Page 55 of The Vagabond Viscount
Tonight was a night of lies upon lies. But if it meant being able to see Flynn, she was prepared to suffer the possible consequences.
Movement outside in the hallway had Gideon putting his ear to the door. “The de Lucas have gone. If I can write a short note, I can slip it under Serafina’s door as I leave.”
Her brother quickly penned his letter, then bade Augusta a good night. He kissed her on the cheek. “If anyone is looking for me tomorrow, could you please tell them I have gone to see Viscount Cadnam. I intend to spend as much of the day as I can with Serafina, but I don’t want her family to know.”
Augusta gave a brief nod. This was the news she was hoping to hear from him. That he was finally taking action and refusing to see her friend married off to a stranger. When she met his gaze, there was a definite glint of something in his eye.
“What’s wrong?”
Gideon shook his head. “I didn’t fully grasp the depth of Enzo de Luca’s ambition until tonight. I now understand that Signore Magri not only has a mistress living under his roof, but that they share a number of children together. Serafina apparently became aware of this during the visit she and Donna Francesca paid to the Magri house earlier today. I can only pray that Serafina’s mother will not stand for such a grave insult to be made against her daughter without doing something about it.”
She hadn’t had an opportunity to speak to Serafina and find out what had transpired during her and Donna Francesca’s visit to Signore Magri’s home earlier that morning, and this shocking piece of news filled Augusta with regret.
Oh Serafina, you poor girl. I can’t begin to imagine how terrible it must have been for you to visit your future home only to discover that the man you are meant to marry already has a family.
Enzo marrying his daughter off to a man who had a secret unofficial wife came as no surprise, but the thought that Donna Francesca might actually seek to scupper her husband’s plans was exactly what Augusta had been praying for. But she wasn’t leaving it to chance.
“I don’t care what the contessa does. Just you make sure that you do something which involves you and Serafina becoming husband and wife,” replied Augusta.
“Leave it to me.”
* * *
Augusta waited until silence had once more settled in the hallway outside her bedroom. With the rest of the de Luca family having now returned from the supper at Signore Magri’s home and retired to their rooms, she was confident in taking the risk of sneaking out through the garden and down the steep path which led to the street at the bottom of the hill behind Palazzo Lazio.
It would, of course, be far easier to go out the front door, but the guards were sure to stop her. Or worse, send for Gideon. She didn’t want to be having any sort of conversation with her brother about Flynn. Not until after she had seen the viscount. And certainly not until she knew where their relationship now stood.
After changing into a plain blue gown, Augusta replaced her evening slippers with her sensible leather walking boots. At this late hour, the more inconspicuous she was out on the streets of Rome, the better. A well-dressed, unaccompanied young lady would surely draw attention.
Snatching up her woolen cloak, Augusta wrapped it around herself and slipped the hood over her head. She fiddled under her cloak, searching for the silver chain on which her locket watch hung. When she finally did manage to pull it out from under the front of her gown, Augusta noted the time.
It was a little before eleven. “Perfect,” she whispered.
For a brief moment, she considered stopping by Serafina’s room and letting her know where she was going but decided against it. This was something she had to do for herself. An opportunity to go and claim the future she had thought she had lost. But until she’d had the chance to see Flynn and talk to him in private, she didn’t want to share any of it with anyone else. Time may have changed things between her and her lover, so she wanted to be sure of where she stood with Flynn. If he still loved her.
Slipping out of her room, Augusta crossed quickly over to a small alcove. There she hid in the darkness, waiting, listening for any sign of approaching footsteps. Her heart was racing at a furious pace. This was a dangerous and reckless thing she was doing. But she was determined to go through with it.
I have to see Flynn.
The routine of the guards in Palazzo Lazio was so regimented that a person could have set their watch by it. It was a blessing in disguise. This precision timing meant Augusta had but a few minutes to make her way out of the main house before the shift change happened at eleven o’clock. If she left it any later, the new guards would be making a full sweep of the house, and she wouldn’t be able to make her escape without running the risk of being caught. As a guest at the palace, she was under the protection of the de Luca family, as well as their well-trained army of private guards.
After the day she had already had, the last thing Augusta needed was to find herself having to explain why she was wandering the halls dressed in such a manner. It wouldn’t take much for the guards to realize she was attempting to sneak out. With Serafina having already cautioned Augusta that the night guards were less pliable than the ones who patrolled the palace during the day, she was at pains to avoid them.
From the alcove, Augusta made her way to the nearest set of stairs. Moving as quickly and as quietly as possible, she headed down to the ground floor and out into the garden.
The palace was surrounded by high stone walls, and while they offered a good deal of privacy and protection, they were still not enough to keep the occasional unwanted visitor out. Which meant that the guards also patrolled the gardens at night. Augusta was well aware that they were under strict instructions to challenge anyone, including family and guests, who they found wandering the grounds in the dark.
The trees at the edge of the garden afforded a degree of cover, and she wasted no time in making a quick dash across the lawn toward them.
On as light a foot as she could manage in her walking boots, Augusta raced to the garden gate. From her skirt pocket she withdrew the key Serafina had given her not long after she’d arrived at the palace.
“Make sure you keep this safe and secret. If my parents ever discovered that I had a key to the rear gate, they would have the whole wall bricked up. And I would never forgive you.”
Glancing over her shoulder one last time, Augusta slipped the key into the ornate lock. A sigh escaped her lips as the key turned, and a softclickwhispered into the night air.
She was through the gate and had it closed within seconds. Pausing, she listened once more, praying that the noise of the gate being opened hadn’t traveled across the grass and been heard by the guards. To her relief, a welcome silence still hung over the garden.
“Thank God,” she muttered.
