Trevan continued in his booming voice, “We need to finish interpreting the scrolls and the Secretum Domini, and try as we might, we have not found the time to accomplish that. Learning what knowledge is contained in those documents will give us more of an understanding of why we are being pursued. There is still the possibility of relics belonging to Jesus being hidden at Glastonbury somewhere that Micah found mentioned in one of the Greek scrolls. Harry and I spoke to Sir John and the King’s emissaries before they left an hour ago. I’ll allow Sir John to give you a summary on what we have planned to lure the Knights of the Brown Order to us in Cornwall after we learn what those documents hold.”
“Thank you, your Grace,” Sir John stood. “Once you are all at the home of the Duke of Penrose, and the scrolls and Secretum Domini have been interpreted, there shall be an announcement made of a grand and Royal ceremony in Cornwall displaying the treasures, or at least the Society’s decoys of the treasures. The King, or someone he sends in his stead, shall come to accept The Avalon Society’s discoveries from the Duke of Penrose. We have not decided on a location to display the treasures as yet; but with the long reaching arm of the Duke of Penrose and his kinsmen, we feel Cornwall is the safest place to hold this grand event. We shall display the items publicly for a week prior to the official ceremony where the Avalon Society turns them over to the Crown. More than likely the location will be in Truro.”
Sir John cleared his throat and continued, “There will be a Royal Ball and a grand celebration to mark the receipt of the Glastonbury Treasure by the Crown. Much shall be written of it and distributed in London. We feel certain the Brown Knights of the Order will make to steal them before they are turned over to the King. A Royal search for the murderous Grand Knights of the Brown Order will be publicized before that point. Our intention in doing so is to make those of high rank in the Order nervous. We are hoping they will attend the festivities to avert suspicion being cast upon them. It has become clear from the information we learned last night that the Supreme Grand Knights of the Brown Order hold prominent positions in London and possibly within our government.”
“Are we truly turning our treasures over to the Crown?” Newt asked.
Sir John smiled. “The Crown will take the decoys. The location of the true treasures shall remain unknown. Nothing will be made public knowledge until after the scrolls and Secretum Domini are studied and interpreted by the Avalon Society. They will be hidden safely away, along with the sapphire and holy cruets.”
Newt gave a satisfied nod.
“We are still going to hunt down the Grand Knights. At the present time, Pendarves and Carlyon and their men will be working on that. Some of you may have to help them at a later date.” Trevan provided.
“Lachlan Douglas will remain in London with family until he is well enough to travel. Chilcompton’s physician feels he will recover,” Micah said. “If the physician declares my wife and Lady Amesbury fit to travel tomorrow, Lyon and I shall be joining you when you depart for Devon tomorrow. Otherwise we shall have to miss Charlie’s funeral, and be delayed.”
Lyon nodded his approval.
“If Libby is not well enough to travel, I will stay behind as well,” Owen said.
Harry nodded. “I expected you to, Owen.”
Harry continued, “All of Charlie’s family is in Kent with Charlie’s sister’s husband, Marcus Payton, Lord Hammond, with the exception of his father, Lord Stanbridge, who resides in London. Stanbridge came an hour ago to claim his son’s body. He is taking Charlie to Devon where the rest of his family shall meet him for the funeral. Most, if not all, of our party will leave tomorrow at dawn for Devon. We will attend Charlie’s funeral. We will be staying at Roseland Abbey as Fitzlewis’ guests for several days. It is but ten miles from Charlie’s home, Swandown Manor. We will go on to Cornwall from there. Everyone prepare to leave and be ready at dawn. I sent word to Sinclair to await us in Devon. As he is now without a governess, his young daughter will be joining our party when we travel to Menadue.”
“We expect to be plagued by the Brown Coats still. Though with Davitt and Crow out of the picture, there may be a few days of reprieve. We shall still have watch and guard twenty four hours a day until further notice,” Trevan provided. “We are not entirely certain how Davitt, Crow and their men slipped onto the grounds of Wychcombe Manor so easily. We don’t want it to happen again. Gabriel, Harry, Micah and I will be surveying the grounds here later today.”
“Meeting adjourned, except I need to see Trevan, Lyon, Tristan and Julyan.” Harry rubbed his hands together.
Harry Bellingham, the Earl of Glaston, gave Tristan Chynoweth, Viscount Weatherham, his official approval to court his sister, Lady Caroline Bellingham.
Lyon Ravenscroft, the Earl of Amesbury, gave Julyan Trevelyan his approval to court his sister, Lady Sarah Ravenscroft.
Julyan and Tristan stayed and conversed with the gentlemen for awhile, but left after a time to seek out their sweethearts.
“We’re almost family!” Trevan grinned broadly at Harry and Lyon. He opened a decanter of brandy and poured three glasses.
“I guess we are!” Lyon grinned.
Harry shook his head, rolled his eyes and smiled. He held up his glass, “To family!”
“To family!” Lyon and Trevan echoed.
When they exited the library it was to see Tristan leading Caroline out to the gardens, followed by Julyan leading Sarah.
“They should not be going outside, it is not safe!” Harry said.
“Their chaperones are my armed cousins who are placed about the garden, Harry. I thought the lads would like a little time with their sweethearts away from their scowling brothers.” Trevan grinned at Lyon and Harry mischievously.
