Lords of Honor (17 page)

“Let’s get you into your stays and gown, shall we, sweetheart?”

Micah
dressed
her quickly
.
He even knelt to l
ace her shoes for her
, though Libby assured him she could manage
.
“There
.
Come
with me
.
I need to write a few letters before Mr. Banfield, the innkeep, returns
.
Do you feel like walking?
”

“Yes
.
I feel much better
this morning
, Micah,”
Libby
nodded
as she
t
ook his arm
.

Micah noted Libby
acted a bit
uneasy
.
He took her hand
and
b
rought
her palm
to his lips
.
“Don’t
worry about any
of this
, sweetheart.
Everything will be fine
.”
He
gave her a reassuring smile
and
bent to place a quick, fleeting kiss to her lips.

Now s
miling, Libby allowed him to lead her into the sitting room
, e
ven though butterflies danced in her stomach
.
The men
who kidnapped her
were somewhere near
.
She wou
ld soon have to face Owen
.
Lord Elveston
arrived
, and that made her a little sad
, b
ecause she
truly she enjoyed the time
she
spent alone with
Micah
.
Yet at the same time
,
she
was
thankful
Elveston
joined their party
because of the danger
it appeared they
might
now
be
in
.

“Lord Elveston,” Libby greeted him
with a smile
.

“Lady Elizabeth
.
I trust you are feeling better.”

“I am
feeling
much
better
.
Thank you, my Lord.”

Micah pulled out a chair at the table for Libby
and seated her
.
He grabbed the foolscap, ink, blotter and quill from the small desk
.
He returned to the table and sat next to Libby
.
They faced Jack.

“Jack, Libby was
taken from Roseland Abbey be
cause someone wanted to hold her
for
ransom
.
Her ransom was to be
one of the scrolls we found in Glastonbury
.
They wanted Owen to
obtain
it
for them
.
”

“What
?
Could it be Davitt?”

“
I’m not certain
.
The men who
kidnapped Libby and kept her
drugged referred to their superior as
a
Mr. Crow
.”
Micah shook his head
in bewilderment
.

He added,
“
Jack,
I
plann
ed
on
taking Lady Elizabeth
to Templecombe
today
.
Mr. Banfield the innkeep just informed me you were not the only one
asking
for us this morning
.
You said you felt we were being watched
.
So, I think
I must send
word
to Owen and Harry
.
We need to
have them send to some of the o
thers to hopefully meet us
here in Salisbury.
”

Jack nodded
.

“
I
personally
have three
scrolls,
” Micah began, “
and Tr
evan has the others
.
I shall sen
d a message to him as well
.
I will t
ell
Harry
it would be good to have Lady
Glaston
as chaperone for Lady Elizabeth
once we reach Horethorne Hall
.
If Owen is
still
at Roseland Abbey, it wo
uld take him
a full day or more
to get to Templecombe
, longer to reach Salisbury
.
”
Micah guessed that Owen already left Roseland Abbey days ago to
search
for his sister.

“
I
only saw
one fellow outside
who appeared to be
watching the inn
,
”
Jack
offered.

“Was he wearing a brown coat and hat?”

“Yes
.
But if there’s just one
in front
, we could perhaps go out the back
and try to make it to Templecombe today
.
Sitting here longer and allowing more Brown Coats to arrive-
”
Jack stopped as he saw Lady Elizabeth’s eyes grow wide. “Well, we need to find out how many are here, I suppose
.”

“
Yes, we must
find out how many are watching
the Rose and Crown
.
”
Micah
glanced at
Libby
and
offered her an encouraging
s
mile
before continuing
.
“
I’ll have Harry send for some of the others
.
If the
se men
are still following us even after their attempt to kidnap
Lady Elizabeth
failed, there is something more they want
, though I’m uncertain what it could be
.”
Micah
gave Jack a meaningful look
as he
queried
,
“You did get my messag
e at the White Hart?
”

Jack nodded
.
“Yes I got your message from the innkeep
er
.
He told me you were attacked by the same two men who brought Lady Elizabeth in
to the White Hart
plus four more
.”

Jack conversed
with Libby while Micah wrote
four short
letters
; o
ne to Owen, Libby’s brother
and o
ne to Harry Bellingham,
the head of the Avalon Society and
their friend in Glastonbury
.
The next was to
Micah’s
Butler
,
Simmonds
and his housekeeper Mrs. Clarke
,
at
his home, Horethorne Hall
, to warn
them
there may be intruders
and to
have th
e house
readied
for
his wife to be and his
visitors
.
The last was to Trevan Chynoweth
whom Micah believed possessed the scroll the men who kidnapped Libby were
truly
after.

When Mr. Banfield knocked and identified himself, Micah picked up the letters and answered the door
.

“My Lord, I must warn you the gentleman asking after you earlier is standing out
side
at the edge of the yard
.
He is with another man
.
I believe if you
have a
look out the window, you shall see
them
.
They are wearing
brown coat
s
and hat
s
, sir
.
I noticed two others
dressed the
very
same
near the
back of the inn, sir.
”

Micah and Jack
both moved to the window
.
Micah pulled one of the drapery panels wide so he could see the entire yard below them
.

“
They are neither of the
one
s
that brought L
ibby into the White Hart, but the taller man is for certain
one that chased us
when she and I left
Andover
.
I recognize him
.
In fact, I
’ll
wager
my boot print is
still
on his face,
”
Micah nodded
.
He let the drapery fall back
.

“They’re
wearing brown coat
s
and hat
s
, just like the ones we became so familiar with in Glastonbury
,” Jack sighed deeply.

Micah nodded grimly
.
“I fear the brown coats and hats are no coincidence.”

Micah turned to the innkeeper.
“
I do not think we will be taking the phaeton today
.
Lord Elveston and I need to talk about this before we decide what we’re doing, since there
are four men
outside
.
Hold these letters
for a bit
,
Mr. Banfield
;
I may have to change
a few of
them
.
One of us will come down to you when we decide
what we will do
.
Give us a half hour.”

“Absolutely, sir
.
If you’ve need,
I shall arrange everything
.
I’ll await your instructions
.”
Mr. Banfield
bowed and
took the letters Micah
held out for him
.

Micah walked to the window again
.
He o
bserved the
men
in brown coat
s
and hat
s
.
“Jack, there
were
always more brown coat
s
hanging about in Glastonbury
than what we
could see
.
I recall seeing
six
brown coats when Libby and I were accosted leaving the White Hart
.
Now
we know
there are at least four here in Salisbury.
”

“You’re right
, there’s always more than the eyes can see
.”
Jack rose and joined him at the window
.
“My guess
is
that if
the
front and
back
are
being watched
, there are more about
.
”

”Yes.
So we must assume there are
at least
six here
, the
same as
in
Ando
ver
,
and
possibly more
.”
Micah nodded
.
“I’m thinking it is
just
too dangerous
for
the three of us
to leave
the Rose and Crown
for Templecombe
.
Charlie was
at Roseland
with Owen when Libby was taken
.
Sinclair is not far from
there
.
Perhaps the three of them can come for us
.
It will be safer for Rowena if Harry just takes her as far as
Horethorne Hall
.
”