Lords of Honor (10 page)

“
Good advice
.”
She
took
the comb
back up and was st
ill trying to remove the tangles from her hair
.
Libby
groaned
in
frustrat
ion as she tried to lift her arms
.

Micah
could tell
she was
struggl
ing to reach the back of her hair
.
She needed help
.
And
Micah
wanted to
touch her hair
.
He
needed
to
.
He
actually
ached to touch it
. H
is fingers flex
ed
at his sides
.
“Allow me
to comb your hair for you
, Libby
.
I shall sit behind you.”

Reluctantly, s
he
sighed and
gave him the comb
.
Libby was unaccustomed to being helpless
.
H
er inability to do
even the most
commonplace things
for herself
vexed her greatly
.

Micah sat cross-legged behind her
on the bed
and began gently pulling the comb through her beautiful dark hair
.
Ebony, sable, charcoal
.
It was
such a dark shade of brown
it
could easily be mistaken for
black
.
It was m
uch darker than his hair
.
Even with the tangles, it was shiny, glossy,
and
soft as silk
.
It smelled
faintly
of lilacs
.
He realized
he
remained
silent far too long
.
H
e was mesmerized by
the beauty of her
hair
.
But there were no more tangles
, n
othing but thick, silken tresses
.
“There
.
Does that
feel better, Libby?”

“Yes
.
Thank you
.
I feel
almost
human again
.”
She gave
him
a soft little laugh.

Micah
asked,
“Would you like more water before you lay down, Libby?”

“Please.”

After she drank
several sips
, he asked, “Would you like some apple?”

Libby shook her head
.
“My stomach does not feel so well at the moment
.”
She paled
.
Her eyes widened
.
She abruptly set
the cup on the table beside the bed
.

Micah
realized her stomach ailed her
again
.
He hurried
to the corner of the room to fetch
the
empty crock he spied earlier
.
He set it on the floor beside the bed
.
She
lay
on her si
de
.
“In case you’ve need of it,
”
he explained.

She smiled wanly. Her eyes grew
large as
she struggled to sit up
again
.
Micah effortlessly lifted her to a sitting position
.
Libby broke out in a sweat,
held her stomach,
felt
it
spasm
.
She reached
toward
the pot
.
Micah quick
ly
br
ought
it
up
to her
.
He held the crock with one hand
.
His other arm held her tightly
against him
.

She
retched
.
The spasms came almost immediately
again
, a
nd
minutes later
a third time
.
It was mostly
water
that came up
.
She
did
n’t eat much at the inn
with Cobley and Rawson
, and lost that on the road to Salisbury
.
S
he could remember
eating nothing
before that
since
Monday
at her breakfast
.

The spasms continued
.
Every
time Libby thought she was
over the spasms, another
would take her
.
She even gave in to a few tears at one point.

Micah pulled her hair back
from her face and whispered soothing words to her
.
He r
ubbed her back
and arms
to comfort her
.
He felt so helpless
.
He knew she needed some substantial food
.
She needed to be anywhere
other
than
this
tiny little run-down cottage in the woods
.

He realized
at that moment,
they might have to stay in Salisbury
all of tomorrow
,
possibly
even the
following
day
until Libby regained her strength
.
He dou
bted she’d been given any food
since she was taken, other than the few bites she’d told him she’d
eaten
earlier in the day
.
The coldness of the water
as well as the amount
she drank
probably threw
her
stomach into spasms
.
He would need to
help
set her to rights before they could travel on.

When
the spasms eased and
she
felt better, he helped her lay
back
upon
his cape which he
folded and
fa
shioned
into a poor excuse for a pillow
.
He took the pot outside and cleaned it with water from the well
.
While
he
walked back from the well,
Micah
searched the darkness for any signs of her kidnappers
.
It was difficult to see anything with the rain
.
 

He brought
the cleaned crock
back in
.
He r
emoved his coat, waistcoat and boots
, laying them
upon the chair
over Libby’s gown
.
He se
t his loaded pistol and his spectacles
on the table beside the bed
.
Lastly, he s
nuffed out the candle then lifted the
thin
, threadbare
cover to
slide into the bed
beside her
.
He originally thought to sleep on the floor, but
Libby was far
too weak, too ill,
and
still
heavily
affected by the overdose of laudanum to leave
her
in the bed alone
.
Her balance
remained
poor
.
S
he could very well
take a f
all trying to get from the bed if she rose during the night.

Lying beside her, he knew she slept
.
When she shivered
beneath the thin cover
, he moved to curl
against
her
.
He would not leave to her to
take a chill
.

So far this evening, Micah
undressed
Libby
,
saw
her in dishabille,
viewed
a portion of her
naked back, her legs,
and
her feet,
he
combed her hair,
and
helped her tak
e care of her necessities
.
S
he
now
lay
snugly against him
, his body curled about hers
.

There was no choice left to him; h
e must offer for Libby
now
.
Oddly, he
was not disappointed
.
The thought of having Libby for his wife made him happy
.
He pulled the thin cover tighter over himself and Libby
.

He did not sleep right away
.
He thought about Libby and the turn his life had taken
this day
.
He found Libby lovely
.
He knew for certain he desired her
.
She was taller than most women,
and though
slender
, she had
curves in the right places
.
Fr
om what he
saw
of her
body thus far
and felt
through her clothes
when he carried her
, h
er breasts were full, not overlarge
,
her waist trim,
and her derri
è
re
firm
and
nicely shaped
.
Micah wanted to see the entirety of her long, shapely legs
.
And the rest of her
!

Her honesty was endearing
.
Libby
had bo
rne
this
entire
incident
extremely
well
.
Aside from the tear he saw slide down her cheek the first moment she broke from her kidnappers
and ended in his arms, and the few she shed while she retched
, she
did not cry or complain
, n
or give in to hysterics
.
She
remained steady and practical
.
Micah was truly impressed
by her ability to adapt to such a situation
.
A
s he lay
next to her,
he realized he
happily anticipated
having
Libby for his wife
.
He
finally
fell asleep with his face nuzzled in her glorious
hair
that
still
held the scent of lilacs
.

He slept lightly, for Libby whimpered and stirred on occasion
.
He would whisper soothingly to her, stroke her back, her arm, her hair, until she settled once again
.
She woke once,
and appeared
startled until she heard his voice
.
Micah asked her if she felt ill or needed to do the necessary
.
She shook her head
.
S
he
told him she
was
cold
.
He embraced her fully
, sliding one arm under her, and crossing it with the other to cocoon her in his warmth
.
She
burrowed closer
against him
.
She slept peacefully
for several long hours
.
He dozed lightly, waking on and off
.

T
he rain stopped around midnight
.
H
e could not be certain Libby’s kidnappers weren’t on their trail
, o
ut there somewhere
searching for them
.
So he listened for what seemed an hour or more
.