"I mean how close. How good of a look have you had?" She turned her right shoulder toward him and leaned over slightly. Tessa saw his eyes move down to her deepening décolletage and then back to her face. She turned her head to the left and reached over with her left hand to catch her hair in front of her right shoulder. She straightened, holding her hair toward him. "Have you really looked at her? A woman would know whether her hair is a wig or not," she said.

Montoya half lifted his hand as if he would take Tessa's hair. Tessa smiled and flipped it back behind her. "That is your problem, Colonel. You have not looked at her like a woman would look at her." Tessa turned and faced Montoya squarely, hands on hips. "You flattered me earlier saying you thought I could be the Queen. Well, I could be the Queen! I am intelligent. I can ride well. I learned to shoot a musket with the gypsies, and I run my own hacienda," Tessa said in a serious mien. Taking her hands off her hips, she put her left index finger briefly against Montoya's chest, and said in a light manner, "You should worry. If I were the Queen, Colonel, I would be Commandante by now, and you . . . you would be my clerk," she finished with a smile and a toss of her head.

"Well Señorita, may I say that you would make a pretty Commandante," Montoya said, a small smile on his lips. He reached his right hand out and took her right palm in preparation to bringing it to his lips. He paused, holding her hand, and said, "However you must allow me time to talk to you later about the difference between your theories on the Queen and my own. I must return to training for our defense."

Tessa watched him take a half step forward and bow slightly, lifting her hand to his lips. She could see his hair was matted with sweat. As he turned away Tessa thought she had been able to diffuse the serious suspicion she had seen in Montoya's eyes. The reason for the looks he had been giving her lately became clear. He was suspicious of her. She turned toward the wagon, then stopped. She realized Montoya had taken advantage of kissing her hand in the way she had been warned about in one of her first 'lessons' in Court behavior at the Escorial! When he lifted her hand to his lips he held it against the side of her breast and when he bent over to kiss her hand the side of his sweaty forehead pressed against her breast!

She twisted back toward the cannon. Montoya had stopped and was looking back. When their eyes met, he turned to continue toward the cannon. Tessa could see the grin of his teeth.

"Damn!" she said aloud, conscious now of dampness from his sweat where his forehead had touched. Then she turned slowly back toward her wagon, checking to see if anyone had noticed her actions. Montoya's cavalier behavior was foremost in her thoughts while she walked toward the wagon. He would not behave so toward her unless he appeared to seriously consider her as the Queen.

Tessa found Vera and Gaspar at the back of the wagon. Gaspar had obviously just finished eating the food Vera had brought in her basket. He was daubing his lips with a linen napkin.

Gaspar turned to Tessa. "Tessa, I was just telling Vera that Colonel Montoya plans to review and practice our plan far into the night. Can you give her a ride back into the pueblo?"

"Of course, Gaspar. And I will make sure Marta and I return with something better prepared for supper," Tessa said.

The three of them turned as M. d'Retenu rode his horse by them. He gave them a friendly wave before kicking his horse into a trot back to where all the horsemen were gathering.

Marta walked up to the wagon. "Marta, I think we should head back now if we plan to make it back for supper," Tessa said to her.

"Yes, we need to go now," Marta said. Then she nodded in the direction of M. d'Retenu. "He told me they will be here all night."

Tessa watched Vera give Gaspar a good long kiss. "Do not worry, my pet, I will stay out of harm's way," Gaspar said to Vera when she finally released him.

Vera gave him a playful tap on the arm. "See that you do!" she said. Then Vera turned to Tessa. "Tessa, let's leave the men to their games."

The three women climbed up on the wagon. "Tessa, it looks like the Doctor will need to find his own way back," Vera said.

"I think he will still be here when we return," replied Tessa as she picked up the reins.

Vera waved to Gaspar as the wagon started back to town. Then she turned to Marta,"Marta, do you speak French?"

Act Three

At the same time, just off the coast from Monterey, two ships were headed south south-west, away from Monterey as the sun showed it was close to noon. They were a mile apart in the freshening breeze, both close-hauled on the starboard tack. One of the ships was French, the Barracuda, 22 guns, under French Captain Paul Voler. The other was an American ship, the Sea Harvest, 18 guns, under Captain Alex Hipplewaite. Both men were seasoned sailors, Voler from the wars of Napoleon and Hipplewaite, the American-British War of 1812.

