Lords of Honor (25 page)

Newt continued, “I pulled
Lyon
out
.
He’s been at my house since that day
.
It
’s been
two
week
s
now
.
I left him with
Lachlan
and Cleve
.
They
will
escort
him
to
Horethorne Hall
when he is able to travel
.
The morning I received your message, I was about to send word that there were leaks of our business in Glastonbury
.
I would have done it sooner, but
there were
other more pressing
matters to clear up regarding Lyon
. S
ince
I detected
you already guessed
there might be a leak from your letter
,
I decided I would
share this information with you
in person
.
Lyon’s mind was so affected he doesn’t remember much
, j
ust bits and pieces.
”

Newt sat
and accepted
the plate Micah offered him
.
“
As I mentioned, Lyon
got himself
in
to
even
more serious
trouble
that he is now very sorry for
.
He’s q
uite ashamed
of himself,
as he should be
.
Again,
I cannot explain the details in Lady Elizabeth’s presence
.
It was a serious offense
.
I have taken preliminary
measures to rectify the situation until he is able to
take over the matter on his own
.
I shall
personally
see
to it
that
Lyon
does
resolve this particular matter
as soon as can be
.
Lyon is much altered by his debauchery
.
He is angry and bitter
, but wishes to defeat his demons and
vindicate himself
.
The physician assures me he will return to his old self in time if he stays away from the laudanum, alcohol and opium, and the low company he
chose to keep since his return to London
.
I am sorry to say, he is currently being kept under lock and key
.
His mother is aware of the situation.
”

T
he men remained somber and quiet
for several moments
.

Micah began, “
We’ll speak of Lyon later
.
Let me tell you our plan, Newt
.
We will leave before dawn tom
orrow
.
There are at least six Brown C
oats here, mayhap more
.
I trust we can add you to our party?”

“
I saw three of them outside
.
I will absolutely join your party
.
I grew quite accustomed to taking out Brown Coats
in Glastonbury, and as recently as two days ago in London
.
I’ve grown rather fond of it, actually
.
Did I mention Lyon was generally followed
on his escapades
in London
by men in brown coats
?
They watch my house as well.
”

“We leave at dawn,” Micah proceeded to tell Newt their plan.

When Micah slipped into bed next to Libby, she turned to face him.

“Can’t sleep
, sweetheart
?” Micah asked as he pulled
his lady
, dressed in
one of her
new nightgown
s
, into his arms.

Libby shook her head
.
“
I’m a
little n
ervous about
tomorrow
.”

“Don’t be, sweetheart
.
We’ll be fine
.”
Micah st
r
oked her back
.
He
kissed her temple
.
He p
laced a chaste kiss to her lips
.
He could not bring himself to do more with
Owen
in the next room
.
“Sleep, Libby
.
You need your rest.”

Libby snuggled closer to Micah, and after a time, she did sleep.

“Wake up, Libby
.”
Micah gently shook his lady’s shoulder
.
“It’s time to
rise
.”

Libby opened her eyes
.
Seeing
Micah’s face above hers
, she
s
miled
.
She wondered if she would ever get used to waking to the sight of such a handsome man
.
She sat up, throwing her heavy hair over her should
er
, and
rose from the bed
.
Micah was already dressed
.

“I’ll help you into your stays
when you are ready
.
I’ll turn my back.”

“
Very well
.”
Libby whispered.

He dared not
gaze
upon the nakedness of his Lady
.
For her elder brother was
in the other room
, and Micah’s control where Libby was concerned was to the point of being non-existent.

Libby
l
ifted her nightdress over her head
.
She
h
urried
into
her chemise, stockings, petticoats and half
boots
.
Micah laced her stays
.
He h
elped her into her new midnight gown
.

Libby placed her nightdress in her new bag and quickly braided her hair
.
She tied a new ribbon around it
.

Micah took her bag
in his free hand
.

Owen wait
ed
near the door
to the hallway when they entered the parlour
.
H
is small pack slung over his shoulder
, he asked,
“Ready
?”
He opened the door when they nodded.

In less than ten minutes they were headed out of Salisbury
.
Lord Sinclair rode with the driver
.
His horse and Micah’s were tied behind the carriage
.
The rest of the men rode surrounding the carriage
.
They exited
directly from the
side of the
stables, and left
via
a
small
street
going in
the opposite direction
of the main road
.
After
circl
ing
a block
, they pulled onto the Salisbury Road
.
It
appeared
no one noticed their
early morning departure
.
No Brown Coats were posted at the stable side street exit.
They were not followed
.
From the vantage point of the Brown Coats on watch
at the front and back of the inn
the
ir party could not be
see
n leaving from
the side street
exit
.

After a time,
Libby
relaxed and
leaned against Micah, resting her head
against
his
shoulder
.

Micah
put his arm
around her,
and held
her close
.
He produced his c
ape from beside him on the seat and
placed it in her lap
.
“Are you cold, sweetheart
?”

“No
,
Micah,
you’re warm
.”
Libby snuggled against him and lifted her face to
view him
.
Micah smiled
as he gazed into the sapphire pools that entranced him so
.

D
ark
ness surrounded them
.
The pink and gold rays of the sun
had
just
beg
u
n to
lighten the
horizon
.
Micah
took advantag
e of the scant light
and kissed
Libby
.
There would be no more opportunities for a stolen kiss
now the sun was beginning its ascent
.
He could not let things get out of control with Owen and the others around
.
After a very quick, sweet kiss, h
e pulled away,
allowing his hand to rub the length of her upper
arm
.
“Why don’t you try to sleep a little
more
, Libby
?
It’s very early.
”

“No
.”
Libby shook her head
.
“I c
an’t
sleep
, Micah.
”

“We’ll be fine, Libby
.”
He took her hand in his and entwined his fingers with hers.

They talked for a time
.
Soon she did sleep
.
Micah tucked the cape around her.

The morning passed
without
incident
.
When Libby woke, she and Micah talked
.
Occasionally Owen or Charlie chatted with them as they rode alongside the carriage
.

They
stopped briefly at
a small
inn
in the early afternoon
to change horses and
take care of necessities
.
The men in their party came to grab a handful of something to eat from the baskets inside the
carriage and passed around some containers of ale
.
Libby
said she was
not hungry
, but eventually Micah coaxed her to eat a little br
ead, cheese, and a few pieces of apple.
He made certain s
he drank
a full cup of
water.

As they pulled
back
on
to
the road
leading
to
Templecombe
, Micah
told Libby, “We should arrive at
Horethorne Hall
with
in the next two hours, sweetheart
.”
He smiled at her
.
He was eager for Libby to see Horethorne Hall; the home they would now share as man and wife
.

“It seems the
Brown Coats
did not see us leave
.
We have done very well so far
.”
She
sighed in relief and
slipped her hand back into his
.

A little over an hour later
they heard
Newt’s voice
.
“Riders coming f
r
o
m behind.”

Libby tensed
.
She looked
quickly
to Micah.

“Stay calm, Libby
, i
t might be nothing at all
.”
Micah
squeezed her hand reassuringly
.

“There
are
ten of them
.
Brown Coats
!”
Newt called out.