Lyon smiled.
Harry scowled.
Trevan laughed.
Jane Bellingham, Lady Glaston and Mary Ravenscroft, Lady Amesbury approached the trio. They were both smiling broadly.
“Oh, Harry, Caroline is so happy!” Jane stood on tip-toe to give her son a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, son.”
Harry’s scowl softened into a smile. “You’re welcome, mother.”
Lyon happily accepted a kiss from his mother. His gaze moved beyond the open French doors at that moment to see Julyan Trevelyan lean very close to Sarah. He could not tell if he whispered something to her or kissed her. Lyon strode onto the veranda, resting his hands on his hips. “Julyan, don’t let me see you do that again. You are not engaged. You are paying your addresses to Sarah. No touching or no kissing allowed.”
Tristan, his arm in a sling, grinned and laughed as he walked the garden path with Caroline on his good arm.
“Same goes for you, Tristan!” Harry pointed a warning finger at him.
Tristan’s smile faded.
“Surely you gentlemen have business to tend to,” Jane Bellingham shooed the three elder brothers away. “Mary and I will stay on the veranda. We’ll be having lemonade. Off with you now.”
Trevan laughed in amusement.
Harry and Lyon glowered at him.
“Let’s go to the study and drink to the eminent joining of our family trees, shall we? Let the lads have a little kiss from their sweethearts, eh?” Trevan laughed heartily.
“What did the physician say?” Harry approached Lyon and Micah as they came down the stairs.
“They both have head injuries, Harry. The jostling of the carriage might make them quite ill,” Micah offered.
“With Sophia being so badly bruised, Dr. Josephs feels she will be in quite a lot of pain. He feels it is much too early for her to travel,” Lyon added.
“We cannot leave you without a guard and a watch. I’ll talk to Trevan and see if some of his relatives will be willing to stay. The rest of the Avalon Society members will want to be in Devon, I’m certain.”
“Of course. Lyon and I want to be there, but we can’t leave our wives alone. Libby has insisted that Owen go to Devon. He was Charlie’s closest friend. Libby has kno
wn Charlie all her life. She felt one of them should be there. So Owen has agreed to join you tomorrow morning, albeit reluctantly. Lady Marston and Lady Alice will be accompanying him. They’ll be in one of my carriages. Rowena will have company for the journey.”
“Very good.” Harry nodded. “How long until the ladies can travel?”
“Three, maybe four more days.” Lyon shook his head, “We don’t know for certain.”
Harry frowned. “We will work something out. You cannot be left with too few here. Though if we pull out they may not realize you were left behind, but we can’t take chances with your safety. Are the ladies resting?”
They both nodded.
“Join us in the library, will you? I specifically came to inquire about the ladies traveling status and to bid you to join us.”
Gabriel and fifteen of the Cornishmen would stay with Micah and Lyon at Wychcombe House and would escort them to Menadue when their wives were ready to travel. With everything in order for the Avalon Society’s departure the next morning, brandy was poured. Even Lyon partook, though Micah gave him only a splash in his glass.
“To our fallen comrade and good friend.” Harry raised his glass. “To Charlie. Charles Inwood, Viscount Silverley. He will be missed.”
The words echoed all about the room. “To Charlie.”
“To revenge,” Newt lifted his glass. “That we wipe out the Knights of the Brown Order. For Charlie!”
“Here, here,” Wyldhurst said. “And for Lachlan. He’ll be recovering a long, long time. They messed him up bad.”
“Yes, for Lachlan. And for Charlie,” Micah softly said the words. He remembered the last time he said, for Charlie. It was as he slit Davitt’s throat. Oddly, he felt no remorse. He took a long draught of brandy.
“That Light prevails,” Owen said.
“Agreed!” Trevan said.
“To our success in defeating these miserable bastards!” Jack added.
“So we can finish this, live normal lives and go back to our homes.” Lyon raised his glass.
“Amen. I think we’re all a little weary of being hunted and stalked like game.” Gabriel raised his glass and swallowed.
“To victory for the Avalon Society, that we are successful in this endeavor. Once we reach Menadue, we will train. We will plan and be prepared for them. We’ll draw them into our net. This time we will crush them. There will be no mercy.” Trevan set his empty glass down. “In honor of our fallen comrade Charlie. He was truly the best of all of us.”
“In honor of Charlie,” the somber words echoed throughout the room.
Micah went back upstairs after he saw his comrades off at dawn. He was surprised that Libby was not only awake, but sitting up.
She wiped at tears on her face.
“What’s wrong, Libby?” Micah rushed to her.
“I was thinking about Charlie, and his mother and sisters.”
“I know, sweetheart.” He sat beside her and gathered her into his arms. He kissed her temple. “It’s very difficult for me to think of as well. But I remember the type of person Charlie was. He was always happy, forever helping other people. His friends, colleagues, even strangers. He was always kind, to everyone.” Micah entwined his fingers with Libby’s.
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 upon 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 and 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 bruises, 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 the 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 too 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 spent 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 Cor
nwall, 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 planned 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 Trevan.”
“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 killed him.
“Poor Trevan,” Libby shook her head. “I too always thought he and Wenna would marry.”
Chapter Twenty Two
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.
Lords of Honor Page 36
