Lords of Honor (62 page)

“Micah?”

They all turned
their attention
to pale Libby, whose eyes
were now fully
open.

“I’m
here, sweetheart
.
I’m r
ight here
.”

Rowena helped Micah to lift up enough so he could see his wife’s face
.

Micah
caressed
the good side of her face with his hand
.
He b
ent with some soreness and difficulty to brush her lips with his
.
“You’re safe
, Libby
.
Owen
found
you
.
All is well
, sweetheart
.”

Libby gave
her husband
a
small
smile
.
“Owen?”

“I’m right beside you pet
.”
Owen stood
so she could see him
.
He b
ent and kissed his little sister’s forehead, well away from the bruised
and swollen
place
where
she
was struck
.
No doubt with the butt of a gun
.

“I am glad to be back
.”
Her voice was small, weak
.
“I
feared that man might
kill me
.
He said he would cut out my eye
.
I was afraid
.”
A tear rolled down her cheek
.
Micah caught the tear
with his finger
before it reached her
angry
scar and stung it
.

“
The
re
is n
othing to be afraid of now, sweetheart
.
Owen and I won’t let you out of our sight
.”
Micah s
m
oothed back
her hair
.
He r
ubbed her arm
.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she slept once again.

“That is an understatement
.
None of the ladies will be out of our sight
, e
ver again
.”
Owen returned to his chair
.
“
Micah, y
ou
,
Charlie and I are in charge of the ladies
.
Harry will just have to accept that.”

Micah nodded
while
a
llow
ing
Rowena to help him ease back
against his pillows
.

“I should inform you that Harry, Owen, Charlie, Matthias, Micah and Lyon upon his return
,
shall be in charge of the ladies
.
Harry’s
orders
.”
Harry said
with
a frown
as he came to stand behind his wife
.
Matthias
entered
behind him
.
“By two’s, all hours of the day and night
.
Micah, Sophia will
sleep
in your room until Lyon returns since there is a connecting door
and we will have guards in your room
around the clock
.
That way she won’t feel so alone
, if there’s trouble
.
And during the day, the ladies are in here with you.
”

Micah nodded
.
“
That is fine, for I shall
be
here
with my wife
.
Lyon is in London?”

“He
’s been gone several days.”

“What is going on at
Cadbury
?”
Micah asked.

“They pulled out just after dawn
this morning
.
We haven’t seen any sign of them here
as
yet
.
But we think they will be back.
One of Gabriel’s men is following them at a safe distance
.”

Micah’s
broth and tea
were
brought in along with luncheon for the others
.
A small table and
six
chairs were set up
.

True to his word, Micah took his broth
,
some bread and a nibble of cheese on his own
.
He drank a cup of tea
.

After gently waking Libby, Owen held her up against his chest while Rowena
fed her a quarter cup of the broth
.
“We’ll make certain th
e broth will
stay down, Libby, before we try more
.”
Rowena set the broth down on the tray
.
She snugly fit
the lid on
the small crock
to keep it warm.

Owen eased his
limp, pale
sister
back to lie on
the bed
.
She rolled to her side, snuggled against Micah and
fell
fast asleep in seconds.

Micah
enclosed his wife in his arms and followed her into slumber minutes after.

Sophia
made the party at
luncheon
an even six
.
She smiled when
she entered through the connecting door and
saw Micah and Libby
asleep
in one another’s arms
.
Thank goodness Libby was back
, and Micah was mending
.
If only Lyon w
as here
!

The laudanum slowly began to wear off
.
Throughout the day, Libby took tea and broth and remained awake for longer periods of time
, a
nd Micah with her
.

Micah
accepted the steady stream of guards and visitors with courtesy
.
Neither he nor Libby could defend themselves
.
He felt perfectly
content to
just to lie with Libby in his arms
.
He s
miled
to himself
every time her little bottom wiggled against him
.
He t
hanked God and Archangel Michael
at least a hundred times
during the
day
for bringing his Libby back to him.

Upon arriving in London, the first thing Lyon did was
visit
the finest jeweler
in Town
.
He purchased an emerald ring, necklace and earrings for Sophia
.
As she was so petite, he chose very dainty settings, so the jewelry would not overpower his tiny wife.

Very satisfied
with his selections
, he went to his home to lock his new purchase in the safe
.
He sent a letter to his lovely wife, telling her
he arrived
in London
safely
.

He checked in with his staff and returned to Newt’s home to spend his first night
.
He sent word to Pendarves and Carlyon
.
When he received an answer, he met them at a location of their choosing
.
They met in a private room in a tavern
called T
he Pilchard
,
owned
by a fellow Cornishman
who was
a
friend to Trevan Chynoweth
.
It would not do for the three of them to be seen together
again
in public
.
Once the Brown Coats knew Lyon was in London
,
he would be watched
.

The next day, Lyon would visit the Limehouse District
.
Pendarves would
follow at a distance and enter the den shortly after Lyon
.
Carlyon would watch from the outside
.
Their plan in place, they dispersed, leaving the inn separately, going their own ways
.

Micah and Libby were both much improved the next morning.

Owen helped Micah to his feet and assisted him while he walked
up and down
the
hallway
.
Rowena and Sophia allowed him to have
something more substantial than
broth
for luncheon
.

Libby’s stomach
seemed
settled
.
She k
ept down everything
she
ate
since the evening before
.
Owen helped her walk some too
.
They felt the drug might wear off faster if she took a little exercise
.

She paused before the mirror
on her dressing table
as they
reached
it
.
She
bent and
stared
at her reflection
.
Her hand shook as she touched the long scar that sliced across her cheekbone
.

“Don’t you worry about that, pet
.
It will heal
.”
Owen turned her back toward the bed
.
S
he
trembled
so
, h
e feared she might faint
or collapse
.

“It wasn’t a dream
.
I thought it was a dream
.”
Her voice
shook as she spoke
.

“Shh, pet
.
It’s over now, and you are safe
.
You will remain so
.”
Owen hugged his sister
to him
before helping her back into the bed
.

Micah
stiffly sat
up
against his pillows
.
He embraced
his wife
with op
en
arms after Owen helped her back into the bed
.
He kissed her temple
.

“I thought it was a dream,” Libby leaned weakly against Micah’s good side
.
“There was an Ang
el in my dream
.
And you, Micah, a
nd Gabriel
.
I thought the yellow-haired man was
part of the
dream too.”

“Your wound
will heal, Libby
.
And with or without
a
scar, sweetheart, you are the most beautiful woman in the
world to me
.”
Micah kissed the top of her head
.
He
rubbed her back
soothingly
.

Libby gave him a half-hearted smile.

“There you are, Libby
.
Nice to see you awake
.
I brought my salve to put on your
wound
.
Rowena and I have been putting it on
you since you returned
.
It shall help
your cut
heal quicker, and keep it from getting infected
.
It keeps the skin supple and less likely to scar.
”

Sophia sat on Libby’s side of the bed and removed the top from the small jar
.
She gently smoothed the cream on
.
“There
.
It is healing very nicely
.
I used very fine thread and very small stitches to close it
.
There shall be less of a scar
remaining
, I think.
”

“Thank you, Sophia
.
I appreciate
all you’ve done,
”
Libby told
Sophia
with a
small smile.