ENCOUNTER 5
THE TAROT READING

by JoLayne
EnyaJo@aol.com
http://www.oocities.org/manzanacore
http://www.oocities.org/enyajo

RATING: G

CHARACTERS: T/Q M H CM OCs Don Nogales, Widow Olga Heche, Jurgen Heche

SUMMARY: As Tessa continues to investigate Montoya's goings-on, Marta reads Helm's future.

DISCLAIMER: The characters and belong to Fireworks and hope they continue the show!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks to Brig and Julie for help with tarot reading. They were at a disadvantage because I only let them see the tarot scene so they had no idea what I was going to make of the reading for story purposes. Wonderful job, ladies! Huge thanks to Eliza for her tarot expertise and also for giving the rest of this the once over. I'm wholeheartedly grateful.

~~~~~

EVENING

After thinking about them all day, Tessa decided to call on the Heche's to see if they were indeed gone for good with their livestock unprotected or if she had just happened to miss them that morning. She was dressed as the Queen to show the family--if they were home--that the Queen was not dead, was still protecting people, and was certainly not a thief. It was also easier to ride the distance to the Heche hacienda in her Queen uniform than in a full skirted dress as Maria Teresa. Tessa had planned on appearing to the family as a concerned Dona who had just heard of their plight but it would seem too much of a handout if the 100 reales came from Maria Teresa. Also, if they remembered how the other Queen looked, they would see as Don Nogales had, that they did not look the same.

The Heche's sheep couldn't be left unattended for long or they would certainly end up on a ship commissioned by Montoya. There was a lamp burning in the Heche house and it made Tessa nervous. She was glad that they were in residence, but was trepidatious about seeing them. She was certain that her visit with the German family wouldn't go as smoothly as it had with Don Nogales. For one thing, she was certain that she wouldn't find an young, attractive Don. Also, they may not be as easily convinced about her innocense, and she couldn't speak German. Hopefully they had lived in California long enough to learn the language. Tessa hitched Chico's reins to a fence and walk to the window.

Olga Heche was alone in the kitchen doing the dishes. There weren't any children around; there were no people at all walking around the property. Getting strength from a deep inhalation, she walked to the door. As soon as the widow saw movement outside the door's window, she cowered against the counter and held up her hand in fright. Tessa quickly opened the door and shut it behind her. "No, please. I did not come to hurt you."

The widow grabbed a rolling pin and yelled, "Nein! Nein!" Tessa maneuvered out of the way of the thrusts of the rolling pin. Olga Heche yelled, "No reales!"

Tessa grabbed her hand. Her first instinct was to twist her arm, break the wrist, anything she had to do to wrestle the weapon out of it, but she wasn't in combat with a soldier. She carefully held Olga's wrist just strong enough to make the rolling pin fall from the older German's hand without breaking her wrist. Even though the woman was short and her wrinkles and gray hair made her appear frail, she was strong. Tessa warned, "Sh!"

After the widow dropped the rolling pin, she ran to the corner, shaking her head and cried out. "No. Nein," Tessa said as she shook her head also. "I am the real queen. Not here to take."

Suddenly, the widow stopped shrieking and looked at Tessa. She looked her over from head to toe. She even picked up the lamp from the table and held it close to Tessa's face and gazed so deeply into her eyes through the lace mask that Tessa felt she could look straight into her soul. Tessa smiled a friendly smile, revealing her teeth to show that she wasn't a threat. "Parecido...," the widow murmured. "Sie sind nicht sie."

Tessa was relieved she could speak a little Spanish. Since she was shaking her head, Tessa figured that she realized that the Queen who stole from her wasn't now in her kitchen. Tessa nodded, "Si. I am not the woman who robbed you," she said slowly. She pulled the pouch out of her pocket and handed the reales to her. Since she didn't take it, Tessa laid it on the table. "Reales," she told her. "Yours."

"La Reina?"

Tessa nodded and pointed to herself, "Genuino La Reina. Si."

Olga Heche started talking in German with a few Spanish words thrown in, but Tessa couldn't figure out what she was saying. The German's demeanor was one of relief, no longer fearful, and seemed to realize what Tessa had come to accomplish.She wanted to warn the woman about leaving her livestock unprotected but the only Spanish words that the widow understood were ovejo and ganado--sheep and cattle. Senora Heche seemed proud of her animals but didn't seem to understand what Tessa was trying to warn her about. Tessa paused and scratched her head. She didn't want to leave until the Heche's understood the danger.

Suddenly a young man's voice ran out from the living room. "Salir de!"

Tessa whirled around to see a teenage boy with a rifle in his hands standing in the doorway. "Salir de! Pronto!" His blond hair framed his beet red, angry face. He was the man of the house, the family's protector after the death of Senor Heche. Tessa put her hands up to calm him down. He was standing with his knees bent, his shoulders tense, his finger poised on the trigger, ready to fire.

Widow Heche stepped in front of Tessa, blocking her from the aim of the rifle barrel and admonished her son in German. Tessa couldn't make head or tail of what they were saying but was glad that the short, but stern, woman was on her side. The boy lowered the barrel of the gun and they both turned to look at the Queen.

Tessa, nervous, just smiled. The boy said in perfect Spanish, "I am sorry, La Reina. We are still on guard after the appearance of the other one."

"I understand. What is your name?"

"Jurgen."

Tessa was glad when he put the rifle back on the gun rack on the living room wall. At a bedroom's doorway stood two little girls, twins to Tessa's eye, about ten years old. She smiled to them and they ducked back into their bedroom. When the young man returned to the kitchen, Senora Heche had already set out cookies and was making lemonade. Tessa tried to tell her that she shouldn't go through any trouble, but Jurgen told her, "Mother will not hear of it."

She smiled as she took the seat that Jurgen motioned to at the table. She told Jurgen, but made sure to look at Olga as she was talking to make sure that she was understanding, "You cannot leave your livestock unprotected. I rode by early this morning to talk to you but there was no one here."

"The workers should have been," Jurgen said. Then was angry as he looked to his mother. "We had to go to Monterey to close my father's will. The workers said they would be here." He shook his head and grimaced. "You can not trust anyone."

Tessa said, "You can trust me. I have not had the chance to tell you that I am sorry for your father's passing. I lost my father not too long ago and I know how you feel."

"Thank you, La Reina. It is hard."

Jurgen took the time to fill in his mother in German what had been said. Tessa sipped the lemonade and took a bite of the cookie and smiled that it was good. Olga took the Queen's hand and said, "Gracias, La Reina."

Tessa motioned to the pouch she had previously laid on the table and told Jurgen, "That is 100 reales. Take it. I will find out who robbed you and return what you have lost. That is for you to get by."

"Why?" Jurgen lifted the pouch and then tossed it in front of Tessa. "If you did not steal from us, why give us reales?"

"I should have known what was happening. I promise I will find her, or who she was working with, if she was. Have you heard that the Queen is dead?" Jurgen, confused, shook his head no. "There was a woman who was dressed as me that was shot and killed. Everyone thinks that I am dead. It would be easier for me to work if I can keep that secret for a little while longer. The thief was killed, but I was not. I will find your reales and return them."

Jurgen spoke to his mother in German what she had said. Senora Heche was surprised, then sad, then grateful as he related the information. Tessa said, "I will keep an eye on their ranch. You are a good man, Jurgen. Continue watching over your mother and sisters."

His chest puffed up with the compliments and he replied, "You have nothing to worry about, La Reina. We will keep your secret. Thank you for the warning."

Tessa said, "Thank you for the lemonade and cookies. I hope you will be fine. I'll look in on you again in the near future."

