CHAPTER ONE

 

One pleasant evening early in May, Jose Peralta was casually STROLLING the ancient streets of Seville. He had recently graduated from the University of Salamanca and was just commissioned a cavalry officer with the rank of Lieutenant in the Spanish army. He was enjoying a few weeks of furlough, before he was expected to report for specific assignment. Peralta guessed he might end up in one of the colonies which could be anywhere from the Philippines archipelago to the sugar plantations of Cuba. As the young officer strolled through the bustling streets of the city, darkness quickly shrouded the stone cobbled streets and the picturesque buildings. Watchmen lighted the streetlamps and many of the windows became illuminated with lamp and candlelight. The crowded avenues became less so as evening enveloped the city.

It was a pleasant relief, for once, to prodigally waste a few hours, enjoying the freedom to explore the wonders of Seville. For a few minutes, he entered a cantina to listen to a reasonably good guitarist, strumming some well-known songs. After a while he left the noisy, crowded, smoke-filled tavern and continued his walk, breathing in the spring-scented air, mixed with pleasant odors of meat cooking in public and private buildings.

Just as Peralta passed by a dimly lit alley, he heard a woman scream with extreme terror. The young officer instantly whirled to look into the alley. What he saw first chilled his contentment and then galvanized him to a cold fury. He saw five men, dressed in shabby garments. They were surrounding an old man and a young woman. The poorly clad men brandished knives and it looked like there was a body on the ground. The old man had a sword, which he was using to keep the thugs at bay. The men, who were obviously thieves or worse, were taunting the couple as they closed for the kill.

Peralta drew his sword and ran toward the pack of cutthroats. "Damn cowards! Run or die!"

Peralta's word sounded like a thunderclap in the relative quiet of the alley. His sudden appearance caused confused commotion among the thieves. One of them lunged at Peralta and was slashed across the face from Peralta's cavalry saber. The man crumpled in a heap, screaming with the excruciating agony of a hideously cut face and a blinded eye. Two of the criminals did the smart thing. They ran down the opposite side of the alley and rapidly disappeared into the darkness. Another man jumped at Peralta with his knife upraised in an attempt to cut Peralta's throat. Peralta deftly parried the blow with his saber, which almost severed the man's arm, and a split second later the enraged officer stabbed the man through the neck, sending him to a rapid, bubbling death.

"Stop right there, or the Senorita dies!"

Peralta instantly came to a halt and glared at the evil looking man holding a knife to the young woman's throat. The old man looked at Peralta imploringly.

And spoke to the desperate brigand who held the young lady."

Please, do not harm my daughter."

The young criminal wielding the knife gave Peralta a leering grin and spoke in a surprisingly mild voice.

"If you two will leave here, I will let her go, otherwise she will be received by Saint Peter and the angels in heaven in front of your very eyes."

Peralta looked around; there was no sign of the other ruffians who had fled. The man with the gashed face was whimpering while he crawled away down the alley. Peralta stepped backward to give a small amount of reassurance to the man who held the blade to the shocked shuddering girl.

The old man shouted at the rogue holding his daughter near the brink of death.

"If you harm a hair of her head, you will die a hundred deaths. She is worth a thousand of you!

The thug retorted, "Start moving or she dies."

The man grinned and the woman was quivering with sporadic sobs.

She wailed, "Please, don't let him kill me!"

Peralta slowly lowered his sword to the ground and as he stood back up he removed a small pouch from a pocket and showed it to the brigand.

Jose's voice was low and menacing, "I will make a deal with you, although you are the scum of the city!"

"I'm listening, but be quick."

"I have here about ninety pesos de oro and I will give them to you along with my word as a gentleman of Spain that I will not follow you nor harm you if you do not injure the senorita in any way. If you refuse this offer of profit and mercy than I will kill you with this sword and her blood will be upon your head. What is your choice?"

"How do I know you will keep your word?"

"I am Jose de Peralta son of Don Francisco de Peralta, a great man in Spain. My word is my honor and my honor is my life. I do not give my word very often, but when I do I would not break it, nay not for the king himself. "

There was a long moment of silence while the thief considered these words.

"I believe you. Have the old man hand me the gold and I will release the senorita. Do you give your word to let me go?"

"I give you my word that I will not follow you at all."

With this Peralta handed the old man the pouch and the old man gave the frightened girl a warm smile as he turned and walked up to the man who was still holding the knife close to the woman's neck. When the old man handed over the small bag of gold, the thug instantly disappeared into the darkness of the alley leaving the girl unharmed. Moments later they heard his voice.

