Chapter 30: Wedding

A/N: 1) Damas here are the equivalent of bridesmaids.

2) Noche de bodas means "wedding night" in Spanish.

3) Esposa means "wife" in Spanish.

Diego blinked slowly awake, then frowned. This was not the ceiling above his bed. Then he heard a muffled sigh and felt a soft stirring beside him. Then he remembered...and smiled.

He leaned toward her and began stroking her cheek with his hand. "Señora," he whispered. No response. "Señora," he whispered again, a little louder. Still she slept. Now he leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Señora de la Vega," he said yet louder. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Mmmmm, 'Señora de la Vega'. I like the sound of that," she said, cupping his cheek in her hand and drawing his mouth down to hers...

Earlier that day it seemed as though the whole world was glowing. The sky was a brilliant blue, the ordinary buildings of the pueblo were festooned with flowers, and the walls of the church almost blinding in the afternoon sun. The interior of the church, too, was bright with candlelight, and even Padre Vicente's simple robes seemed radiant. Beyond that, he did not recall many details. But he would always remember her face, framed by a borrowed mantilla, as she approached him on the Colonel's arm.

This was not quite a traditional Californiano wedding. For one thing, Spanish brides wore black as a sign that they would be faithful to their husband until death. This Maggie flatly refused to do. Many of the doñas furrowed their brows and shook their heads at this, until someone observed that wearing black might remind the young Señora Emerson of her departed first husband rather than of her handsome soon-to-be second husband, and that this would be a great discourtesy to Don Diego. At this the frowns disappeared. Also, in the Americano custom, she arrived at the church with her father, in a carriage, forgoing the mounted procession.

But many traditional customs would be observed. In a beautiful inlaid wooden box on a little table near the altar sat the arras matrimoniales, thirteen gold coins that would be blessed by the padre then given by Diego to Maggie as a sign of his sacred pledge to always provide for her. Next to the arras was the lazo, a gold-fringed cord that would be wound in a figure eight around the couple's shoulders as a sign of the love that would bind them for the rest of their lives. He remembered reciting his vows, and he remembered her calm, firm voice as she in turn recited hers. He remembered the rings and the lazo. And he remembered standing together at the altar at the end of the ceremony, then turning and escorting his new bride out of the church and into the sunlight. Where he kissed her for the first time as his wife.

The Rancho de la Vega had never seen such a celebration. It seemed the whole pueblo was there, and it probably was. No one was turned away. Neighboring landowners, wishing to express their great good wishes, had sent over sheep and cattle to be butchered, chickens, oil, flour for tortillas and pastry delicacies, and more wine than could be stored in Don Alejandro's cellar. The feasting, music, and dancing went on long into the night.

Diego and Maggie attempted to retire soon after sunset. "Doña Margarita" as they now called her had gone with two of her damas up to Diego's room — now their room — to change out of her gown. The formidable Doña Elvira stood guard at the door. Diego had changed in his father's bedroom and now made his way along the balcony to their room — a short walk accompanied by much cheering and backslapping and shouting of good wishes from the male guests. When he arrived at the doorway, Doña Elvira knocked twice and opened the door for him, smiling and murmuring, "Buenos noches." Diego entered and locked the door behind him.

She was standing near the window, enjoying the evening breeze. He came up behind her and softly put his hands on her shoulders. He brushed her hair to one side, then began placing soft kisses down the side of her neck and across her shoulder.

"We have had a long day, querida," he observed. "But I hope you are not too tired just yet."

She turned to him and put her arms around him. "I never believed this day would really come, Diego. I never thought I could be so happy again. I—"

They were both startled by a great thump, followed by the sound of breaking glass, followed by shouts of "Fire!" In an instant Diego had crossed the room, unlocked the door and was looking down onto the patio from the balcony. Someone had knocked over a table which had knocked over one of the many patio candelabras which had set the linen covering of a smaller table on fire. Arturo the steward stood next to the now-soggy second table holding an empty bucket. He looked up and said, "A thousand apologies for disturbing you, Don Diego. But everything is now in order. Your presence is not needed here." Diego made his way back to their room and re-locked the door.

"Was anyone hurt?" she asked.

"No. Clumsy guest," he explained, irritation in his voice.

"No matter," she said softly, "the night is still before us."

He took her in his arms and kissed her long and deeply, and she melted into him. He stroked her back down to her hips and she signed softly at his touch. He kissed her again; she returned his passion in equal measure. He began to undo the ribbon at the neck of her nightgown.

Suddenly there came from outside the window a loud, poorly played chord from a badly tuned guitar. Six lancers, none of them either sober or particularly good at singing, had decided that their contribution to the celebration would be a serenada for the bride and groom. They worked their way through a tender, romantic ballad about true love. Diego and Maggie, disturbed for a second time but wanting to accept the well-intended wishes of these guests, sighed and listened to the thankfully short song. But the lancers unfortunately chose to continue. Their second song was a ribald tavern ditty that was of questionable taste even under normal circumstances, and completely out of place at a wedding.

Maggie closed her eyes, shook her head, and covered her face with her hands. "No - no - no! Not now!" she wailed.

Diego gritted his teeth and was on his way to the window, intent on slamming it shut hard enough to possibly break the glass, when they heard the voice of Sergeant Garcia.

"Idiotas! Babosos! Stop this!" The music came to an abrupt halt. "This is not a song for Don Diego and his bride!" chided Garcia. "This is not a song for anyone! Well, perhaps for an Englishman somewhere. But not here! Get out now, all of you! Go!" The sound of receding footstep floated up out of the darkness.