~~~~~

Later, Jurgen laid in his bed, he couldn't sleep even though he knew he had to be up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows. Tomorrow would also be sheep shearing day which was back-breaking work. They had to let most of the workers go so it was up to him and his oldest sister to help the few farmhands that were left.

Jurgen remembered how his father had told them that life would be so easy in the new world, how they would have riches beyond their comprehension. Before his father died, they had thirty workers, they were one of the top ranchers in the colony. Before his father died, Jurgen was able to go to school and learn Spanish, was able to ride all day on his prized stallion. Others did the work that made the ranch successful. Their father left them in debt that they didn't know they had. Being robbed by the fake queen had depleted their nest egg that the sale of half the herd had given them to run the ranch. He had begged his mother to allow them to return to Germany and relatives, to start over. His mother was adamant that to stay in Alta California was her beloved husband's wish and that was exactly what they were going to do.

After staring at the ceiling for what seemed to him to be hours remembering and deciding his family's future, Jurgen came up with a plan. After the simple plan came into his head, he was able to fall into a comfortable asleep in moments.

~~~~~

Marta returned to the Alvarado stables with the mare and found that Chico was gone. Marta said a quick prayer and hoped that Tessa knew what she was doing by going out dressed as the Queen when it was easier on Marta's nerves that everyone thought the Queen was dead. When she went inside, she saw that the stew that she had left before heading to town, and Robert, had been eaten. Marta's worry over Tessa suddenly stopped as there was a blast of thunder from the sky. Since rain had been non-existent for months, Marta at first thought it was cannon fire. Only when rain drops started pelting the roof and windows did Marta jump with delight. "It's raining!" She yelled to no one in particular, "The heat will break!"

Marta happily went through the house to shut all the windows and doors that had been hanging open to allow whatever breeze there was into the house. In her bedroom, she saw Robert's handkerchief on her bureau with the initials, RB. Robert Birchwick. Robert, the Earl Birchwick, that was his true name. She was sad for him that his life had started with such promise, such riches, but the forces of war and his father's greed had made Robert step away from all of it, to renounce his birthright.

She held it to her chin and got a flash of him. It was fast, so fast she couldn't figure out what she saw. She rolled the handkerchief in her hands but she couldn't see anything more. She was certain that the flash wasn't just the memory of lying in his arms, sitting next to him as he painfully related his story, eating chocolate or drinking wine. She had the feeling that he was in trouble.

Marta went into the living room and opened the box that contained her tarot cards and brought them to the table. She lightly tied the handkerchief around her wrist to have an essence of Robert with her as she acted as diviner. Then she put the major arcana cards in order from 0 to XXI. As she shuffled the deck, she thought of Robert so she could do his reading.

Marta held the cards in her hand and thought of Robert. Everything but the questioner left her mind so she could focus. One should never read their own cards and that, in a sense, was what she was doing. She had to be careful to read what was actually there, not just what she wanted to see.

The first card of a reading represents the questioner's current situation. Marta flipped over the first card, the Fool. Marta hesitated for a moment, knowing that the Fool could mean many things. It could represent the start of a new adventure, a new way of thinking, learning a life lesson. The person could embrace laughter and enthusiasm, two emotions that Robert Helm had that afternoon. But it could also mean impetuousness, delirium, irrationality. Her first thought was that Robert should tread lightly.

The next card which was to cross the first represented immediate influences, or obstacles. Because the card would not be right side up or upside down, it could take on a positive or negative position. That card was the Lovers. A smile crept across her lips and her entire body warmed from savoring the last few hours that she had spent with him. She placed it crosswise over the Fool. The Lovers could represent harmony, trust, the beginning of a relationship. All were certainly true for both of them. But it could also represent conflicts within a person trying to unite them. Warrior, healer; titled Earl, a regular guy. To look at it another way, his lover could influence his life. Robert could lead with his heart instead of his head.

Wheel of Fortune card appeared to depict his goal, destiny. She had told him that afternoon that he was heading for a glorious future, and that could very well be true. But the hand of fate could intervene and thrown him off balance.

His card signifying his embedded past was the Hermit. A man who is searching for spiritual enlightenment, or to come to terms with a secret past. The Hermit could also mean withdrawal, retreat from action, self-denial, or the fear of discovery.

