QUEEN OF SWORDS SYNOPSIS
113 THE PRETENDER

WRITER: James Thorpe
DIRECTOR: Peter Ellis

A stranger is killed and rides into Santa Helena to die, but tells Tessa that the repectable Rey family are liars.

GUEST STARRING
ALEX HASSELL as Andreo Rey
JORGE MONTESI as Claudio Rey
CYRIELLE CLAIR as Paloma Rey

COUNTRY

A man is riding on horseback. He's shot.

SANTA HELENA

He rides slowly into town on his horse, hurt, and falls off of it. Tessa is coming out of the general store and goes to him. She hollers for Dr. Helm to help the man. As the man dies, he tells Tessa, "Lies. Rey Hacienda. All lies."

HELM'S OFFICE

The Don's corpse is laid out and Tessa covers him with a sheet after looking once again at his face. Montoya comes in. Cute exchange:

TESSA: Colonel Montoya! You frightened me.
MONTOYA: Really? And yet the sight of a dead man did not. Should I be... offended?

Tessa sees a young man looking through the window and tells the others she's feeling faint and goes outside. She can't find him.

MONTOYA'S COURTYARD

A Don and Dona Rey walk in. Grisham overhears from the balcony as Montoya tells them that he is pleased that no harm has come to them after what happened this morning. They assure Montoya that they have no idea what that stranger could have been talking about, he must have been delirious. After they leave, Montoya and Grisham talk. They don't know who the stranger was that died but there is a ship off shore taking on supplies. Montoya tells Grisham to go and talk to the captain.

CANTINA

Tessa finds the kid, Andreo Rey, who was looking in the window. He doesn't acknowledge that he was looking through the window or why he had sullied his family name. Don and Dona Rey come to collect their son in their carriage. Tessa tells them that she is sorry for the death of their friend. They tell her that the man was a vagrant and no friend of theirs.

REY HACIENDA

The mother has the father talk to Andreo because he won't listen to her. The father accuses Andreo of telling Tessa something. They fight. Father breaks Andreo's arm.

SANTA HELENA

Grisham gives Montoya evidence that the vagrant was an attorney named Fidel Gamero, the Rey's family lawyer from Spain. They didn't recognize him because they haven't been in Spain for fifteen years. He had a will with him saying that Don Claudio Rey will inherit a large sum of money when he returns to Spain.

HELM'S OFFICE

Helm tends Andreo's arm and doesn't for a minute believe that he fell from a horse, which was his story. Just as he's going to take Andreo back to his hacienda, a woman comes to the office door with a bloody hand, which Helm attends to. Andreo quickly leaves.

ALVARADO HACIENDA

Marta heard a rumor that Andreo's father broke his arm. Marta also tells Tessa that a friend of her back in Madrid, Carmen, worked for the Rey's and accidently spilled hot water on Paloma's arm. Even though Paloma was scarred by it, Carmen still kept her job.

REY HACIENDA

The Queen puts her finger on Andreo's back as he's brushing his horse in the stables. He says, "No papa. Not anymore." The Queen wants to know what happened. Paloma comes with a rifle as the Queen hides. She pokes his broken arm for what's going on. The Queen appears from her hiding place, but gets away. She fights off Ramon and Paulo to get back to Chico and ride away.

Helm talks to Paloma about how Andreo broke his arm. He tells her the difference between a clean break and a spiral break, which can only come from twisting of the arm until it snaps. Andreo had a spiral break. (Although one wonders how Helm knew that without X Ray equipment. <g> I tell ya, he's a man before his time) She threatens him with her rifle, to which he smiled and said, "Another day then." Then leaves.

The Queen looks from a distance with her spy glass. Andreo leaves on his horse.

MONTOYA'S OFFICE

Don Rey was brought in by soldiers. Montoya tells him that it was fortunate that he was able to find a will stating that Claudio Rey will inherit a lot of money when he returns to Spain in the dead man's possession. He just needs a signature... Rey signs, but it is not like the one on the document. They make a deal.

COUNTRY

The Queen rides after Andreo. He tells her that the lawyer was at the hacienda the day before he was killed and argued with his father.

SANTA HELENA

Montoya escorts the Don down the outside stairs of his headquarters when Helm comes and reports what the Queen had heard from Andreo. The Don acts sad and says that he was covering for his son. Andreo was the one who killed the lawyer. Montoya tells Grisham to go to Helm's office and arrest him for murder.

Andreo sees Grisham and two guards come and run away. Grisham corners him on the next block. "You move, you die," Grisham says as he cocks his gun. Andreo moves, Grisham prepares to shoot, but is stopped by Helm. Grisham pistol whips Helm across the face for obstructing justice and walks away.

