Then again, perhaps the mask had been dropped by the Queen during an earlier visit. Lord knows, she came to call often enough--not that he was complaining. Surely someone would have found it before now. Besides, the Queen usually preferred to come through his window rather than the door. No, it had to have been left there recently. The only two people he'd seen that morning had been Senorita Alvarado and Raphael, and he was fairly certain that the peasant farmer had little use for a lace mask. So it had to have been her. Again he wondered what she was doing with the mask....unless--
'Absolutely not!'
"You're mad, Robbie!" he chided himself. "That's about as likely as Montoya starting a Widows and Orphans fund."
Leaning back in his chair he concentrated on the lace once more. It looked like it might be uncomfortable but in actuality it was quite soft. Bringing it closer to his face he caught the faint scent of lavender. Could this delicate thing be all that stood between himself and the true identity of the Queen? Wasn't this what he wanted? Somewhere the Queen of Swords was running around without her mask, and here he was sitting alone in his office staring at a piece of material!
Sighing, his chaotic thoughts returned to his earlier theory, implausible as it sounded. Was it at all possible that Senorita Alvarado had this mask because...she was the Queen? It was a ridiculous thought! Maria Theresa Alvarado the Queen of Swords? True, he was trying to see the senorita in a different light. Trying to see that perhaps she wasn't as spoiled as she pretended to be. But why pretend at all? Unless it was a red herring? If she acted like an over-privileged daughter of a don, surely no one would expect her to don leather and lace and ride through the pueblo like some...avenging angel!
Still, to accuse a young woman of her social status of parading around as a masked bandit probably wasn't a very smart thing to do. He and the senorita were on thin ice as it was. If he accused her and was wrong...he'd never hear the end of it! No, he had to have some kind of proof. And of now, all he had was the mask. As he tapped his fingers on the tabletop the intelligence agent in him surfaced and a wry grin spread across his handsome face.
***
By the time he reached the Alvarado Hacienda that night there was a light fog drifting down from the mountains. Shrouded in mist, the big adobe house looked almost ethereal. He'd staked his horse some distance away from the building to allow for a quieter advance. Scanning the surrounding area he picked his way quickly toward the barn. Reaching a large bail of hay, he squatted down, his long duster enveloping him as he listened for any sound from the barn. Not hearing anything, he stood up and crept through the barn door.
Helm's footsteps were muffled on the dirt floor as he inched his way along the far wall. What exactly was he looking for? He figured he know when he saw it. He thought he heard a noise and cocked his head to one side. When the sound didn't come again, he started forward once more. He spotted a large opening where two of the walls came together and assumed it led to another part of the barn. His eyes finally adjusting to the dimness inside the building, he stepped gingerly through the opening and suddenly his world went black.
***
Tessa Alvarado had been unable to sleep. Since returning from Dr. Helm's office earlier in the day she'd been trying to decide what to do about telling him the truth. Obviously it wasn't as simple as she'd thought. The response she'd imagined while in the doctor's presence had been nothing like she thought it would be. Would he really be that angry with her? She had been hiding the truth from him for a long time now. She really couldn't blame him if he did react that way.
Pulling a thin robe over her night gown she had wandered out to the barn, not wanting to wake Marta. Her friend and confidante had warned her of the consequences of revealing her identity to the doctor...or anyone for that matter. When Tessa had let it slip that she'd intended to tell him that morning, Marta became quite agitated. Tessa knew she was only looking out for her safety, but she hated it when Marta was upset with her. When she'd told Marta she had accidentally "misplaced" a mask, the older woman had looked ready to throw her across her knee. After calming Marta down, Tessa prayed that she had lost the mask on the way back through the canyons and not in town. Still it would be difficult for anyone to link her with it.
She was standing in the half-light of the barn, running a brush over Chico's neck when she heard the noise. Instantly on alert, she put the brush down and crept toward the sound. She cursed under her breath for leaving her sword inside the house. Who would come into their barn at night? Bandits? Drifters? Edging along the wall, she caught sight of a half full bag of oats. Reaching down she gripped it tightly and hefted it over her shoulder. Silently she waited until she looked down and saw a pair of boots clear the threshold. Using all her might, she swung the bag up and over. The bag made contact with something and she heard a muffled groan followed by a loud thump.
Releasing her hold on the bag Tessa moved forward to see who had been lurking in their barn.
"Oh no!" she murmured, hands going to her mouth. "Dr. Helm!"
***
"Well you've certainly got his attention now Tessa," Marta replied, hands on her hips as she stood in the barn overlooking the sprawled out and unconscious figure of Robert Helm.
