Page 21 of A Matter of Time
“Precisely why I’m searching for the brother to the Sword of State. It is identical in many ways, but rather than being blessed by the Pope, it is said to have been magically imbued with the ability to grant its owner great power, and the ability to rule the world.” He searched her face and Angelina did her best not to look shocked at his obvious desire for even more power than he already held. She knew that Malcolm was one of the wealthiest men in the world. He could buy anything he wanted – or almost anything – but she was quite determined the one thing he couldn’t buy was her.
“Did this sword actually exist? Do you have any proof? And if it did exist, why didn’t the King use it to his own benefit?” Angelina nervously spun her wine glass between her fingers.
“Some say that while he was aware of its value, the King wasn’t quite prepared to use it at that particular point in time, and so he sent it off somewhere for safe keeping. After his death, the sword would have been left to his son James the Fifth, who was a small child. The regent at the time was his mother and then John Stewart, the second Duke of Albany. At some point during these two reigns, the sword disappeared and therein lies my problem. I have many sources who believe that it most certainly did exist, but they don’t know why it went missing or who might have taken it. I intend to find out.”
“It could all be just a fabrication, a fictional tale passed down for generations. How can you possibly find something that may not have even existed?” Angelina scoffed.
“As I said, I’m convinced it did exist. I’ve had my people searching historical records and speaking with archeologists and historians. As a matter of fact, just today, my Acquisitions Director sent me a sixteenth century map, showing the possible location of the sword.” He smiled brightly at her and appeared as excited as a small boy on Christmas morning. “If only I could travel back in time…”
“Well, we both know that’s impossible.” Angelina took another sip of her wine.
Malcolm’s facial expression was unreadable. “Do we?”
“Perhaps we should checkon her,” Richard suggested. He was still feeling guilty about what had happened the night before, and desperately wanted to talk to Angelina to explain himself. Maybe this was part of the lesson that Edna felt he needed to learn. He had never suffered a moment of guilt until recently. His reputation was not a good one, of that he was certain, but he suddenly found himself caring about other people’s thoughts and feelings. Why did he care so damn much? On some level, it had been easier when he didn’t, but now he couldn’t forget the hurt expression on Angelina’s face as she hurried from the room. He had to fix that somehow. He wanted to be back in her good graces again.
“I already did,” was Nick’s reply.
“And…”
“She’s out to dinner with Malcolm Granger.” Nick glanced at Richard as if he were waiting for an outburst.
Richard remained silent, much to his own surprise. His face, on the other hand, scowled back at Nick. “He’s dangerous, you know,” he finally said. “I don’t trust him.”
“Neither do I,” Nick agreed. “There’s nae we can do, though. I’ll continue texting with her and if she needs our help, she’ll let us know.”
Richard paced back and forth, stopping occasionally to stare moodily out the window.
“I can see ’tis going to be a long night,” Nick observed. “Richard, ye’ll be wearing a hole in the floor. Come sit.” He refilled the whiskey glasses.
Richard stood there for a moment, experiencing a number of revelations. The life he wanted was his for the taking. He could have had it all along. He had a good friend, a family that loved him and the possibility of a very good life. How could he have missed it? His ridiculous jealousy had needlessly clouded everything in his life. If only he had seen it sooner. Perhaps he could have saved himself this second trip to the future. Richard turned to see Nick observing him carefully.
“Have ye got it all figured out?” he asked, with a knowing expression.
“I think I have,” he nodded. “I think I have.”
Chapter 11
The house was in darkness, but fortunately, Angelina had her own key. She fumbled with the lock, but eventually got it open. “Hello, it’s just me!” Angelina called out, just before she found herself engulfed by two strong arms.
“Thank God you’re alright,” Richard said, as he crushed her to him.
“Richard, I can’t breathe!” Angelina gasped. He loosened his grip slightly, but continued to hold her, his warm breath caressing the top of her head. Once again, she was reminded of the power this man had over her. She wanted to sink right into him, but then she remembered he wasn’t interested in her in that way. She struggled to get away from his hold and finally freed herself. “Wow, I just had the craziest night ever.”
“Did he hurt you?’ Richard asked, his eyes fierce with worry.
“No, of course not. Besides, I can take care of myself if I have to. Don’t go getting all medieval on me,” she said.
Richard eyed her curiously. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing. You’re just being unnecessarily protective.” She removed her coat and set her purse down on the floor as she breezed by Richard on her way to the living room. She sat, not on the sofa, but in the oversized chair by the fire. She wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to sit next to her again. She had learned her lesson the hard way on that score. Besides, she was still feeling the effects of that hug he’d given her as she’d come inside. Once her body stopped quivering, she might be able to carry on a normal conversation, but before she could settle herself, damned if he didn’t stride over to kneel in front of her!
“Angelina, I beg your forgiveness for my behavior last night. I should never have kissed you.”
He appeared to be very sincere and Angelina swallowed uncomfortably before she responded. “I’m willing to accept some of the blame for what happened. I’ve thought about it and I was sending you signals that I wanted something to happen between us. It’s my own fault that you kissed me. And I kissed you back. I thought it was a pretty amazing kiss, but apparently you thought otherwise, so—”
“No! Of course I didn’t think otherwise,” he interrupted. “It was an amazing kiss.” He reached for her hands and she didn’t pull them away.
“So why did you get all weird on me?” She tipped her head and softened as she gazed at the first man in her life who had apologized for something she would be willing to do again at a moment’s notice.
