Lords of Honor (11 page)

Then of course, there was the matter of his being in a state of arousal, for Libby seemed to have the propensity in
her sleep to
wiggle and
snuggle her
firm
little
derriè
re against him
.
He supposed he did not trust himself either, for sleeping with his arm
s
around her
t
o
better
keep her warm,
he woke several times to find his hand on or alarmingly near her breast
.
He
truly
liked her breasts
.
And her wiggly little bottom!

Hours later,
it
began
raining steady again
.
If it did not stop, it would definitely delay him getting her to Sa
lisbury after daybreak
.
He must have finally found sleep just before dawn, for he woke
seemingly hours later
to the sound of r
ain pounding on the cottage roof
, rumbles of thunder and
Libby’s beautiful face
in front of him
.

Libby
turned
in his arms
and
intently studied Micah’s
handsome
face as he slept
.
She
had
n’t
seen
him without his spectacles
before
.
His chiseled jaw and prominent high cheekbones, combined with his dark hair and the shadow of stubble on his chin screamed strength
.
But she knew his silvery eyes to be full of warmth
,
amusement
and kindness
quite often
.
S
he
already
knew his manner
to be
gentle and
caring
, and his smiles genuine
.

Libby
was mortified that she
had been
so ill
in his presence
.
Poor Micah had to
care
for her as if she were
a child
; e
ven help her do the necessary
.

She also remembered
, with much pleasure,
how it felt when he touched her
.
How wonderful it felt to sleep in his strong arms
, and
feel his warm, muscled body against hers
.
A
warm and tingly
feeling swept through her
whenever he touched her
.
S
he liked the way he whispered soothing words to her
.
Especially during the night when his lips were so close to her ear
and his voice was deep and husky
from sleep
.

“It’s still raining,” she said to him
.
“
I apologize
,
Micah
.
I did not mean to wake you
.
You must be
weary
.
I just woke up
myself
.”

“You did not wake me, Libby
.
Do not concern yourself.” Micah yawned.

He continued,
“I’m afraid we can’t make it to Salisbury until the rain subsides, Libby.” Micah reached for his spectacles
.
He rubbed his eyes before putting them on.

“I know
.”

She
smil
ed
at him
.
She was a vision
.
He needed to go outside before she became frightened by what would more than likely be
a
noticeable
bulge
in his trousers
.
“I’ll be right back Libby
.
My turn to do the necessary
.
If you need to, I’ll take you out
side upon my
return
.”
As
his cape
currently serv
ed
as her pillow
, he turned his back
to her
and slid into his coat to
better
cover
any noticeable
evidence of his desire
.

A short time
later, Micah returned
.
“
I checked on my horse while I was out
side
.
Do you,
um
, need to go outside, Libby?”

“Yes
, p
lease
.”

“Sit up very slowly
.
Here, let me help you
.”
Micah
placed his arm behind her back and helped her ease up
.
“
I fear your stomach shall remain queasy until we can get you some
proper
nourishment
.
I wish the rain
would stop
so we could go on
into Salisbury
this morning
.”

Libby sat still for a moment
.
She willed the dizziness she felt to go away
.
She smiled when she realized she
could
swing her legs over the edge of the bed
on her own
.
She still felt
dizzy
when she tried to stand
after Micah
helped her get her stockings on and
laced her half boots
.
He
support
ed
her
as
he helped her to her feet
.
He wrapped his cape around her
and
pulled up the hood
to cover her head
.

“Shall I carry you, Libby?”

“No, perhaps if you help me I can walk
.
I’m so sore.”

Libby seemed
weaker
this morning
,
even
m
ore unsteady
.
She looked
much
paler this morning
.
In the end, Micah whisked her into his arms and carried
her outside
.
“You need to conserve your strength for our ride to Salisbury, Libby.
”

Libby took care of her business hastil
y
at the side of the cottage beneath the branches of a tree
.
Micah st
ood
just behind her
with his back to her
.
For Libby, i
t proved an even more humiliating experience in daylight.

Lifting her in his arms once again, he
paused under the covered porch to survey the countryside beyond through the sheets of rain
.
“I hope
the rain
stops
by this afternoon
.
We n
eed to get you
comfortable
and f
ed
.”

“My stomach feels fairly
well so far
this morning.”

Micah
did not mention there was probably nothing left in her stomach
.
He
brought
her back inside
the
old cottage
.
He helped her to sit
on the bed
.

He produced a knife
from his boot
and
sliced
one of the
apple
s
.
He handed her a small
, thin
sliver
.
“
Try and eat this Libby.
At least take a nibble.
Here’s
some water
.
Just take small sips today until you know your stomach will handle
more
.”

Micah unlaced and removed her shoes for her
.
He propped her against the headboard.

She
moved to sit
cross-legged in the bed,
his cape spread over her,
chewing
on
her apple.
She
regarded him
pensive
ly
as she said, “I suppose my reputati
on is irreparably ruined now
.”
S
he sighed
heavily
.

“I w
ill not
purposely dec
ei
ve
you Libby;
I think you are correct.”

She frowned
.
“Do you suppose Owen will force me to marry
someone
?”

He already knew Owen would not have to force a wedding
.
For Micah
would
offer for her
.
But he hadn’t told Libby that yet
.
She obviously
didn’t realize
it would be
him
who would be expected to offer for
her
.
“In circumstances such as these
, it is generally best for the l
ady
and gentleman
to marry quickly
, Libby
.
”

“It hardly seems fair
.
I can understand if the Lady purposely runs away with a man
.
But I was kidnapped!”

“I would agree, Libby it does not seem fair
for you
.”
Micah
returned to sit upon the bed
.
He
moved to lean against
the headboard
.
He
stretched
his long legs out
over the length of
the bed
.
“How old are you?
”
He
popped a sliver of apple in
to
his mouth
.

“I am five and twenty
.
I almost succeeded in obtaining a comfortable life of spinsterhood
.”
She wrinkled her brow.

He
gave her an amused smile
.
“Why did you not marry before now
?”
Did she love another
?
Please, no!

“
My mama died ten years ago
.
Father spoiled me then as Owen does now
, m
uch to Aunt Priscilla’s chagrin
.
I never desired to marry
.
Neither
Father nor Owen ever
forced me
to
seek suitors
.
I am happy
.
I never desired the society of London
.
I run the household, I do what I want
.
I used to say the only reason I would marry is for love
.
I never met that person, I suppose
.
And you, Micah, you must be near Owen’s age
.
He’s thirty
.
Why have you not married?”

“I am
three
and thirty
,
Libby.
Y
ou may not know
I was married
many years ago
.”
Micah paused
.
He would save her from asking
and feeling badly
.
“Lucy died while giving birth to our first c
hild
, a
son
.
He was stillborn.
”

“Oh, Micah
!
Please forgive me, I’m so
sorry,
”
Libby whispered
.
“I did know that
.
I
-I just
forgot
.”

“It
s fine, Libby
.
I don’t mind talking about it with you
.”
She needed to know
.