For what just recently came into being, the card was the Empress. Motivation to accomplish a goal, practicality. A personage of wealth, bloodline, family. That didn't seem right to Marta as Helm had denounced his birthright. The Empress can be about finding the loving, creative and abundant side of your own nature, fertility. In the past, Marta had often found that the Empress was an indicator of possible happiness in love and opening oneself to the beauty and abundance of life. The person is usually holding back from love and happiness because of past hurts and fears. It all seemed to fit the doctor, except the only thing that gave Marta pause was the fact that the card was ill-dignified. When she flipped it over, it was upside down. Because of that, the card's typical meaning could be either more intense, or it would be thwarted.

Marta continued flipping the cards. The next card, the card to signify what was ahead of Robert, was the card that Marta had dreaded turning over. The flashes she had when first holding the handkerchief left her feeling weighed down. She slowly turned it over and completed the layout. Death. She sighed deeply. It was the card that people came to know as exactly what it was named. Death. Her stomach felt like it was carrying a lead ball as she looked at it. A tingle flipped up her spine and neck.

Marta's primal reaction had come too quickly. The Death card rarely referred to physical death. All people die, it was inevitable. The Death card could mean so much more than that. It could mean a rebirth, the death of the old life and the start of a new one. It could mean that his life had irrevocably changed and was starting a new life, with her. Marta realized what she was thinking and mused, It is only how one chooses to look at it.

Of all the cards on the table, there was only one that wasn't dog eared, faded, as the rest were. That card was the Empress, in the position of what had recently come into being for Robert. She knew she should be looking at the overall to tell what the cards were saying, but she could only focus on the Empress. It seemed so out of place. Marta sat back in her chair and thought about what it could possibly represent.

Since The Lovers was the present influence on Robert, she realized that she herself could be a potent influence on his life. What from her life could have anything to do with that particular card being drawn? Marta picked up the Empress card and really looked at it. The Empress sat upon a stone bench, but it was softened because of pillows and blankets. She was a comforted woman, a well to do woman. The sign of femininity was by her right leg. The nurturer, the bearer of life. Marta's hand started to shake. Birth. Children!

Suddenly, it came to her. The nightmares she had during her first days in the Alvarado household, the last tragic days of her married life, all came rushing back at her. Marta quickly stood, the chair fell back to the floor.

"The Empress!" Marta doubled over, almost ready to faint dead away as her head felt light and blood rushed to her face as she clearly remembered. "Madre dios!" She held onto the table for support and realized that over the years, she had been very successful forgetting all about Senora Reboso.

Thunder crashed and lightening flashed in the window as Marta fell to her knees. Then she heard Chico neigh as he passed the house, toward the stables. Marta quickly gathered the cards and put them back in the box then untied Robert's handkerchief from her wrist and put it in her pocket.

Marta opened the kitchen door as Tessa ran inside. She was dripping wet and grabbed a towel from the counter to mop off her face. "It's raining, Marta! Finally! It has to cool off now."

Marta tightly smiled and told her to get out of the wet clothes. "I will," Tessa said. "It is a beautiful night! The Heche's know the truth about the Queen and I gave them some reales to get by on until I find the fake Queen and her stash."

Tessa excitedly recounted her evening, including the ride home when the rain clouds came and what they looked like as she hadn't seen many in America. Meanwhile, Marta was systematically going through the motions of getting Tessa out of those wet clothes, into her nightgown, dry her hair and get her to bed.

As Tessa finally did crawl onto her bed, she asked, "What is wrong?"

Marta quickly thought of a reason for Tessa. "I heard Montoya's speech about the Queen's death today. I am not in a good mood."

"What did he say?"

"He is going to throw a funeral fit for a queen and have a tombstone made for her grave."

"No. You're kidding!" Tessa laughed. "Did the towns people demand it?"

"Montoya offered before they demanded anything."

"That news should not leave you in such a mood. Montoya thinks I am dead, or the Queen is dead. This can only work to our advantage. Why are you sad?"

"I do not think going around dressed as the Queen is a good idea. I was here and you were not and it was late and ..." And Robert is going to die because of me, Marta thought but couldn't verbalize. "It is everything, Tessa, and nothing to do with you." She kissed Tessa's cheek. "I am glad you are back home safely. Good night."

Tessa laid back on her bed as Marta closed the door behind her. She listened to the rain and thunder that was at a distance now and wondered if Marta and her lover had a quarrel. She was going to get out of bed to talk to Marta, but didn't know what to say. Marta certainly wasn't sharing a lot of information. She laid back again and covered herself with a sheet, then a blanket as the air started to chill. As she fell asleep, Tessa hoped that Marta would confide in her. If it was a problem with whoever it was that Marta was in love with, Tessa hoped it would all work out for her. She also decided to be as nice as she could for a little while.

