Page 61 of The Vagabond Viscount
Money might not have been the main reason. From what he had heard, the de Lucas were one of the richest families in Rome. Enzo de Luca and his constant political maneuverings was the stuff of legends. Flynn couldn’t imagine Enzo giving up any sort of advantage merely to let one of his daughters marry an English nobleman. Especially one who would take her out of the country.
“I am hoping my brother finds a way to force Enzo’s hand. If you get my meaning.” Augusta pushed her unfinished bowl of pasta away. “That was wonderful, but I cannot possibly eat all that food, especially not at this hour. I promise to let the café owner know how much I appreciated it.”
Flynn took one look at the bowl and picked it up. He added the leftovers to his own meal. “These people have been more than kind to me—any food left behind would be an insult to them. If you finish your coffee, we shall call it even. Then I shall walk you home.”
ChapterThirty-Three
Augusta had no intention of going back to Palazzo Lazio—not until she was good and ready. Instead, she had other plans.
With Gideon expected to be out of the palace at first light, and her mother still visiting the rural estate of her gentleman friend in Tivoli, there was no one who would come looking for her after breakfast. She intended to use that to her advantage.
Flynn managed to empty his bowl then, after he had pressed more coins into the palm of the grateful café owner, he took hold of Augusta’s hand, and they walked out into the street. His strides grew long, and she quickly deduced Flynn was in a hurry to get her back home and to the safety of her bedroom before anyone noticed she was missing.
No. I have a different place I am going to sleep tonight.
Silently congratulating herself for having worn her thick-soled boots, Augusta dug her heels into the cobbled footpath and tugged back hard on Flynn’s hand.
He kept going for a half step more before he stopped and turned round. “What are you doing?”
“You think to take me home, but I am not going back to the palace. Not tonight.”
His brows furrowed at her words, and she could just imagine how he was taking in this change in plans. Not well, if the expression of confusion on his face was any indication. “If you are not going back to Palazzo Lazio, then where am I taking you?”
They were standing at the entrance which led up to All Saints’ Chapel. Augusta pointed toward the stairs. “You are taking me home. To your home. I have spent over a year without you in my life, Flynn Cadnam. I am not wasting another day wondering what it would be like to share your bed. To know you.”
Flynn’s mouth dropped open. There was a clear moment of indecision on his part, and Augusta speculated that he was imagining what Gideon might do to him if he ever found out about this evening.
She was preparing her arguments, ready to press her demands for them to become one, when to her relief, Flynn finally nodded. “Yes. It’s been too long. And you should have been in my arms the day I last saw you.”
He shifted his hold on her hand and brought it to his lips. A soft, tender kiss was placed on each one of her fingers, the last being the one where the ring sat. “But just so we are clear. If you climb those stairs with me, you are agreeing to be my wife. To spend the rest of your life with me, bear my children.” His voice turned gravelly. “To be my countess when the time comes. And to wear that ring on your left hand.”
The middle of a darkened street in Rome hadn’t been on her list of places where she imagined Flynn might propose, but tonight it was perfect. They would be forever bound together from this moment on.
“And I am going to stand alongside you when you confront your villain of a father when we return to England,” she added.
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know what will happen with the earl when I get back to London. But let’s not talk about him anymore. I have done my best over the past year not to think about my sire, and he is the last thing I wish to discuss tonight. Right this minute, you are the only thing I care about, Augusta.”
The pain in his voice when he mentioned his father cut deep into Augusta’s heart. Tonight, she would give herself to the man she loved, but come the morning, she was going to start asking questions.
If they were to share a future together, she had to know everything that had befallen Flynn and not just over the past year. She wanted to know why Earl Bramshaw had been so cruel to his son.
And why he hated Flynn so much that he would try to kill him.
ChapterThirty-Four
Upstairs in the meeting room, Flynn locked the door behind them. He grabbed a chair and jammed it under the door handle. Augusta raised an eyebrow at this, and he quickly explained, “We can’t have any of the church community suddenly deciding to pay a visit early tomorrow morning. I don’t think I could talk my way out of that embarrassment.”
Augusta laughed. “Yes, there couldn’t be too many ways to explain why you have a duke’s daughter in your bed.”
It hadn’t occurred to her that others might have a key to the meeting hall. This was Flynn’s home, but it was a temporary one. He was here due to the charity of the English community in Rome.
“Michael Cooper is really the only one who might call in outside of the Sunday and evening services. He lives a long way up past the Spanish Steps and so wouldn’t make the trip at night. He has been kind and respected my privacy since I came to stay, so I would hate for him to think I have abused his trust. At the moment, he still thinks I am just an Englishman down on his luck. He doesn’t know I am Viscount Cadnam.”
“I should like to meet him, to thank him for his kindness, before we leave for home. It means that you might have to tell him the truth of who you are.”
She wanted to know a little of the life Flynn had led during his time in Rome.
“Yes, it would be good for you and Michael to become acquainted. And I promise I shall tell him who I am. He is going to ask questions when he sees me with my new clothes and haircut.”
