"I hope you aren't planning on joining in," he said to the mare's head.
The mare's ears twitched at his voice and she turned her head as if to glare at him. He could swear she was expressing disgust at the very idea. When Jacob and Annamarie had their mounts back on the ground and under control, he shortened his reins and gripped a little tighter with his calves. That didn't excite the mare to move, so he told her to move out. That didn't excite any action either, and John was thinking he might have to actually kick her to get her moving when the others started to move. John's mare decided she wanted to stick with her herd and followed them. John shrugged philosophically. Maybe the mare was going to be a bit too gentle a ride.
Outside the city, he edged up alongside Alfonso to find out more about the clinic they were supposed to be running.
"There might be problems with the Franciscans," Alfonso said.
"Why?" John asked. They'd been assured back in Grantville that there would be no problem with the Franciscans. In fact, they'd been told by Alfredo de Aguilera that the Franciscans were very open to new knowledge.
"I don't know how they'll take being taught the new medicine by a female."
John smiled. So that was the problem. "Don't worry. I'll be in charge of training, while Annamarie deals with treating patients."
"But your good wife said that you weren't a doctor," Alfonso said, obviously confused.
"I'm not, but I spent nearly twelve years as an Army Special Forces Medic. I've got a lot of experience training people."
"Why are they building a cathedral in the middle of nowhere?" Annamarie interrupted, pointing to a large structure in the distance.
"That is not a cathedral, Dr. Sullivan," Alfonso said. "That is His Excellency's new airship hangar."
"Airship hangar?" John stood in his stirrups to get a marginally better view. In the distance, he could see an enormous structure surrounded by scaffolding. In his travels, he'd seen the airship hangars at Moffett Field and the Zeppelin hangar in Rio de Janeiro, and, well, this one looked like it was going to be that kind of big. He settled back in his saddle and turned to Alfonso. "Someone's making an airship that big?" he asked, gesturing at the structure under construction.
"His Excellency, Don Juan Manuel Perez de Guzman y Silva, believes that airships could provide a means of moving the treasures of the new world home to Spain without risk of piracy."
"Hence the size." John nodded. If one stopped to think about it, that was reasonable. Certainly, there was no way any normal pirate could intercept an airship. "We were told that Don Juan de Aguilera was injured when his airship crashed into trees." He pointed toward the hangar. "Does that mean we're close to our destination?"
"Just over the next hill, Senor Sullivan."
****
John knew enough to take "over the next hill" with a large pinch of salt, so he wasn't surprised that it was another twenty minutes before they topped a hill overlooking the sprawling white-washed walls and terracotta roof complex that was the de Aguilera hacienda.
They were led through an olive grove to the stables, where they dismounted. Then, while their mounts were led away, they and their baggage followed Alfonso to their temporary quarters.
"If you would like to tidy up, I will inform Dona Juana that you have arrived." He paused to look pointedly at their clothes. "She will wish to see you immediately.
John waited until Alfonso had left before turning to his family. "I guess that means we better wash up and put on our Sunday best before we're called in to meet our boss."
"Do I have to?" Jacob asked.
"Yes, you do," Annamarie said. "Find where the servants have put your good clothes and then wash and change."
****
Dona Juana dusted her hands nervously over her gown. It was of the latest fashion, being black, but not an ordinary black. It was a true black. The fine silk overdress was dyed with the wondrous dyes being made in Grantville. Who would have thought that Alfredo, usually so feckless Alfredo, would think of sending back dyes from Grantville?
She heard footsteps in the hall and hurried over to the settee she'd had placed so the light from the window was behind her, and fell onto the seats she'd had placed for the up-timers on who so much depended. She wanted to be able to see their every expression clearly during the interview.
Juana noticed the female first. Senora Sullivan was-or at least she looked-Spanish. She was wearing a tailored white blouse with beautiful embroidery, and a full length skirt in a black at least as good as her own dress. The males were dressed in black trousers and white shirts. She studied the boy, and silently complimented the woman on her ability to turn her son out looking so clean and tidy. Juana knew how hard that could be. "I wish to talk to your parents now. Follow Alfonso. He will take you to the kitchen, where, no doubt, the cook will have something for you to eat," she told Jacob.
The bright smile that elicited from Jacob told Juana that up-timer children were not that much different. Certainly, at his age, her sons had always been concerned with their stomachs.
"Doctor Sullivan," Dona Juana de Silva addressed John. "My eldest son . . ."
"I'm sorry, Dona Juana , but you are mistaken," John hastily interrupted. "I'm a nurse, my wife here-Annamarie-is the doctor."
Juana turned her eyes onto the Senora Sullivan. "You are truly a doctor?"
"I'm one of the new Doctors of Osteopathy, Dona Juana. I was a nurse up-time, and I trained as a doctor at Grantville and Jena after the Ring of Fire."
Juana smiled. It couldn't be better. A male doctor wouldn't understand her problem. "That is close enough," Juana said. "My eldest son . . ."
"I understand he was involved in a serious accident," Annamarie interrupted.
Juana waved her hand in dismissal. "A few broken bones and some bruising. Nothing of consequence. No, Juan's accident isn't what I wish to talk to you about."
"Broken bones and bruising can have long term consequences," John said, massaging his hip.
Dona Juana glared John into silence. "Juan has had the attentions of the best of medicants. Certainly we have paid enough to restore four chapels for his care. No, this is much more important. My Juan is a widower. A widower with young children, and he refuses to think of remarrying."
"How long has he been a widower?" Annamarie asked.
Juana smiled. Yes, the woman understood the problem. A quick glance took in the confusion on the face of the doctor's husband. Clearly, as a mere male, he had no idea. "Over three years. His Magdalida died giving little Eduardo life." She patted her suddenly teary eyes with a scrap of heavily embroidered linen. "The poor boy and his older sister need the influence of a mother, but Juan refuses to even think of remarrying." She blew her nose into the handkerchief. "Magdalida died in his arms, you see. She bled to death. There was nothing either the midwife or doctor could do.
"Since Magdalida's death, my son has refused to consider marrying and putting another woman at risk of dying like that again." Juana stared at Annamarie. "I want you to persuade him that your modern medicine will prevent it happening again, and it is safe for him to remarry."
****
John stamped around the room in frustration. "How the heck do we reassure a guy that a woman won't die in childbirth? And what happens if we can't convince him it's safe to remarry?"