~~~~~

MORNING

Tessa awoke before Marta and started oatmeal that would warm them after the chilly night. She made sure that the fruit that was left wasn't overripe and put the good dishes on the table for them to eat breakfast. When the oatmeal was almost done, Tessa decided to look in on Marta and saw her sitting in the dark on the edge of the bed looking out the window. "Good morning," Tessa lightly said with a smile that Marta didn't see.

Without looking at her, Marta grabbed her robe and said, "Good morning, Tessa. Why are you up so early?"

"It was cold," Tessa said, rubbing her arms. "I have started breakfast."

"You did not have to do that, Tessita. I will be right out."

"I know I did not have to do it. I wanted to."

"Thank you." Marta went to her closet to decide which dress to wear for the long day of chores that she had mentally made to keep her mind off Robert's impending death. She had the thought to warn him, but he wouldn't listen anyway. She had also been taught from a very young age that if you see something terrible in another's fortune with the tarot that it was best to keep it to yourself. Maybe the forces of fate would smile on the questioner.

Tessa asked, "Marta? Do you want to talk?"

"About what?"

"About whatever is wrong with you. There is something on your mind. Something happened. Would you please tell me what it is? Is it your friend? The man?"

Marta sighed and said, "That is over, Tessa."

"Oh," Tessa said in surprise. "That would account for your.... I see. I am sorry. What happened?"

"It was not meant to be."

Marta ran her fingers through her curls and then started to tie it back for the day. Tessa said, "I will call you when breakfast is ready."

Marta nodded, still lost in thought. Tessa said again, "I am very sorry, Marta. If you want to talk, I am here."

Marta smiled at her and when her hair was tied up, she put her arm around Tessa's shoulders and walked her back into the kitchen. Tessa didn't like the sudden change in demeanor, she did that when she was pretending. Marta said, "Thank you for making us something to eat. Oatmeal will make us both strong today. I have a lot of chores to do."

~~~~~

After breakfast, and a little argument about Tessa insisting on dressing as the Queen and going to see what Montoya's troops were up to, Marta gave in and told her good luck and went to work. After completely cleaning the house from top to bottom with the help of one of the ranch hand's daughters, Carmella, it almost sparkled. Marta let Carmella go back to helping her own mother. She went out to the front porch to see if Tessa would soon arrive home and only saw the Dona's dead rose bushes that she hadn't been able to bring back to life.

Marta walked to the stables to ride to a neighboring ranch to ask their maid if she could get some cuttings for new rose bushes. She had always hoped that she could make Dona Alvarado's roses come back and had always refused the previous offers. It was time, if only for her own mind, that something would have that rebirth that was in Robert's tarot reading.

~~~~~

AFTERNOON

Montoya was just showing a visiting dignitary from Spain the door after having tea when one of his soldiers alerted him to another visitor. Montoya cordially bade farewell to the dignitary with hopes that the serene afternoon in Santa Helena would make the best impression on him. If he would tell the Spanish court that Santa Helena was in capable hands, it would go a long way toward getting Montoya another promotion. To Montoya's mind, the governorship wasn't too far off in the future.

After the dignitary's carriage pulled out of town, Montoya asked the soldier who the visitor could be. "A German boy," the guard replied.

As Montoya climbed the outside stairs to his office once again, the soldier following, he asked, "Name?"

"Jurgen Heche."

