Page 14 of A Matter of Time
“Way to state the obvious,” his friend Kyle said, rolling his eyes.
“Glad you could make it,” Angelina said, placing the last bucket under a leak before she walked towards them. “I was wondering if any of you would show up tonight.”
“Everyone’s coming, as far as I know. We all know it’s important to get in as much practice as we can before the tournament.” Zeke removed his jacket and hung it on a peg by the door. “Malcolm’s guys are tough. I’m not sure we’ll be able to beat them.”
“Positive thinking. You must have faith in yourselves. Nick would hate to hear you talk like that.” Angelina’s face registered her disapproval, and seeing the reaction of the men at the door, she softened. “I believe you can do it. Sometimes people who are too cocky for their own good fail to see beyond their own high opinion of themselves.” That seemed to help. They appeared relieved that she wasn’t actually angry with them.
“Where are Nick and Richard?” Kyle asked.
“They’ll be here. Probably just stuck in typical rainy day traffic. They were grabbing a cab the last time I spoke with them. Help me mop up the floor so no one slips and falls while you’re practicing.” She handed out mops to a few of the guys, while the others used the towels she’d already laid out. They got the water situation taken care of and then they pulled out the mats, which they placed in the middle of the room to form a large square for their practice space.
The door flew open and Nick and Richard, looking like two very handsome drowned rats, blew into the room. Richard said nothing. Angelina imagined he was trying to create a strong, silent mystique. Nick, on the other hand, began ordering the others to get their gear on and start sparring.
“Angelina,” he kissed her cheek. “Was it bad in here?” He perused the large space and seemed pleased that everything was in order.
“Not too bad. We got it all mopped up before you got here. That roof’s going to need to be repaired though. It may need to be replaced completely.” She pointed to all the buckets lined up on the floor.
Nick looked up and nodded. “We might not have been much worse off practicing outside,” he laughed.
Glancing around, she saw that Richard had quickly gotten to work with the guys. She heard him make it clear he would be sparring individually with each of them once again, and she guessed it was to see if they’d retained any knowledge from the last time he’d had them on their backs. Apparently, they hadn’t learned much. He seemed very patient with them as he explained where they’d gone wrong and then gave them an opportunity to try again. When they were successful, he was complimentary as he explained the finer points of swordplay and how they got it right, which went a long way towards making them want to try harder to please him. She couldn’t help but stare at Richard as he worked. Aside from Nick, he was the most masculine man she’d ever met. He exudedmanin every way. She was drawn to him, but something told her that he wasn’t someone to be trifled with. He was the kind of guy who played for keeps and she wasn’t interested in forever. She was only interested in right now. Best not to get involved with him at all, really. Still as she watched, something inside her chest longed to be near him. She imagined she was under a spell where he was concerned and she didn’t understand it.
Richard casta quick glance in Angelina’s direction. He hadn’t stopped to speak with her, which he knew was rude, but a conversation with her would take him off his game and he needed to be alert if he was going to whip these men into shape for their competition. Even still, just being in the same room with her was a distraction. She was even lovelier dressed in her practice gear. How could that be? He was used to seeing the women of his time in gowns. To see a woman in breeches was unusual to say the least, but he found it strangely attractive. The curve of her hips and her shapely bottom were outlined for his eyes to explore. Before his conversation with Edna, Richard’s plans had included Angelina, but since he would be going back home, and soon he hoped, he had no intention of getting involved with a woman from this time, no matter how much his heart was drawn to her.
“I see ye peeking at her,” Nick said, and he slapped Richard on the back. “And I see her sneaking glances in yer direction.”
Richard didn’t answer, instead getting between Wade and Jayson as they were about to make contact. He corrected their stances and posture, gave them some words of encouragement and then returned his attention to Nick. “I do not understand what you are getting at.”
“Yer interested… and so is she. I’d wager every cent I don’t have on it.” Nick chuckled as he grabbed Kyle by the back of his shirt and steered him out of harm’s way. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said to Richard and then proceeded to stand with Kyle, having him mimic every move he made as he advanced on his opponent. “That’s it! Ye’ve got it, now go do exactly as I’ve shown ye.”
Richard watched with interest as Angelina engaged Zeke with her sword. As unusual as it was for a woman to engage in swordplay, she was exquisite in her movements and astonishingly better than a lot of men that he knew. She parried back and forth with Zeke, spinning and jabbing, eventually knocking his sword from his hand and a split second later, she had her own sword at his throat. Zeke stood, arms in the air, in surrender. Richard couldn’t help himself, “That was perfect, Angelina. Zeke, you could learn much from what just happened. Did you see how fluid her movements were? How she followed your every move? How you were so caught up in what she was doing, that you froze and allowed her to best you?” He turned his attention back to Angelina. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“I’ve been at this for a few years now. I started out with Malcolm’s group, but when Nick came along, his methods were more to my liking. It just comes naturally to me. It’s like I know what my opponent is going to do before they do. Do you know what I mean?” She wrinkled her nose in the most fetching way.
Richard fought to get his thoughts back on their conversation, as his attention slipped to her pert little nose and her full, sensual lips. “I do know what you mean. I feel that way myself. I would venture to say that I am so totally engrossed in what I am doing that everything else fades into the background, making it easier for me to read my opponent.”
“Yes. It’s the Zen of swordplay,” she teased. Richard didn’t understand her reference and it must have shown on his face. “You know, being in the moment.”
“That’s a good way to put it,” Richard said. “I believe Zeke is waiting for you.” He turned and walked away before she could read him, the way she had read Zeke. What she would see was a man who desperately wanted her, despite knowing he couldn’t have her. He intended to stick to his decision.
“We’re making good progress with them,” Nick said as he approached. “With your help I believe we have a chance against Malcolm’s crew.”
“I don’t care for him,” Richard stated, distaste showing on his face at the mention of Malcolm’s name.
“He’s a strange one,” Nick conceded. “As I’ve said, we were friends at first, and then rivals. I’m nae sure what changed, but now he tries to act like a man who would be my friend again, while at the same time sending me signals that he wants to show me who the better warrior is.”
“You would be, of course.” Richard kept his gaze on their students as he spoke with Nick. “He must know that.”
Nick ignored the compliment. “The men he surrounds himself with are excellent in all forms of the martial arts. Sometimes, I think he believes this to be a real battle and that worries me. For this group, it’s a fun activity. Something they participate in to let off steam after long hours at their day jobs. Not a one of them has that killer instinct that is crucial to being a true warrior. That’s not to say we can’t train them to do all the right things, but if it came right down to it, they’d be hard pressed to actually hurt someone. Malcolm’s men are the exact opposite and that gives me pause. I don’t want anyone here getting hurt.”
“And they won’t. We’ll see to it. How long do we have before the competition?” Richard asked as he sized up the group.
“About two weeks.” Nick’s face revealed his concern.
“Don’t worry. The two of us and Angelina are prepared. Zeke is coming along nicely as are Wade, Kyle, and Jayson. The others will get there by the time of the competition,” Richard stated with confidence.
Nick nodded. “As a precaution though, from this point forward I think we should practice every day.”
Chapter 8