"I salute you, senor Peralta, if other men had kept faith with me, I would not be practicing this ignoble profession now. Hasta la Vista."

The young woman collapsed into the old man's arms with tears of joy and relief.

"Now, now, Maria, everything is all right, thanks to this courageous caballero who saved us. I am proud of you. You were brave when confronted with such a desperate ruffian."

Peralta knelt beside the body of the old man's servant and after checking carefully, could find no pulse. There was a nasty gash on the man's throat and a large puncture in his chest. Peralta arose and spoke to the couple in a subdued voice.

"I am sorry senor; your servant is dead."

The older man looked down at the crumpled bloody form and nodding, crossed himself.

"May God have mercy on the soul of Juan Pena. He was a trustworthy servant and a good and loyal friend."

The young woman knelt to cover the dead servant with her cloak. She crossed herself and wept silently, heedless of the pool of blood that had formed on and near the body of the luckless servant.

"Senor Peralta, it is gratifying to know that courage and honor still exist in Spain."

He gratefully shook Peralta's hand.

"Are you truly the son of Don Francisco de Peralta?"

"Truly, senor and any honor earned here today I owe all to him. May I know your name, Senor?"

"My name is Hernando Guzman and this is my daughter. I am in your debt which is beyond mere price. With whom are you staying or do you live here in Seville?"

"I am visiting senor Diego Montarosa. He's a friend of my father."

"Excellent, I know the man well. Maria you must thank this fine gentleman."

Maria looked up at the handsome well-formed man who looked at her with mild interest.

"Muchos Gracias senor, may God reward your gallantry to us this night."

Peralta bowed respectfully and smiled at her pleasant voice and genteel manner.

"It was no imposition at all, to protect such a lovely woman as yourself. Your smile is reward enough and to know that you are now safe. I would be honored to escort you and your father back to your home to insure you arrive with no more misadventures. I think you will agree that you both have had enough excitement for one evening."

All three laughed at this levity, although the laughter was uneasy.

"What shall we do with your servant?"

"I would not wish to leave him here to have his body profaned by more ruffians or ravening dogs. He has been a servant in my house for many years. In fact he was more of a member of our family than a mere servant. Can you understand that?"

Guzman looked into the eyes of the young officer. He saw concern and real compassion in the young man's face.

"Senor Guzman, I understand perfectly. We had a very old servant in our house. I, myself learned many things from that old man' and for the last five years of his life, he became much too feeble to work. As God is my witness, we would wait on him and serve him, yes even my father. When Pablo died, it was one of the few times I ever saw my father weep. Your loss is mine as well."

"Can you help us get Juan back to our villa? "

"Of course, senor. How far is it?"

"About a half a mile. "

"Let me clean him up a little."

With these words, Peralta went over to the dead thief and quickly cleaned his sword on the man's shirt and cut large strips of cloth from the trousers. He then went to the servant's body and wrapped a cloth around the horribly gashed neck and the other strips he used to cover the chest wound. He then wrapped the cloaked around the body and with the help of

Hernando, he lifted the body over his shoulders.

"Lead the way Senor, he is heavy, but I can manage."

"This way then. Maria stay beside me."

"Yes father"

She took her father's arm and they left the alley and turned into the street. After about twenty minutes of slow going, they reached a compound. A high wall surrounded the estate of Hernando Guzman and as they reached the gate, two servants emerged from the entrance. They gasped in horror when they saw the body being carried by a young soldier.

"Don Hernando, what has happened?"

"Juan is dead, killed by would be thieves and this officer saved us from certain death. Be so kind as to take the body inside. You will here it all later."

Hernando turned to Peralta as the servants took the dead man away.

"Senor Peralta, I give you my most heart felt thanks. As you can understand, I have much to do and my house will be in turmoil from this unfortunate night. You will be hearing from me in a few days. You are staying at the home of Diego Montarosa, correct?"

"Yes, and if I can be of further service to you, you need only ask."

Hernando grasped the younger man's hand and smiled with gratitude into the honest brown eyes of the man who had saved his life.

"My new-found friend, I would appreciate your keeping this night's events in the strictest confidence. You'll here from me very soon."

Of course senor, "I only wish I had been with you sooner and saved the life of an honest man. Buenos Noches senor and May God protect you."

"I can think of no better protection that He can give but your strong arm and your shining honor. It was your courage just as much as your sword that saved my daughter. Buenos Noches senor."

With that Peralta respectfully bowed to Senor Guzman who returned the courtesy with a nod and both men separated to their abodes.

A few minutes after Peralta had departed, Hernando Guzman was in his study and he was smoldering with barely controlled anger. He called one of his servants.

