cause more problems.
"I was going to ride there and bring the Doctor here," said Pedro.
"If Rameriz saw you he might follow you back here and try to finish what he started. No. I’ll go into town. No one will be expecting me and I can say that Marta has been hurt and needs the doctor. You and your men stay here and guard the Señora. You do exactly what Marta tells you and allow no one in the house."
Tessa turned and walked out of the kitchen. Marta followed her to her bedroom. Once inside, Tessa closed the door and turned to Marta. "I know that Vera is very ill, but what exactly is wrong with her?"
Marta clinched onto her skirt with her hands. "She hasn’t been pregnant for very long, but I think she is going to lose the baby. I've seen this before; her body is rejecting it."
Tessa frowned, feeling sad. "I've heard Robert--I mean, Doctor Helm--speak of malparto. I believe he called it a 'miscarriage' in English. Do you think you can help her?"
Marta brushed her hand across the hair on her forehead and with a sigh in her voice said, "I don't know. I've given her something to make her sleep. If it happens and I can't stop the bleeding, then we will lose her and the baby. For all concerned, it would probably be the best for Vera to aborto, but that is for God to decide, not me."
Tessa started to unbutton her skirt, "Well, then, you had better get me my riding pants. I'll make better time on Lindo than with a carriage."
Marta walked over to a wardrobe closet and opened the door. She handed the riding pants to Tessa. "Be careful."
"I'll be careful, Marta. Vera is my friend, the time saved will be worth the risk."
An hour later, in Doctor Helm's office, a patient was sitting in a chair, holding a wet compress up against his face. The Doctor walked back across the room and said, "Here, Don Rameriz. You had better bite down on this."
Removing the compress away from his face Rameriz looked up at Helm. Doctor Helm handed him a five-inch wooden rod. Rameriz noticed that it had bite marks on it.
"What is this for?" he asked nervously.
"I am going to set your nose; it's broken. I have to do it now before the swelling gets any worse or it will set that way, and we'll have to break it again."
Rameriz's eyes widened, "Don't you have anything for the pain?"
Helm took the rod. "Open your mouth."
Rameriz did, and the Doctor placed the wooden rod sideways in his mouth. "Bite down."
Tessa tied Lindo to a post at the rear of the office and proceeded to walk alongside the building to the front entrance. She was just about to knock on the door when she heard a loud scream come from inside.
"There, now. That wasn't that bad," said Doctor Helm.
Rameriz exclaimed, with tears streaming down his cheeks, "First, that she-devil tries to kill me, and now you want to finish the job!"
A slight smile came to Helm's face as walked over to a cabinet, removed a bottle of whiskey and filled a glass half-full. He returned and handed the glass to his patient as he thought, If he keeps crossing the Queen he had better get used to this.
Rameriz drank it down quickly and complained, "Oh, now you give me something for the pain."
Then came a very familiar knock at the door--three long taps, a pause and two short. He left his whining patient and walked to the door. Opening it, he said, "Good day, Señorita Alvarado. Won't you please come in?"
He closed the door behind her as she said, "Good day, Doctor."
She saw Rameriz sitting in the chair, holding a compress over his face. She made a nodding motion towards him and raised her eyebrows at Helm, suppressing a smile.
He nodded back and turned to Rameriz. "Well, that’s all I can do for you right now. Maybe you can continue your therapy at the Cantina."
Removing the compress he stood up. He seemed almost embarrassed when he saw Tessa looking at him in his condition. Reaching into his pocket, he placed two reales on the desk and headed towards the door. Doctor Helm held the door open for him.
As he walked by and out through the doorway, he said, in a very nasal tone of voice, "Good day, Señorita Alvarado, Doctor Helm."
Closing the door, Doctor Helm slid the deadbolt across and locked it. He could tell by Tessa's actions that this was not a social visit.
"What’s wrong?" he asked.
