Surrender by Moonlight

by Foxx, Rosalind

  "Certainly, Leonor! If the other ladies are invited—"

  "I shall see to it today, Juana! Just what we need to alleviate the boredom of this hot, dull summer! The young ones can also visit! It is far too long since we got together! And you, Leonor, is there anyone in particular," she asked archly, "that I should invite for you? Some young caballero, perhaps?"

  "No one in particular, Dona Margarita. I will enjoy seeing all of my friends."

  Dona Margarita laughed. "Coy, Leonor? You will not tell me who you favor these days? Well, well, I won't press you, child. You shall come and dazzle them all!"

  Leonor obligingly promised to do her best and managed, without much difficulty, to get her mother away. The heat was rising from the plaza in searing waves and Juana was beginning to feel limp. By the time they arrived at the hacienda, Leonor had nearly managed to convince her mother that the party had been Dona Margarita's idea. Don Gilberto showed a marked lack of enthusiasm when he learned that the ladies would be accompanying him to the de Cerveras but since he had no logical reason to forbid it, he grudgingly agreed.

  He listened with outward patience as his wife exclaimed over the lovely gossip they would have while the men conducted their boring business meeting and, on the day appointed, rode beside the carriage that bore his family.

  The meeting was far from dull. Dimitri, arriving just as the last of the local dons joined the group of men in the large dining room, sent a swift glance around, identifying who was present. In addition to Don Gilberto and his host, Don Rafael, he knew only Don Diego de Clemente so he allowed his host to take him around and introduce him to the rest of the gentlemen gathered in the room. Many of the names he knew, from having learned the list of regional landowners, and he studied each of them carefully. They greeted him cordially and expressed pleasure at making his acquaintance. He was aware that they were all watching him curiously, since all knew of Don Gregory de Corderras' grandson, who had come from Russia to claim his inheritance. One man in particular Dimitri scrutinized. Don Carlos Balsas.

  The man did not rise at the introduction and his acknowledgement of it was cold. He looked up at Dimitri briefly and then his eyes returned to what he held in his hands. It was made of wood, with screws on either end. A moment later, Dimitri caught him unaware and could identify the object. It was a thumbscrew, that medieval torture instrument no longer used in these enlightened times. Don Carlos fondled it and caressed it. At one point during the meeting, he pulled out his handkerchief and lovingly polished it. He was dressed as usual, in the plain uniform of the military, and although he appeared to be preoccupied with manipulating his toy, Dimitri felt sure the man did not miss a thing that went on.

  Meanwhile, in the large sala, Leonor had patiently listened to the discussion of an upcoming wedding between the daughter of a don and the son of a Monterey government official. But as the minutes slipped by, she was increasingly anxious to slip from the room and try to find out what the dons were discussing. Her mother was deeply engaged in conversation with Dona Margarita and Leonor rose and quietly went to the door. A glance back showed that no one was paying her the least heed, so she slipped through the door into the spacious hall.

  Now what? She could not very well stand in the hall. She was sure to be caught. Then she noticed a small door set in the wall further down the hall and, easing it open, she investigated it. It was a tiny pantry, leading from the kitchen area into the dining room, and gave the major-domo of the house a place to arrange trays of wine and glasses before carrying them to other parts of the house. With a smile, Leonor slipped into the empty room and shut the door leading to the kitchen. She moved as quietly as her rustling skirt would allow and opened the door and left it ajar a few inches. The meeting, it seemed, was in progress. As soon as she opened the door, she could hear voices, angry, disturbed voices.

  "Something must be done about those peasants! They burned a grain barn on my estate last week!"

  Leonor recognized that as the voice of Don Diego.

  "Si, they burned out the local tax collector, burned barns, tore down fences and let horses and cattle stray—"

  Other voices joined the chorus of protests and finally were silenced by the voice of her stepfather. "Gentlemen! We all have suffered! We are fortunate that our Consul General is here today. Let us implore him to offer us some assistance. Don Carlos, what can be done?"

  "A crackdown on the leaders of this growing violence is necessary," Leonor heard Don Carlos say in his low, rough voice. "Does anyone have any suspicions of who the leaders can be?" A silence enveloped the room, then various muted voices discussed the point with their neighbors. "Gentlemen, how can I aid you if you won't give me the information you have?"

  Leonor jumped, startled, as she heard a new voice enter the discussion. "Perhaps, Don Carlos, we don't give you the names of suspected leaders because we don't know who the men are! It would be very unfair of any of us to point a finger in blame if we are not sure the man is involved. I'm sure you all have heard the rumors that this unrest is being fueled by agents from the Mexican leader, Iturbide?" Dimitri asked. There were murmurs of agreement. "Do any of you know for certain that such agents exist and are actually operating on our estates?" Dimitri continued.

  "I know only," replied one don loudly, "that something has to be done! I want action!"

  "I, too, and now!"

  "Action against whom, gentlemen?" Dimitri asked. "I don't know who is arousing the peasants on my estate. Do you know who is on yours?"