The two Captains had met in Jamaica. Voler, the strict navy-like Captain, who ran his ship like he was still in the French navy and Hipplewaite, overly fond of drink, but a terrific man in a sea fight. They had formed an easy alliance with each other that profited both their crews. Voler was taller than most and remained thin. His uniform coat beginning to fray at the cuffs, just like the civilized veneer covering his barbaric tendencies. Hipplewaite, thick in arm and body, could hide his barbaric nature if he had to, but did not bother any more since being kicked out of the American Navy.

It was in Jamaica they also met an American named Forster, who had been with De Bouchard when he raided the Alta California coast in 1818. The Captains listened to the tales of easy money be found there. The two decided to brave the trip around to the Pacific. It was Voler's intent to use the profit from the raids to buy a plantation in the Caribbean. He did not think Hipplewaite planned for a quiet retirement. They were confident that their two ships and more importantly, their crews, each ship leaving Jamaica with twenty-five extra men to make up losses in accidents and engagements, would be able to stand against the majority of the forces on the Pacific coast. If they were to come upon stronger forces, they would show discretion and retire to plunder another day.

Captain Voler, as the more experienced sailor, led the way from Jamaica. It took several months for them to reach Alta California. Both ships put in to the Mission at San Diego three days apart to gather information and look at their defenses. They were encouraged by the lackadaisical attitude of the military forces they saw. The two Captains agreed that the most important information they acquired was the tax schedule to Monterey. They planned to attack Monterey after the taxes were due, to catch the Viceroy with full coffers. Several times they landed Spanish-speaking officers at night to look at the defenses of the pueblos or missions. Before the attack against Monterey, their best Spanish speaker stayed there three days, gathering information from the soldiers, who were eager to talk of their duties over a free drink.

Their attack on Monterey went as planned and they succeeded in securing the Viceroy's tax collection. As a plus, Captain Voler and his men captured both the Viceroy and Colonel Orvantes, his military aide, trying to escape to the south. Captain Voler took pains to gather up the Viceroy's correspondence that was with him when he was captured. The plan was to ransom the two men back to Monterey.

Captain Voler was less than impressed with Captain Hipplewaite and his men. Their ship was a poor sailor and the length of their voyage so far was due, in part, being held to Hipplewaite's slower speed. Captain Voler was also disappointed in the behavior of Hipplewaite's men when it came time to prepare to depart from Monterey. Instead of paying attention to watering and victualing, his men continued to scavenge through the pueblo looking for valuables and women. They found few of the former and none of the latter, not after the first day. When they finally did prepare to leave, he knew that Hipplewaite had not filled all his water casks nor taken on that much beef. Captain Voler knew Hipplewaite was thinking that since they were going to move down the coast and continue to raid, there was no reason to spend the effort to fully load up on supplies.

Captain Voler sent the ransom demand for the two prisoners to Captain Estevan. When Estevan was slow to reply, Captain Voler set sail, having to convince Hipplewaite that to delay their departure for just two men would allow warnings to be sent down the coast.

Captain Voler looked through his glass at the Sea Harvest. The ship was keeping up nicely today. Hipplewaite must not have gotten too drunk last night, was his thought as he examined the trim of her sails.

Captain Voler's thoughts were interrupted by Lieutenant Traduct, his Spanish-speaking officer, who spent time in Monterey before the raid. "Captain Voler, I think you should come and hear what the prisoners have to say," said Lieutenant Traduct.

"I told you to tell them we would ransom them at a later date," Captain Voler replied.

"I know Sir, but the Spanish Colonel, he did not even give me a chance but just started talking about stopping south of here at one of the smaller pueblos; that they would be able to pay the ransom. Once the Colonel finished, the Viceroy said the same thing, he followed the Colonel's lead."

"One of the smaller pueblos would be able to pay the ransom? How could that be? There are no pueblos shown on the coast in the map drawn by Forster," Captain Voler remarked.

"They must be there, maybe they are new since Forster was here. In any case, the Colonel said they had not sent in their taxes yet," Lieutenant Traduct said.

"Go and look through the papers taken from the Viceroy's office to see if their story can be verified," Captain Voler directed.

Lieutenant Traduct gave the Captain a half bow and turned toward the aft cabins.

Captain Voler stopped him with a question, "Lieutenant, what was the pueblo's name?"

"Santa Helena."

Several hours later, Captain Voler watched Colonel Orvantes and the Viceroy escorted in to his cabin by Lieutenant Traduct and some sailors. They had a day's growth of beard and were disheveled. Both their pants and shirts were stained from being locked in a storeroom, their jackets now in the possession of whoever took them prisoner. Clearly, Traduct was right. The Colonel is the leader and the Viceroy is the follower, thought Captain Voler, watching them. He glanced at Captain Hipplewaite, leaning against one of the counters off to the side. Hipplewaite's Spanish was adequate to follow what would be said here, and the two of them had already decided what they were going to do any way.

