1635_ Cannon Law - Eric Flint [96]
From time to time, as a doctor, Nichols had examined both amateur and professional athletes, including one memorable instance where a well-known major league baseball player had suffered a car accident nearby and been brought into the hospital. The man had been an outfielder, through most of his career, and then once he reached his mid-thirties brought in to play first base to extend his longevity. He'd lost a bit of his running speed, but his reflexes were so superb that the team wanted him in the lineup. Batting clean-up, in fact. At the age of thirty-nine, he was still averaging thirty to forty home runs a year, with a .300-plus batting average.
Nichols was quite sure that if he gave Sanchez the sort of examination he'd given that athlete, he'd find the same thing. Some men are simply blessed with a physique so hardy and top-notch that, provided they maintain a decent diet and a rigorous exercise regimen, they really don't lose all that much physically even after they're well into middle age.
As for the man's face, Sharon's letters had done the same. Gray hair. Lines all over. Weather-beaten. Etc., etc., etc.
The man was handsome, for Pete's sake! The sort of Latin male who could age with immense grace and dignity, the way men of any other ethnic lineages had a hard time managing. He reminded Nichols, more than anything else, of some Italian and Mexican movie stars once they reached their fifties. Giancarlo Giannini, for instance, or Ricardo Montalban.
Well, not that handsome. But certainly a lot closer than the wizened old geezer Nichols had braced himself for.
It remained to be seen, of course, where Nichols thought Sharon's assessment of her fiancé's other qualities was on the mark. Her letters had been considerably more expansive in their praise of Sanchez's character and intelligence, and positively enthusiastic—very unusual, for Sharon—about his sense of humor.
But, whatever else, the basic mystery was solved. His daughter had gotten attracted to her future husband for the same reason women had done so for ages. She had the hots for him, simple as that.
Sanchez had a very good handshake. Nichols wasn't surprised at all, by then.
"Lunch!" Sharon exclaimed.
"Good move, girl," Rita approved. "Always a great sideslip."
On their way out, Sharon took Rita by the arm and murmured: "I missed you, a lot, all that time you were in the Tower. Now I'm half-wishing they'd kept you there."
"As if they had any choice! We woulda sprung ourselves anyway—don't think we wouldn't—but once Harry Lefferts and his wrecking crew got to England, it was a done deal."
"Not to mention Julie Sims," Melissa added, shaking her head. "Gawd, at my age, to be having such adventures."
"So what happened? I've never gotten any details, dammit!"
But before Rita had gotten out more than two sentences, the carriage had arrived.
"So it's a mess at both ends of Europe," her dad said. It was early evening, by then, and they were back at the embassy enjoying some glasses of wine at the big table in the formal dining room.
"Yes, but not so bad here," Ruy offered. "I think we will see some play made in the internal politics of the Holy See. I cannot believe that all of this agitation is an end in itself, Doctor Nichols. I believe that Borja seeks to destabilize the Barberini and their grip on the political workings of Rome to further his master's ends; we have had direct intelligence that this is the end they have in view. While I have taken steps to ensure that all here can get to safety at a moment's notice, and advised the Committee of Correspondence in the same way, this is merely a precaution which your daughter has most wisely ordered."
Her dad chuckled. "That's got to be the first time my daughter's ever been described as cautious by anyone," he said.
"Compared