Page 13 of The Vagabond Viscount
As the curtains closed at the end of the first act, the small party rose from their seats. Flynn was beyond mortified.
I wouldn’t blame them if they decide to leave.
He, however, would remain to the very end. It was too early to go home. His father would still be up.
Matthew clapped his hands together loudly and announced, “So, we made it through the first half. Well done, everyone. Hopefully, some food and a few stiff drinks will give us enough strength to soldier on to the finale.”
Flynn caught the hard glare that Augusta shot her brother’s way. “That was uncalled for, Matthew. Viscount Cadnam was gracious to invite us out this evening. It’s not his fault that the playwright has not been able to produce an entertaining piece of work.”
Gideon slung an arm around his younger brother’s neck and gave his hair a good ruffle. Matthew screwed his face up at being manhandled, but wisely took his punishment.
“Yes, dear brother, don’t be an ungracious wretch or I shall have to ask Mama to send you back to the schoolroom to learn some better manners. If you are out with the grown-ups, you have to behave like an adult. Now come with me, and let’s go and find some champagne.”
“But what about Augusta? Should we be leaving her with Flynn? I mean, is that allowed?” replied Matthew.
The younger Kembal sibling might be struggling with some forms of social grace, but he clearly knew enough about the rules regarding unmarried young ladies being left in the company of males, not from their family.
Augusta sighed. “I have known Lord Cadnam since I was a young girl. He is Gideon’s best friend, so if I can trust any gentleman in London to behave with honor, it is him.”
Gideon nodded. “Yes, I don’t think they will be undertaking a moonlight flit to Gretna Green in the short time we are gone.”
Flynn gave a tight smile to the jest. Gideon meant well, but he didn’t understand how deep his remark bit. He, like the rest of the Kembal family, were still clueless about the complicated nature of the relationship between Augusta and himself.
With Matthew still held in his brotherly embrace, the Marquis of Holwell headed for the door. “No eloping, you two. We won’t be long.”
“There is little to no chance of that. I don’t expect the Vagabond Viscount could even afford the price of two coach tickets to Scotland.”
As he caught Matthew’s quip, the social grin on Flynn’s lips hardened.
* * *
Augusta was going to throttle her youngest brother. The play was awful. Bad but not so bad as to make it actually amusing to watch. Just diabolical. Whoever had decided to make changes had only succeeded in making it worse.
Things were awkward enough between her and Flynn without Matthew throwing his careless remarks about the place. She doubted that there was a single young person in thehaut tonwho didn’t know that Viscount Cadnam barely had a farthing to his name. But only a hurtful, selfish cad would actually make mention of it.
The minute they were alone, she turned to Flynn. “I am so very sorry about Matthew. I am sure he meant no harm, but there are times when he doesn’t think before he speaks. That comes from having a privileged background. He has never had to worry about where the next coin comes from. I apologize on behalf of Gideon, Matthew, and myself.”
The look she got in response to her apology had her almost wishing she had kept her mouth shut. Flynn’s expression all but said, please don’t pity me.
“It’s not as if it is a lie. Matthew shouldn’t be punished for speaking the truth. I couldn’t afford one coach ticket to Scotland, let alone two.”
She might well be frustrated with him and on the verge of ending their relationship, but Augusta’s heart still went out to Flynn. Tonight, should have been a special treat. One where he could feel proud. Instead, it had become yet another reminder of his unfortunate situation.
Her chest tightened as Flynn drew closer. She had spent the best part of the last few days doing her utmost not to think about him and their encounter in the orangery. Of their painful parting. And her decision to give him one last chance before she moved on with her life.
“If anyone should be apologizing, it is me. I am sorry about how things ended at the party. You were angry when you left, and rightly so.”
She pushed back her shoulders, forcing herself into a stance which spoke of committed resolve. “The fact that I am here under sufferance should be enough for you to know how things stand between us. And speaking of us, Viscount Cadnam, I think it is time we forget any of it ever happened and put it all in the past.”
Those words had sounded so perfect when she’d rehearsed them in front of the mirror in her bedroom. But when she actually said them to Flynn, it was clear they were lacking in conviction.
I wonder how many times I will have to say something like that to him for either one of us to believe it.
Empty though they were, they were the only thing Augusta could say to him—her only weapon against the agony of her heartache. He was the one who made her feel this way, but he was also the one who was set on not publicly declaring himself or his love.
If only he didn’t hold such power over her heart.
If he loves me, he won’t let me go. He will fight for us.