"Remove their bonds," Captain Voler said to the seamen who had brought the prisoners into the cabin.

He waited while the ropes tying their hands were removed. "Please be seated, gentlemen," he told them in his passable Spanish.

When they sat, he nodded to one of the sailors in the room, who put a glass of wine on the table in front of both of them. He watched as the Viceroy drank half of his in a gulp. Colonel Orvantes just looked around the cabin.

Yes, Voler thought, watching Orvantes, You are the one I will be dealing with.

Captain Voler cleared his throat to get the Viceroy's attention. He knew Orvantes would be listening. "My Lieutenant has verified what you indicated earlier, gentlemen. That this pueblo, Santa Helena, has not yet turned in its taxes to your office. How do you know that they will have the resources to pay the ransom we asked for?" he asked.

"They have the money, Captain. Do not fret about that. The Commandante there is a stingy bastard, who is never on time with his taxes and half the time loses it to bandits, a woman bandit," the Viceroy said, speaking up quickly.

"Then how do I know he will be able to pay? Stopping at this pueblo and dealing with a man who may not have the money will delay us getting to Pueblo de los Angeles. Maybe enough for a rider to warn them we are coming. Is that your plan, Viceroy? To delay us?" Captain Voler asked sharply.

"No no," stammered the Viceroy quickly. "Montoya will pay. He will get the Dons to advance him the ransom if needed. I will order him to do so," finished the Viceroy strongly, looking to Orvantes to confirm his comment.

Captain Voler turned his gaze toward Orvantes. "Well, Colonel, can you guarantee what the Viceroy has said?"

"You know as well as I that I can give you no such guarantee. I am content to wait until you return to Monterey for I know Captain Estevan will not fail in getting the ransom."

"This is the Captain who was not able to provide your ransom in time to stop us from leaving Monterey with you in our hold? Maybe this Captain is ambitious, Colonel, and would not mind a promotion if you do not return," Captain Voler finished with a laugh, and smiled to himself as Orvantes eyes momentarily widened, confirming he had the same thought.

"Montoya will do what I tell him," spoke up the Viceroy quickly. "He would not dare to disobey me."

Captain Voler watched the small smile that played quickly across Orvantes face. "I agree, Captain. Montoya would not disobey the Viceroy's instructions," Orvantes said slowly. "Though if you do send a man to him with a ransom request, I would recommend that he ensures it is delivered to Montoya publicly, maybe in the presence of several Dons. Otherwise," here Captain Voler watched a tight grin that showed on Orvantes' face, "Montoya might be apt to lose the ransom note from the Viceroy or discount it as a joke and send your man back."

"Haw haw," burst out from Hipplewaite. "Sounds like he may know you better than we do, Colonel. Ha ha."

The Viceroy rose quickly from his chair and turned toward Hipplewaite. "He will do as I say!" he yelled.

Captain Voler watched the Colonel pull the Viceroy back in to his seat. "Montoya and I may have had disagreements in the past over the proper way to administer to the needs of Alta California, but as I said, your man just needs to be prudent in the delivery of the Viceroy's order," said Orvantes quietly.

"You have convinced me," Hipplewaite said loudly, walking over to stand behind Captain Voler.

"Good," said the Viceroy, "I will write my orders to him very clearly."

"On the contrary, Viceroy, your instructions will not be needed," Captain Voler replied quietly.

"What do you mean?" stammered the Viceroy, looking first at Voler then at Orvantes.

"He means we have already decided to raid your little pueblo of whatever they have before we continue down the coast. Maybe we will ransom you in Los Angeles, maybe not," Hipplewaite said loudly.

The Viceroy stood quickly, looking first at Orvantes then at Voler. "This...this, I protest this behavior, Captains," he stammered. "As persons of high office we should be accorded certain rights. . .."

"You fop," Hipplewaite interrupted, stepping toward the Viceroy menacingly. "You are lucky we do not just kill you and use you for fish bait."

The Viceroy collapsed into his seat as Hipplewaite reached him. Hipplewaite clapped him twice on the shoulder, hard. "You are lucky my friend, Captain Voler, thinks we will need you later - alive. Otherwise I would have set you afloat on a barrel that my gunners would have used for target practice," Hipplewaite guffawed loudly.

Captain Voler waved his hand toward the two prisoners, "Tie them back up and put them back in their hole."

