Page 65 of The Vagabond Viscount
He nodded. “They handed me over to the priests at a monastery close to Pisa. I spent many months there recovering from my wounds. Eventually, I left because of an outbreak of typhus which was spreading through the city. They said I would stand a better chance of survival if I took to the road.”
“Which is when you decided to head to Rome?”
“No, I spent a long time in the city of Florence. I lived on the streets, stole food from market vendors to survive, and eventually lost count of the times I barely escaped from being arrested for petty theft. I would still be there but for a chance meeting with a group of traveling musicians. They took me in, and I played the violin for them when they stopped at towns along the long road south. I got a hot meal and the occasional coin for my efforts. I had hoped to travel all the way with them, but I took ill in the town of Fabro, and we parted company. When I was well again, I continued on foot alone. I only arrived in Rome a few weeks ago.”
All this time she had been in Rome, Flynn had been trying to make his way to the city. “I wish I had known where you were. I can’t believe you have suffered all this time when I could have helped.”
Her not knowing that Flynn was still alive didn’t help to alleviate Augusta’s guilt. She would forever feel a sense of shame that, while she had been living the life of luxury at Palazzo Lazio, the man she loved had been homeless.
“And what now? Will you return to England and face your father?”
Flynn slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. So much has happened in the past few days. The only thing of which I am sure is you and me. And for the moment, that is more than enough.”
ChapterThirty-Six
They had sat hand in hand on the banks of the River Tiber and watched the sunrise. A simple pleasure that Augusta was grateful to be able to share with Flynn. A moment she would always treasure.
“A new day. A new beginning,” said Flynn as the sun rose over the horizon and bathed the city in its golden light.
A short while later they took the steep path back up the hill to the garden gate, which led into Palazzo Lazio. Augusta slipped the key into the lock. Their plans for the day included her freshening up and changing her clothes before sneaking back out to meet with Flynn in the city a little later in the morning. While they would be parted for only a matter of hours, she was reluctant to let him go.
“The boot maker on Via della Pace at eleven o’clock, don’t forget,” said Augusta. She was going to buy Flynn a new pair of boots. He couldn’t possibly go home to England with the ones he was currently wearing. When her fiancé stepped off the boat, she was determined that he was going to not only feel at his best, but he would also look the part of an English nobleman. The first person who dared mention the words vagabond viscount was going to feel the sharp end of her tongue.
Flynn grinned at her. “I won’t forget. We can do the same as Gideon and Serafina and spend the day together. Just the two of us. And I could certainly do with a new pair of boots. I can feel the cobblestones under my toes when I walk in these.” He gifted Augusta a final kiss before letting her go.
She slipped in through the gate and closed it behind her. The garden was fortunately clear of servants. Augusta hurried across the lawn and up the nearest set of steps. Once inside, she headed directly for her bedroom. When her maid, who was waiting in the hallway, greeted her with a raised eyebrow, a flustered Augusta pressed a generous pile of coins into her palm and whispered,“Per il vostro silenzio.”
She hated to think how much extra coin the servants of the palace made each day by accepting bribes from the de Luca family and their guests. But if her maid kept her lips sealed, as far as Augusta was concerned, it was money well spent.
ChapterThirty-Seven
Augusta might well have been able to buy her maid’s silence, but no amount of money could undo the mess that Gideon dropped the Kembal family into the following day.
After a wonderful day spent with Flynn shopping and exploring the city, an exhausted Augusta had retired to her room at Palazzo Lazio and fallen asleep the second her head hit the pillow. She was still sound asleep when in the early hours of the next morning, a loud knock came on her bedroom door. When she opened it, two palace servants, bearing her travel trunk, marched straight in.
A bleary-eyed Augusta was seated on the edge of her mattress, trying to stir from her deep slumber as the servants frantically tossed all her clothes and belongings into her luggage. When her maid appeared, Augusta posed the obvious question. “What is going on?”
Her harried-looking maid simply shook her head and replied. “You are leaving.”
At the sound of more footsteps in the hallway, Augusta turned her attention to the door. As she did, a fully dressed Duchess of Mowbray swept into the room. Her mother, who had returned early from her trip to Tivoli, appeared ready to do murder. She took one look at her daughter and huffed. “Hurry, you need to find a warm gown. I am not sure how long Enzo de Luca has given us, but I would hate for you to still be in a partial state of undress when he throws us out into the street.”
Oh, dear Lord, what has Mama done now? Have the de Lucas finally lost patience with her?
It was the obvious answer as to why they were suddenly leaving the palace in the middle of the night. Augusta narrowed her eyes at the duchess. “I don’t understand. Will someone please tell me what this is all about?”
Lady Anne glanced at the servants, then hurried over to where Augusta sat. She bent and whispered in her daughter’s ear, “Gideon and Serafina have apparently lain with one another tonight. I expect your brother thought it would be the best way to get Enzo to agree to the two of them marrying. Instead, the stubborn count has thrown Gideon out, and we are to shortly follow suit.”
Oh, Gideon. You finally tried to force Enzo into agreeing to let you marry his daughter. And it didn’t work.Now things are going to be terrible for Serafina.
Her brother had made a bold move, which had apparently backfired on both him, Serafina, and his family. But if Gideon was already somewhere out on the streets of Rome, then it fell to her to go and find Serafina.
I have to do something. This cannot be the end of them. Not now.
Augusta rose from the bed, taking two steps toward the door. She had to talk to Serafina. Her mother took her firmly by the arm and pulled her back. “If you think to go and speak to Serafina, you are wasting your time. She has been locked in her room. No one is permitted near her. I spoke to Donna Francesca, and she informed me that the wedding between Serafina and Signore Magri is going to be brought forward.”
“Oh, no.” This was an unmitigated disaster. All Augusta’s hopes for a happily ever after for Gideon and Serafina lay in tatters.
“It’s still hours until the dawn—where are we to go? Enzo can’t seriously expect us to wait outside in Via della Pilotta until someone comes to collect us,” added Augusta.
