Part Five of Nine
Prologue
It didn’t take long for the men to find the scene of the rustling and track the rustlers. As they rode into an arroyo, gunshots rang out and Fenner was hit in the shoulder. The rest dismounted and took cover just as a rustler came up behind Roman.
"Raphael, get help," yelled Juan Pablo, as he shot the rustler.
Raphael grabbed his horse and mounted. As he raced away, a bullet grazed Roman’s head and knocked him out, leaving Juan Pablo alone. Three rustlers started to surround Juan Pablo when a gunshot rang out and a rustler received a bullet in the throat. Juan Pablo struck one with his sword as an angry woman in black came alongside of him.
"Juan Pablo, are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes, Elena, I am, but Fenner and Roman have been hit," replied Juan Pablo in a low tone so no one would hear.
Suddenly, another woman in black arrived and caught a rustler around the neck with her whip as he aimed his musket at Elena.
"It’s not nice to back shoot," said the Queen of Swords as she flung the man from the rocks where he had been standing.
The sound of hoofbeats alerted the Queen of another rider and she saw Josephine race in and dismount.
"Where is Fenner?" she demanded.
"He fell over there," replied Juan Pablo.
"He’s been hurt," yelled Josephine as she tried to lift Fenner.
The Queen dismounted and helped her load Fenner on a horse. "Get him to town," said the Queen, as Josephine mounted behind the unconscious man.
Roman woke up and saw the two women. "I must really have been hurt I see two Queens," he said.
"Nah, just one and her sister," said Elena, as they started to mount.
A groan caught their attention and they found one of the rustlers, bleeding.
"We will take him with us," said Juan Pablo, as he caught a horse, loaded the man and tied him to the saddle.
When they were a mile from the hacienda, The Queen and her double broke away. "You don’t need us anymore, said the Queen."
Act One
By the time the men rode up to the hacienda, Tessa and Elena rushed out of the casa wearing robes.
"Juan Pablo, Roman, what happened? Who is this?" asked Tessa, showing concern on her face.
"His name is Shamus and he is a sailor from La Vaca," said Raphael, as he walked in.
"Raphael, I thought you went for help?" asked Juan Pablo.
"I did. I ran into some vaqueros who had chased the herd after they found the spot where we were attacked."
The wounded man was carried into the kitchen. He looked up at Marta, Tessa and Elena with eyes that showed death.
"Tell me old shipmates I'm taking a trip, and I'll see them someday in Fiddler's Green," he said in English, and expired.
The three women looked at each other in confusion, as they did not understand him.
Several hours later, Josephine brought Fenner back to the Alvarado hacienda with his arm in a sling and with the news that none of the vaqueros were seriously wounded or dead. Marta had bandaged Roman’s head and Raul had arrived and taken the body of Shamus to Santa Elena.
Captain Grisham had immediately gone on patrol looking for the rustlers but returned with the news that he could not find anyone. Montoya was not pleased.
Tessa, her anger showing, took Josephine and Elena by the arms and escorted them to the hill above the hacienda.
"I know what you are going to say," said Josephine. "Tessa Alvarado, the Queen of Swords is going to tell me that what I did was foolish."
"What?" asked a shocked Tessa.
Josephine smiled. " The other night, I was out getting a breath of air when I heard you and Elena come out. I started to come over when I heard the two of you speak of the Queen and your relationship to her. Please, Tessa, don’t be angry. I won’t tell anyone. We all have our secrets."
Tessa looked at the two women. "You two are exasperating," she said. "I have been doing this a long time and I know what I am doing."
"Tessa is right," said Elena smugly. "We are both trained swordswomen."
Tessa rolled her eyes.
"What do you think I did in Spain? Knit?" asked Josephine. "My tribe taught me to shoot, throw knives and use a whip. I am gitana, remember? About a year before I left Spain, I stumbled across a man, alone, fending off four bandits, who were not gitana. I jumped in and lowered the odds from four to one to two to two. The survivors ran away. After that, the man taught me to fence and said I was his third female pupil."
"What was his name?" asked Tessa, squinting a bit.
"Maestro Torres."
"That man," exclaimed Elena. "He ought to start a school for women vigilantes."
"What he did do is create a regular Sisterhood of the Sword," said Tessa.
They all laughed.
"All right, we are in this together. In the future, we must coordinate our activities. Does Fenner know about you, Josephine?" asked Tessa.
"No, not even the sword lessons. He knows I can use a knife; that is normal for gitana women."
"Juan Pablo knows what I do, but he does not know about Tessa," said Elena.
"Good. Let’s keep it that way. Marta and one other know who I am and neither will tell. Now, there are you two.
"Tomorrow, I am going to visit my Uncle Juan Rafael Elizandro, who lives just North of me."
"Tessa, you mean that nice gorgeous man whom I met before, the one with a wife and son? I am going with you"
"The same, Elena, so keep your hands to yourself, or you might end up missing a body part or two," said Tessa.
"Ah, Tessa. I have a handsome husband of my own," replied Elena with a grin.