Montoya stood in his office, knowing about the German immigrants who ran a large sheep and cattle ranch. He had been thinking that since the Senor died of consumption, their cattle would be an easy mark. But then again, it would be too easy. If the quiet family lost some of their herd, they could get sympathy. Now the son wanted to bend his ear. Montoya asked, "What does he want?"

"To speak to you, Colonel."

"Everyone wants to speak to me," Montoya said with an easy smile. "Be more specific."

"He wouldn't say, Colonel. Only that it was of the upmost importance."

They heard voices outside the other door and Montoya opened it. Jurgen Heche stood proud between two guards. As soon as he saw the Colonel, he excitedly said, "Colonel Montoya, you want to hear what I have to say. I have important news."

"Then speak," Montoya commanded. He had heard 'important news' from unimportant people since the first day he took command. Since the meeting with the dignitary had gone well, the Queen was dead, and Grisham was training fresh recruits, Montoya was in the mood to relax.

Jurgen stood and looked at the three guards that surrounded he and Montoya. "In private?"

"No," Montoya told him. "Whatever you have to tell me, you can tell them. I trust them with my life. And they will defend my life if there is any threat."

"Before I tell you what I know," Jurgen began, on guard. "I will need payment."

Montoya finally broke out in that smile that had been playing on his lips. "Of course you do. I do not pay for words, young man. I pay for action. Words can be skewed, words can be lies. I only pay for the truth."

"This is the truth, Colonel." Jurgen smiled in return. "And you will pay handsomely once you have heard it."

"Let me hear it. I will decide."

"The Queen is alive."

"Throw him in jail," Montoya commanded to his soldiers and walked back into his office.

Before Montoya shut the door and the guards roughly took each of his arms, Jurgen yelled out, "I saw her last night. She was in my home!"

Montoya paused with his hand on the door knob. He debated the words of the boy. The death of the Queen had been too easy. The one who had killed her hadn't come forward for his reward as expected. He glared at the young man with all the evil the Colonel could muster to show the lad that it could mean death if he was lying.

Jurgen excitedly nodded. "It is the truth, Colonel. She came to us last night."

"Why?"

"We had been robbed by a Queen two months ago," Jurgen told them all. "She said she had just heard about the other Queen and was compensating the victims with a few reales. She felt guilty, Colonel. She is alive. She stood just inches away from me."

Montoya remembered the conversation with Maria Teresa, and that the Queen had been robbing people. That was news to him, but he trusted Senorita Alvarado, and she was worried that she would be next. Of course she was worried about her cattle, but had mentioned that she was missing some things and wondered if the Queen had stolen them. The Queen could have been shot by one of her victims. That may be why the killer hadn't come forward. But the real Queen, if she was alive, hadn't made an appearance since a dead Queen laid in the back of that wagon. The driver had convinced Grisham that he had only found her body and brought it into Santa Helena.

Montoya's mind flipped through all of those thoughts in milliseconds. He looked at Jurgen's face, really scrutinized it from every angle. Montoya had looked upon the face of liars before, men who claimed to have information, but were later exposed as frauds. This young man wasn't hiding anything as far as Montoya could tell.

He nodded to his men to release the boy and told them, "That information does not bear repeating." All three soldiers nodded, they would not tell a soul. He told Jurgen, "Come inside. I have questions, you will provide answers."

After the doors were closed behind them and it was only Jurgen and Montoya in his office. Montoya motioned for the boy to take a seat opposite the desk as he sunk into his leather chair. "Why did you not say that you had been robbed right after it happened?"

"We are a quiet family, Colonel. We are outsiders here. We are German, not Spanish. My mother did not want to involve anyone else."

"After your father's death, you are head of family. It would be your choice whether to come forward or not."

"I am the head of my family, Colonel, but I respected my mother's wishes. Surely you understand that."

Montoya liked this boy and slightly nodded. "How much did the Queen steal from you?"

"1500 reales," Jurgen said. Montoya saw the young man's head bow forward in what had to be embarrassment for not protecting his family. "My father left outstanding loans. That was the only thing we had until we can sell the wool and some cattle. That is all I am asking, Colonel. Please loan us 1500 reales so we can re-hire our workers. When you catch the real Queen, you will have the amount that she stole from us."

Montoya set his elbows on the arms of his chair and clasped his forefingers together under his chin and continued to stare down the German. "Who is she? Who is the Queen?"

"I do not know, sir. She was masked, it was dark."

Montoya moved his fingers from his chin to point at the boy. "If you are lying to me, you are dead."

