Page 75 of The Vagabond Viscount
At times, it felt like forever since she and the duchess had left London—almost another life that she had lived. Rome was so far away, and not just in distance.
Augusta was painfully aware of the cost to the other members of her family of what had happened in the intervening months. The lines of sadness which sat etched on Victoria’s brow told a tale of a difficult time after their mother’s letter had reached London.
I am not the only one Mama is going to have to seek forgiveness from.
Victoria left in search of sustenance, while Augusta struggled out of bed. The morning sickness was less severe on dry land, but it still held sway at this hour of the day. She rang for her maid, quickly dressed, then took the Mowbray House carriage to Mortimer Street. It was time for her to pay a visit to Flynn’s uncle.
* * *
Charles Cadnam greeted her with a smile wider than the ocean. In his hand, he held the letter Flynn had sent home with Augusta and which she’d had couriered to him as soon as the boat docked. The other letter, the one Flynn had written to her, and which had beaten Augusta back to England, had sadly remained unopened on her dresser. Only now was Flynn’s uncle discovering that his nephew was still alive.
He brandished the note. “This is the most excellent—the most wonderful piece of news. I am still pinching myself over it.”
Augusta grinned at him. “I promised Flynn I would send it as soon as we arrived. He was worried for you. Over the pain you must have suffered this past year and a half.”
Charles Cadnam rang the bell, and a servant soon appeared at the door of the drawing room. “Tea and some light refreshments please,” he said. The footman bowed and quickly disappeared.
“Please have a seat, Lady Augusta. I’ve barely slept, hoping that someone would come to see me. In truth, I am a little surprised that it is you. I was expecting your brother or your father.”
Augusta took up a spot on a bright yellow sofa. It didn’t do much for her tender head and stomach, but she did her best not to focus her gaze on the fabric.
She cleared her throat and made ready to give the speech she had spent long weeks at sea practicing. Flynn was trusting her to speak on his behalf, and she was not going to fail him. “Flynn is alive, he is well, and as of today, on his way home. He wanted to spend some time in Rome with friends, which is why he is not here.”
No. That didn’t sound right. It made Flynn sound like he didn’t care enough to return to England. Which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Just tell him everything. Let it all come into the light.
“Let me start again. Flynn is alive, but no thanks to his father. The earl tried to murder him. Then he had his son kidnapped and taken far from home, where I suspect he hoped Flynn would die. He didn’t.”
Charles, who had taken a seat in the matching sofa opposite to the one in which Augusta sat, flinched. “I suspected that my brother had a hand in Flynn’s disappearance. But I didn’t think he would go that far.” He nodded at Augusta. “Please do go on, Lady Augusta.”
She had known the truth of Flynn’s disappearance for some time, but even now it was still difficult to put Earl Bramshaw’s villainy into words. “As he states in his letter, after finally recovering from his knife wounds, Flynn lived rough on the streets of Italy. He eventually made it to Rome, where we had the good fortune to meet.”
Augusta paused. She was determined to get the next part right. “Without knowing that I was in Rome, Flynn sent a letter home to me. If things had gone differently, you would have known that he was alive some two months ago. On Flynn’s behalf, I must beg your forgiveness for the unfortunate delay.”
Tears glistened in Charles Cadnam’s eyes, and his hands trembled. His grief must have been as bad as hers. “Foolish boy, how could he think he would ever need to beg for my forgiveness. But what I don’t understand is why this is being kept a secret. I want to shout it from the rooftops. Let the whole world know that Flynn is alive.”
She swallowed deeply as her own tears threatened. “Flynn said you would probably say that. He doesn’t want the earl knowing he is alive until he returns to England. My husband doesn’t trust Earl Bramshaw not to send someone to Rome to finish the job that he started. That’s why we have kept things secret.”
There, I have said it.
“Your husband?” murmured Charles.
Augusta nodded. “We agreed to keep that piece of news a secret between the two of us but seeing you in person has made me realize how terribly selfish it would be not to tell you. Flynn and I were married in Rome. But please don’t tell anyone until he returns. My family doesn’t as yet know.”
Charles rose from his chair and embraced her. “He always wanted to marry you, but he was afraid of what his father would do.” He sighed. “My brother is an evil man. He has made Flynn’s life a misery.”
During long nights sitting and talking at the hotel in Rome, Flynn had told her the truth of the vile abuse his father had subjected him to over the years. Of how his humiliation had gone much further than just withholding money. That family honor had been why he had kept secret the truth of the earl’s violent nature. Flynn had paid a heavy price for his silence.
“I know all about Earl Bramshaw. So many things I didn’t understand before now make horrible sense. Which is why we must keep all of this a closely guarded secret until Flynn returns.”
The footman reappeared carrying a tray with a teapot, cups, and a small platter of freshly made sandwiches. He set them on an occasional table, which he placed in the space between the sofas, then took his leave. Augusta politely refused the food, opting instead for a small cup of sweet tea to help calm her stomach.
They settled back in their seats. There was more she had to say. Her promise to Flynn was that she would make certain his uncle had a complete understanding of matters before his nephew returned home.
“Flynn and I will find somewhere to live. He is adamant he will not go back to Bramshaw House while his father is still alive. The de Luca family, whose daughter, Serafina, my brother has just made his wife, have offered Flynn paid employment. At the moment, they are training him in Rome, after which he will take on the role of a London representative for the de Luca shipping company. We will not be using either the Viscount or Viscountess Cadnam titles.”
Charles closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. “I can’t believe my family has come to this, that my brother would hate his heir this much. Flynn has been punished for the crime of simply having been born.”