  Leonor grinned at the babble of protests and exclamations that Dimitri's comment brought forth.

  "How can we take action if we don't know who is doing this?"

  "We know what they want!" shouted Don Diego.

  "Do we? What exactly do they want, Don Diego?"

  "Don Dimitri, you know as well as I do! They want to take over the country! These Mexican vermin have infected them with the notion of freedom. We must put a stop to such nonsense."

  Leonor peeked through the narrow opening and saw Don Carlos carefully put down the wooden device he had been fingering. He rose and held out his hands for silence. "My friends, what our new landowner here, Don Dimitri, has said is true. We don't know who is doing this but we must find out and crush this attempt at rebellion. We are Spanish, gentlemen," he continued in his hoarse voice, "and owe our allegiance to Spain. Mexico has forgotten her loyalty, it seems, but we must not. I personally intend to find these people and stop their sedition." He glanced at Dimitri who was sprawled easily in his chair. "Does Don Dimitri approve of their goals? I believe I might have heard sympathy in his voice."

  All eyes swiveled to Dimitri. He sat up in his chair and met and held Don Carlos's eyes. "No, you didn't hear me approving of their goals, if indeed there are Mexican agents here. You heard me questioning the possibility of catching men to whom I can't give a name."

  Don Carlos picked up the polished thumb screw, looked at it and put it back on the table. "But I mustn't forget," he continued softly, "that you are not truly one of us. You are a Russian citizen and do not know our land or our ways."

  Dimitri's mouth tightened. "I am Gregory de Corderra's grandson, sir, and I love and value the land that is mine as much as he did. I was born in Spain, not Russia, but you," he continued, "were born in Mexico, I believe, the son of a government servant there. I do not question your loyalty to either this land or to Spain because of the place of your birth."

  The other dons stirred uneasily. "The lad has a point, Don Carlos," Don Rafael admitted. "I, too, was born in Mexico and came to this land as a small child. We cannot question a man's loyalty in this situation because of his place of birth. Too few of us could pass that test. There are also ones among us who do not see eye to eye with me on this, I know; ones who feel that Spain has not treated us well."

  "That they have not!" old Fernando Nero wheezed. "I was born in Spain, Don Carlos, and have always considered myself a loyal Spaniard, yet now I wonder what Spain is about. They have persuade
d us to bring our families here, carve out a new land for Spain and what do they do to help us? Very little! They do not allow us to trade with any ships but theirs and they don't send theirs! They tax us nearly out of existence to support this war that is none of our seeking, and when we beg for help and consideration, they ignore us,'' he concluded bitterly and then choked and coughed.

  Leonor heard others speak up, voicing the same dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. "Yes, and how do we tell our people that tomorrow will be better when we all know it will be worse? What kind of hope do we offer them? Spain offers little to us," Esteban Silva argued.

  "Gentlemen, we stray from the issue here," Don Rafael said. "The question, as Don Dimitri clearly stated it, is how to find men about whom we know nothing?"

  Don Carlos's face darkened and he shot an angry glance at Dimitri. "I will find them. If there is anyone on your estate, gentlemen, whom you have cause to suspect, give me their names and I will have them watched and determine if they are genuinely involved."

  "I have no one I suspect," Dimitri said promptly before the other dons could speak. "All of this has happened much too quickly for any of us to have a chance to study the situation." He didn't mention the one particular hothead on his estate whom he suspected of involvement. He had only suspicions, based on a reading of character, and that was little evidence to give to a revengeful consul general.

  One by one the other dons, following his lead, admitted they knew nothing. They would have to study the situation and see if anyone aroused their suspicions.

  Don Carlos met and held Dimitri's hard gaze. "Then I will have to mount tighter patrols, gentlemen. If you will not give me your cooperation, I will tighten security on the roads and in the villages and to the very gates of your estates! You demand that I give you protection! That is the only way I can do it."

  "Tightening your military security, within reason, is acceptable," Dimitri agreed coolly. "I will resist, however, having a military state of siege brought to my gates."

  The other dons murmured agreement.

  "The type of crackdown you are suggesting," Dimitri went on, "is little short of tyranny and I think none of us would support that. What we must do is work together to stop the spread of this unrest."

  Don Carlos's face was distorted with anger and he struggled to control himself. Leonor could not help seeing it and it delighted her. He had come there, apparently, to rouse this meeting into a military state, to persuade these dons to cooperate in a massive crackdown and it had failed. Dimitri, single-handedly, had reminded the dons to exercise reason and Don Carlos had failed miserably to stir them into a fervor of military activity.

  He made one last try. "We must take strong measures, to suppress the rebellion—"

  "That is easily done," Dimitri said blandly, "once we know who is responsible."

  "It seems you gentlemen prefer inaction."

