Lords of Honor (22 page)

“Owen
!”
She rose
and
r
an straight into her brother’s
open
arms.

Owen Darrington, Lord Fitzlewis
,
h
ugged his little sister tightly
.
He
let go a huge sigh of relief
.
He thank
ed God
Li
bby was alive and well
.
He
feared he might never see her again
.
Alive
.
“Libby
!
Thank God you’re well
.”
Owen
pulled back and
noticed
how very pale she was
.
He
noticed
the breakfast on the table
.
“Eat, pet
.
We’ll talk when you are finished
.”
Owen wink
ed at her
.
He remembered Micah’s letter
said
she
went days
without food and
was quite
ill
.
He sat in the
empty
chair next to his sister.

“Jack
saw you through the window
.
We’ve ordered more food for you,” Micah informed them
.
“Sit, all of you
.
Please, join us.
”

“We were at Glastonbury when Harry received your letter
.
He’s on the way to Templecombe
later today
, by the way,
” Owen informed them
.

“We didn’t think you could have arrived this quic
kly leaving from Roseland Abbey,
”
Micah said.

“I saw two brown coats out front,” Charlie said solemnly
as he sat down
.

“There
were two
more
out back yesterday
.
A
t the very least
there are
six
, f
or that is how many there were in Andover
when they followed Libby and me
.”
Micah
motioned
to the third newcomer
.
“Sit, Sinclair
.
Jack
and I wi
ll fill you all in while we
eat
.”
Micah, Libby and Elveston took their turns explaining how Libby came to be kidnapped
and subsequently
rescued.

Mr. Banfield and his helpers
brought in
more food
.
T
he
group
continued
conversing
while they ate
.

“Thank God you two were in Andover
.”
Owen shook his head
and exhaled loudly with
relief
.
“Y
ou both br
ought her straight to Salisbury?”

“No
.”
Micah began, “Elveston went to chase the men
who brought Libby into the inn
when they
ran from the White Hart. They jumped into their carriage
.
I
intended
to take Libby to another i
nn
for she was to be turned over to
Mr. Crow
at the White Hart
that evening.
”

“Crow never showed at the White Hart
.
I watched
for him
later
,” Jack
interjected
.

Micah continued, “
I did not want to keep her
at the White Hart
for that reason
.
As I got her onto my horse
we were set upon by the six Brown Coats
who returned to get her
.
Libby
rode with
me
, for she
was still under the effects of the laudanum and had no balance
.
She
could
not
walk
without assistance
.
The only reason we got away is because we were on horseback and they were on foot.
”

Micah
paused to
chew
a bite of
his
egg
s
, then continued, “
I decided it would be safe
st
for
Libby
if we left Andover altogether
.
I stopped at an inn on the outskirts of
town
to send a message to Elveston at the
White Hart
.
Libby
began to feel quite ill
.
We stop
ped along the road
a couple of times
.
I
t began
to rain
.
I went down a country
lane
and
found
an abandoned cottage
.
The rain continued
until the next afternoon
.
When it stopped,
we
left the cottage and
came to Salisbury
.
Jack
joined us
yesterday morning
.”

Owen nodded
.
He beg
an
to understand
the seriousness of
Libby’s situation
.
“You are feeling better, Libby?”
he smiled
warmly
at his sister.

“Much better
, t
hanks to Micah.
” Libby
flashed
Micah
a bright smile
.
”
He
took very good care of me, Owen
.”
She
re
turned her smil
ing face
to her brother.

“Thank you
,
Micah.”
Owen gave his friend a heartfelt but
rather
solemn
smile
.
All in the Avalon Society knew Micah never planned to marry again
.
Owen
knew at that moment
Mi
cah would offer for Libby; o
ut of duty and as a gentleman
.
His sister deserved more than a man who offered for her out of duty
.
Yet Micah was a kind man
, and a good one
.
The situation was a
perplexing
one
.
He
rubbed
at the stubble along his jaw
as he considered the options before him
.
 

“You
’
re welcome, Owen
.
It
was
my pleasure
to help
your sister
.”
Micah
turned to
smile at Libby
.

Owen could not help but notice how happy his sister
appeared to be as
she smiled back at Micah.

A half hour later, w
hen it
appeared that
all were finished with their meals
, Micah asked, “May I
speak to
you in private, Owen?”

“Of course
, Micah
.
Excuse me for a moment Libby
.
Stay here with
our
fine
friends
.”
Owen winked at his sister as he rose from the table.

Libby watched her brother and Micah go into the bedchamber
.
The
one she and Micah shared
for
the past
two nights
.

Charlie sensed Libby
’s
nervous
ness
.
“Miss Libby, let me tell you of the trouble Tuesday and Wednesday got themselves into last week…”
Charlie began to tell her of his sisters
’ antics
.

“First, Owen I must tell you
that Libby’s virtue
remains
in
tact.”

Owen
sighed
,
then
nodded
.
“I expected no less
of
you, Micah.”

“I proposed to Libby and she has accepted.”

Owen
studied him a long moment
.
He exhaled and
asked, “Are you
offering for her because
you
feel it your duty
as a gentleman
, or because you truly want to
marry my sister
?
I was under the impression you would never marry again, Micah
”

“I
do
want to
marry again
, Owen
.
I
very much
want to marry Libby
.
In fact, I
planned to
visit
Roseland
two weeks hence to see if Libby
was interested in
me, for the last few times I visited Roseland Abbey, I found myself very attracted to her.
”

“I wondered why you planned to come alone to
Devon
.
Generally you co
me with Harry, Jack or Wyldhurst.” Owen
leaned
back in his chair and gave Micah a small nod
.

Micah
explained further, “
Libby
was
very
ill
, Owen
.
She was severely overdosed on laudanum
.
She was sick to her stomach
.
She was dizzy, her limbs were
weak
.
She could not walk or stand, or even sit up overlong
.
Libby
was very uncomfortable,
in pain
even
, being in her stays and gown since she was kidnapped
.
I
undress
ed
her
to help her be more comfortable
.
I put her in my extra shirt
.
I held he
r while she emptied her stomach
.
I gave her sips of water
.
I
stood near her while she took care of her
necess
ities
f
or
h
er balance was so poor
.
The only thing I could do to keep her warm
was hold her
.
She was restless and ill that first night
.
I
comfort
ed
her
so she might rest more easily
.
As the laudanum began to wear off
,
she began feeling
a little
better
and we spent the time talking
.
Her personality is so endearing
.
I think she is
a
beautiful
person, Owen
.”

Micah continued,
“
When we came to
Salisbury
,
I decided I could not l
et her stay in a room alone. For her safety, I kept her with me
.
We were checked in as Mr. and Mrs. Wychcombe, though I suspect Mr. Banfield
now
knows I am Wincanton
.
I
helped
Libby
into the tub while I, of course
turned my back. There were
no nightclothes
or
clean clothing
for her to change into.
I knew you would not want servants knowing of her situation
.
We have slept together since Wednesday, but I have not taken advantage of her
.
However, we are very familiar with one another
.
I know Libby cares for me as I do her
.
We have kissed, because she would not accept my proposal without one
.”
A small smile lit Micah’s face
.
“
And we
have
continue
d
to
kiss
.
I promise you I shall respect and honor your sister
, t
hat I will spend the rest of my life making her happy.”