"Don't just stand there, Marta!" Tessa cried, kneeling beside him. "Use your smelling salts!"
"Did he see Chico?" Marta asked, glancing in the direction of the horse's stall.
"No, I don't think he had time before I...you know--"
"Madre de Dios," Marta exclaimed, "what did you hit him with?"
"Just the bag of oats!" Tessa insisted as she ran a hand alongside Helm's face. His features relaxed in oblivion, he looked just like a little boy sleeping.
Marta went to the bag and pulled open the drawstring.
"Tessa!" she scolded as she brought out the large metal scoop that had also been inside the bag of oats.
"Oops," Tessa cringed.
Shaking her head, Marta knelt down on Helm's other side and unstoppered a small vial. She was about to wave it under his nose when Tessa grabbed her arm.
"Wait!" Tessa said. "Marta look!"
Peeking out from one his coat pockets was a piece of black lace. Tessa reached over and pulled it out to reveal her missing mask.
Marta's eyes widened and she said, "Tessa! You said you lost your mask in the canyon!"
"I said I *thought* I lost it in the canyon!" Tessa replied, indignity and fear warring on her face. 'I had *hoped* I'd lost it in the canyon!'
"Did Dr. Helm see you with it?" Marta demanded, concern for her Tessita causing her to raise her voice.
"No, I don't think so," Tessa said, trying to remember if he could have seen her with it in his office. "But I must've dropped it! Of course! I dropped it when I ran into Raphael! He had a chicken...I was distracted!"
Marta rolled her eyes and said, "Do you see now why it is dangerous to reveal yourself Tessa? If someone finds out it would mean dire consequences...for you and possibly for others--"
"Alright!" Tessa groaned. "I get the message Marta! I'll have to be more careful."
"You'd better be," Marta replied as she watched Tessa stuff the mask inside her robe.
Marta waved the vial under the doctor's nose and waited for his reaction. In just a few seconds, he was moaning and straining to open his eyes.
"Are you alright doctor?" Tessa asked anxiously.
Mentally swatting the cobwebs from his brain, Helm looked up to see two beautiful, feminine faces staring down at him. Dismissing the possibility of a really nice dream, he tried to sit up.
"Careful, Dr. Helm," Marta warned as she put a hand on his arm. "You had a pretty good knock on the head."
"Yeah, I did," he replied, reaching up to rub his forehead. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry, doctor," Tessa explained. "I thought you were a prowler. I...I hit you."
"With what?" he demanded weakly.
"Just a bag of oats," Tessa assured him, ignoring the look she got from Marta.
"Some damn hard oats," Helm mumbled. Then looking up at Tessa he asked, "You feed that to your horse?"
Tessa smiled nervously and Marta came to the rescue. "What exactly were you doing in here Dr. Helm?"
"I was, uhm," he sputtered, trying to think of a good reason. He hadn't thought he'd have to explain his little house call to anyone. "I was just checking on you ladies."
Tessa arched an eyebrow in Marta's direction.
"You see I heard from someone in town that there were bandits--"
"Bandits?" Marta questioned.
"Yes, bandits," Helm clarified as he slowly stood up, "in this area. So I just thought I'd ride out here and make sure things were alright. You can't be too careful, you know."
"Oh," Tessa said, hiding a grin as she and Marta stood. "And is the barn secured, doctor?"
"As far as I can tell," Helm said, glancing down at the formidable bag of oats, "you're completely safe."
"Well thank you doctor for your concern," Tessa said gratefully.
"Don't mention it," he replied, adding to himself 'ever.' "Well, then I'd best be heading back to town."
"Good night," Tessa called as she and Marta watched him walk out of the barn.
When they were sure he was gone, Marta turned to Tessa.
"He was checking on us?" she said doubtfully. "You know why he was here, Tessa."
"Yes I do," she answered pulling out the lace mask. "But at least he doesn't have this as proof any more."
***
Helm chided himself on his failed mission as he trudged out to where his horse was waiting.
'Way to go, Rob. Nice job. And what kind of lame excuse was that? Bandits? Checking on them?'
He sighed as he rubbed his head again and grimaced. He was already imagining the cold cloth he'd sleep with on his head tonight. No, it probably couldn't have gone worse. He hadn't found any other evidence to link Senorita Alvarado and the Queen of Swords. But at least he still had the mask.
He slipped his hand into his pocket and flinched. He fished inside the other and came up equally empty-handed. Then he was patting down his coat looking like an old man who'd lost his spectacles. Shoulders sagging, he let out a moan of defeat and swung himself onto his horse.