As the sailors moved forward, Voler watched Orvantes stand, drain his wine in one long drink, and accept being tied. The Viceroy tried to struggle, but was easily handled, bringing another guffaw from Hipplewaite. The sailors, laughing, pushed the Viceroy out through the cabin door. When they went to push Orvantes, he shook them off, calling to Voler, "Captain, I look forward to the time when we can exchange more pleasantries over the point of a blade."

This brought another bark of laughter from Hipplewaite, while Voler smiled and said, "It would be a very short conversation, Colonel," to Orvantes' back as Lieutenant Traduct shoved him roughly out of the cabin.

Hipplewaite was still chuckling as he took a seat at the table with Voler. "A pair of fools. No wonder they were sent out here from Spain."

"Yes, though I would watch my back if Orvantes were my friend," Voler replied with a laugh of his own.

Hipplewaite turned serious. "You think we will be off the coast of this pueblo tomorrow morning?"

"Yes. We will come in from the south during the night and send in Traduct to work his way toward the town. If they run, it will be to the south and he will be able to watch."

"Good. While you do that, I will run in quickly so I can send my men ashore at dawn. You can come in right behind. How far from the beach will we have to go?" Hipplewaite asked.

"The maps we found in Monterey show something like five to ten miles," replied Voler. "You and your men will have to stay sober tonight, other wise my men and I will find you all passed out along the trail from exhaustion, having to walk that far," Voler said with a laugh.

He received a big laugh in reply from Hipplewaite. "Good, I will take my boat back to the Sea Harvest and turn to follow you. Remember, if you dally putting off Traduct, all the spoils will go to my men," Hipplewaite said, standing to take his leave.

"Yes, in any case we should be on our way to Los Angeles tomorrow night," replied Voler as he walked out behind the coarse American.

Alejandro brushed his saddled horse slowly in the morning darkness. He was thankful he had been awake two hours earlier when Captain Grisham had ridden up out of the darkness with word that the lookout to the north had not seen anything. As the eastern sky began to lighten, he put his brush away and moved to wake the soldier he was paired with. While the soldier sat up and threw off his blanket, Alejandro looked out at the sea toward the north. It had lightened enough to just see about five miles. Nothing there. He swung his head around to the south. He froze! "A ship!" he yelled involuntarily and pointed.

The soldier jumped up to look. "The pirates!" he yelled.

Alejandro turned to get his horse, then stopped, remembering Colonel Montoya's words. He went and picked up the soldier's glass and trained it on the ship. The ship was headed directly for the cove where the British ship had lain. The ship was about two miles out from shore. Alejandro continued looking back and forth with the glass before finally noticing another speck on the edge of his vision, a bit further south than the first ship. He waited, watching. The soldier began to urge him to leave, to go and warn Colonel Montoya. Alejandro pointed to the spot. "I must be sure if that is another ship," he said.

The soldier took the glass and laid down, steadying the glass on the rocks. "Yes," he said after a minute. "There are two ships coming. Ride quickly!"

Alejandro turned toward his horse. . ..

Colonel Montoya finished shaving by candlelight in his tent. He had fallen easily into camp routine. They had worked hard all day yesterday and late into the night. He had allowed the men to fire several shots from their muskets during the later practices, but held off firing the canon. He pulled his coat on, blew out the candle and ducked under the tent flap. He looked around at the three different groups of small makeshift tents in the dawn light, most dead asleep from their efforts. He spied M. d'Retenu walking over from where the horsemen slept. Montoya went to the nearby wagon, stepping around the people sleeping near it. He found a cup and poured some cold, sweet coffee into it. The sun will be peeking over the hills to the east in a moment, he thought, tasting the coffee.

He nodded to M. d'Retenu as he walked up and poured himself a cup. M. d'Retenu leaned back against the wagon and looked back south, toward the rope corral of horses, and sipped his coffee. They did not speak.

Colonel Montoya turned to look at the horses too, taking another drink of the sweet coffee. He noticed several of the horse's heads come up and turn to the south. At the same time he heard M. d'Retenu push away from the wagon and out of the corner of his eye he saw the raised arm pointing south. Following D'Retenu's arm, he stared, seeing nothing at first. Then, he saw it. A rider, coming fast!

He waited while M. d'Retenu walked toward the corral, waving at the rider. He watched the rider swing over toward the corral, pull up and dismount in a rush. It was Alejandro.

He turned back toward the wagon as the sun came up over the hills in the east. He squinted, and finished his coffee in one gulp. . ..

Continue to Part Five

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