Tessa as Tessa tries to fend off Grisham, but Andreo is found. Grisham hits Andreo on the broken arms for good measure. Don Rey comes and says there's a witness to the crime. Paloma saw you shoot the lawyer.

ALVARADO HACIENDA

Tessa fills Marta in on everything that happened. Marta is convinced that a mother wouldn't accuse her own son... Remembering that Carmen had scalded the real Paloma's arm, there's a way to tell if the Paloma in Santa Helena is the real Paloma. Tessa decides that they haven't entertained enough lately.

MONTOYA'S OFFICE

Helm tells Montoya that he can't believe that Andreo would have killed the lawyer. Montoya will spare the boy. No execution?

MONTOYA: Heavens, no. I'm not a cruel man.

A life of hard labor in a Monterrey prison should do the trick. Helm says he's all heart.

ALVARADO HACIENDA

On the veranda, Tessa and Paloma have lunch. Marta spills wine on Paloma's white gloved arm and pulls the glove off, apologizing, as Paloma 'hits the roof'. No scar.

SANTA HELENA

Helm stalks to the jail to see Andreo, Grisham tells him he'll have to go through him. This is a witch hunt, as Helm says. Grisham takes off his jacket as Helm takes off and folds his vest. They fight.

HELM: Tell me, what was your training regime? Ripping the wings off flies? Kicking small dogs?
GRISHAM: Only on Sundays.

Fight, end up unbuttoning their shirts. Woo~! Helm's just getting into the groove beating the crap out of Grisham when Montoya knocks him over the head with his pistol.

MONTOYA: Not that that wasn't entertaining, Grisham. You have work to do.
GRISHAM: I had him right where I want him.
MONTOYA: With a fist in your face?

Montoya tells him to put Andreo in a stage to Monterrey. As Grisham and Montoya walk away, after Grisham kicks the bales Helm is unconscious atop, Helm lays with his shirt open. Sigh... I'm sure there were a lot of ladies who came to his rescue but we didn't see it. Poor thing can't be out in that hot sun knocked out with his shirt open for goodness sake. Sun screen...<g>

COUNTRY

The Queen sees the coach coming and lights a fuse. A fire across the road spooks the horses and the stage stops. She fights the guards. Andreo yells 'behind you!' and she ducks as one guard shoots the other. The guards are taken care of. Andreo falls out of the back of the coach as his feet are shackled. Queen says to spread his legs.

ANDREO: HUH?

The Queen raises her sword. He realizes it's the shackles.

QUEEN: You'd better close your eyes, too.
ANDREO: Wait! Have you ever done this before?
QUEEN: It's my first time.

He squeezes his eyes shut and holds his crotch. She cuts the shackles and they leave before the guards revive.

OLD MINE

She tells him to stay there and she'll come back with food and blankets. Andreo wants to go home. Andreo realizes that his real parents are dead, and was raised from a small child by the imposters who killed them.

ANDREO: My parents were murdered! How do you think that makes me feel?
QUEEN: I think I can.

REY HACIENDA

Montoya tells them that he is mighty disappointed with them. The deal is off, no land. Their son was rescued by the Queen of Swords. Could they have had anything to do with it?

STABLES

The Queen pretends to be an amorous woman with Andreo, making two guards come investigate. She comes out of her hiding place to kick one in the face.

QUEEN: Was it good for you?

Andreo takes care of the other one and gets his gun.

REY HACIENDA

Montoya has the two papers as proof positive of their deception, the will and the other with the signature that doesn't match. The Queen comes in demanding the papers. She and Montoya fight, she wants those papers. The Don and Dona escape.

STABLES

They're going to take off. Andreo holds the gun on them. He demands to know who killed his parents. Paloma accuses Claudio. Claudio accuses her. They were the Rey servants and Paloma killed them.

OUTSIDE

The Queen knocks out Montoya and gets the papers.

STABLES

The Queen stops Andreo from shooting them, saying the he will regret it if he did. Gives him the proof of their deception.

Grisham and the soldiers come.

SANTA HELENA

Helm is dressed in a nice three piece suit, but his face looks awful with wounds. The imposters had been executed. Andreo is going to go back to Spain. Helm and Montoya agree to let bygones be bygones and have a glass of wine.

MONTOYA: By the way, Doctor. How's that bump on your head?
HELM: Just fine. How's yours?

Tessa is in her carriage as Andreo loads his suitcases. She'll bring him to the ship. He's nervous about going back, doesn't know anyone. Tessa assures him that they are his family, they will love him.

THE END

Synopsis by:
JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com

Jo's Obsessions
http://www.oocities.org/enyajo