The next morning, a war party consisting of Tessa, Elena, Juan Pablo, Josephine and Fenner rode to the Elizandro hacienda. Fifty yards away from the hacienda, they stopped. Tessa scanned the area and noticed two musket barrels sticking out of two windows on the ground floor of the casa. Five musket barrels pointed at them from the roof of the two-story building.
"Uncle Juan. It’s me, Tessa."
"Tessa who?" asked a man’s voice.
"You really should be careful, riding up unannounced," said a man from behind the five riders.
Tessa turned toward the sound of the voice.
"Juan, what the hell is going on here?"
"Well, I know you had a run-in with some rustlers. I am having a problem with land-grabbers."
"Land-grabbers?" asked Tessa.
"Colonel Montoya is trying to confiscate my land by saying my ownership is in question."
"What, I publicly announced that I had sold it to you," replied Tessa.
"That’s the rub; he said you were under duress."
"I’ll duress him," replied Tessa. "First, however, we have another problem. Several of my vaqueros were wounded, as well as Fenner here. I would like to combine our vaqueros to patrol our lands. Once the rustlers are captured, then they can continue protecting you and your family," said Tessa.
"Agreed, Tessa. Montoya should know better than to try his underhandedness with the Alvarado-Elizandro haciendas."
"I wonder if Montoya knows that we are still in business together as well as being family," said Tessa.
"He soon will," replied Juan Rafael.
Everyone dismounted and went into the hacienda for a war council. Several hours later, the five left and returned to the Alvarado hacienda.
Fenner was feeling weak, so he headed for Josephine’s room where he would be more comfortable.
Tessa, Elena and Josephine went to the kitchen as Juan Pablo led the horses to the stables.
"How would you ladies like a bottle of white wine? I’ll go get some. Elena would you and Josephine slice some cheese and fruit? Marta must have gone to town with Roma, since she doesn’t appear to be around," said Tessa as she walked to the wine cellar.
EARLIER THAT DAY….
As soon as the girls had left for Juan Rafael’s, Roman made his way down to the wine cellar. He had seen Marta go down there earlier, most likely to avoid him. Once down there, Roman, after careful examination of the wine racks, quickly located the dummy bottle and carefully opened the door to the hidden room. Just as he’d suspected, Marta was in there. She was sewing up bullet holes in one of the queen’s costumes, more to keep herself busy than anything else. Marta heard the door open and turned around to find Roman standing there.
"How did you…?"
"Know about this place? Marta, I’ve known that Tessa was the Queen ever since Fenner and I helped her to locate Montoya’s hidden vault. But, don’t worry. I haven’t told anyone—especially not Fenner. He may be my friend, but he can’t keep a secret to save his life."
Marta stood up from her chair.
"What are you doing down here?"
Roman sighed and ran a hand down his face. This wasn’t going to be easy.
"Marta, we need to talk."
"There’s nothing to talk about. You lied to me."
Roman walked over to Marta and put his hand on her shoulder, which she quickly shrugged off.
"Marta, I tried to tell you before, but…."
Marta started to leave, but Roman managed to intercept her.
"Would you just listen to me?"
Marta crossed her arms and looked Roman straight in the eye.
"I’m listening."
"As I was saying, I tried to tell you about the pardon before, but you and Tessa got so worked up about the fact that I’d proposed that nothing else I said registered."
Marta’s face fell when she realized that Roman was right.
"Dios mio, I didn’t realize…"
"It’s alright. You had more important things to think about."
Roman guided Marta back over to the chair. She sat down and he crouched in front of her.
"Now that that’s out of the way, we can concentrate on what I really came down here to talk about."
Marta looked a little confused by this.
"And what’s that?" she asked.
"I need to know what it is you’re afraid of. Is it me?"
"What makes you think that I’m afraid of you?
"Well, something’s keeping you from marrying me, and I’d really like to know what it is so we can work it out."
"It’s not you, Roman. It’s just…."
Marta turned away from Roman, not wanting to finish that sentence.
"Marta, what is it? You can tell me. We can work it out. Please, just talk to me."
Gently, Roman cupped her chin and turned her head back so she was looking into his eyes. He saw the pain in them and had a fairly good idea of what had happened.
"You’ve been hurt before, haven’t you?"
Marta nodded.
"My husband. I…I gave up everything to be with him. My family, my home…but none of that mattered to him. After the honeymoon, he took off for the army and left me with nothing. If it wasn’t for the Alvarados, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me. A few years ago, I received word that he had died, officially leaving me a free woman. But…."
"You’re afraid that you’ll get hurt again if you let someone else in."
Again, Marta nodded, turning away as she did. And again, Roman gently turned her so she could see into his eyes.
"Marta, angel moy (my angel), my love, I swear that I’ll never, ever do anything to hurt you. I love you more than I’ve loved anyone my entire life. You are The One, the other half of my soul. With you, I am complete. YOU, and only you, are my destiny. "
Without waiting for a response from Marta, Roman shifted his weight to one knee and started searching the pockets of his ever-present duster. Eventually, his large hand closed on the object he was searching for—his mother’s ring. Keeping it hidden in his hand, he turned his attention back to Marta.
