"Arrest those soldiers!" Hidalgo commanded his men. "Take them to the barracks and keep them under guard. I'll deal with them later." He heaved his bulk toward where Helm and Montoya were standing, Helm still holding the gun to the colonel's head.

"You!" Hidalgo snapped, stabbing his pudgy finger at Montoya's chest. "What do you think you are doing? This prisoner is under the protection of the law." Gaspar's face was flushed and his eyes bulged like two raisins in dough. Tessa squelched another urge to laugh, afraid if she started she would be unable to stop. It was all too hilarious.

Montoya met the don's eyes unflinchingly. "Unlike you, Hidalgo, I was carrying out my duty of upholding the law. Here, I am the law."

"Not any longer, Montoya. The junta will dispense justice. Starting today, prisoners will receive fair trials and just sentences. By the Viceroy's order, you are under the command of the junta. And I will see that he receives a full report of this ...this outrage." Tessa had never seen Gaspar so furious. He had the aspect of an enraged bear. She choked down a giggle, imagining a bear wearing a satin robe.

"As is my right, Hidalgo, I will prosecute this case then," Montoya said. He turned to Helm, "And of course, the quixotic Dr. Helm will be the counsel for the defence, I suppose." His last comment brought an image of Roberto as a knight, wearing silver armour and riding a big warhorse as he came to rescue her. It was too much! She burst out laughing, drawing their attention her suddenly as if they had forgotten she was there.

Gaspar was immediately apologetic, though his eyes showed astonishment that in her circumstance, she would be laughing. "Señorita, you have been cruelly treated. I humbly apologize on behalf of the Crown." He beckoned to two of the soldiers. "Take off those manacles and return her to her cell." He rounded on the colonel. "As for you, I order you to return to your quarters until the trial."

Helm stepped forward, his brow creased with worry as Tessa finally subdued her fit of laughter. "I'll see that she is looked after, Gaspar," he said. Moving behind the post, he untied the knots, then loosened the ropes. Tessa felt herself sliding toward the ground, unable to get her legs under her but the doctor caught her. "I have you," he said in her ear. "Just lean on me. I'll take you back."

Her legs seemed to have turned to jelly; they would not hold her up. A quick glance at Montoya's triumphant sneer told her he was enjoying what this brush with death had done to her. The thought that he had traumatised her so deeply gave her some strength. She pushed herself erect, knowing she had no strength to walk yet. "Wait until they're gone," she whispered back.

Helm nodded understandingly. "I've been where you were. I know how you feel."

They watched as the soldiers accompanying Gaspar, Montoya and Grisham marched into the alley leading to the main street. As soon as they were gone, Helm put Tessa's arm around his shoulder, and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist. "Let me take your weight," he said gently. With a few halting steps, she found her legs beginning to move again. By the time they reached the rear door of the prison, she was almost able to carry herself.

The guards opened the prison door and led them back to her cell. At the entrance, Helm stopped. "Put that sheet back up," he commanded. Immediately, the soldiers restored her curtain. "And leave us alone. I'm a doctor and I need to see to my patient ...privately." When the soldiers hesitated, he bellowed, "Get out!" The men scuttled down the corridor and slammed the iron door separating the cells from the guards' room.

Tessa let him half-carry her into the cell. It seemed smaller and more horrid than before, the smells keener and more offensive. She felt her stomach begin to churn, then she started to quake. "Put me down," she gasped. He set her gently onto the cot and sat beside her, keeping his arm around her. The tremors shook her and she turned toward him as a sudden convulsion of sobs wracked her. Hardly able to breathe, she wept against his shoulder while he held her tightly. She was so weary and so cold, as if death had already taken her. She shuddered uncontrollably.

Against her ear, he murmured, "It's all right. You're safe now. It's all right." He smoothed her hair and rhythmically stroked her back. Under his soothing words and touch, the sobs gradually ebbed.

Gasping between gulps of air, she said in a low voice, "He had me, Roberto. I gave up. There was nothing left to fight with. I just gave up. I thought I was going to die." She pulled closer to the security of his strength and he embraced her more tightly.

Beneath her ear, his heart thudded hard and loud. He growled, "I wish I had killed him for what he did to you. By God, I should have done it." The rage boiling inside him seemed to radiate through his skin, warming her. She absorbed his heat, hungry for life and warmth, hungry to chase the chill of death from her body. A spark kindled inside her; she was alive! Sudden clarity burst through her and her sluggish pulse quickened. She had survived, been saved. Pushing back a little, she raised her face to his and kissed him lightly. The touch of his lips ignited the spark into a flame; fire raced through her veins. She deepened the kiss, felt his resistance and kissed harder, opening her mouth for him. He tried to pull back, but she held on. Though inexperienced with lovemaking, her body knew what it wanted--life, to feel the pulse of life quickening through her body as it was now. She pulled him onto her as she lay back on the cot.

His resistance crumbled as, with a groan, he pressed himself against her. She kissed his face, his eyes, his neck. His hands caressed every part of her, pulling her close. Lost in passion, she moaned as he cupped her breast through her blouse. He began to loosen the buttons even as she reached for the front of his trousers. Suddenly, he pushed away from her. "No," he said. "Not like this."

She tried to pull him back, her voice deep with passion, "Yes, Roberto. Now. Here. I need you." She was quivering with desire, her breath gasping in her throat. How could he do this? He staggered to his feet and moved to the table on which there was a jug and basin. Splashing some water into the basin, he bathed his face and neck. His hands shook as he dried himself with the linen towel.

Standing across the cell, he said, "We're not animals and I won't make love to you here in this cage." He moved back to her, but kept some distance. "The next time we make love, it won't be hurried or angry. We'll have the whole night. It will be beautiful as it should be when two people love each other."

