"Next stop, Santa Elena," said Maria.

"Why Santa Elena?" asked Juan Pablo, with a puzzled look.

"Two reasons, my love. First, we are so close that I want to visit Tessa and Marta," replied Maria.

"And the second?"

"Maybe we can find the real Queen of Swords," replied Maria with a gleam in her eye.

"Well, I never liked sleeping in collapsible hotels, so let's go," replied Juan Pablo.

They turned their horses and rode out of Monterey until they hit the El Camino Real again and turned south.

Act Two

Raphael Vanegas-Sanchez, Josephine and Fenner said good-bye to Roman and headed for the docks to see if they could find a ship bound for Spain.

"Raphael!" Raphael turned towards the sound of a man’s voice calling him.

"Bakro you phuri rikono," yelled Raphael as he hugged the man.

"Josephine, is this little Josephine? I haven’t seen you since the patshiv on Slava, ten years ago. You are a beautiful chey," said Bakro.

"I am not a little girl, Bakro. I may be a shav, but soon I will be a romni. This is my future husband, Fenner," said Josephine.

"Pleased to meet you. Te xav to biav?" asked Bakro.

Fenner looked questioningly at Josephine.

"I asked if I may eat at your wedding?" said Bakro.

"Mashllah," replied Fenner with a laugh.

"As God wills? You are not gitano, how do you know Romany?" asked Bakro.

"I’ve been with a few gitana in the past," said Fenner, which promptly got him a smack on the arm from Josephine, "but none of them could hold a candle to you, darlin’," Fenner quickly recovered.

"That’s what I thought," said Josephine.

"Good," said Bakro. "Now, Raphael why are you here?"

"Looking for passage to Spain," replied Raphael.

"Look no further, my friend. We sail with the tide, and the tide is right. Let’s get aboard before my crew leaves us."

"Your crew would sail without you?" asked Fenner.

"If they were gitano, no. My crew is made up mostly of Irish and Scots. Good sailors, good drinkers, good fighters and loyal to their Captain. But, they are also impatient," he laughed as they boarded the ship.

The sails were already unfurled and the ship pulled away from the dock. Two hours later, the wind died and the sails drooped. The summer heat started to heat up the ship and the crew and passengers stood on the deck to get some air.

One of the Irish sailors produced a squeezebox and started to play. Captain Bakro and Raphael walked over to the rail and joined Josephine and Fenner.

"What is that noise they are making?" asked Fenner.

Bakro looked at the sailors and laughed. "That noise is what the Irish call music. Do any of you understand English?"

Fenner and Josephine both replied in the affirmative.

"Shamus," called Bakro in English. "Play that song I like so well."

"Aye, Cap'n. You mean Fiddler’s Green?" replied Shamus, with a thick brogue.

"Si, that is the one," replied Bakro.

Josephine came closer to the young, muscular Irish redhead. Fenner frowned and walked up and put his arm around her.

The music of the squeezebox sounded across the deck and all the sailors gathered around. Shamus’ voice was strong as he began.

As I roved by the dockside one evening so rare

To view the still waters and take the salt air

I heard an old fisherman singing this song

O take me away boys my time is not long

Dress me up in me oilskin and blanket

No more on the docks I'll be seen

Just tell me old shipmates I'm taking a trip, mates

And I'll see them someday in Fiddler's Green

Now, Fiddler's Green is a place I've heard tell

Where fishermen go when they don't go to Hell

Where the weather is fair and the dolphins do play

And the cold coast of England is far, far away

The sky's always clear and there's never a gale

And the fish jump on board with a flip of their tail

You can lie at your leisure, there's no work to do

And the skipper's below making tea for the crew

And when you're in dock and the long trip is thru

There's pubs and there's clubs, and there's lassies there too

Now, the girls are all pretty and the beer is all free

And there's bottles of rum hanging from every tree

I don't want a harp or a halo, not me

Just give me a breeze and a good rolling sea

And I'll play me old squeeze box as we sail along

When the wind's in the rigging to sing me this song

As the last of the music died away, the wind picked up and the sails billowed in the breeze. The ship jumped in the water and picked up speed. The ship had sailed for two hours when the lookout in the crow’s nest called out a warning. Storm clouds were forming on the horizon. The ocean swelled and the passengers took cover in their cabin as the storm increased.

