Page 43 of A Matter of Time
Zeke did as he was directed and Smith, who had been sitting on the stairs, rose to his full height.
“Tell Granger I cannae help him. I dinnae ken how to get back to the past. If I did, do you nae think I would have already gone home?”
“Mr. Granger thought that might be your answer, and he doesn’t believe you. He said to tell you that if you won’t help him, he’ll be forced to kill your friends. You have twenty four hours to make up your mind.” With that, Smith turned and headed down the stairs to the street below.
Zeke closed the door and leaned against it with a worried frown.
“We willnae need twenty four hours,” Nick stated confidently. “We’ll get them out before the deadline. Richard will be working from the inside to secure their escape, and we’ll be doing our best from the outside.”
“Good morning,” Malcolm Granger greeted Richard and Angelina from the dining table in the great hall. They both remained stubbornly silent and their captor waved towards two empty chairs. “Please, sit down. Have some breakfast. I do hope you slept well last night?” Malcolm placed a forkful of food into his mouth and casually watched them as he chewed.
Richard pulled out a chair for Angelina and then sat in the vacant chair beside her.
“I’ve sent word to your friend, Nick. He knows of your predicament, but he is choosing not to help you.”
Angelina glanced Richard’s way and gave him a meaningful look, and then helped herself to some of the food. He did the same.
“You two aren’t very talkative. Not morning people?” An unpleasant smirk crossed Granger’s lips. “Fortunately, I’m a generous fellow. I’ve given him twenty four hours to change his mind.”
“What happens then?” Richard poured himself some coffee.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to follow through with my threat to kill you both. It’s nothing personal, of course.”
Richard grasped Angelina’s hand under the table to reassure her. “What did you ask of him?”
“I told him I need him to take me back to the sixteenth century, retrieve the Twin Sword, and then return us safely back to the twenty first century.”
“And if he does this, you promised to let us go?” Richard didn’t believe they’d be getting out of this alive, but he wanted to hear confirmation from Malcolm.
“I haven’t made a decision about that yet. If Nick continues to refuse his help, however, the matter will be moot.” Granger stared at Richard triumphantly.
Richard ignored him, but the mounting tension in Angelina’s body was obvious and once again, Richard gripped her hand, hoping to prevent her from taking any action they might regret. She responded by nodding infinitesimally, ensuring that Malcolm didn’t notice the movement.
“You know, Angelina, after we had dinner the other night and then our little chat at the coffee shop, I had hoped you’d be more willing to help me. I’m sure by now you’ve reached the conclusion that everything I told you was true. It’s a shame you didn’t believe me then, perhaps if you had, you wouldn’t be sitting here today.” Malcolm barked out a menacing laugh. “You could have shared in the power I will attain, once I get my hands on the sword. You still could.” His lascivious leer had Richard bristling with anger, and this time, it was Angelina who was comforting him with a gentle squeeze of his thigh.
“Malcolm, you don’t know me very well if you think for even one moment that I would betray Nick or Richard.” Angelina’s gaze never wavered, and she stared at Malcolm with cool disdain.
“Well, if you change your mind, you can tell the guard at your door. He’ll be certain to get the message to me. Just remember, if you assist in this project, you could have everything your heart desires.”
Richard was pleased when she didn’t engage in argument with Malcolm. It would do no good at this point, but Malcolm had given him an idea – one that might just get them out of this predicament.
Malcolm stood up, placing his napkin on the table. “I have things to see to. When you’re finished here, my men will escort you back to your room. Don’t even think about trying to overcome them, they have orders to run you through if necessary. You would be smart to remember that and behave accordingly.”
“No guns?” Angelina questioned.
“I like to keep things authentically medieval.” With that announcement, he left the room.
Angelina glanced Richard’s way and he reassured her with a smile. A finger to his lips warned her to remain silent.
The doorto their room was locked behind them and Angelina immediately turned to Richard and whispered, “What’s the plan?”
“We’ll wait a short while, to give the illusion you’ve been thinking about Malcolm’s proposition, and then you’ll ask the guard to send word that you’ve changed your mind.”
“But I haven’t! I’m not going to save myself at your expense.”
Richard held up a hand. “I know. Hear me out. When the guard leaves, we’ll go through the bathroom and break into the adjoining room, leaving this door locked. I had a look on the way upstairs, and I believe the room next door to this one is vacant. By the time the guard gets back, hopefully we’ll have found a way out of this place.”
“It could work.” Angelina furrowed her brow as she worked through the plan in her head. “It’s worth a try.”