Tessa's thwarted passion turned to fury. She stood up and snapped, "It is true what they say about the Inglés; they are cold, have no fire! A Spaniard would never have held back."

"I'm not a Spaniard, lucky for you. This is the wrong time and place." A lop-sided grin spread over his face. "Most women would be grateful for my restraint."

His smile seemed to mock her; her body still thrummed and ached for completion. Never had she felt so alive ... or so angry. "And I suppose you know about most women! Well, you know nothing about this one, nor will you ever again." Even as she said the words, she knew she didn't mean them and wished she could take them back. She turned away, trying to regain control. Since her moment of complete despair, all her emotions seemed to have come to the surface, everything was keener, sharper as if being so close to death had brought her life into more focus.

Helm laughed. "You've got quite a temper. I'll have to remember that. Now, we have to plan your defence. I'll need a list of witnesses who will speak for you."

She faced him, her blood still boiling. "No witnesses! I have already told you. I will not let anyone else get hurt by trying to help me. It is bad enough that you are involved." She watched the smile disappear, replaced by that sharp, hard stare that always unnerved her. Behind those changeable eyes were memories of the war that he had shared with her only a few weeks ago in his bedroom, experiences that hardened him and made him dangerous. Listening to him then, in the dark, she had tried to understand him, to believe that he was not the same man any longer. Or was he? She had seen glimpses of that other Helm several times, and it had unnerved her. I'm not the same woman he thought I was either, she thought, as her anger subsided.

Thinking of the War, Tessa remembered an incident, and now seemed like an appropriate time to tell him, if only to get him off-guard and change the subject. "We met before," she said. "Not here, but in Madrid."

He seemed a little flummoxed as his eyes narrowed and he looked at her more closely. Stepping up to her, he pulled off her mask. "When and where? I would certainly have remembered someone who looked like you in Spain."

Tessa laughed lightly, her mood shifting. "Do you recall delivering a package to Captain Sharpe on a backstreet in Madrid? Being pushed aside by a young man?" She watched as his face closed for a moment, then smiled broadly as his eyebrows shot up. "Yes, I was that young man. I worked as a courier for the resistance in Madrid. My fencing maestro was the head of a network that sent information about the French to the British and the partisans. I wore men's clothing so I could move about more freely."

The complete astonishment on his face made her laugh. He shook his head, then laughed too. "I remember you now. I thought you were an ill-mannered dandy and actually, was a bit concerned about Sharpe's taste, which I had always heard ran to loose women not young men. Well, I'm damned," he said incredulously. "It seems we were fated to meet." He embraced her, holding her against his chest. "You've always loved danger, always taking risks with your life."

"I'm hoping that after this trial, I won't have to do it anymore, that after hearing what I have to say, many changes will be made, and Montoya will be kept on a tight leash." Tessa moved away from his too-tempting warmth and sat down on the cot. "I want to stop, Roberto, and have a normal life, to marry and have children ...your children."

Shock registered on his face as he moved quickly then squatted before her, taking her hands in his. "Are you saying that you're..."

"No, I am not with child. Though Marta is, gracias a dios." Seeing his face cloud, she smiled. "You don't know? Yes, Marta is expecting a baby in about seven months. She just told me a few weeks ago." With slight guilt, she added, "You know how Marta is, she thinks she can do everything herself and doesn't need a doctor. I'm sure she will come to see you if she feels the need."

Helm got up and crossed the cell. He pulled the curtain back slightly and peered out into the corridor, then returned to her side. "I had to be sure no one could hear us. The guards are probably outside having a smoke." Sitting down on the cot, he said, "I'm worried about the absence of Señorita Alvarado at the trial. I'm afraid it will be noticed that she is not there when probably the entire territory will be and the connection will be made."

Tessa sat up on the cot and drew her knees to her chest, then rested her chin on them. That did present quite a problem, an almost insurmountable one. She brightened and smiled. "We could say that Tessa is staying near her friend Elena who is having her baby very soon ...any day in fact. That would give me an excuse for not being at the trial. After all, what interest would a doña have in a criminal trial compared to the birth of her friend's child?"

Helm nodded. "And I could get Pirenne to corroborate the story by saying he had seen you at your hacienda when he goes to see Elena. He will attend the birth. And you're right, it will be quite soon."

"You trust him that much ...to tell him who I am?" Tessa searched his eyes, afraid that her whole masquerade was unravelling with this trial.

The doctor smiled. "He had already guessed. Pirenne and I go back a long way. Part of our training in espionage was to learn to penetrate disguises and see through to the main features of a person. Also, he is a doctor and very good at diagnostics, which makes him a keen observer."

Tessa was only slightly convinced but there seemed to be no alternative. She would have to take her chance that Pirenne would not betray her. Taking Helm's hand, she squeezed it warmly. "You should go now, Roberto. I need to get some sleep. It's been a hell of a night! I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"I'll be right outside your cell, keeping watch. I don't trust Montoya out of sight. I'm sure he has more tricks up his sleeve after that last one failed." Helm watched her replace her mask, then marched to the cell door and called out, "Guard!"

One of the soldiers appeared, looking a little uncertain as he glanced from the Queen to Helm. "Si, doctor. What can I do for you?"

"You can let me out ...and make sure no one else gets near the cell. I'm going to be in the guard room just to be sure."

The guard opened the cell door and for a second, Tessa prepared herself to spring. She could almost taste the desire to get out. It would be so easy. Instead, she eased back against the wall and watched Helm leave, heard the lock click once more, imprisoning her again.

Continue to Part Two

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