“Well, I guess that would be all right,” I replied, smiling, and I could see the laughter dancing I his eyes.
He hooked his finger under my chin, lifting it higher and bringing it toward him.
“Now, where were we?” he whispered against my lips before he wrapped his arms around me, kissing me hotly for many miles as we sped back toward Bell Tower Hall.
Chapter 7
The next morning I woke to find myself alone in the massive bed of our suite.
“Vance?” I called out softly, glancing around the empty space.
There was no answer.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, pulled on my robe and walked toward the bathroom.
“Vance? Are you in here?” I said, entering the room.
My heart leapt up in tempo when I realized he wasn’t here either. I turned to go back into the other room, and there was a soft knock on the door.
I tightened the knot on my robe and went to answer it. I found Colin standing on the other side.
“Good morning, Colin,” I said with a small smile.
“Good morning to you, Madame,” he replied with a slight bow. “Mr. Mangum requested that I please remind you that he is fencing with Mr. Cummings this morning. He said to invite you to take your breakfast with him in the gymnasium unless you would prefer to have it here in your room instead.”
I suddenly recalled our after-dinner conversation with Douglas and Fiona from the evening prior. Douglas had asked Vance if he knew how to fence. When Vance had replied in the negative, he had offered to give Vance a lesson in the morning.
“Thank you, Colin,” I said, my thoughts returning to the present. “Would you please tell Vance that I’ll join him shortly and I’ll eat my breakfast there with him?”
“As you wish,” Colin said with a curt nod of his head before turning to walk away.
I closed the door behind him and meandered over to the closet. I pulled out a pair of comfortable black jeans and a teal-colored shirt before heading into the bathroom.
After I was done showering and getting dressed, I opted to go casual for the day, knowing we would be getting fixed up for our reception this evening. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and lightly used some mascara and a pale lip gloss to give some shine before I headed down to the gymnasium.
Colin appeared magically, as usual, at the bottom of the stairs and led me through the massive house and into the gigantic room.
I tried to keep my jaw closed when I cast my gaze around the ornate space. Large white pillars graced each corner, twisting up to a domed ceiling with a grand mural that depicted ancient dueling scenes from eras gone by. My eyes flitted back down over mirrored walls to the outer wall which was covered in closed French doors that led out to a beautiful fountain area and then out to the rolling grounds beyond. It was breathtaking.
Colin cleared his throat slightly, catching my attention once again and gesturing for me to follow him over to where Fiona was sitting at a round white table with a delicious looking breakfast spread in front of her.
I sat down in one of the three vacant chairs at the table next to her.
“Good morning, dear.” She smiled while Colin placed a plate in front of me and poured me a glass of orange juice.
“Good morning to you,” I replied smiling back before turning to follow her gaze out into the middle of the floor, where Vance was standing on a mat with his grandfather. Douglas was explaining something to him. “What’s going on?” I asked, thinking how good Vance looked dressed up in the white protective clothing.
“Douglas just finished showing Vance the three main weapons used in fencing: the foil, the epee, and the saber,” she explained. “They’re going to use the foil for their match.”
Another man approached Vance and Douglas then, dressed in similar attire, though he was all in black.
“Who’s that?” I asked Fiona.
“That is Armell, Douglas’s fencing instructor. He’s here to teach Vance some of the moves and rules,” she replied.
“That’s good,” I said, my heart leaping up as Vance picked a foil and stepped into the center of the mat. I was suddenly concerned for him. “This is a safe sport, right?”
Fiona laughed gently and reached over to pat my hand.
“Don’t worry, dear. The suits are electronic. The end of the sword is actually a push button which will register the official hits each opponent makes on one another. The vest, or jacket as it is called, has sensors in it which are triggered when the tip of the foil presses against it, thus registering the point and sending it to the electronic scoring apparatus.”
“That’s interesting,” I said while I watched the instructor coach Vance on the proper way to hold his foil before he proceeded to show him some moves, like advancing forward, lunging and so on.
It was amazing for me to observe Vance, watching the ease and speed he seemed to be learning with. He should have been a dancer; he was so graceful in his movements. If it had been me out there, I would have looked like a bumbling fool.
When Vance looked fairly comfortable with the footwork, the instructor moved on to blade work, showing him several different moves with his weapon.
“Are you going to eat, Portia?” Fiona’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I looked down at my empty plate.
“Sorry,” I replied. “I’m afraid I completely forgot about the food, this is all so interesting.” I reached over to pull some warm muffins and fresh fruit off the tray in front of me. “Do you watch Douglas often?” I added.
“Goodness no!” she replied with a laugh. “I’d be down here all the time! Douglas is very fond of the sport and has become quite the master of it. He often competes.”
“Really?” I said, feeling surprised at this revelation, though I wasn’t sure why. It was clear that the Cummings men had a natural ability toward athleticism. “How long has he been competing?”