"Carlos, send for senor Sanduval and bring him here immediately. I don't care what he is doing, bring him here now."

The servant bowed and left by a little used side entrance for he knew from long experience that this was a matter of great discretion and urgency.

Nearly an hour later a somewhat flustered Sanduval entered the private study of Hernando Guzman. The gray-haired aristocrat motioned Sanduval to sit in one of the ornate armchairs and told Carlos to give Sanduval a drink of Madera. Then the servant departed.

"Thank you for coming. I've got a difficult job that requires intelligence and discretion. You'll be paid well."

"My lord duke, your wish is my will."

"Earlier this evening, my daughter and I were attacked by five ruffians of the gutter. These scummy wretches killed my servant Juan, whom you know well. It was only by a mere chance that a brave young officer saved my life. Truly the man is remarkable. I need only tell you that I was on an important errand that required secrecy and dispatch. One of the ruffians was killed and another was badly injured with a massive sword cut across the face. This was the work of this young officer. I want you to get three of your best men and go to an alley. There is the body of one of the criminals that we left there. You will find this alley on the opposite side of the street from the Golden Galleon tavern. It will be the second alley on that street as you proceed south. Do you know it?"

"Yes I do."

"Good, take the body and bring it to someone who can draw faces well. Make a picture and start inquiring who this dead man is and who his friends are. See if you can find the injured man. He must be trying to get help from a doctor or apothecary in that neighborhood. There were three other men involved. I want them brought to me alive and in chains. By God, Sanduval! No man can dare to make such an affront to the Duke of Medina Sedonia and escape unpunished! Do you understand? The rogue had his blade just an inch away from Maria's throat. Maria, who never said an unkind word to anyone in her life! Maria who is the consolation of my last years."

Sanduval replied with a grim smile and a low courteous voice to this nobleman who wielded such great power in Spain. "I am sure with the help of Don Dinero; I can get the very paving stones to disclose the secrets of the city. I assume I can have a free hand in interrogating these men when we find them?"

Hernando gave Sanduval a bleak smile and produced a pouch from his desk drawer. The clinking of coins revealed its contents. He tossed the pouch to Sanduval.

"As usual my friend you get right to the point. Here is 500 pesos de oro. Perhaps the glow of gold will loosen tongues that would be silent. But please try to be subtle. Sometimes it's the most delicate webs that catch the prey."

Sanduval deftly caught the pouch and pocketed the money. He got up to leave and bowed to the upset duke. He noted the gray hair and beard did not detract from the duke's dignified and aristocratic bearing. In fact he found the level glare of the ice blue eyes quite disconcerting. This was a man who one didn't want to disappoint or defy.

"I will do my best to apprehend these criminals. Such an affront cannot be tolerated. I am curious about one point; did anyone know about your secret errand?"

"Not that I know of except of course the two individuals I was negotiating with. That is why these thugs will have to be questioned. I must know if any other individuals were behind it. That's what makes you valuable, Sanduval. You are always thinking. It is what also makes you dangerous. Be sure that I know your worthiness."

The duke's frosty smile made a chilling feeling creep up Sanduval's spine. He knew that the duke would stop at nothing for revenging such a personal insult.

"Buenos Noches senor. Expect to hear from me soon."

The duke gave Sanduval a nod of dismissal. For the next ten minutes the duke paced his study like a caged animal. He finally rang for his butler.

In moments a short, well-built man with penetrating gray eyes and elegant livery entered the study. "Yes Don Hernando, what can I get you?"

The duke had a more friendly expression to show his most trusted servant. He respected persons who had proved to be honest and loyal. He knew how uncommon these virtues were in a wicked world that he patiently endured.

"Benito how is my daughter? Is she resting quietly?"

"Yes senor. She is sleeping now and she let me know that she wants to discuss the events of this evening with you in the morning. She hopes you can make time for her. Knowing that you are a busy man at court."

"I will see her at breakfast. there is nothing I would not do for her happiness as I have told her many times. I have another errand for you, however."

The servant bowed ever so slightly as he answered. "Say the word sir. The thing shall be done even as you command. Such an affront to your person is beyond belief."

The duke gave him a sincere smile. "I know you will. I want you to contact Ricardo Melindez. He is connected with the constable's office and he owes me several favors. Be so kind as to deliver this letter to him tomorrow morning."

With that the duke handed Benito a sealed envelope and dismissed him. Don Hernando finally sat at his desk and wrote down a list of men he suspected of being his enemies. He put small stars near the ones that were the most likely. Before he retired he muttered to himself, "When I find the villain behind this he will curse his mother for bringing him into this sinful world."