Tessa’s face showed concern and urgency. "It's Vera. She's pregnant. She's very ill and is at my hacienda. Marta said that she may lose her baby, and possibly die in the process."
"I'll get my bag and get right out there," Helm said, as he set his medical bag on the desk, opened it and walked over to the medical cabinet and removed several small bottles of medicine.
"That pig, Rameriz, tried to kill her, but the Queen stopped him," said Tessa.
Checking the labels on the bottles, he placed them into the bag. "That makes sense. I figured he was up to no good. He claimed the Queen attacked him from ambush. She was too easy on him."
Tessa snickered, "The Queen isn’t finished with him yet. Ahh, and it gets even better."
He closed his bag, looked at her and said, "How so?"
She replied, "He's Montoya's nephew."
A surprised look came over his face. "Oh shit," he said.
They both paused, and listened as the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Doctor Helm opened the doo, just as a column of soldiers rode pass in a cloud of dust.
Tessa came to his side and asked, "What’s going on?"
He turned his head towards her and said, "Haven’t you heard what happened to Captain Grisham?"
She placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke above the noise of the horses, "No, I have not."
"Don Gaspar has kidnapped him. The whole garrison has been out searching for them."
Then, two horsemen peeled away from the column and stopped in front of the office. The first rider held the reins of the second horse, whose rider was slumped over in the saddle. Doctor Helm rushed over and steadied him while the first rider dismounted to give the doctor a hand getting the injured trooper off of his horse."
He fell and broke his arm, Doctor," said the trooper.
"Quick, get him inside," ordered Helm.
He turned to Tessa, who was now also outside. "I'll leave for your hacienda as soon as I finish up here."
She nodded, turned away and headed back to where Lindo was tied.
Colonel Montoya also heard the returning column and stepped out onto the balcony. Watching the returning troopers ride into town, he saw a lieutenant dismounting his horse at the base of the staircase guarded by the stone lions. He also caught sight of Don Rameriz crossing the square, headed towards the Cantina. Montoya placed his hand on his forehead for a second, then rubbed it down over his face. He turned his head and shouted for his orderly to come.
In a few seconds the orderly was on the balcony, standing next to his commander as Montoya pointed out Rameriz to him and said, "Go, bring him to me. Take two guards with you. If he refuses to come, drag him back here if you have to."
The orderly snapped a salute. "Si, Colonel," he said, and rushed back through the office.
From the balcony, Montoya heard a knock at the office door. He called out, "Enter!"
The officer in charge of the search walked into the office and looked around for a second before noticing Montoya motioning to him to come out onto the balcony. "Report, what have you found?" Montoya asked.
The young officer stood stiff at attention and said, "We have searched the Hidalgo hacienda and found no one except for the servants. There was no sign of Captain Grisham. They said Don Gaspar and the Señora had both been gone all day, that they had left a few hours apart from each other this morning and that neither has returned. I posted a couple of men to watch for them and report when they do return."
Montoya replied, "Good. I want you and your men to get fresh horses, and enough supplies to last all night if necessary, and begin searching the haciendas and any other possible hiding places to the south towards the ocean."
The lieutenant interrupted, "Sir, may I suggest dividing the column in two so as to cover more ground?"
Montoya narrowed his eyes at him, and was about to tear into the young officer when he saw the two guards escorting Don Rameriz into the office.
Montoya replied, "No, because wherever you find Don Gaspar and Captain Grisham, you'll more than likely also find the armed rancheros. I want you to decide the issue with them quickly without having to wait for reinforcements. All uniformed rancheros are to be shot. Do you understand me?"
The lieutenant replied, "Si, Colonel. I understand."
Montoya added, "I want your column back on the road before sunset. As soon as you have located them, I want you to send a runner back here for me. Now, dismissed!"
The lieutenant saluted, and as soon as Montoya returned it he rushed back through the office and out the door. Walking back into the office, Montoya gave Miguel a hard look and said to the guards on either side of him, "Leave us!"
Continue to Part Four
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