“Oh for several years,” she answered with a wave of her hand. “We’ve even hosted some events here.”
I could believe that easily as I took in the size of the massive room once again while I bit into a muffin.
“I hope Douglas will take it easy on Vance then,” I said when I finished chewing. “He can’t possibly learn enough to be good competition to Douglas in one day.”
Fiona laughed. “That’s true, but they decided earlier to teach him a few basic moves, and Douglas will be restricted to those same moves as well. That should help even the playing field a little for him.”
This was an interesting scenario for me to consider. I had never considered Vance to be a weak opponent in any type of situation. He had always seemed strong and formidable in situations that had required aggression in the past. I found it was hard for me to envision him as the underdog here, and it was making me feel slightly nervous for him.
I was finished eating my breakfast when the instructor finally finished warming up with Vance and he stepped to face Douglas on the mat. Suddenly, I found myself wishing I hadn’t eaten at all as a case of the nervous butterflies attacked my stomach.
Vance dropped his protective mask into place, lifted his foil and waited. Douglas stepped forward and began the attack, thrusting in a forward motion. Vance moved backward in reaction, parrying against Douglas’s foil at the appropriate times.
I found myself biting at my lower lip, and I could hear Fiona chuckle lightly beside me when Douglas continued to force Vance farther backward down the long mat. I began to wonder if Vance was just too overwhelmed to even remember what he was supposed to do. Suddenly Vance lunged forward, catching Douglas off guard, landing the tip of his foil squarely against Douglas’s chest, registering a point.
Douglas lifted his mask and looked down at his chest in complete shock, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face as I watched.
“Point to Mr. Mangum,” the instructor called out.
The two men walked back to the center of the mat and began once again. It soon became clear that Vance was
allowing Douglas to beat him back while he studied his moves when he landed another point in similar fashion.
Douglas didn’t remove his mask this time, but I could tell he was not very happy by the way he strode back to the center of the mat, abruptly lifting his foil as he waited for Vance to join him.
This time, however, Vance was the one who attacked, and he successfully forced Douglas backward. Their weapons clashed loudly together, sending the sound of clinking metal throughout the room.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Fiona said, her eyes dancing as she watched with her hands clasped in delight. “The boy is a natural.”
It was clear that Vance’s extreme speed was giving him a definite advantage. Douglas fought desperately to keep up with him, and in the end they both thrust at the same time, landing equal blows on each other’s chests.
They lifted their helmets, laughing together, and the instructor said it appeared that Douglas had landed the point first, barely.
Douglas clapped Vance on the back before pulling his mask off his sweat-drenched head. Vance followed suit, and soon the two of them made their way over to the table while the instructor was gathering up the weapons.
“What do you think of our grandson this morning?” he asked Fiona as he sat down at the table, and Vance came to kiss me on the cheek before he sat down as well.
“I think you’d better be careful or you may find yourself run through,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Me either,” Douglas replied. “I was really sweating it out there!”
“So I can see,” Fiona replied wryly as she waved her hand back and forth in front of her face lightly, scrunching her nose up slightly. “You’re a mess!”
“Blame it all on this one,” Douglas replied, reaching over to squeeze Vance’s shoulder.
Vance was beaming, thoroughly enjoying himself.
“You’re giving me too much credit,” he replied modestly with a slight shake of his head. “I’m just as sweaty as you are, and you landed the last point.”
“True, but there were three points, remember? That means you’re the currently the victor,” Douglas replied. “Now let’s enjoy some breakfast with our lovely company, and then we’ll hit the mat again.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Vance agreed with a grin, and he reached to fill his plate.
I watched him as he moved, thinking he looked like a gorgeous mess with his flushed face and sweaty hair, clothed in the white garment. If he worked out like this every day, he would certainly have me as a captive audience for every minute of it. My eyes practically devoured every inch of him.
“Portia,” his voice suddenly penetrated into the thoughts in my head. “You have to quit staring at me like that. You’re making my grandmother blush.”
My eyes quickly flickered over toward Fiona who was indeed watching me with avid interest, and I quickly cast my gaze down into my lap, feeling the flush creep into my own skin.
Vance chuckled out loud at this, and I kicked him under the table, mortified at his reaction.
He leaned over and kissed my cheek once more.
“Don’t worry, baby,” he whispered into my ear. “It’s all good.” He winked as he pulled away from me, and I could tell he was totally enjoying my reaction to him … again.
After they were done eating, Douglas and Vance returned to the mat. This time the instructor explained things in much greater detail to Vance, and the two worked slowly together on moves.
“Well, I think I’m done here.” Fiona sighed as she stood. “I have some correspondence to take care of this morning.”
“I’ll walk with you,” I said to her, standing also.
Vance flicked me a smile as I left the room.
“See you in a little while, baby,” he said into my head, and I smiled widely back at him.