"I am not lying," Jurgen confidently said. "I swear on the soul of my father."

~~~~~

The Queen spent the day following, at a safe distance, a small regiment being lead by Grisham. She had expected them to round up more livestock, start to herd them toward the sea and an awaiting ship. After hours of watching them go through maneuvers, she realized that it would be extremely stupid of Montoya to rustle again so soon. The bright sun made the blue uniforms of the soldiers more intensely colorful. She could see through her telescope that their shoes and the bottoms of their trousers were caked with mud from marching on the freshly wet ground.

She pulled some hard tack from her saddle bag for a snack and gave a piece to Chico, who lapped it up and wanted more. He was a horse of action and had been standing quietly for hours. She petted his snout and told him, "Okay, let us go get some exercise. You have been a good boy today." She gave him the rest of the hardtack and walked him away from the soldiers. When they were completely out of their sight, she climbed on his back and they rode off. Chico ran full out, she let him go wherever he wanted. He ran with his ears up, seemingly unbridled.

She was going to go home, but decided to let Chico run as long as he wanted to. She made him stop by a stream that the rain had produced to drink. As she bend down to get a handful of water for herself, Don Nogales again crept into her thoughts. She could see the smile on her face dance on the softly rippling water surface. He had told her to come back anytime. She had been thinking of him for two days straight.

Why not? She drew Chico's reins back to mount him again. "Just to see how he and his family are getting along. That's all," she told Chico, who shook his head from side to side to get rid of the collected water on his mouth.

She laughed and said, "Be quiet. Just gallop."

~~~~~

Helm hadn't seen Marta. He was convinced that she would come to him at noon. He had prepared a meal for them from fresh groceries he had purchased at the market. After eating his portion, he gave the rest to the neighbor next door. Just the week before, the old man had fallen and broke his leg. He was a widower and Helm knew he probably wasn't doing a lot of cooking. The meal was accepted with gratitude.

Helm couldn't figure out what was keeping Marta in late afternoon. He wondered if Senorita Alvarado had a list of chores for her to do and couldn't get away. He had to admonish himself. According to Marta, Maria Teresa wasn't the spoiled senorita that he had pegged. It was a quiet day in Santa Helena and no one was in need of his services. He decided to ride out to the Alvarados and find out what was so important that Marta couldn't come to him. Helm was certain that she would have if she could.

~~~~~

Tessa rode Chico to the bluff above the Nogales ranch. There were many men picking apples from the trees in the orchid, while Don Esteban tried to hang on to the reins of a bucking black mustang in the corral. Three men watched and commented as the horse was in the middle of a tantrum. Tessa noticed the Don's young son, Alessandro, sitting atop the fence cheering his father on. She could tell that Esteban was trying to break the wild horse, which was a difficult task. She remembered seeing one of her father's workers get a horseshoe to the face while trying to do it when she was young and the prospect had always scared her. Why wouldn't he leave that job for someone else to do?

She took out her telescope to see Esteban close up. What she saw made her stomach flip over with delight, her heart skip a beat and the hair on her neck tingle. His muscular arms rippled with each pull of the reins to control the horse who would be startled by any little movement. The Don peered at his cheering son to quiet him, then pulled the horse's snout close as if to talk to him. He gently petted the snout and it's neck. Tessa pulled Chico back from the bluff and tied his reins to a branch then paced back toward the edge and knelt down to hide herself from view.

By the time she was situated and the telescope trained on him, he was carefully lifting a blanket onto the horse's back. The stallion stood calm, but Tessa could see that it's eyes were trained on all around him. Don Nogales made the horse comfortable as another man put a saddle over the blanket on the horse's back. She was in awe of how the mustang was under the Don's spell. It flinched, turned his head, rose up from his front feet, but the Don's constant talking and rubbing made him calm down as men connected the straps of the saddle over it's belly.

Tessa could see that Esteban was ready to try to mount the horse. She had the intense visions of her father's worker who was tossed off and trampled in front of her young eyes. Her father had admonished her for being out in the corral as she could have been hurt herself. Tessa watched intently as Esteban put his foot in the stirrup, then climbed up. She almost didn't want to look. She was horrified to see the horse buck and lowered the telescope and looked away. Chico was eating some mesquite leaves.

When she hadn't heard streams or shouts over the wild neighs of the black horse, she worked up the courage to look back at them. The Don was on the horse, holding on for dear life, as the horse galloped and bucked around the circular corral. One of the men lifted Alessandro from the fence before the horse and Don got too close. The horse reared back, then leaned forward to buck off the passenger. Esteban held on. He careened to the left, then to the right, back on the saddle, then almost fell off the front, but he held on. Soon, the horse calmed down again and seemed to know his fate. Tessa looked again through the telescope. He slowed from the wild jerking around the pen into a slow and easy trot. Don Esteban leaned forward to pet the horse once again and speak to him.

~~~~~

As Helm neared the Alvarado's, he wondered if he should have an excuse to be there. The simplest thing to say was the truth--he was there to see Marta. She had fallen days ago and had two bruises that he wanted to tend to, but she was a healer and the last time he saw her, her wounds were no longer a problem. Helm remembered the last time they were together from start to finish. She was so beautiful, exotic in her pom pom corset. Her eyes were so soft, open to him, comforting, yet tantalizing. Her touch was light when he had needed reassurance when retelling of his life, all encompassing during the throws of passion.

The truth was clear, he needed to see Marta. He would declare it to all at the residence, including Maria Teresa, that she belonged with him. If Marta wasn't open to marriage, he would make himself a constant visitor, so they had better get used to it. Those thoughts made him smile. But Marta didn't want that. He asked himself, Why? He tried to think of a reason. I'm not Gitano? I'm not good enough? She's ashamed of my past but is too good of a soul to say so? Is she only using me?

