Lords of Honor (74 page)

“No force shall be necessary, my Lady wife
.
Now get up, I’ve left your wrapper here for you
.
I’ll ring for Martha
.
We must be down to breakfast in a quarter of an hour, sweetheart
.
We’ve a long day ahead of us
.”

Micah remained in the room
while Martha dressed his wife and arranged her hair in a quick simple coiffure
.
He watched Libby carefully and saw her face fall when she glanced in the mirror by habit before leaving her dressing table
.

He dismissed Martha and took his wife in his arms as she walked toward him
.

“Libby, wh
at is the matter
?
I’ve noticed you become
appear downhearted
when you look in the mirror of late, sweetheart
.”
Micah whispered softly as he
gazed
into her large sapphire eyes
.
He pl
aced a soft kiss to her temple.

Libby couldn’t tell him about the dream
; t
he
nightmare
that
p
aral
y
zed her with fear
and continued to frighten her
.
The dream always felt so real, as if she were there
.
She feared if she told Micah it would come true
.
“I don’t like looking at
the scar
Micah
.
It is so large and ugly
.
When I look at it, I remember that man
.
He wanted to hurt me, and he wanted to hurt you, Micah
.
I find that I can’t forget him when I see it
.
He
frightens me still
.
There
is
something very dangerous and unbalanced about
that man
.”

Damn Percy Davitt
!
“Libby, sweetheart, your
wound
will heal
.
It will get better
.
As for Percy Davitt, you never have to worry about him coming near you again
.
We’re going to find him, Libby
.
I’ll see to it.”

“I don’t want you to go after him
.
He wants to kill you
, Micah
!”

Libby tensed in his arms
.
He saw fear in her eyes
.
What had Davitt done to her?

“Promise me you won’t go after him.”
Libby put her hand on his arm
.
She could not allow
him
to go after Percy Davitt
.
He wanted to kill
Micah
.
In the dream he tried to kill Micah
!

Micah could not
promise her he would not go after
Davitt; f
or he intended to find him
.
Libby was visibly troubled by the thought
.
H
e would not upset her further
as they were about to leave for London
.
“S
weetheart,
please
d
on’t
be
upset
.
Do not think of Percy Davitt
.
Don’t worry about any of this, please
.
I love you, Libby
.
You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever set eyes on
.
I love you
and I
just want you to be happy
.
Let’s go down and have some breakfast, shall we?”

Libby nodded
slightly
.
She
still wore a worried frown as
she
took the arm he offered her.

Micah felt badly
.
In trying to question
his wife
, he caused her
further
pain
.
He only w
ished
to make her feel better
, to e
ase her mind
.
He entwined his fingers in hers once they were in the hallway
.
He leaned down, kissed
h
er
temple
and smiled down at her.

He felt
a little
more encouraged
when Libby returned
his smile
with a dazzling one.

Micah and Libby sat next to one another
in the large carriage
.
Grace sat beside Libby
.
The two remaining ladies sat across from them with Lyon in the middle.

The conversation would lull and begin again
.
Their party had been on the road six hours.

The ladies were nervous and trying not to show it
.

Lyon and Micah spent a great deal of time
surveying the lands
cape beyond
the carriage windows
.
They searched for any sign of Brown Coats
approaching
.

Rowena began fidgeting
.
She couldn’t seem to get comfortable.

Micah noticed that she began to pale and look a bit green
.

“Rowena, are you well?”

“I - I don’t feel so well at the moment, Micah
.
This morning when I woke my stomach
felt rather
unsettled
.
After breakfast I felt much better
.
Perhaps it’s all this jostling around.”

Micah opened the window and called out for Harry.

Harry rode up alongside and peered in.

“Harry
.
We need to stop for the ladies
.
I’m certain they can do with a bit of refreshment and a little rest
.
Your wife is not feeling well.”

“Your stomach again, Rowena?” Harry looked to his wife in concern.

Rowena nodded as one hand clasped her handkerchief tightly and the other rested upon her abdomen
.