As the ship was tossed in the night storm, Fenner heard some strange sounds. He climbed into the hold and found a herd of terrified cattle. The cattle had broken at least one upright beam and had kicked down several pens in the hold.

Fenner returned to his cabin.

"Raphael, Josephine, we have to get off of this ship," he said fearfully.

"Fenner, Barko is my friend, why should we get off this ship?" asked Raphael.

"The cargo is a herd of cattle and they had broken out of their pens. The cattle can’t get out, but a herd that normally would stampede could cause the ship to list and capsize us. Besides, at least one upright beam has been shattered."

A sudden knock on the cabin door stopped their discussion.

Captain Barko entered the cabin. "Raphael, I am sorry but your trip will be delayed. Our cargo has caused some damage to the ship and we have to put into a safe area where we can unload the cargo. If we don’t, we may not make it to Los Angeles."

"There is a safe harbor near Santa Elena," said Fenner.

"Good, good. I have never landed there, but it is on the maps. We will put ashore there," replied Bakro as he turned and left the cabin.

"Josephine, while they are busy repairing the ship, we can go see Roman. He is sure to be there."

"Why would he go there and how can you be so sure?" asked Josephine.

"Love. Roman is in love with a lady in Santa Elena named Marta. She is the duenna to Doña Maria Teresa Alvarado," replied Fenner.

"That is interesting, isn’t it, father?" she said as she lifted her skirts a bit and tied something around her waist.

"Josephine, what are you doing?" asked a shocked Fenner.

"Just preparing to go visiting," she giggled as she secured the posoti.

True to his word, Bakro moved the ship closer to shore and, as daylight broke, found a small cove with a large beach that would be perfect for repairing the ship. The beach provided an area of four-hundred-yards wide from the sea to the cliff and a half-mile long. On the cliffs above was a stand of trees.

The ship was anchored. Half of the crew went ashore to cut down trees to build a corral and for ship repair.

As the cattle and twenty horses were being unloaded, a lookout called the Captain.

"Riders, Captain. Soldiers."

Bakro called to the men on the ship and in a minute, twenty muskets were lined up on the railing, aimed at the soldiers. A horseman on a large white stallion rode up.

"Captain. I am Captain Marcus Grisham, of Santa Elena. May I ask what brings you to our shores?"

"We had some damage to our ship, Captain. We landed to make repairs. Is there some problem?"

Grisham looked at Bakro and then the ship.

"Captain, you are harboring a known thief. I see Fenner on your ship. Now you may hand him over or I will take him," said Grisham.

"Captain, you look like a reasonable man. There are six of you and thirty of us and twenty muskets pointed at you."

"What did you have in mind?" asked Grisham.

"Due to an unforeseen incident and the loss of ten men, I find that my cargo is short by one hundred head of cattle. I am sure that a man such as yourself might be able to, shall we say, acquire that many cattle for a price," said Bakro.

"Are you trying to bribe me?" asked Grisham.

"Captain, I am hurt. The money would be for services rendered, not a bribe, I assure you."

"I want Fenner," said Grisham.

"He is engaged to the daughter of a dear friend of mine. He may not be gitano, but I must consider him family. At least, until I leave Alta California," replied Bakro.

"No deal. I want Fenner."

"Captain. He is untouchable as long as I am in Alta California," replied Bakro, with a stern look on his face.

Grisham scratched his chin as he looked at Fenner and then Bakro.

"I get your drift. Fenner is untouchable as long as you, Captain Bakro, are in Alta California. Once you leave, however . . .."