None of the reasons seemed the right one. When he rode into the yard, the first thing he saw was Marta hunched over the flower bed to the left of the front door. She hadn't seen him, didn't seem to have heard him as she hadn't turned around at the sound of an approaching horse. It was only when Helm's horse snorted that she stopped pulling at the dead rose bushes and turned around. When she did, she gasped and went back to her work.

Helm dismounted and looked around. There was no one else in the vicinity. He laughed to himself. That wasn't the reaction I expected. He also didn't expect her to be safe, outside, so attainable. In the back of his mind, he was thinking she was trapped under a heavy piece of furniture and that was the only reason she hadn't come to him.

He pulled at the reins of his horse and walked him toward the steps. "It's getting late in the day."

Marta's back tensed, the only indication she gave that she had heard him. He asked, "What time do you usually lunch? I usually eat around noon. You know, the noon meal? Lunch? Right before you left yesterday, that was what we had agreed." He lightly laughed. "I even cooked it."

Marta sat back on her ankles and turned to him. "You should go," she said in a monotone.

That certainly wasn't what he expected. If fact, it shocked him. "What?" When she didn't answer, only continued to pull out the dead bushes, he walked to her and took at her arm. "Look at me."

"Please do not touch me," she said as she yanked her arm from his grip. She looked like a little girl lost to Helm and he couldn't understand why.

Helm stood with his hands on his hips and tried to think of why she was acting so differently toward him. "Is something the matter with the Princess?"

"No!" Marta's voice boomed, surprising them both. She softly said, "Her name is Tessa."

Helm tried again, "With a farm hand?"

"No."

"You had an inordinate amount of laundry to finish?"

"No."

"Those dead plants just couldn't wait for another day?"

"No. Tessa is upset that they are dead. They were planted by her mother. The soil has been loosened from the rain last night, so it is a perfect opportunity to replant them. I got those cuttings and they must go into the ground soon."

Helm walked toward her again. "Let me help you."

"No," Marta said forcefully.

Helm said, "Well, it looks like you've just begun this endeavor. What have you been doing all day?"

"Doing my duties," she said as she yanked the last bush out of the ground and hit her hand against the roots to release the mud back onto the flower bed.

"Well, I've been waiting for you."

"Do not do that," she said as she tossed the dead bush onto the wheelbarrow that sat on the other side of the flower bed.

Helm had enough. "What is the matter? What did I do?"

"Nothing."

"I must have done something. Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me!"

"You will not understand," she said as she stood and started to use a pitchfork to till the soil before planting the new bushes.

Helm ripped the pitchfork out of her hands and yelled, "No secrets, remember? Tell me what is the matter!" He threw the pitchfork behind him, spooking his horse, who rose up and trotted back.

Marta flattened herself against the house and would not look at him. He wanted to take her into his arms and tell her that whatever it was that happened was no cause to cut off all emotion toward him. Whatever it was, they would work it out. He was going to, but she seemed so scared, of him. "I am sorry I threw that. I just want to know what it is. Tell me," he softly said.

It seemed to take great pains for her to say, "You are going to die."

"We all are," he lightly chuckled.

"Soon." Marta said it with such dread, that Helm wondered what melodrama she had fashioned for herself. "It is your fate."

"So I can't be happy until that day comes?" His lighthearted response had fallen on deaf ears. "I'm not going to die, that's ridiculous."

"I saw it in the cards."

"That's nonsense."

Her eyes flared and Helm knew he had gone too far. He hurriedly said, "How? How am I supposed to die? Does it happen today, tonight, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, when I'm 80? When does it happen?"

Marta stood like a stone watching him. She finally said, "I told you that you would not understand." She quickly shook her head with anger. "I was not supposed to tell you. A questioner should never know about their danger."

"You're talking nonsense."

"It is not nonsense! I was going to tell you the reason, but since you are acting like a jackass, forget I said anything and just leave!"

Helm wiped his brow and took a deep breath and started over again. "I am listening. Tell me."

When she finally spoke, it was so soft he could hardly hear it. "I was married."

"Married?" She nodded. "So was I," he said. Marta looked at him in surprise. "More coincidence between you and I." He had opened another chapter of his life for her and opposed to her, he was willing to fill in the blanks. "Yes, I was married. She was a spy, like me. She died in the line of duty. I watched her die." Helm's throat constricted as that he had said it so quickly. He could tell Marta anything, was ready to, and she couldn't even look at him. "Alice was her name. It was hard, it was awful, it hurt me deeply. But it was a long time ago. I have moved on. I love you."

Marta stood with wonderment at that information, almost shocked to Helm's estimation. He had lived, had done many things and had things done to him. Couldn't she tell that she was important to his life? However long it would be?

"Married," he asked her. "You were married?" When she nodded, he asked, "Are you still married?"

"No," Marta said, slowly shaking her head. "My husband also died."

