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The Gift
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CHAPTER 22 THE GIFT EARLY
CHRISTMAS MORNING DECEMBER
25, 1821 Just
before dawn, a stranger clad in black silk stealthily entered the
bedroom of Moneta de la Vega. The masked man bent down and brushed his
lips against the neck of the sleeping lady. He paused to gauge her
reaction. She slept peacefully on. Dios! I know that she did not
drink a sleeping potion earlier! he said to himself. Zorro used his
leather-gloved index finger and traced a pattern from her right ear lobe
to the base of her throat. Moneta
mumbled something and started to turn over on her other side when he
took a red rose, minus the thorns and very gently rubbed the flower all
across her cheek. Señora
de la Vega’s eyes fluttered open and her eyes bulged in wonder when
she recognized the figure of El Zorro. "Why
are you here Señor,” she winked at him, “and what could you
possibly want with me?" Moneta asked in mock indignation. She
demurely held up the bed covers around her neck. “Diego de la Vega, my
husband, does not tolerate male intruders in his wife’s bedchamber!”
"Surely,
you know that I am not here to harm you, Señora de la Vega?” He hid a
smile as bowed before her and then raised the back of her right hand to
his lips. Moneta
was enjoying this most pleasant surprise. “What was it that Diego
had told me in the garden on the day that he proposed to me? Oh, sí, I
remember, she thought to herself, “I promise you, Senorita
Moneta, that life with me will never be dull!” I shall follow Señor
Fox’s lead and see where this little game ends. “Your husband, Don Diego, has asked me to escort you
to a very special place. But you must accompany me now! "El Zorro
held open a velour robe for her to wear over her wool nightgown. “You
shall need this wrap since it is quite chilly this morning!” "Now?
" said Señora de la Vega. “But I am so fatigued!” she was
unable to stifle a yawn. El
Zorro threw the robe over her shoulders and picked her up into his arms.
"No more arguments, Señora de la Vega. We're leaving now!" Moneta
had no idea what El Zorro would do next and she had to admit that her
curiosity was piqued by his sudden appearance in her bedroom. She found
herself being bundled downstairs to the secret cave where Tornado waited
for his master. ‘Well, Moneta, this is not altogether an unpleasant
way to wake up in the morning!” she giggled to herself. She
snuggled close to him, deeply inhaling the masculine aroma of his body
and the latent smell of one of his cubanos. "Señor
Zorro?" “Sí?"
"Am
I permitted to ask where we are going?" “No
and no more questions or speaking, por favor!" He
pulled her even closer to him as he urged Tornado into a full gallop. The
early Christmas morning air was pleasantly cool - and laced with an
aroma that Moneta could not identify. But the gentle rocking motion she
felt while riding Tornado reminded her of ... THE SEA! Indeed after they
had ridden but a few minutes, Moneta inhaled deeply and smelled the
refreshing saltiness of the ocean. ‘If I am dreaming,’ Moneta
said to herself, ‘then I do not think that I want to awaken from
this reverie for a long, long time!’ “How much longer ..” Rather than scold her again
for disobeying his order to remain silent, Zorro nibbled at her ear as
he whispered huskily. “Be patient, Señora de la Vega, we are almost
there,” Tornado and his two riders silently rode through the night
sky, which was blushing rose with the pending dawn. Soon they arrived at
their destination. The Fox alighted from Tornado and deftly set
Moneta’s satin slippered feet on the cool, wet grass. “Oh,
Señor Zorro--I mean Diego! The view is breath taking!” He
laughed. “Yes, I thought so. There is nothing like spending private
time alone with my beloved wife in our cottage overlooking
the ocean! As you know, my father had built a cottage for him and... my
mother ..“ He hesitated briefly, because Diego’s emotions were
always close to the surface regarding the untimely death of his mother
when he was ten years old. “My father and I are donating that cottage
to Bernardo and his wife-to-be!“ Moneta
said nothing; she just kept moving her eyes back and forth from her
husband’s masked face and the pleasant scene before her. But
he mistook her silence as disapproval. Zorro firmly grasped her chin in
his left hand. “Mi preciosa, tell me what is wrong and I
shall endeavor to ...” She
shook her head. “Nothing is wrong.” No! I will not cry! I am too
happy..” she said to herself. He
sighed but did not release her. “You are crying! But do
you not like your Christmas present? We shall build a private cottage
here, an oasis of love and peace away from everyone and everything. This
is my very special gift to you, mi corazon!” Moneta
saw the half-puzzled and half-alarmed look in his eyes and immediately
kissed him to erase any doubts he thought she had
regarding the suitability of his present. “Sí,
Sí! Of course I adore my gift! As long as El Zorro is included with the
present!” Moneta chided him. Moneta
hugged him so fiercely, he protested about the strength of her grip.
“Querida mia! At least permit your husband to breathe so
he can answer your question!” “Oh!”
she laughed and then looked up at Zorro, her eyes willing him to kiss
her. “Of
course!” The Dark Knight tossed aside his silk mask and favored her
with that brilliant, charming, and oh so sexy smile at her just before
he brushed her cheek with a small kiss. “But,
Señor Zorro, I have nothing to give to you as a Christmas present!”
she said worriedly. “On
the contrary, Señora de la Vega, “‘you gave me your body, your
heart and your soul to cherish and love. What greater gift could a man
or woman give to each other, save themselves, totally and
completely for Eternity?“ For
that question she had no answer except to offer him her lips so that he
could once again claim her as his own. THE GIFT TERMINE @COPYRIGHT GAIL D.
MANFRE APRIL 3, 2002
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