Bakro held up his hand. "I don’t want to know. Once I have sailed, you can bury Fenner up to his neck on this beach at low tide."

Grisham put his hand out and Bakro shook it.

"Agreed," said Grisham.

"Agreed," said Bakro.

Grisham smiled as he mounted his horse and rode away, All I need to do is keep Montoya from finding out, and I both get paid and I get rid of that double bastard Fenner. Maybe I could spend some time with his girlfriend afterwards.

On a hill overlooking the beach, a young woman on a palomino watched as Grisham shook the sailor’s hand and then rode away. "Something is fishy about this, Lindo," said Tessa as she turned her horse and headed for home.

Two days after saying adios to Fenner, Roman was sitting on his horse in front of the Alvarado hacienda, trying to get up the nerve to go in. He hadn't seen Marta in over a year and was having second thoughts. What if she's forgotten me? For all I know, she could have met someone else and gotten married. I guess there's only one way to find out. Bracing himself for the worst, Roman dismounted, went to the kitchen door and knocked. He whipped his hat off his head and waited for an answer. Moments later, the door opened. But, instead of Marta, he saw a young woman--one of Señorita Alvarado's servants.

"If you're looking for Señorita Alvarado, I'm afraid you'll have to come back later. My mistress is still on her morning ride."

"Actually, I'm looking for Marta. Is she in?"

"Si, Señor. I'll go get her."

Roman started to follow her, but found the door slammed in his face. So much for a warm welcome. The door opened again and this time, it was Marta who answered.

"Roman?"

"Hello, Marta."

Roman stared at her for a moment, taking everything in. She looks even more beautiful than she did the last time I saw her. All Roman wanted to do at that moment was to take her in his arms and kiss her long and passionately. But, he held back. If Marta was involved with someone else, that type of behavior would be grossly inappropriate. Instead, he simply stood in the doorway and waited to be invited in. If he wasn't welcome, there'd be no point in sticking around.

"Where are my manners? Come in, Roman."

Marta stepped back to allow Roman to get through the door. What's he doing back here? Not that I'm complaining, but Montoya is probably still gunning for him. And why is he being so cold? Marta gestured for Roman to take a seat at the table, which he did.

"So, Roman, what brings you to Santa Elena?"

"Just passing through."

"Is Fenner with you?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Oh. What happened?"

"Nothing bad, I assure you. In fact, it's kind of a funny story..."

Roman related the story of the earthquake and how he and Fenner saved the Viceroy. Occasionally, Marta would smile or laugh and that made Roman feel good--better than he had in a long time, but he left out the part about the pardons.

"And last I saw of Fenner, he was leaving for Spain with this gypsy girl--Josephine."

"Really. The name sounds familiar. Who is her father?"

"Didn't catch her father's name. She did mention an Uncle Tonio, though."

Marta's face lit up when she heard the name.

"Uncle Tonio is the leader of my clan back in Madrid. And my brother Raphael had a daughter named Josephine. Last time I saw her, she was just a little girl. And now...."

"Small world, huh? Don't worry, she's in good hands. Fenner cares very much for her."

"It's not her I'm worried about. I'm just worried that Fenner will say the wrong thing and she'll toss him overboard. She's always had a mind of her own, just like her father."

Roman laughed at that. The thought of Fenner being tossed overboard by that girl was hysterical.

"So, Marta, what have you been up to lately?"

"The usual. Cooking, cleaning, watching over Tessa."

"Are you...seeing anyone?"

Marta was somewhat taken aback by that question. Why would he have to ask me that?

"No. Roman, why are you really here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I sense that there is more to this visit than just 'passing through'."

"Damn. I should've known better than to hide something from you."

"Yes, you should have."

Though her voice sounded serious, Roman saw a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Okay. The real reason I'm here is for you. I know you told me that my destiny lies elsewhere. But I can't imagine a future without you in it."

Continue to Part Three

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