Hugh was driving the sleigh faster than safety would allow. But after arriving at the cottage to find it empty, he’d been in a panic. The discovery of Mrs. Atwell’s remarkably terse note informing him that she’d taken Augusta back to Seffington Park and that his mother was now in attendance had set his blood running cold. He could only imagine how horribly wrong things might go with the two of them under the same roof.

Augusta was entitled to her anger and her grudge against his mother. While she understood his mother was a vicious person with no qualms of indulging in true malice, he doubted that Augusta could truly appreciate the depths to which she would willingly sink in order to get her way.

As he turned up the drive to Seffington Park, the horses slipped a bit but managed to regain their footing. Slowing them considerably, he had to account for the fact that his death due to his own recklessness would offer Augusta little in the way of protection from Lady Elwynn.

After what seemed like an interminable amount of time, imagining all the vile things his mother would say to her should they meet, he finally reached the front entrance. Jumping down, he tossed the reins to a waiting servant and rushed inside. The sound of voices coming from above stairs told him he was already too late.

* * *

They’d no more than exited the servants’ stairs than disaster met them head on. Mrs. Bradford and Lady Elwynn were waiting for them outside Augusta’s chamber door. Rachel was there, along with Alice, attempting to hold them at bay.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lady Elwynn demanded. “I was told the chit was on her deathbed and yet she looks quite well enough to me.”

“They are liars, the lot of them,” Mrs. Bradford added unnecessarily.

“I believe that has been long since established,” Augusta answered her with an imperiously arched eyebrow. “I’ve no intention of speaking to either one of you, so you can sit in the corridor until you rot.”

Lady Elwynn stepped forward, blocking Augusta’s path as she made for the door to her room. “I will not be dismissed by some opportunistic little trollop with a background in trade who hasn’t a tuppence to her name! You forget yourself!”

“On the contrary, Lady Elwynn. I have finally remembered myself,” Augusta stated firmly. “I am the daughter of a gentleman and I was raised to behave thusly. It is you, with your lies and schemes, your vindictiveness and your vicious attempts to control your son to suit your own greed that reeks of a background in trade. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to retire to my room. I’ve no wish to stand in the corridor screeching like a fishwife!”

As Augusta moved past her, the older woman grasped her arm and held her fast. “You will not walk away from me until I have finished with you! I halted your attempts to sink your claws into my son once before and I will do so again… Do not think for one moment that I will allow you to step foot into the hallowed halls of Wynn House and disgrace it with your presence!”

“It is you, mother, who will not step foot into Wynn House again.”

Augusta felt a relief unlike anything she’d ever experienced at the sound of his voice. There was little doubt that he’d heard the entire exchange. No doubt, everyone in the house had.

“I forbid it, Fitzhugh! I will not see this adventuress take up residence in my home!”

Hugh closed the distance between them and when he reached out, he forcefully removed his mother’s hand from Augusta’s arm. “You tried that once before and it had little effect on me. That is why you resorted to lies, schemes, blackmail and vicious gossip to get your way. I’ll not make that mistake again. I will be married to Augusta… by special license and as soon as possible. Scandal, and you, be damned.”

“I shall never speak to you again if you disgrace the family in this manner,” Lady Elwynn wailed as she held a hand to her heart.

“Then let us make our goodbyes now,” he said firmly.

Augusta looked on as the scene played out. He had chosen her. When presented with ultimatums and a break with his very own family, he had still chosen her.

“You really do love me,” she said, her hushed tone conveying just how stunned she was.

“Yes, I really do. And I will spend the rest of my days proving it to you,” he promised.

“You will be the ruin of this family!” Lady Elwynn shouted.

“We’re not a family. You are a tyrant and I have been your pawn for far too long already. That ends and it ends now. You may remain in the townhouse in Bath, I will provide an allowance for you, but you will never be permitted entrance to Wynn House again. I wish you good health and above all, I wish you the discovery of some shred of humanity in your soul for I have yet to see evidence of it!”

Augusta allowed Hugh to take her arm and lead her away from his mother. “We’ll have your things packed and sent ahead to Wynn House. We will remove there now and the servants will be instructed to deny her admittance. That way Mrs. Atwell will not have to suffer the indignity of throwing her guest out into the snow… Naturally, Mrs. Wilmont is welcome to join you there.”

“It would be improper otherwise,” Augusta replied, but found she cared little for propriety. She’d happily return to that small cottage with him if she could.

“Felicity’s younger sister still resides there, along with my aunt, Blanche.”

Augusta frowned. “Your Aunt Blanche? Blanche Frederic?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

Augusta shook her head. “Is there a woman of your acquaintance who is not involved in this scheme to bring us together? The small annuity I have received every year, the only thing that has allowed me to live anything resembling a genteel life, has come from Blanche Frederic!”

Hugh raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then began to laugh. “That cagey old… It came from me, although unknowingly. It was just after Felicity and I were wed that Aunt Blanche asked for an allowance. I wondered at it then as she never leaves Wynn House and I couldn’t fathom why she required it.”

“But you granted it… and in turn she had it sent to me via a solicitor claiming to be a relative of my grandmother’s,” Augusta finished.

Hugh kissed her hand. “We were destined for one another, but I hardly think destiny has had so many helping hands as it did this time.”

“Let’s go home so you may finally meet your benefactress,” he suggested.

They walked down the stairs together, ignoring the wailing of Lady Elwynn behind them. Home, she thought, was wherever he was. She’d live anywhere as long as they could be together.