Authors: K. R. Richards
Libby gave him a small smile and nodded
.
“Yes
.
That describes Charlie
.
Even when
we were children
, he was always kind to me
.
Owen could sometimes be mean
,
and tease me mercilessly,
but not Charlie.”
“Since we could not attend Charlie’s funeral, I took the liberty of sending a letter from us, you and I, to Charlie’s family
.
I
told them that you and I remain
eternally grateful that
Charlie
saved both our lives
.
I bespoke our wish to visit with them in the near future.”
Libby teared up again, but she smiled at Micah.
Libby’s smile always affected him
.
It was bright and genuine
.
He loved that Libby smiled often
.
He reached out to her
.
“When this is finished in Cornwall, sweetheart,
once
we
are at Horethorne Hall and have
rested and recuperated;
we’ll go
to Devon to
visit the Inwoods so you may spend time with Tuesday and Wednesday
.
I know you must miss Charlie’s sisters
.
You’ve always been close to them.”
“I do miss them
.
But I’m not sorry I married you, Micah
.
I feel that home is wherever you are now
.”
She turned her face upward and
met
her husband
’s gaze
.
She smiled sweetly at him.
Micah smiled down
at her
.
He kissed
the tip of her nose
while he
gently
embraced
her
.
“Lie down, sweetheart
.
You must rest
.
We’ve a long journey ahead of us in a few days.”
Libby lay
back up
on the pillows
.
She grinned
.
“I’m not exactly sleepy, Micah.”
“You’re not?”
Micah’s silvery eyes glinted with amusement
as he saw the mischievous sparkle in her large sapphire eyes
.
Libby shook her head and gave him a seductive smile.
He removed
his boots
.
Micah
stood
a
nd
quickly
removed
his clothing
.
Grinning
, he
slid
back
into bed with his wife.
“If you’re not sleepy, sweetheart, what exactly did you have in mind?” Micah asked huskily as he gathered
his naked wife
into his arms.
He reveled in being skin to skin with her
.
She was so soft, as smooth as silk
.
She
lifted her face to him and
kissed him quite passionately
.
Her hand found what she wanted
.
“This.”
“I believe
I can accommodate you, my Lady,
”
he said in a low whisper as he nibbled upon her ear lobe.
The four remaining days spent at Wychcombe House were quiet and peaceful
.
As the ladies were recovering, their husbands spent much time with them above stairs
.
It was a relaxed and happy atmosphere at dinner the night before their departure for Cornwall
.
It was the first night the ladies joined the gentlemen for
a meal
since their ordeal
.
Both ladies still sported
bruise
s
, but most of them were
beginning to fade
.
“I wish you would reconsider and join us on our journey to Cornwall, Grandfather,” Libby said
.
She knew Micah worried about leaving his aging grandfather
behind
.
There was
still
the chance he could be in danger
at Wychcombe House
.
“I am happy you desire my company, Elizabeth. However, I am much too old for such a journey
.
I prefer to remain here
.
As I told, Micajah, when the two of you return to Horethorne Hall, I shall come to Templecombe
for a long visit
.
I will be fine here, don’t you worry. Micajah has hired some very able and capable men to keep watch on Wychcombe House, and m’staff has been with me for years
.
I’ll be fine,” Lord Chilcompton smiled
brightly
at his granddaughter-in-law.
Libby returned his smile
.
Beneath the table, Micah’s hand sought hers
.
He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze and gave his wife an appreciative smile
and wink
.
“St. Mabyn, you are not yet married?” Lord Chilcompton asked.
“Not as yet, my Lord,” Gabriel offered
, his crystalline blue eyes sparkled
with amusement
.
He was the fairest haired of th
e Chynoweths, having rich
brown hair
striped with dark gold streaks
.
He wore it longer than was fashionable
.
Tonight it was combed neatly back for the formal meal
.
“You should take my grandson and his friend, Amesbury, here to mind as examples
.
They married for love and are very happy.”
Gabriel smiled
.
“I intend to marry for love, my Lord
.
Life is to
o short to be miserable in it.”
“You must broaden your horizons if you have not met the right woman, eh?”
“Sound advice,” Gabriel grinned
.
Though Gabriel knew he would not find a wife in London
.
The thought did not feel right to him
.
The image of Senny Penrose came into his mind
.
Sennen was Wenna Penrose’s sister
.