“I’ll send Colin up for your dress shortly,” Fiona said, capturing my attention again. “He’ll have the maid get it properly pressed for this evening.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “That’s very kind of you. Is there anything I can do to help out with the preparations for tonight?”
“No, not at all,” she said. “The catering staff and the decorators will be here shortly after noon. They should have things well in hand. Just get rested up and be ready to enjoy yourself.”
She paused when we reached the grand staircase.
“Okay,” I answered turning to go up. “I’ll go pull mine and Vance’s clothes out for Colin now.”
“Thank you,” she said. “And I enjoyed your company at breakfast this morning.”
I turned to smile back at her.
“Thanks, it was fun for me, too,” I replied with a smile.
Vance walked back into the bedroom a couple of hours later, still dressed in his protective fencing gear, thoroughly sweaty and flushed.
“Hey, baby,” he said as he walked toward where I was sitting in front of the roaring fire.
“Don’t you even touch me!” I protested, and I lifted a finger in warning to him when I saw the wicked glint in his eye.
He laughed seductively.
“Aw, you’re no fun,” he mumbled as he leaned his head in toward me and I shied away from him.
“You’re all sweaty!” I exclaimed.
“Come on, baby. Just one little kiss on the cheek for me then,” he begged, and he tapped his index finger on his face, his eyes sparkling.
I couldn’t resist him. His power of persuasion over me would be my complete undoing. He knew I would do whatever he asked, following him to the ends of the earth and beyond.
I leaned my head in to lightly to place a peck against him, but before my lips landed, he turned his head and kissed me full on the mouth, wrapping his fingers around my chin and holding me there.
Sighing into him, I made up my mind right then and there that if kissing were a sport, Vance would win in every category every time. He could turn my insides to complete mush with even the slightest touch.
He pulled away from me with a chuckle, his face mere millimeters away from mine.
“See, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” he asked with a dimpled grin as his eyes searched mine.
“Go take a shower,” I said, smiling, refusing to give in to his charmingly manly display.
“I want to show you something first,” he said straightening, and that was when I noticed he had something draped over his arm. He lifted it in his hands, revealing a red and green plaid kilt. “What do you think?” he asked with a grin, lifting an eyebrow at me.
“A kilt?” I asked with a slight snicker at the idea of Vance wearing such an article of clothing, completely unable to wrap my mind around the thought. “Where did you get it?”
“Douglas gave it to me,” he smiled. “This is the Cummingses’ tartan, I guess. He said I was part of the family, and I should have one.”
I knew this must be a huge thing for him, to actually be treated like family by his family, and I tried to tone down my humorous reaction.
“Does he want you to wear it tonight to the reception?” I asked, not really sure if I would care for that or not.
He shrugged his shoulders.
“He said I could if I wanted to, but it was up to me since I already bought the other suit,” he said.
“So what’re you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” He chuckled. “I told him I’d think about it. Honestly though, I don’t know if it’s my cup of tea. I have a hard time even wearing the tuxedo.”
“Well, it was a very nice gesture for him to make,” I said.
“I agree,” he replied, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “I’m going to go get in the shower now,” he added.
My eyes followed him as he left the room, before turning to look back at the fire while I contemplated recent events.
I was very happy Vance seemed to be finding his niche with his family and that they seemed to be genuinely receiving him with open arms. Family was somet
hing he had always wanted a connection with.
The fire danced in the grate before me, and I soon became caught up in my thoughts, so much so that I didn’t hear him approach again until he spoke to me.
“So what do you think?” he asked and I looked up to see him standing just outside the doorway.
My mouth went slack, and I thought my teeth would fall out onto the floor.
He was standing there, dressed only in the kilt, with the length of plaid thrown up over his shoulder. His wet towel-dried hair stood up messily off his head, and I could smell the scent of his aftershave wafting through the air toward me. He looked down to make an adjustment on the belt at his waist, and all the muscles in his body rippled in response.
My gaze traveled from his head to his toes, and I was afraid to blink for fear this luscious apparition would disappear. He looked like an ancient highlander straight out of a romance novel.
“Well?” he asked me again, when he was done with the adjustment.
I got up out of the chair and walked boldly toward him, grabbing his face in both of my hands and kissing him with every once of my being.
I caught him off guard, but he chuckled against my lips before his arms came tightly around me and he really kissed me back. Threading one hand through his hair, I let the other drift down over his muscled shoulder and over his bulging bicep, squeezing it slightly as I passed.
This evoked a low growl from him, and he moved forward aggressively several steps until I was pressed up against the wall.
He ravaged my mouth until I felt faint from lack of air before he broke the kiss, staring at me as we both gasped for breath.
“So I take it you like the kilt?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.
“On you, Vance … definitely,” I answered with a nod, breathing heavily, and he pushed into me again, picking right up where he had left off.
The place was aglow that evening, and I stood at one of the windows of our room watching the cars pull into the circle driveway one after another to drop their richly attired guests off at the door.