"Are Gitano under the belief that once you are married, you are married to that man until you hit your own grave?"

"No."

"Then what is the problem?"

"My husband was trampled in a stampede."

"I'm sorry," he quickly said, waiting for more. When none came, he said, "Marta, we have both felt pain. That is what makes the present so much nicer. There is no pain as long as we're together."

"I...," Marta began. "I do not want anything to happen to you."

"Well, that's more like it," Helm said and smiled.

"I am serious."

Helm walked to her and put his hands on her arms. "It is not going to happen. Nothing is going to happen to me except I will be extremely lonely if you refuse to see me."

Marta pushed him back a little and announced, "There is a curse."

She had said it as if she was carrying the weight of the world. Her shoulders sagged, she fell back against the wall and the worse part for Helm was, she wouldn't look at him. Helm suppressed a laugh, but said, "A what? That is even sillier." He lifted her chin to make her look at him and she batted his hand away.

Marta continued to look at him as she said, "I was a midwife, the child died. The grandmother, Senora Reboso, put a curse on me that I would never be happy with a man. That I would never have children. My husband died three days later. I have never had children. That is why Tessa is such a treasure to me."

Helm was confused. "Marta, you're shutting me out because you got the evil eye from a bitter Spanish woman?!" Marta reacted by moving to the side, ready to leave. Helm held onto her arm. "I lost a woman who was delivering a child! Am I cursed by her husband, a Don? No!"

Marta tried to get away from Helm, but under no circumstances would he let her. She yelled, "No! I am shutting you out because you do not understand my beliefs!"

"Yes!" Helm yelled in reply. "I don't. But I do understand that you never will be happy with a man if you keep shutting them out. Marta, you just remembered this 'curse'? Suddenly?"

"I thought it...," she cried out. She pulled at her arm, but Helm instead of letting her go, wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she cried. "I do not... I thought it might have... I have not been thinking."

She pushed him away and said, "I am not used to this! Yes! I forgot about it! It was years ago, since I have loved a man." She clamped her hand over her mouth, but Helm was pleased that she had at last said that word. When he walked forward again, she rushed to the door. "I do not want anything to happen to you."

"We've already been together, twice."

"Why push our luck?"

"Nothing's happened. Except that we both had a very nice time. Right?"

"Yes."

"Then?"

Marta stated, "It is over. You have to leave."

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"Why do you not listen to me? You do not believe it, that is fine. I do." She gravely said, "I know. Leave."

He paused, then groaned. "Why not indeed!"

~~~~~

Don Nogales rode the horse around the corral with Tessa watching from the telescope on the bluff. He would stop the horse, then nudge him to move forward again. Whatever the Don wanted the horse to do, he would do it. Esteban dismounted the horse and stepped back as the men unbridled the horse and led him toward the stables. Alessandro climbed up the fence again and called to his father. Tessa wish she could have heard what he was saying, but she could guess. It was quite a site for her, it must have been electrifying for Alessandro.

Esteban pulled his son into the corral and hugged him, knowing that he had done a job very well. They walked toward the house as they pantomined conversation. Alessandro's arms were flying as he was obviously recounting to his father what he had seen and how excited he was.

Tessa wanted so much to be a part of that talk, to congratulate the Don, share in Alessandro's joy, but she couldn't. She wasn't a part of them and she knew it. She couldn't be seen. There was nothing more important to her at that moment than to sit with that family at dinner. She wanted to talk to Alessandro so he wouldn't worry about the bad woman who had robbed them. Tessa was concerned that the Don's children were having nightmares. She wanted to meet all of his children. She remembered the time that they had gathered around Maria Louisa by the fountain in Santa Helena just before her death. Tessa wanted to hold the little one that lived while Helm couldn't save her mother's life. Those were the maternal instincts of Tessa, what she really wanted more than anything was to be once again close up with Esteban. To have him speak to her. To have him know her, who she really was.

She walked back to where Chico stood to return home with the hope that one day she would be able to talk to the Don and his children, get to know them, be a part of them. For now, she would get out of their way. Just watching him for that short time was enough for the moment. She thought of riding out to Beggar's Canyon to see what sort of riffraff had recently collected there.

Tessa usually left them alone because it seemed the only ones they robbed were each other but maybe there was a new gang in the area, maybe one of them knew of the fake Queen. But she couldn't appear to them as the Queen. It was nice that Montoya thought she was dead, but also an annoyance. She had to be careful who she appeared to, and when she did, had to explain too much.

Tessa had had a long day of watching and Chico could use some hay. To think of it, she was getting really hungry also. Dinner with the Nogales' was a pleasing thought, but she knew that Marta had probably cooked a full meal and was expecting her.

As she rode back home, she spotted a lone horseback rider following the road from her estate to town. Tessa became excited. Maybe it was Marta's suitor and she could find out who he was. She rode to him, then realized what clothes she was wearing. She was supposed to be dead. "Damn!" She veered Chico off the road before he could notice her. His long tan coat that flowed behind him on the horse looked very familiar.

~~~~~

Continued soon