Rendezvous With Yesterday (The Gifted Ones #2)(123)

Yawning, Marc nodded. “Air-conditioning is one of the best inventions of this time,” he declared, no hint of England tingeing his words now.

Robert must have imagined it. He noticed then that Marc was barefoot. His long black hair was mussed from sleep. His eyelids were heavy over deep brown eyes. Stubble coated the jawline his beard didn’t. And the only clothing he wore was a pair of faded blue jeans, which Robert suspected he had donned upon hearing the bells chime.

“Forgive me. I seem to have disturbed your rest.”

“No problem. I tend to work late into the night and often don’t go to bed until after the sun has risen.” Motioning for Robert to accompany him, he shuffled into the adjacent living room, switched on an overhead light, and sank down on the sofa.

Sofas were another grand invention of this time period, Robert decided as he seated himself at the opposite end.

“Beth didn’t come with you?” Marc asked, smiling.

“Nay. She had a doctor’s appointment. And Josh had some business he needed to take care of.”

Marc frowned. “She isn’t sick, is she?”

“Nay. She and Josh decided ’twould be best if she had something called a checkup before returning to the past.”

“I agree. Perhaps you should, too.”

Robert stiffened. “Absolutely not.”

Marc grinned. “They told you about the rubber-glove exam, didn’t they?”

Grimacing, Robert nodded.

“That’s what I thought. So, what can I do for you, my lord?”

Robert hesitated. “There is a boon I would ask of you. ’Tis of a delicate nature and I did not feel comfortable approaching Josh with it.”

“Well, I’m honored that you chose me. What would you have me do?”

“There is a secret I need your help unearthing.”

Marc tilted his head. “A secret?”

“Aye. I saw it on television, and know not where to begin searching for it, only that it belongs to a woman by the name of Victoria.”

For a long moment, Marc said nothing. Then his lips twitched. “A secret that belongs to Victoria?”

“Aye.”

“I assume you wish to procure some of Victoria’s secrets for Lady Bethany to take back to your time?”

“Precisely.”

A slow grin stretched his lips. “I can definitely help you with that.”

“I would be very grateful.”

Marc laughed. “I can imagine.” Rising, he said, “I believe, my lord, it is time I introduced you to something called the Internet.”



Robert eyed him as he stood. “’Tis most curious.”

His eyebrows rose. “What? The Internet?”

“Nay. That is the third time you have addressed me as my lord.”

Marc’s look turned guarded. “Is it?”

“Aye.” And he had sounded completely natural doing so, unlike Josh and Grant, who had only done it in jest.

“I suppose, considering your title, I deemed it appropriate.”

The words rang falsely, though Robert could not say why. “I see no need for such formality, not in this time, and not if we are to become friends.”

Slowly Marc’s shoulders relaxed. “I believe we already are friends, Robert.”

Robert smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. “We are. Now tell me more of this thing called the Internet.”

With the help of Marc’s computer and a piece of plastic he called a credit card, Robert purchased many secrets for Beth that would be delivered the next day. He had been quite dismayed when Marc had told him he could not use the gold coins Robert had brought with him as payment.

“Those coins are centuries old, Robert, and are no longer used in the common market.”

“Then they have no value in this time?” Robert had intended to leave whatever coins he did not spend here with Josh as a gift.

Marc snorted. “Those coins are extremely valuable. Because of their age and pristine condition, you could probably purchase Victoria’s entire store with them. But they must be sold to a rare coin dealer first—or perhaps even a museum—and exchanged for modern moneys.”

“Then I will do so and repay you for letting me use your plastic card.”

“It isn’t necessary, I assure you. In fact, I would much prefer that you repay me in a different manner.”

An hour later, Robert and Marc were sweating buckets, as Beth would say, and grinning like fools as they hacked at each other with a pair of blunted swords Marc had produced that looked remarkably like the ones Robert used to train his squires.

While Marc had donned shoes, Robert had stripped off his shirt, leaving him in only his blue jeans and sneakers. They had shoved all of the living room furniture up against the walls, providing them with a suitably large area in which they could spar. And spar they did. Marc was an excellent swordsman. Robert would not have thought any men of this time would have reason to perfect such skills, but perfect them Marc had.

Apparently, unbeknownst to Beth, he was a member of one of the reenactment groups Beth had thought Robert part of the day they had met.

The two men spoke little as they fought. Occasionally Robert would offer praise or direction, as he did when sparring with his men. But very little direction was needed. More often than not, he laughed out loud with the sheer exhilaration of battling so worthy an opponent.