Page 27 of A Matter of Time
“No. He’ll do.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, why don’t we just get this over with now? Why are we waiting? We’ve got a handle on all of them and it would be easy to set the plan in motion.” Pierce waited silently on the other end of the line for Malcolm’s response.
“Yes, it would be easy to do it now, but I fully intend to beat Mackall at the tournament at the end of November. That arrogant bastard deserves to be put in his place one more time, before I get what I truly want out of him.” Malcolm disconnected the phone call and tented his fingers. It was only a matter of waiting a short time longer and then, with any luck at all, he’d be in the early part of the sixteenth century and well on his way to finding the sword that would bring him all the power and glory he wanted.
“What didyou think of the fish and chips?” Angelina asked.
“They were very good,” he responded.
“As good as what you would buy back at home?” she asked, showing great interest in his response.
He knew this was a test of his ability to fool her – not that he wanted to, of course, but he needed to out of necessity. She’d think him a crazy fool if she discovered the truth. “They were excellent, but I think not as good as what I’d get at home.”
“Oh, boo. I guess next time I’m in England, you’ll have to give me the name of your favorite place, so I can try it out for myself.”
Angelina walked along beside him and Richard acknowledged to himself that it felt good. It seemed as though she belonged there, by his side. He thought he was capable of doing anything if she was with him, but then he reminded himself he was not staying, and she wasn’t looking for love. It was a shame, because she would be so very easy to love.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Angelina said, her pure blue eyes gazing up at him.
“I was just thinking what a wonderful day I’ve had here with you. We had an adventure, some good food and the conversation and company were excellent.” Richard was surprised by how completely at ease he was, walking with her. He wanted to hold her hand, but knew she wouldn’t like it, so instead he let his arm brush up against hers and enjoyed the sensation that travelled up his arm each time he did so. They reached her front door and she looked up at him with such clear admiration, it astounded him. How could he stop himself? He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he knew he couldn’t do that to her. He’d already hurt her feelings the first time he’d kissed her.
She reached up and touched his cheek and he held his breath, afraid that if he moved, the spell would be broken and she’d remove her hand. He needn’t have worried though, because her damnable cell phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket.
“It’s Nick. Probably wondering where we are,” she smiled before she pressed a button on the phone and held it to her ear. “Hi. We’ll head your way right now. See you soon.” She put the phone back into her pocket. “I guess we’d better get going if we don’t want to be late.” She seemed a little wistful as she opened the door and went inside. “Let me get my things and we’ll go.” She hurried around the room, picking up her purse and practice equipment, which was in a duffle bag by the front door. She breezed past him, heading towards the car. “Richard, close the door, please.”
He did as she requested and followed her to the car saddened to think their idyllic day was at an end.
Although she was irritatedby Nick’s impeccable sense of timing, she was actually grateful he had called when he did. There had been a very real chance she was going to kiss Richard again and Nick’s phone call had saved her the embarrassment of Richard telling her for a second time that he couldn’t go down that road with her. Yes, she had definitely been spared the consequences of her own foolish actions. But damn it, he was getting more and more difficult to resist!
They drove to the practice space in silence. Angelina was lost in her own thoughts and she assumed from Richard’s silence that he was as well. He never even glanced in her direction, instead focusing on the scenery passing by his window. She pulled into a parking spot and they both got out. She ran around to the back of the car to get her equipment out of the trunk and ran straight into Richard. “Oh… I’m sorry,” she said, the apology covering much more than just accidentally running into him.
Richard cleared his throat and he seemed as if he was about to say something, but she turned away and hurried into the warehouse, not daring to look back. She was, no doubt, the biggest coward in the world, but right now she needed some breathing room.
“There you are!” Nick’s voice boomed across from the far end of the warehouse. He was surrounded by students, working intently with their partners. Tonight’s group not only consisted of the men who would participate in the tournament against Malcolm and his crew, but a number of women, teenagers and even small children were going through their paces. Nick was moving around from group to group, but it was obvious that he was in need of some help from Angelina and Richard.
“Sorry we’re late,” Angelina said. “Who do you need me to work with?”
“Let’s have you work with the ladies, if you don’t mind,” Nick suggested.
She didn’t mind in the least, it was a pleasure to work with this group. They loved the class and she felt good about providing them with the skills they needed to take care of themselves.
“Richard,” Nick said, “would you please work with the little ones?”
Richard looked puzzled by Nick’s request, but he agreed. Angelina watched as Richard approached the group and introduced himself. He had the children sit in a circle and she listened as he asked them to tell him something about themselves.
“Angelina,” Nick said, nodding in the direction of the women.
“Sorry.” Angelina headed off towards her group and began pairing them off so she could evaluate where they needed help. She noticed that Nick had sent Zeke over to work with the teenagers and they seemed very happy about it.
The evening passed in a blur. She made good progress with her ladies’ group and was impressed with their ability to follow her instructions with just one simple explanation. She couldn’t help but be mesmerized by Richard as he worked with the children. They ranged in age from about six through to twelve. It was adorable watching him parry with the youngest child. He was sweet with them. A little voice in the back of her head was telling her to take note.So he’s good with dogs and children.Is that supposed to make me fall for him?I can’t let that happen, no matter how perfect he seems. He’ll only hurt me in the end, just like the others I’ve made the mistake of giving my heart to.
Still, she couldn’t quite reconcile her warning with the man she saw in front of her. He wasn’t anything like any of the men from her past. She’d always been able to walk away from any man, with her independence intact. Richard made her feel things she wasn’t sure she wanted to feel. Even though she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, there were times she was exhausted by it. Times when she wanted to be taken care of, wanted to turn to someone at the end of the day and say, ‘Hold me. Love me.’She hadn’t allowed herself to do that up until now and she was frightened of the prospect of trying it. She tore herself away from thoughts of Richard and pulled herself back to the here and now, congratulating the women on their great progress and then heading off to hide in the back office and pull herself together before she drove Richard and Nick home.
Richard couldn’t believehow much he’d enjoyed working with the children. He hadn’t had much cause to spend time with the young ones around the castle, so he was surprised by their friendly natures and how hard they’d worked, to gain his approval. He’d never really thought about having children of his own before now, but this experience had him thinking about starting a family, and soon. Richard wasn’t sure how that was going to happen, but he fervently hoped it would. He just needed to learn those lessons Edna had spoken of and then he’d be able to go home, the changed man he wanted to be.
“Ye did well with the wee ones,” Nick said as he approached. “They seem to love ye.”
“Love me?” Richard repeated blankly.