"Look, I know I told you before that I didn’t have the money for a proper ring. While that is true, I never meant that I didn’t have one." He opened his hand to reveal the ring, a simple silver band adorned with a small blue diamond. "This ring belonged to my mother. It was the most valuable thing that she owned. Even when we were living on the streets, she wouldn’t sell it, despite the amount of food it would have purchased. It meant that much to her. Papa gave it to her when he proposed. The diamond, well, Papa came by it on pure, dumb luck. He had been a miner at the time when he met Momma, and one day he came across this large blue diamond down in the mines. Most of it went to his employer, but he managed to keep a small part of it, which he had set into Momma’s ring. Up until the day the guards dragged him off for stealing a loaf of bread, and probably even after, he swore that finding the diamond was some kind of sign from God. And Momma believed him, which is why she held onto it for so long. Anyway, the day she died, Momma handed the ring to me and told me that I was to give it to the woman I would marry. I didn’t bring it out before because…because I was scared. I wasn’t sure how you’d react to my proposal and I was afraid you’d throw the ring back in my face. But now, I think it’s time. Marta, will you do me the great honor of allowing me to become your husband?"
For a few moments after Roman finished his speech, Marta stayed silent, processing what he’d just said. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for Roman, she spoke.
"Yes, Roman. I’d love to marry you."
Grinning from ear to ear, Roman put the ring on Marta’s finger. Then, whooping for joy, he picked Marta up and swung her around once before setting her back down and kissing her. At first, the kiss was tender and gentle, but it grew more passionate with each passing moment. Soon, the pair slowly sank to the floor, never once breaking the kiss.
BACK IN THE PRESENT….
"How would you ladies like a bottle of white wine? I’ll go get some. Elena would you and Josephine slice some cheese and fruit? Marta must have gone to town with Roma, since she doesn’t appear to be around," said Tessa as she walked to the wine cellar. On the way down the stairs, she noticed the wall hiding the secret room was ajar, and there was some light coming through. She peeked into the room and immediately went back upstairs, the wine completely forgotten. Josephine and Elena saw her come up and called to her, but the only response from Tessa was a muttered remark about finding something to put her eyes out with. Curious, the two crept down to the wine cellar to see what had unnerved their friend. Peeking into the hidden room, they saw Roman and Marta curled up next to each other on the floor, Roman’s duster the only thing covering their bodies. The rest of the clothing was strewn all over the room. Marta’s hand moved slightly and the new ring on her finger caught the light from the candles. Josephine and Elena looked at each other and grinned.
"Finally!" they exclaimed in unison.
"So, Josephine, do you think we should leave Tessa alone for awhile, or should we go tease her about this?"
Josephine grinned devilishly, and the answer didn’t need to be spoken. The pair ran upstairs and headed to Tessa’s room.
Grisham rode to the ship and dismounted.
"Where are my cattle?" asked Barko. "The ship is finished and we need to brand the cattle and then load them before we are located.
"You haven’t been located, yet," replied Grisham. "We had a little setback the other day but have no fear; this time we will succeed."
"You had better, Captain. We had a deal," replied Barko with a sinister voice.
"Look, I have ten men and I need ten of yours to get the cattle tonight,"
"Ten? You do have some cajones grande, Captain. You took five men the other day and lost three of them. You keep losing my men and I will have no one to sail my ship."
"We ran into a problem," said Grisham.
"Your infamous Queen of Swords?"
"No. We ran into some very mad vaqueros. They had help from Roman and Fenner. If I see Fenner again, he is a dead man."
"Well, business is business," replied Barko.
"It’s almost dark, so we must ride," said Grisham.
Barko motioned to ten sailors, who mounted and joined Grisham’s men and rode out. A vaquero watched from a hidden spot on the bluff. When the rustlers moved out, he mounted his horse and rode toward the Alvarado hacienda.
"Señorita, los hombres activo o emprendedor are on the move," said the vaquero.
Tessa nodded. "Everyone mount up, check your weapons. My uncle will meet us at the planned place," she said as she went outside, with the others following.
Twenty-five of her vaqueros were already mounted as Tessa and Elena joined them. Juan Pablo, Roman, Raphael and Fenner had ridden to Juan Rafael’s an hour earlier. Josephine remained behind as the attackers rode out.
Shortly after Tessa and her warriors left, Josephine slipped down to the secret room without Marta seeing her. She dressed as the Queen, mounted her horse and rode to the beach.
Keeping to the shadows cast by the bluffs, she dismounted and hid among the boulders jutting out into the ocean. She took off her boots and slipped into the surf. Damn, that’s cold, she thought, as she started dog-paddling towards the open sea. When she was past the ship, she turned towards it so she would come up on the ocean side.
Continue to Part Six
If you have missed any episodes so far, you will find them in the Season Three Archives section .
