Lords of Honor (6 page)

“Innkeep
er, sir
,
send for
the constable at once!” Micah commanded.

T
he sound of a pistol
cocking
behind Micah drew his attention
.
He heard a familiar voice
.
It was
Elveston
.
“I’ve got your back, Wincanton!”

Both
kidnappers
turned and
fled
.
They ran
toward a carriage
in the yard
, shouting to the driver as they did
.
They jumped into the
conveyance and it shot out of the
courtyard
with a lurch, turning
wildly
onto the street
.
Micah realized
at that moment that
both
men
wore long brown coats
.
Coincidence
?
Or were they connected to the ring of criminals who
c
aused them so much trouble in Glastonbury?

Jack rushed up to
Micah and Lady Elizabeth
.

Lady Elizabeth was
safely
encircled
in Micah’s arms
.
“Thank God
I found you here
!
Lord Wincanton, thank you for helping me
.
Lord Elveston
, t
hank you.
”

“Were there only two of them, Lady Elizabeth?” Elveston asked.

She nodded.

M
icah held her tightly
.
He already knew her to be weak and
unsteady on her feet
.
She wasn’t hysterical
.
But she
t
rembl
ed
and occasionally
a sob escaped her
.
He thought he saw
the glimmer of
a tear
begin to
roll down her cheek
.
She wiped it away quickly
.
She
gazed
up at him
.
Her blue eyes
remind
ed
him of the rich blue
color
of the Glastonbury sapphire
.
He’d always liked Lady Elizabeth’s eyes
.
Deep blue pools.

“Are you well, Lady Elizabeth
?
Did they harm you
?
Do you need a doctor?
”
Micah and Jack barraged her with questions.

Her face
was now resting against Micah’s chest
.
H
is
hands
gently rubbed
her back
to
comfort her.

“I
think I
am unharmed
.
Mostly I was
frightened
.
I am
relieved
now
.
They drugged me.
I don’t remember anything
before waking
today
.
I’m not very steady
.
I feel rather ill.
”

“Stay here with Lady Elizabeth, Micah
.
I’ll go
try to track
down
those two buggars
.”

“No
.
I can’t stay here
!
They were to deli
ver me to someone here at this i
nn tonight
!
A Mr.
Crow.
”
Libby panicked
.
She clung tighter to Lord Wincanton
.
She l
ooked up
entreatingly at him
.
He smelled faintly of s
andalwood and leather
.
It smelled very good to her
.
She could hear the pounding of his heart beneath his coat
as she once again leaned her
aching
head against his chest
.
It was an effort to do anything else
.
She closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart as her cheek lay against him
.

“Jack
, have
my horse
saddled
when you go out
.
Request another for Lady Elizabeth
.
Wait
, n
ever
mind;
I don’t think she can ride alone
in her condition
.
I’ll take her up with me
.
She’s very weak,” Micah said as he realized
just
how heavily she sagged against him
.
“
I
must get her to another establishment
at once
.
”

“Which one
?
I’ll meet you there later.”

“The Globe
or the Danebury.”

Jack nodded
.
“I’ll see you later
.
I’ll come back here and get my things
and pay the shot
after I locate
those...Brown Coats
.”
He hurried out the door.

Micah n
odded
.
Jack
noticed their coats as well
.
Both men wore
brown
coats which l
ooked suspiciously like those they
grew
used to
seeing
in Glastonbury
.
They were not wearing hats, however
.
“Lady Elizabeth, I must go upstairs and get my bag and cape.”

“Don’t leave me here
alone, please
, Lord Wincanton
.
I’ll
come
with you,
”
Libby’s eyes widened
.
S
he looked
to
him desperately
.
She did
not want to be left alone
.
Libby
did not want Lord Wincanton out of her sight
.

“Y
ou must accompany me
then
, Lady Elizabeth.
”
Micah took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm
.
He led her
to
ward
the stairs
.
After two steps it became apparent to him she
was very off balance
.
He
slid his arm about
Lady Elizabeth’s
slender waist
and grip
ped
her hip
to
support
her
the rest of the way
.
Once upstairs and in his room, h
e sat
Lady Elizabeth
on
the foot of
his bed while he
retrieved his cape and his small bag
.
He had yet to unpack, not that he travelled with much on this journey
.

“We will rest tonight, and get you a bath and some food, Lady Elizabeth
.
We shall have to hire a carriage tomorrow
.
Jack and I were on business up north, so we
’
re on horseback
.
Can you ride astride just a short way
to another inn
?”

“Yes.
”
Libby tried to stand on her own but could not
.

He saw her frustration.
“Come
with me, Lady Elizabeth
,” Micah said soothingly as he gently lifted her to her feet
.
Again, his arm slid about her waist to help her keep steady
.
“
You’re safe now
.
I promise
.
I shan
’
t
allow
any harm
to
come to you.
”
Micah led
her back down the stairs
.
The
old
i
nnkeep
er
witnessed and heard most
of what
transpired
in the public room
earlier
.
Micah merely nodded and said
, “Lord Elveston shall
return shortly
.
”

The innkeep
er
nodded.
“Of course, my Lord.”

Micah
lifted
Lady Elizabeth
and helped her into the saddle
.
Once she was mounted, he pulled her hem down to cover her
trim
ankles as best he could
.
He placed his cape over the saddle i
n front of her to help
hide
the fact she
rode
astride
.
His bag
was over his shoulder
.
He completed his check of
the saddle when
shouting burst out not far from them
.

“There she is
!
Get her Cobley!”

Micah
turned his head to witness
four men
on foot
racing toward them
.
T
wo of them
were
the
Brown Coats
who
entered the White Hart
with Lady Elizabeth
.
The
four
men
, all wearing brown coats,
two wearing brown hats,
charg
ed
toward them
.
He swiftly placed his foot in
the stirrup and swung up
behind
Lady Elizabeth
.
His
gelding
danced momentarily
then Micah set him
to a
brisk trot to clear the yard
.
His
arm
remained
locked
tightly about
Lady Elizabeth’s
slender waist
.
“Hold on
to
my arm
, Elizabeth!
”

Two
more
men
, also on foot,
c
a
me at them from the other side
of the street
as they left the White Hart
.
After kicking one
taller fellow
in the face with the heel of his boot, Micah urged his mount
into a
f
ull gallop
.
The
fast gr
a
y cleared the area quickly
.
Micah decided
then
it
would be best
if
he and
Lady Elizabeth
le
ft
Andover altogether
.

He’d get a message to Elveston somehow
.
He raced his gelding through the town
.
Th
ough they left the
men
running after them far behind, Micah knew they would
soon
mount up and follow
them
.
He wished
he
knew
Jack
was
hale and whole, but
his
priority was
to get Lady Elizabeth to safety
.
On the outskirts of
Andover
, he stopped at a small coaching inn, and bent to give a gold coin to a sturdy looking stable man.

“What is your name
,
my good man
?”

“James
Wicket, my Lord.
”