"Are we perhaps cursed?" Diego wondered aloud. He walked slowly over to Maggie, who was now sitting on the bed. He took a deep breath and sat down beside her and took her hand, trying to regain his calm and his ardor. She too was flustered.

"Surely they all will go home eventually," she sighed, leaning on his shoulder.

"I hope 'eventually' is very soon," he replied, turning her face to his and planting a soft kiss on her lips.

Now there came the sound of a persistent knocking. The couple looked at the door, puzzled. Although the door was the logical source, the sound seemed to be coming from somewhere within the room. After a few moments Diego's face registered understanding and he rose and strode over to the mantelpiece. He pressed the switch and the secret panel swung open revealing Bernardo holding a lantern.

Now Diego lost his temper. "Bernardo! What is the meaning of this? You of all people! This is not how we planned to spend our wedding night! This is not how anyone would plan to spend their wedding night! We desire peace and privacy and all we get a noisy accidents and drunken soldiers and servants coming into our room!"

All the while Bernardo stood there, calmly nodding, looking for all the world like he was in complete agreement with everything his patròn was saying. Finally Diego's anger ran its course. "Exactly what are you doing here?" he asked, a little calmer now. The muzo motioned for them to follow him into the secret room. "You want to go to the cave now? Now?" Bernardo, smiling, nodded vigorously. Diego was incredulous. "Now?" He turned to his bride. "I don't understand this, Margarita, but stay here until —." At this the nodding turned to vigorous head shaking. Bernardo pushed his way into the room and took Maggie by the wrist. She snatched up a shawl as he pulled her over to her new husband, placed her hand in Diego's, and pushed their hands together, hard.

"You want Margarita to come with us?" Bernardo went back to nodding.

Still unhappy with the evening's events and thoroughly confused, the couple followed Bernardo into the secret room. Here he handed Diego a second lantern, and the trio made their way — slowly, for Maggie's sake, since she had never been there before — down the stairs and through the long tunnel out to Tornado's cave.

As they were approaching the cave, Diego became concerned. He thought he saw a distant flickering light and he wondered if there was a fire of some sort. When they came to the place where the tunnel opened out into the cave itself, Bernardo stopped, held his lantern aloft, and made a sweeping bow of welcome. Diego and Maggie stopped dead in their tracks.

Two dozen candles, perched on small outcroppings in the walls, cast a warm glow over a thick layer of straw spread over the floor and topped with several blankets and a pair of pillows. To one side a tray from the hacienda bore a bottle of wine and two glasses. Diego was speechless.

" Bernardo, this is beautiful!" Maggie gasped. " You have done this for us!" She stepped over to him and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek. Bernardo, blushing as he had never blushed before, went back to nodding. Suddenly Diego realized that something was missing. Something very large and very black.

"Wait, where is Tornado?" The muzo drew a square in the air. "In the box canyon?" Bernardo nodded and made several motions of bringing food to his mouth and then rubbing his stomach. "With plenty to eat?" asked Diego. Bernardo resumed nodding. "And the spring is full?" More nodding.

"My friend, I don't know what to say. A thousand thanks. We will never forget this." The manservant smiled broadly and bowed slightly, then turned a began to make his way back up the tunnel toward the hacienda. Diego and Maggie listened as his footsteps receded into the distance. Now the two of them stood motionless as if cautiously waiting for the next calamity to erupt. After a minute or two, she spoke.

"I think we have finally found our privacy," she said softly.

"I believe you are right," he said, smiling and sweeping her up in his arms. " Come, esposa, let us go to our marriage bed!"

Hours later Diego work again. He noticed a lightening beyond the cave's entrance. He walked across to the vines, pushed some of them aside, and looked out at the sky. Long experience as Zorro and the pale streak in the eastern sky told him that dawn was at most an hour away. He let the vines drop and walked back toward where his wife lay.

His getting up had awakened her. She had pushed herself up on one elbow and watched him as he moved the vines and looked out. Now as he returned to her she saw him silhouetted against the lighter cave opening and her heart leapt at the sight of his lithe, muscular body. I am the luckiest woman on the face of the earth, she thought to herself.

He dropped down next to her in the straw. "Querida," he whispered, "I think we must go back to the room."

She leaned back into the straw, and made a sad face. "Can't we just stay here forever?"

"I do not believe Tornado would like that. He lives here, you know," he chuckled. "Besides, sooner or later someone will knock on the door — perhaps just to bring us breakfast. If there is no answer at all, they might become alarmed and break down the door. If they find a completely empty room, a long and complicated explanation will be required. I would prefer not to have to make one up. We should go back now so that it will look like we spent our entire noche de bodas there."

They began to untangle themselves from the bedding and gather their things. He shook out his dressing gown and put it on. She slipped back into her nightgown and wrapped herself in her shawl. He lit the lantern from one of the remaining burning candles and together they made their way up the tunnel through the secret room and into the bedroom. He pulled down the ornate covelet and turned to her. "I hope you are a happy woman, Señora de la Vega."

"I am a very happy woman," she replied, smiling. Then she turned and looked at the floor back towards the secret panel. "But we still have a problem."

"Problem?"

She plucked something from her shawl, then something from his hair and held the items up. "How are we going to explain all this straw?"

Down in the patio, two servants who had risen very early and begun to clean up after last night's festivities wondered at the sudden burst of laughter from the newlyweds' room.

_ FIN _

A/N: To those of you who have made it this far, thank you for your persistence. When I started this story I had no idea it would spin itself out to such a length. But as I once read somewhere, stories sometimes take on a life of their own. I hope you have enjoyed reading my tale. Comments — favorable or otherwise — are welcome.