Page 10 of A Matter of Time
“I see. Ye may want to be careful with this one. He’s a man of strong feelings, Richard is. I’ve known him a long time and he’s only once been in love – and it’s taken him years to get over that one. I know you dinnae want to pursue anything serious, and go ahead if ye like, but be careful not to destroy him in the process,” Nick warned.
“You’ve become quite the softy,” Angelina teased.
“I am nae a softy, as ye call it.” Nick looked appropriately indignant and Angelina couldn’t help but laugh. She absolutely adored Nick. Their sibling-like banter always brought a smile to her face.
“I’m sorry, Nickie. You know I love you,” Angelina stood on tiptoe to kiss Nick’s cheek and he quickly turned his head so that she ended up giving him a peck on the lips. “You…”
Angelina’s response was interrupted by Richard returning to the kitchen. He was dressed once again in the medieval garb he’d been wearing when she first spied him at the Marina.Perfection,she thought, smiling warmly in his direction. The scowl on his face only added to that bad boy quality she so liked about him. Without uttering a word, he turned and headed for the door. Angelina realized too late that he had probably witnessed her kiss Nick and he didn’t appear very happy about it. Giving Nick a ‘why-did-you-do-that’ look, she grabbed her purse and they both practically ran to keep up with Richard.
Angelina waited patientlyas the two men folded their large frames into her tiny little car. Richard looked particularly uncomfortable in the back seat. “Are you okay back there?” she asked apologetically.
Richard grimaced as he tried to find a comfortable spot for his legs and when he couldn’t, he simply gave up trying and appeared to resign himself to the fact that this was as good as it was going to get.
“Don’t worry. We don’t have far to go,” Angelina reassured him.
They drove to practice in an uncomfortable silence. Angelina hoped she hadn’t done something which would ruin her chances with Richard. She’d have to talk to him about it later, when Nick wasn’t around. He had no way to know that her relationship with Nick was purely platonic. She could understand how he might get the wrong idea about them.
Arriving at their destination, Angelina got out of the car and stifled her laughter as first Nick, and then Richard, pulled themselves awkwardly out of the vehicle. It was astounding how those two men could make her little car resemble the clown car at the circus. Nick saw the humor in it and couldn’t control his laughter. Richard, on the other hand, seemed none too amused. He glared at both Nick and Angelina before storming past them.
“We’re going this way, Richard,” Nick called out, pointing to his left and the area that had been designated as their practice field.
A dozen young men stood waiting for them, smiling happily as they approached.
“We were wondering where you guys were,” said Zeke Barret, a tall, blond haired man with an easy smile.
“We’re here now,” Nick said. “This is a friend of mine. Sir Richard Jefford. He’s from England and he’s an expert in medieval martial arts. He’s agreed to help with your training.”
The group of men all turned to Richard and offered a friendly greeting. Richard bowed slightly in their direction, but remained stubbornly silent. Angelina was beginning to worry about this silence. She didn’t know him very well, and hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings too badly.
Nick divided the group into two, directing one group to work with Richard and the other to follow him. As the group walked away, Richard called out. “A sword, Nickie, if you please.”
Nick quickly turned back toward Richard. “What did ye call me?”
The smirk on Richard’s face said it all. He had waited for his opportunity and when it arrived, he took full advantage of it. “I believe you heard me, Nickie. I need a sword.”
“You can borrow mine, Sir Richard,” one of the men in Richard’s group said.
“Thank you and please, call me Richard.” He turned his back on Nick and continued, “I will be working with you one at a time and the rest of you will look on and learn.” Richard made quick work of his students. Each and every one of them found themselves flat on their back with a sword at their throat in a matter of seconds. “So, I can see we have much work to do if you wish to excel as swordsmen.” Richard stood surrounded by his group of students, who listened carefully to his speech. He explained where each one of them had gone wrong and made suggestions to correct their faults. He handed the sword back to the young man who had lent it to him. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Wade Granville, sir,” he responded.
“Wade, pair up with Zeke and the rest of you find a partner. You will parry with each other and I will show you your weaknesses and strengths. Then you will switch partners and we’ll do the same thing all over again. Your opponent will not always be the same man, and so it is good to learn how to spar with as many different opponents as possible.
From across thefield Malcolm Granger and his team of combatants observed the newcomer working with Mackall’s men. Malcolm wondered who he was and where he’d come from. He was obviously an expert with a sword and could prove to be stiff competition for his men. He preferred to view him as just one more person standing in the way of his goal. He’d need to find out all he could about this man just as he had with Nick, but he felt sure that no matter what it took, he’d win in the end. “Let’s go,” he called to the men surrounding him.
Chapter 6
Striding purposefully across the field, followed by a group of men seemingly armed for battle, Malcolm Granger made his way towards Nick and Richard. Halting, arms folded across his chest, Malcolm observed Angelina holding her own against a much larger opponent. She was magnificent with a sword and watching her lithe body as she spun away from her opponent made Malcolm’s body react in a way that he couldn’t afford at this point. He had much more important things on his mind. If she was still around when he had achieved his goal, then he’d think about making her his. For now, he had to set his plan in motion and wait for the right time to make it happen.
Malcolm was a member of the Royal Academy of Medieval Martial Arts. He enjoyed reminding Nick of this as often as possible. He knew it rankled the other man and that’s exactly why he did it. “Your lads are coming along nicely,” Malcolm called to Nick, who looked up briefly to acknowledge him. “I see you’ve hired a new instructor, perhaps you’ll introduce us.”
Nick nodded to Richard, “Sir Richard Jefford, meet Malcolm Granger, our opponent in the upcoming meet.”
Richard stopped what he was doing and walked over to Malcolm, sizing him up as he approached. “I’m please to meet you,” he said as he shook Malcolm’s hand.
“And you,” Malcolm replied. “SirRichard Jefford. Is that name just for show?” he chuckled.
Richard furrowed his brow and stood to his full height. “For show?”
