Chapter 41

The day of the wedding had come - finally. Victoria had been so excited that she could hardly remember anything of the ceremony except for the moment when Diego kissed her after the padre had declared them men and wife. She was married! There was nothing that kept her from Diego's arms anylonger.

"Are you happy, Victoria?" Diego asked her smiling, joining his bride in the garden for a drink and a break from dancing.

"Very happy, Diego. I'm happier than I ever imagined," she laughed happily in his arms. "This is a wonderful party with all our friends, even Sofia arrived in time for our wedding, but the best of all is that I have you as my husband," she kissed him.

"And I have you, Victoria." Diego held her tight in his arms. "I never thought this day would come after all the times I nearly lost you and I never thought you'd really love me."

"Never doubt my love, Diego," she assured him. "I'll never leave you and we'll have children and a big family. You'll never be lonely again."

"And want children too and I want to be alone with you," he kissed her again. "Coming?" Diego pointed to the house.

Without a word and a happy smile Victoria put her hand in his and walked with him to the inside. She wasn't afraid of the wedding night as her friend Sofia on her wedding day. The time at the mission had given her the chance of getting to each other better than any rules of propriety allowed an engaged couple and she couldn't wait to be in his arms again.

Z~Z~Z

A year later Victoria was sitting in the shade with her friend Sofia in the garden of the de la Vega hacienda, looking at her sleeping son in her arms, while Sofia was still rocking her daughter to sleep. Both children had been borne only a week apart and the two women spend much time together with their children.

"I hope Maria will fall asleep faster tonight," Sofia said, stressed, walking up and down with her daughter. "I don't want to miss the play this evening."

"I'm so excited," Victoria said. "Tonight the new theater will open in Los Angeles with a play from Lope de Vega. It was a good idea of our husbands to bring some culture to town when they both love theater and can't visit the plays in Monterey."

"Yes, Manuel persuaded his uncle the governor to support the construction of the theater next to your tavern in part and the de la Vegas gave the rest. It's good for business and taxes too," Sofia said.

"Yes, my brother Ramon, who is managing both the theater and the tavern, told me that the tavern is booked out for the next four days by the guests who want to go to the theater. He thinks about promoting Mendoza to manager of the tavern so he can focus on the theater."

"Mendoza would certainly qualify for the job and he is certainly happier in the tavern than in the military. He quit the military very soon after my husband implemented the new training schedules for the garrison and made sure that the men under his command were well trained and no longer the laughingstock of California," Sofia agreed.

"The soldiers weren't so bad," Victoria defended them. "Mendoza admitted that the soldiers were intentionally missing their target whenever they were told to shoot Zorro."

"I didn't know that," Sofia said, surprised, "but I never saw Zorro and how he defeated the soldiers or the late alcalde."

"Were you talking about me?" Diego came out of the house after he had returned from a ride with his father and the vaqueros gathering the cattle for the fall round up.

"No, we were talking about Zorro who has nothing in common with you," Victoria teased him.

"Yes, that's true. I still don't know how I could win the heart of the most beautiful woman in Los Angeles," Diego grinned, taking Victoria's hand and kissing it, making her blush.

"No wonder you like the theater so much when you're such an actor yourself," Sofia stated. "You must excuse me now, I have to return to the pueblo and hopefully the drive back will make Maria fall asleep."

"Now I have you all for myself," Diego smiled, sitting down on the bench next to Victoria and putting an arm around her and the child. "No Sofia or your brother Francisco who spent so much time here after the christening of his godchild."

"Francisco isn't so bad after he apologized to us," Victoria defended him. "And you still have to share me with our son."

"Juan is sleeping until he gets hungry again in a few hours. And I love to spend some time with my beautiful wife who made me happy as never before." Diego kissed her.

The End