“Camberley is just ahead
.
We’ll stop at the Arms.”

They took a private parlour for the ladies and their husbands
to take their meal
.
The rest of the gentlemen stayed in the public room to take refreshment and
watch
for Brown Coats.

Harry, Lyon and Micah stepped out to give the ladies some privacy before their meal was brought in
.
They each accepted a pint from their comrades
when they joined them
in the public room
.

“I hope Rowena isn’t coming down with something
.
She
felt
quite
ill
this morning.”
Harry mentioned to Micah.

“She’ll be fine, Harry
.
We’ve made good time
.
And the ride has been bumpy
.
We’ll be in London tonight
.
She can rest and will
feel much
better tomorrow.”

Harry nodded.
“I hope so.”

“Rowena, you do not have a fever
.
You say you felt ill this morning upon waking?” Sophia helped Rowena to recline upon the chaise after she emptied the contents of her stomach.

Rowena nodded weakly
.
Libby laid a cool cloth across her forehead
.
“Yes
.
Yesterday morning I felt nauseated when I woke, but did not get ill
.
But I felt fine the rest of the day
, u
ntil I woke this morning.”

Grace
smiled
.
“Rowena, could you be breeding
?
When was the last time you had your
menses
?”

Rowena thought a moment
.
Her eyes widened
.
“Oh, dear
!
The last time I remember having them was before I met Harry
.
That
would have been
the beginning of April
.
It is now June
.
I am with child
?”
She looked to
Sophia then Grace
.

“Is there any tenderness in your, um, breasts?”
Grace asked.

“Yes
.
Just this week I noticed I was ver
y tender
.
I thought that Harry
, er, never
mind.
Y
es, I am tender
.
And
I am quite exhausted by
the
time
evening
comes around
lately.
”

Sophia smiled
smugly
.
“All telling signs.”

“Indeed.” Grace offered Rowena a smile
.
“It sounds very familiar.”

“I am
going to have a baby
!”
Rowena smiled
.
“Goodness, I must tell Harry
!”

“He will be thrilled, I am certain
.”
Sophia took Libby’s arm
.
“Libby
, Grace
and I will leave you to a few minutes of peace and quiet until our meal is brought in, Rowena
.
Close your eyes
;
r
est for a few minutes
.
We still have a long journey ahead of us.
”

“Is Rowena feeling better, ladies?” Harry rushed to
ward
the
trio
of smiling ladies
.

“I think she is feeling a little better, Harry
.
Go see her
.
I’m certain she will fe
e
l
more at ease
with you there
.”
Libby urged
him
with a smile
.

Harry nodded and handed his pint to Micah
.

“What is this, Libby?” Micah whispered to his wife
as he watched her smile after Harry
.

“Sophia
and Grace
think Rowena is breeding
.
Rowena does now as well, though she hadn’t
realized
it before.
” Libby whispered back to him.

Micah smiled widely
.
He n
odded
as his smile turned to a grin
.
He noticed Lyon smile as his wife whispered to him
.
Micah set down the two pints he held in his hands and gave his full attention to his wife
.
Could she, at this
moment, be carrying his child?

“Rowena?” Harry whispered
as
he entered the private parlour
.
He noted how pale his
Angel
was as she lounged
up
on the chaise.

Rowena’s dark golden lashes fluttered open
.
“Oh, Harry!”

“What is it, love
?
Are you not feeling any better?”

“A little better
.
Harry, I
believe
I am with child.”

“A babe
?” Harry asked
softly
.

Rowena nodded
.
“Sophia asked me when my last
menses
came and it was before I met you
.
Over eight weeks ago, Harry, the first of April
.
It is now
early
June.”

Harry grinned
.
He sat on the edge of the chaise
.
He bent and kissed his wife tenderly
.
“That is wonderful news, Rowena
.
A babe!
” He smiled down at her
.
“
I
am
sorry you are feeling so poorly, and while we are making this long journey
.
Is there anything I can do,
my
love, to make you feel better?”