Lords of Honor (54 page)

Gabriel continued,
“
We think M
r. Crow
may be
Lord Crowhurst
.
We got that from one of
our
prisoners
at Menadue
.
If so, we must pr
oceed with caution because
Crowhurst
is deeply involved in politics and the workings of the government and
could be
close to the King
.
Also, several of the prisoners
referred to themselves as
Knights of the
Brown
Order.”

“
Brown
Order?” Harry asked.
He shook his head.
“
I n
ever heard of a Brown Order.”

“
Neither have we
.
The f
irst thing
that needs to be done
is to find
Lady
Elizabeth
, rather Lady Wincanton
.
She is family
, a
ll in Cornwall adore her
.
She has long been the apple of the C
h
ynoweth family’s eyes
.
She is Owen’s sister and Mica
h’s wife
,   o
ne of ours
.”
Gabriel brushed at some dust on his coat
.
“
We rode
straight through with no rest
.
After take
a quick meal, I’ll take three of my men and see if I can find Owen and Newt
.
I’ll go up and see Micah
first before
I
go
.”

Harry nodded
.
“Do you think you can find Libby with your gift
, Gabriel
?”

“I will try
.
That’s why I’m going
up
to see Micah
.
You
realize
I can’t always tap in to someone
.
Since I know Libby well, and have known her since she was a young girl, I’m hoping I can.”

Harry nodded
.
“I hope so
.”
He frowned
.
Their situation
appeared to be quite
grim
.
He worried for the lives of both Libby and Micah
.
He worried for the safety of his wife and Sophia
,
as well as
Lyon
’s safety
while in London
.
Two servants at Horethorne Hall
were
lost
.
He
decided it
prudent
to c
all a meeting of the staff with Micah
injured
and give each man
more pay to keep them loyal and willing to stay
.
He needed every man he could get
at the moment
.

“Micah
!
Micah!”

Micah heard Libby’s voice
.
Then he saw h
is Libby
.
Beautiful
.
Smiling
.
She
stood
outdoors
, n
ear trees
.
The wind whipped
the skirts of her
sapphire
gown
.
He frowned
.
He saw
a cut and bruise on her forehead
.
“Libby!”
He reached out to her.

“I live, Micah
.
You must live also
.
You must live, Micah
.
Can you see where I am
?
I
am not familiar with this place
.
P
lease, live
.
Find me.”

The vision faded.

“Libby
!
Libby, come back
.”
Micah opened his eyes
.
He s
aw Gabriel Chynoweth of all people
.
“I saw her, Gabriel
.
In a dream
.
She
was outdoors
.
She’s hurt.”

Gabriel nodded
.
“
You know of my gift, Micah?’

“Yes,” Micah croaked
.
He burned
from the
inside
.

“I’m going to take your hand
.
Close your eyes
.
Try to see Libby again
.
Talk to her
.
I need to find out where she is.
”

Micah nodded
.
He c
losed his eyes
and g
ave in to the pull of
M
orpheus.

Gabriel closed his eyes
and entered the in
-
between world
.
He f
elt her spirit
almost immediately
.
He s
aw
Lady
Elizabeth
dressed
in a
deep
blue gown that whipped in the
wind
.
“
Lady
Elizabeth
!
Libby
!
Look at me
.
Talk to me.”

Libby
turned
around
.
Blood dripped down her forehead
from a gash surrounded by a dark bruise
.
“Micah?”

“
It is I, Gabriel Chynoweth
.
I am with Micah
.
Micah, lives, but he is ill
.
He has a
fever
.
He needs you Libby
.
Tell me where you are and I will come for you
.
Look around
.
Let me see where you are
.
Help me find you.”

“I cannot see
.
I am not awake
.
I dream
.
I do not wish to live without Micah
.
I c
annot.”

“He lives
.
He still lives
,
Libby
!
Your spirit must return to your body
.
You must wake
.
You must look at your surroundings
so I can see where you are and find you. Micah needs you here
.
He is weak, Libby
.”
The vision began to fade
.
“Come back.”

“I cannot see
.
I am not awake
.
I dream.”

The vision
faded
.

Gabriel opened his eyes
.
Lachlan
and Wyldhurst stood beside him
.
“His fever has come
up
.
We must get it down
.
Libby is hurt
, she has a
head wound
.
Her spirit speaks to him
.
I saw her and felt her
.
If I can keep contact with them both we may be able to find her.”

“The ransom note just came,” Harry sighed heavily
as he entered Micah’s bedchamber.
“
They want all of the scrolls
taken from Glastonbury
delivered to Cadbury Hill Fort two days from now at noon
.
The note says they will deliver Libby to us after they have the scrolls
, the sapphire and the cruets brought
to Glastonbury
by Joseph of Arimathea
.
We all know
they
won’t
return Libby
.
If we’re supposed to make the exchange at Cadbury
in two days time
,
t
hey
have to be somewhere
near
by
.
We have to find Libby and get her
safely back
here before
then
,” Harry
exhaled loudly
.

Micah’s fever rose throughout the
afternoon
and burned
throughout the night
.

Gabriel and three of his men found Owen and Newt
.
The
y
lost
the trail for Libby when the Brown Coats sent four men back to stop them. Though Owen and Newt
dispatched the men, it gave Libby’s captors enough time to get away
.
There was no sign of her or Brown Coats in Templecombe or any
of the surrounding towns
.
Gabriel
force
d
Owen to come back to Horethorne Hall
to rest
.

When Owen
did return, sleep
evaded him
.
He sat with his brother by marriage, Micah, throughout his restless night
.
If he could not help Libby, he might help
Micah
.

Gabriel sat with them
.
He kept hold of Micah’s hand trying to make contact with Libby again.

Finally
, near dawn,
Gabriel decided they must submerge Micah in cold water
.
He was convinced he could not reach Libby due to the fever
that raged in Micah’s body
.

“His wounds c
annot get wet, it could further any
infection
.
Lachlan
and I will lower him in to the tub on his
good
side
, and keep his wounds out of the water
,
” Wyldhurst said.

“I’ll
assist
you.”
Owen
knelt beside the tub and kept his hands beneath Micah’s torso to make certain his wounds were not submerged.

Gabriel kept hold of
Micah’s
hand while
the others submerged
most of his body
in the water
.
He closed his eyes
.
He crossed the veil,
moved through the mist
.
He entere
d the
land of dreams and visions.
“Libby
!”
His mind called to her.

“I am awake, Gabriel
.
This is what I see.”

He saw
a wide field, filled with wildflowers
.
There were
t
rees in the distance
.
In the places
where
there were no trees Gabriel
could see for miles
.
Libby was up high, on a hill of sorts
.
He saw t
he Tor
.
He could see Glastonbury Tor
!
Far away, but he could see it
.
He noted a
village
spread out
below
the hill where Libby
sat
.
She was
definitely
up high
er than Templecombe
.
She was outdoors
.
He could feel the breeze
.
Hear the tall grasses and wildflowers swishing in the wind
.
Libby spoke,
“I’m on a flat hill
, Gabriel
.
How is Micah?”

“He lives, Libby
.
He burns with a fever
.
He needs you
.
Do you know where you are, Libby?”