"Can I see the Richard Peeke now?" Jacob asked.
Alfonso smiled. "Of course, follow me."
Jacob trotted alongside Alfonso. "How come it's called the Richard Peeke?"
"Richard Peeke was-actually, probably still is-a very courageous and gallant fighter," Alfonso said as they walked. "He was captured by His Excellency after the English attack on Cadiz a dozen years ago. The man made the reckless claim that, armed with just a quarterstaff, he could defeat any number of Spanish sword and buckler men fewer than six. His Excellency gave Senor Peeke the opportunity to prove his claim against three volunteers."
"One is left to assume he won?" John said.
"He killed one and incapacitated the other two. And all he had was the shaft of a halberd. His Excellency rewarded him for his fighting prowess and granted him his freedom. You will find that the quarterstaff is a respected weapon in His Excellency's domain."
"After Peeke won one against three in a fight to the death, I'm not surprised," John said.
June 1635
Dona Juana de Silva paced back and forth in the sitting room where Don Antonio was trying to do his accounts. "They were supposed to reconcile Juan to marriage, and what have they done?" She paused to dare her husband to comment.
Antonio paused with his pen held above the paper. "I understand the up-timers are doing their best."
"Well, their best isn't good enough. Anna Maria has warned me that others are interested in Catalina."
Antonio calmly entered some figures and blotted the ink. "Well, of course there are others interested in the girl. She's a Mendoza, after all. However, surely being a close confidant of His Excellency would make Juan a much more attractive prospect?"
Juana planted her hands on her hips and glared at the insensitive clod she was married to. She knew Catalina was a Mendoza. That was why getting her for Juan would be such an accomplishment. "His relationship with His Excellency is only relevant if he is interested in remarrying. But what is happening? He is back playing with his flying machines, and not thinking about more important things."
Meanwhile . . .
Annamarie had been holding a regular clinic session in the village, but the last patient had come and gone, and it was now time to head home for the siesta. Her nose twitched at the mixed smells of wood-smoke and cooking food, and her stomach rumbled its discontent while she waited for Jacob to bring around the horses.
The villagers were stopping what they were doing and looking into the sky, so Annamarie stepped out from her shaded corner and looked up to see what had caught their attention. It was the Pepino. The small airship, or blimp, as Jacob insisted on calling it, was slowly approaching the village and would soon fly over it. While she stared at it, Annamarie realized that something didn't look right. Surely the nose shouldn't be flat like that? She burrowed in her satchel for a small pair of binoculars and quickly focused them onto airship.
"What's wrong with the Pepino?"
Annamarie lowered the binoculars to see Jacob had joined her with the horses and pack animal. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"
"The nose is the wrong shape. It should be rounded."
Which could only mean one thing. "I think they are losing gas."
"Is it going to crash?"
Annamarie smiled. Boys, always looking for the worst to happen. "No, they should be able to land fairly easily. Look, they're getting ready to drop the handling lines."
"That means they're going to land." Jacob nodded knowledgably. "Can we stay and watch?"
"From a safe distance." Annamarie held out the binoculars.
Jacob grabbed them and ran off, leaving Annamarie to deal with the horses. She tied them up near the water trough and slowly followed. She could see the preparations for landing. The handling lines were dangling. Men were grabbing them, and taking control of the airship. Then the wind caught it.
The airship was shunted along, toward the village, dragging men behind. Then the gondola hit a house. The solid adobe structure ripped apart the lightly-built gondola. Annamarie could see fluid falling from the airship. She started running. "Jacob, stay right where you are!"
For the first time in recent memory, Jacob did as he was told. Annamarie reached him just as a fire engulfed the airship.
"But hydrogen shouldn't burn like that," Jacob said.
"The impact must have ruptured the fuel tank," she said, looking at the burning gas bag. "Gold beater's skin shouldn't burn like that."
"It's not gold beater's skin, Mom. Manuel says the original gas bag was, but they tore it badly putting the Pepino into its hangar one time, and it would have been too expensive to repair it, so they made the replacement out of cotton painted with a mixture of gelatine and latex."
"Latex? Where are they getting latex?" Annamarie asked.
There was a sigh, a real "how can you not know" sigh, from Jacob. "Don Antonio's duke's daughter is married to the Duke of Braganza."
Annamarie wasn't really paying attention to Jacob. She was looking at the airship. Cotton was among the most flammable of fabrics, and of course, they probably doped the fabric to waterproof it-with collodion, also known as nitrocellulose, or guncotton. She caught part of what Jacob was saying, and repeated the last name. "Braganza?"
"Yes. The duke of Braganza, the premier duke of Portugal. Apparently the duke of Medina Sidonia and the duke of Braganza have an agreement to import rubber from the Amazon into Cadiz."
Annamarie had barely been listening. She was watching the fire, and hoping that making explanations was keeping Jacob's attention away from the fire. Hopefully the adobe construction of the house would protect it, but she could see two of the crew struggling to free their colleague from under the burning gas bag. She didn't want Jacob exposed to the grisly sights she expected, so she turned him to face her. "Jacob, I need you to ride home as fast as you can to get your father. Tell him what we've seen. Tell him we need the burns kit."
She led Jacob to the horses and threw him up into the saddle. Then she grabbed the medical bags from the pack animal and hurried over to help.
****
She was holding a cup of hydration fluid for the most badly burnt of the Pepino's crew when she heard the drone in the sky. She looked up to see the second airship. This one was much bigger than the Pepino, and it seemed to be heading around the village. A moment's thought and Annamarie realized it was circling so it could approach the village heading into the wind.
She wasn't the only person watching as the Richard Peeke came to a halt above a field outside the village. Then a heavy rope unrolled from the gondola.
The tail of the rope had barely hit the ground before the first man swung out and slid down the rope.
Annamarie winced when the first man down failed to get clear in time. There was a pileup as the three men following him landed in quick succession. It appeared that no real damage had been done when the four men spread out and grabbed lighter landing lines and seemed to be tying down the airship. Then a familiar shape exited the airship.
What the hell is that crazy fool doing? Swear to God, I'm gonna kill him later. With his hip, John should know better than to fast-rope, let alone do it with a pack on his back.
"We were lucky they had the Richard Peeke nearly ready for a flight when Jacob arrived," John said when he ran over to her. "What's the situation?"
"What's the situation? Is that all you can say? What about explaining that damn fool stunt you just pulled?" Annamarie screamed.