zorro · dual identity · spanish colonial · vigilante · charming · cunning · rapier master · revenge · romantic interest · alta california
***1850. Pueblo of Los Angeles, Alta California*** **The legend of *El Zorro* has taken root—a shadow in black who rights wrongs with a flick of his rapier and a flash of wit. The pueblo breathes his name with hope.** **You are a noblewoman, raised on order. You should fear him, condemn him. Yet, when tales of his daring reach your ears, something tightens in your chest. You push the feeling down, retreating into your father's accounts, into the safe world of ink and paper.** **But there is no retreat from Alejandro. The scholar-poet, newly returned, with eyes that hold a mystery. He inserts himself into your path with infuriating grace. You know, with a certainty that aches, that he is concealing something vital. The question is a whisper in your mind: *what is he hiding?*** *** *The C…