  "No, we prefer logic and reasoning, Don Carlos. It is impossible to retaliate against a faceless enemy. We don't know if this is a widespread organization of peasants or the work of a handful of agents from the south. Until we have facts, we can do nothing but be vigilant. My land has suffered, as have everyone's except Don Gilberto's," he added calmly, ignoring that gentleman's startled face. "He, as yet, has been fortunate but we can't count on continued luck, can we? They can strike again, tonight, and none of our lands is safe, yet we must wait. And from all I can learn, if Don Gilberto has suffered the least so far, I have suffered the most. For months men have been attacking my wagon trains to the Mission; they have ripped out fences, burnt barns, harassed my farms. Three of my men are dead. None of you, I think, has had men die on your estates, defending it."

  They shook their heads and looked curiously at Don Gilberto. Leonor, peeking through the pantry door's opening, waited with held breath to hear her stepfather's reply.

  "Do you accuse me of something, Don Dimitri?" Don Gilberto asked, his cheeks flushed with anger.

  Dimitri opened his steel blue eyes wide.

  "Accusing you? No, indeed! I was only commenting that, so far, you have suffered the least. I'm sure that the rest of us, who have suffered so much, would like to know how you have managed to escape unscathed. It could aid us in defending our lands."

  "I run a tight estate," Gilberto said sharply. "I do not allow my peasants the latitude the rest of you do. I enforce a curfew at night and that keeps them indoors, where they cannot get into mischief."

  "Do you, then? That's something I had not thought of. I suppose you enforce it with guards."

  Gilberto nodded, aware that they were all watching him. "I'll have no violence on my land."

  "We commend you for your forethought," Dimitri said quietly. "None of us seemed to heed the warnings you so wisely recognized. This violence has caught us all by surprise. We must make the effort to study your methods more thoroughly."

  Not at all sure if that smooth voice and face were mocking him, Don Gilberto started to reply angrily and then fell silent, glaring instead at his foe. Dimitri only smiled politely and turned his attention to Don Rafael, who had risen.

  "I think, gentleman, that we've discussed this sufficiently. We are in agreement that there's nothing to the purpose we can do now, except to increase our guards and hope for the best. We will, of course, cooperate with Don Carlos, when there is information that will aid him. Is there any further suggestion?"

  Dimitri rose and looked around at them all. His gaze lingered on Don Gilberto's flushed face before passing on. "You may wish to do what I intend to do. I will give my workers warning that any stranger found on my land is to be dealt with immediately . . . and permanently. We will shoot first and question later." He glanced at Don Carlos but the commandant seemed to be absorbed in fondling the thumb screw. Dimitri waited and at last Carlos looked up and they held each other's gaze for a long time. Then Dimitri sat back down.

  "Something we should all do," Don Rafael agreed heartily, looking uneasily from Dimitri's face to Don Carlos's. There was an undercurrent here that he did not understand but he felt the pressing need to break up the meeting before these volatile dons began to quarrel among themselves. "Wine is served at the end of the room, gentlemen, and the ladies await us. Let us not delay in joining them."

  Leonor, having heard what she came to hear, slipped out of the little room and walked into the sala, sighing with relief that her mother, involved in conversation with two ladies of the district, had not missed her.

  Dimitri entered the sala with his host and went straight to her. Bowing over her hand he murmured, "I did not expect to see you here."

  "I accompanied my mother," she answered as she slid her hand from his warm grasp.

  "A dull visit?" he asked, his voice kept low. "No one to argue with?"

  She smiled. "A peaceful, not dull, visit. How about you? Is your meeting over? Did you find anyone to argue with?"

  He glanced sharply at her but she kept her face smooth and innocent. Dimitri's blue eyes traveled the length of her, from her small, pointed black shoes to the full, dark skirt she wore, to the white blouse that clung and showed off her full breasts to perfection. "No one as pretty as you."

  She blushed at his intent survey and determined not to allow him to make personal remarks to her. They unnerved her too much. "Was anything decided?" she asked.

  "Not that I noticed. They complained a good deal but no one knew any facts, so there wasn't much they could do but complain. Our admirable Don Carlos advocated a general crackdown, without specifying how we were to do it. Not very helpful."

  "He is not the fool you think him to be," Leonor said quietly.

  "I never said I thought him a fool. A dangerous man, perhaps, but not a fool. Still, without information, there's not much he can do."

  "And what do you think is behind this?"

  He shrugged. "I hear only rumors and the facts I see lend themselves to other interpretations besides a peasant revolt. As I pointed out in the meeting, I have suffered the most.
"

  "And my estate the least."

  He glanced swiftly at her. "How would you know I said that?"

  She blushed, glanced away and then recovered herself. "I didn't know. Did you say it because, from all I hear, it is true. Nothing has been burned or harmed on my land."

  "An interesting coincidence, is it not?"

  She frowned at him. "Are you implying that it is not a coincidence?"

  A look of grim determination settled over his face and his blue eyes turned steely. "I imply nothing. Merely commenting on it. It is interesting, don't you think? I will believe in these so-called peasant rebels when I catch one. Until then, I must ask myself who would gain if my estate failed to prosper and the answer to that is more than interesting, I hear," he added, "that you're still keeping up your activities. Have you been practicing with your whip?"

  "I have and I'm getting much better at it."