I still don't profit from this:)

Later that day, Anna Lisa sat before her vanity brushing her hair, but her thoughts were on a memory long ago. Being back in California had sparked all manner of memories from her childhood here, but one memory at the moment held her captive. She had had several offers of marriage while in Madrid, but every time she had been tempted to accept, her thoughts would bring to mind a very charming bandit, one that had indeed been successful at making a name for himself. She heard stories told of him in even the highest circles of Spanish society, so how could she overlook him?

She was a fool.

But she could not help herself. She was a romantic at heart. Perhaps if he had laughed off her offer or made light of it, she would have tried to forget him.

But he had not. He had been startled at first, yes, but those lovely eyes with fiery flecks of gold soon softened. When he later told her he was honored, she knew he had meant it. And now that she was finally back in California, with the familiar sights, sounds, and the wild scents of home, he had overtaken her thoughts completely. "I truly am a fool," she said.

"Did you say something, señorita?" Señora Cortez asked, in her rather brusque manner, from where she stood sorting and stowing away Anna Lisa's things. "Are you thinking of that young caballero?" she asked distractedly, as she turned to place the señorita's mantillas carefully away.

"Sì," she replied absently, unaware of just how true were her words.

The señora strode over to Anna Lisa, and removing the brush from the younger woman's hands, she began to pull it gently through her charge's hair. "Well," she began, her eyes flickering to watch the young woman's face in the mirror, "I did not wish to promote the acquaintance this morning when we arrived," she told Anna Lisa, "for I do not know the young man, and that provincial sergeant is hardly one I would consider an apt judge of character." Señora Cortez began styling her charge's hair for dinner, deciding on something simple since it would be a family affair tonight.

"However, I will mention the introduction to your parents, and we will see if they approve of the acquaintance," the duenna said, stepping back to check the placement of a comb among her charge's soft curls. She then rested her palms on the young woman's shoulders as their eyes met in the mirror. Señora Cortez thought now might be the best time to gently introduce Anna Lisa to the reason her parents had sent for her. "If your parents approve of the young man, and he is yet unwed, then the reason they wished for your return could possibly be met."

If she thought that Anna Lisa would have been startled by the news, then she would be disappointed. Anna Lisa knew her parents had been frustrated with the continued refusals of one marriage proposal after another. Though she had never written home about them, she was not naïve enough to believe that her aunt would withhold that information from her parents.

She sighed. "So, if I will not accept a Spaniard, then I must accept a Californian," she said, glancing out her window to the fading light of day.

Laughing, hazel eyes danced in her mind's eye, and she turned to grin at her duenna, nearly laughing at the unease she saw in the older woman's face. "I will marry a Californian, Inez. First, I must find him, and then, then I will catch him!" she said, letting out a merry little laugh as she sprang to her feet. She would not let the fact that her parents wanted her married and settled trouble her. Not yet. Not while there was still a chance that she could appease them, and also herself to boot!

Z Z Z Z

"Diego De La Vega?" her father repeated, taking a sip of his wine and slanting a glance at his wife. "No, we have no objections. His family connections are impeccable. However," he continued, setting down his glass, "I fear his character is not a . . . strong one. At least, it is not strong enough to stand against the new comandante." He looked at his daughter, hoping that she had not yet set her affections in that quarter. He needed a strong son-in-law from a strong family in order to keep his property, the property that the comandante seemed so set to acquire. He liked Diego, but though the De La Vegas have always been a force to be reckoned with, with connections that even reached the Spanish throne, Alejandro's son wasn't the typical De La Vega. The young man was an inept swordsman, an indifferent horseman, and a faint-hearted man; but he was also educated, a loyal friend, and a kind man with a noble heart. Diego just didn't seem to have the . . . presence . . . to back up his convictions. No, Señor Pulido could have no objection if his daughter chose the young De La Vega, but he did hope she would choose a stouter-hearted young man. One that wouldn't end up dead in the fight against their latest nemesis.

A young man like his friend, Alejandro De La Vega, had been in his day. "He is not his father," Señor Pulido told the two women fresh from Spain.

"And why must he stand against the comandante, papá?" Anna Lisa asked, gazing at her father, the candlelight carving deeper lines in his face than she remembered. "Surely, things are not as dire as they were when you sent me to Spain. I thought they had improved when Monastario had been ousted!"

Señor Pulido let out a sharp bark of laughter. There was no humor in it. "I thought so too," he said, taking another drink of wine before setting it aside in favor of returning to his steak, before he added, "We have been set upon by corrupt alcaldes, magistrados, comandantes, as well as out-right, honest thieves!" Anna Lisa saw Señora Cortez jump slightly, startled, when the aged caballero slammed down his knife, the duenna nearly spilling her wine on her burgundy silk dress. "Why, if it were not for Zorro," he said, "Los Angeles would be nothing but beggars!"

Anna Lisa felt warmth bloom within her breast at the words. It was a testament—a confirmation—that her sentiment and regard for that dashing rogue had not been misplaced. She set aside her silverware, and glanced at her mother. Where her father was hot-tempered, her mother was not. Yet, she saw within her mother's expression no censure. Her mother agreed with her father regarding the man, a man that, by definition, was a highwayman. "Has no one ever thought they had uncovered the man behind the mask, papá?" she asked, trying to appear less interested in the answer than she truly was.

Her father laughed, "Si, and that is the funniest rumor I have heard yet!" he told his daughter. "I heard that Monastario actually thought Zorro to be none other than Don Diego! But then, it is said Zorro rode by while Monastario sought to kill Diego, putting that theory to rest." He shook his head, making a sound of contempt for the former comandante, before he told his daughter, "Monastario was a fool. Diego!" Señor Pulido chuckled at the absurdity of it, but Anna Lisa wondered.