She lived at Callywith Manor down the lane from
his home,
Fairy Cross
.
Gabriel
had known
the Penrose
family
all his life
.
He s
pent more time at Callywith Manor
in recent
years
.
He told himself
he did so
because Robert Penrose, the Penrose siblings grandfather
and
guardian,
was ill and going down in health
.
At this moment, he realized it just might have something to do with
the beautiful, sunny-haired
Senny
.
Of course there was the trouble between Wenna and Trevan
complicating matters
.
The
couple’s
parting left both the elderly Robert and Senny upset
.
In truth, all in Cornwall, Trevan included, always thought Trevan and Wenna would marry
.
Alas, it seemed it was not to be
.
Gabriel smiled to himself as he realized he
truly
missed sweet Senny’s company
.
“Your cousin the Duke should consider marrying as well
.
He has held the title for nearly two years
.
He needs heirs
.”
Lord Chilcompton
turned
to
regard
Gabriel.
“Yes
.
He
plann
ed
to marry at one point, my Lord
.
But the match was not a good one, and nothing came of it
.”
“Wenna
Penrose
?” Micah and Lyon asked simultaneously
.
Gabriel nodded, “I’m afraid so
.
She
has accepted an offer of marriage from
the Vicar of St. Mabyn
.
She has rejected T
revan.”
“I did not know. Trevan said nothing about it
.”
Micah shook his head, “
I’m surprised
!
I always thought
he and Wenna
would marry.”
“So did I,” Lyon added
.
He shrugged.
“So did Trevan
.
He does not speak of it
since she rejected him
.
It
wounded him deeply
.
He did love her
.
He loves her still
.
I do not believe he is over it yet,” Gabriel supplied
.
“He’ll not have any trouble finding a wife
.
He is a Duke,
and
a young one at that
.
Why
Fiske
told me he heard just last week that the betting books in some clubs are already taking wagers on what
month of the upcoming season
Penrose will
select a wife
.
He is listed as the most eligible bachelor of the Season
.
Of course ‘tis all gossip and speculation, mind you
.
The Ton thrives on such.
” Lord Chilcompton nodded
with a chuckle
.
Gabriel knew it might take forever for his cousin’s heart to heal
.
Trevan was still in love with Wenna
.
The fact that she did not love him
nearly
kill
ed
him
.
“Poor Trevan,” Libby shook her head
.
“I too always tho
ught he and Wenna would marry.
”
Lord Chilcompton rose with the dawn to see his grandson and the new Lady Wincanton and their guests off
.
He smiled with pleasure as his new granddaughter-in-law gave him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek before her husband handed her into the carriage.
Gabriel
chose to remain with his men and
rode
alongside the conveyance
, leaving
the two newlywed couples alone in the carriage.
The four wore happy smiles as they waved their good-byes to Lord Chilcompton
as the carriage began to roll along the drive
.
“I don’t know about you, Micah, but I’m ready to end this business and get back to normal life
.
Sophia has never even been to Shevington Chase
.”
Lyon looked to his beautiful wife
and
bestowed
a
dazzling
smile
upon
her
.
Sophia squeezed her husband’s hand and
smiled happily
.
“I am weary of it as well, Lyon
.
It would be nice for it to just be Libby and me at Horethorne Hall for a time
.
But alas, the find at Glastonbury is too important to disregard
.
It is almost as if we were chosen to find and protect it.”
Lyon nodded
.
“I feel the same
, e
specially now
that
Charlie was killed
.
We have to finish it.”
“Indeed
.
The plan
in place
for Cornwall seems to be a good one
.
My hopes are that we are successful and take down the Knights of the Brown Order
, all of them
,” Micah looked
to
his wife
.
He squeezed her hand reassuringly
.
He knew
Libby to be
weary of all this as well.
“You forget, gentlemen, there is much magic in Cornwall, and the Chynoweths are the heart of Cornwall
.
I think the fact we will be in Cornwall bodes well for us
.
Have you forgotten that Joseph of Arimathea and Jesus are rumored to have been in Cornwall as well
?
As you feel you were led to find the treasures in Glastonbury in the first place, perhaps there is a reason we are all now to convene at
the Chynoweth family seat in
Bodmin
.
No one can deny that Bodmin
Moor
and Menadue are ancient and sacred places,” Libby
offered hopefully.