36. A Family’s Secrets Revealed

CHAPTER 36

A FAMILY’S SECRETS REVEALED

M eanwhile, at the lodgings in Via Garibaldi

Randy, Tom, and David had reached Via Garibaldi and were making their way to the Villa Cavarallo when a glossy black town coach slowed and stopped in front of the building.

Exchanging glances with one another before they approached the equipage, the three were surprised when a groom opened the door and Will stepped out. He turned and helped Barbara down before greeting them. “Your timing is impeccable,” he said. “We have a dinner invitation for this evening.”

The driver said something and Will looked to Barbara to interpret.

“He says he has been instructed to wait to take us back to the Villa Montblanc,” she explained. She directed a response to the driver before heading through the courtyard door followed by her son and nephews.

“Where?” Randy asked in surprise.

“Villa Montblanc. Lady Montblanc?—”

“Nikky?”

Barbara paused and directed a glare at Randy. “Nicoletta,” she corrected, arching a brow to emphasize her point.

Randy looked suitably chastised before he said, “Pardon. I meant no offense.” He glanced around. “Where’s Donald?”

“We left him back at Villa Montblanc,” Will replied. “He’s... catching up,” he added, his face reddening with his words.

“So... it’s true, then?” David asked.

“What’s true?” Barbara asked as Signore Cavarallo opened the door for them. He was about to follow them up the stairs, but the groom hailed him from the coach, and he excused himself.

Once Cavarallo was out of earshot, David resumed his questions. “Donald and she were… were lovers?”

Barbara gave a start. “Did he tell you that?” she asked.

David shook his head. “Is it true then? That I’m an uncle?”

“Where did you hear that ?” his father asked.

Both Tom and David turned to stare at Randy.

“I might have... mentioned the possibility… earlier today,” Randy stammered. “Something I heard on the ship.”

Will inhaled softly. “Let’s go to our rooms, and I’ll fill you in.”

They filed up the stairs and into a parlor next to their bedchambers. “You were going to learn about this during dinner tonight anyway,” Will said by way of a preamble. “So I suppose there’s no harm in telling you now. Donald probably should have told you all before we even arrived, but I think he wanted to be sure.”

“Sure about what?” David asked.

“Sure that Lady Montblanc still loved him,” Barbara said. “And she does,” she added, displaying a look of awe as she happily sighed.

“And the boy?” Randy pressed.

Will inhaled softly. “He is Donald’s son.” The sound of footsteps on the nearby stairs had him moving to close the door to the parlor. “And Montblanc’s grandson.”

Confused glances were exchanged before Will added, “Lady Montblanc is Montblanc’s daughter. Apparently he had an affaire with her mother?—”

“He had loved her long before she married Conte D’Avalos, you see,” Barbara put in.

“— After she had given Conte D’Avalos an heir,” Will continued. “Montblanc needed an heir, so he married Nicoletta?—”

“Ewww,” Tom let out, cringing in disgust.

“ Pretend married his daughter,” he corrected, “so that her son would be a true heir to the Montblanc fortune,” he explained. “Most importantly, he wanted Nicoletta to marry Donald. He knew Donald was the father of Antony, you see.”

“Antony?” David repeated.

“Your nephew.”

“He’s five year’s old and so adorable,” Barbara gushed.

“Does Donald still feel affection for Lady Montblanc?” Randy asked, careful to use her title. “Or is he going to marry her out of a sense of obligation?”

“He never stopped loving her,” Will stated.

“How long have you known you were a grandfather?” David asked, obviously bothered he knew nothing of the existence of a close relative.

Will dipped his head. “I learned of Lady Montblanc the day Donald returned home from his Grand Tour,” he admitted. “It was almost a year before the boy’s birth was confirmed in a letter he received from Nikky.”

“Nikky?” Randy repeated, as if he was teasing his uncle.

“I’m entitled. She’s about to become my only daughter?—”

“ Our daughter,” Barbara interrupted.

Will chuckled. “A welcome member of our family,” he added. “So… I would ask you all to be on your very best behavior this evening. In fact, she’s asked us to stay at Villa Montblanc for as long as we’re going to be in Catania, so pack your trunks.”

“What about Signore Cavarallo?”

“She said she would see to compensating him for his trouble,” Barbara explained. “I think she has a good deal of influence here in town.”

“What will Donald do after he marries her?” Tom asked. “Take her to England?”

Will and Barbara exchanged quick glances. “I don’t think that’s been decided just yet,” she said. “After seeing what little I did of Villa Montblanc, I rather doubt Donald is going to ask her to move to England.”

“Nor should he,” Will said, his gaze directed out one of the north-facing windows. Mount Aetna was perfectly framed in the wavy glass, white steam hovering over its peak. “His son is a marchese. He’s in possession of a sizable fortune. Properties. Lands. He needs to remain here in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.”

Barbara dipped her head, obviously not pleased to hear his words.

“How long will we stay here in Catania?” Randy asked.

“A week,” Will replied. “From here, we’ll head down to Syracusa and then to the Valley of the Temples. Make our way around the entire island to Taormina before heading over the Strait of Messina to the mainland.”

“Sounds as if we’ll be in Sicily for a few months,” Tom reasoned.

“That’s the plan,” Will affirmed. “Any other questions?”

When they shook their heads, Barbara reminded them to pack and dress for dinner.

An hour later, their trunks loaded into the back of a cart and with the five of them stuffed into the Montblanc coach, they headed to Villa Montblanc.