London Loves - Book 3 - Love's Great Adventure Series (17 page)

“I wanted to be at my son’s funeral,” Martin simply replied. Then he quickly added, “I’m sorry how we left things in Greece. I’d like to make it up to you.”

Sebastian shook his head. “I can’t do this right now. We’re taking Max to the castle to bury him.”

“May I come?” Martin asked, with an eager look in his eyes.

“Lily will be there,” he muttered, dreading the nuclear disaster that could occur if Martin set foot on the property again.

“He’s my son, too. I deserve to be there.”

“Suit yourself,” Sebastian acquiesced. “I assume you remember the way.”

Martin dipped his head and then turned and walked away. Sebastian scanned the throng of people once more to find Tess, but she found him first. Alistair was escorting the two women and Mattie in his direction. “Are we ready to go?” Sebastian asked.

“Yes,” Tess replied. The girls walked to the limo and got inside.

Sebastian pulled Alistair back. “Can you come up to the castle with me for the burial?”

“Are you sure Penny would want me there?”

“I’m not worried about Penny—it’s my father and Lily that have me concerned.”

Alistair turned his head to his side and raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t ask. I just need backup.”

“I’ll follow in my car,” Alistair agreed without further questioning.

As soon as Sebastian got in the back seat of the limo, they were off. Mattie’s black taffeta skirt made a crinkling sound as she sat on his lap and placed her head on his shoulder. “I’m sad, Daddy,” she said in a small, quiet voice.

“So am I, darling.” He glanced over at Tess, who was holding Penny’s hand. From time to time, Penny would dab a stray tear with the handkerchief she held.

No one said another word the entire ride out to the castle. When they arrived, the casket was removed by the liveried footmen and the cortege of mourners followed the casket along the pebbled pathway leading to the mausoleum.

A few final prayers were said, and then Maxwell’s coffin was slid into the wall space next to his grandfather. Penny turned her head in to Sebastian’s shoulder, unable to watch. Alistair stood behind Tess and Mattie, a hand on each of their shoulders. Lily stood stoic and proud. Sigourney and Victoria shed a few tears.

Sebastian nervously looked over his shoulder for Martin. He found the man standing several feet back in the doorway. In that exact same moment, Lady Irons turned around and noticed him, too.

In a flash, Lily walked with purpose toward the exit. She grabbed Martin by the suit coat and pulled him outside the mausoleum. Victoria and Sigourney looked over, confused, for they only saw the man’s back and didn’t realize it was their father.

“Damn it,” Sebastian muttered under his breath. He tapped Alistair on the shoulder and the two men followed Lily and Martin.

They rounded the corner of the stone structure and found Lily and Martin standing in the field having a row. “How dare you step foot on this property again!”

“I’ve stayed away from my children for twenty-five years, no thanks to you. Enough is enough!”

“You stayed away because my monthly payments to your bank account were more important to you than your children,” she seethed, her eyes brimming with hatred.

“You always were a bitch, Lily. I see that has not changed.”

“And you were always the philandering husband who couldn’t keep your trousers zippered!”

Sebastian couldn’t help it: he laughed aloud. Never had he witnessed his mother speak in this manner, and it was equal parts pathetic and comical.

Martin and Lily stopped their feud and turned toward the sound of the laughter. Lily held her head high and straightened her suit jacket. Martin put his hands in his pockets.

“As amusing as this little scene is, it is not the place nor the time to air your dirty laundry. Have some respect for the dead, will you?” Sebastian intervened.

By now the ladies had all come out of the mausoleum. Mattie walked up to Sebastian and said, “Daddy, who’s that man?”

“That’s your grandfather, Mattie.”

“Is he our family?”

“That remains to be seen yet. It’s cold out here. Come, everyone, we should go inside. The staff prepared a luncheon.”

The group began to make their way along the path back up to the castle—everyone except Lily and Martin and Sebastian.

“You are not stepping foot in that house while I’m still breathing,” Lily threatened.

“Technically, it’s no longer your house, Lily,” Sebastian reminded her with a smug grin.

“I’ve disowned you. You have nothing to do with this.”

“I have everything to do with this. Max is dead. I’m now the Earl of Sutton, in case you’ve forgotten.” The remark effectively stunned her into silence. Martin chuckled this time. Sebastian turned and leveled an angry glare at him. “You are not exactly my favorite person at the moment, either. You have some nerve deciding to make your return at Max’s funeral.”

Martin moved to speak, but Sebastian silenced him with his hand. “Now, you are both welcome to join me for lunch, but you better be on your best behavior. If you make a scene, I’ll think nothing of having you both thrown out on your arse.” Sebastian didn’t wait for a response and started walking toward the house. To his surprise, Lily and Martin fell in line behind him.

Common sense and good manners won out over a knock-down, drag-out family squabble for the time being. Lily sat at the head of the table at one end while Sebastian sat at the opposite end. Martin sat to Sebastian’s left, as far away from Lily as possible. Sebastian didn’t have much of an appetite. Instead, he spent his time pushing the food around his plate and watching the others seated at the table. Lily busied herself with quiet conversation between Sigourney and Victoria. He didn’t know if he had the strength to deal with any of this, but he also knew he didn’t have a choice. Like it or not, he was now head of the Irons family and the job came with great responsibility.

Penny took a few bites of her food and then placed the sterling silver fork on the plate. “Sebastian, this was lovely, but I need some air. Can you please excuse me?”

“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.

“I’ve got it,” Alistair chimed in, already standing from his chair and helping Penny rise from her seat.

Penny silently glanced at Alistair, but bowed her head in agreement. The two of them left the dining room.

“Sebastian, I’d like a word and then I’ll be on my way,” Martin said.

“Fine,” Sebastian agreed. “Excuse me, everyone.”

They walked to the sitting room. Martin entered first and Sebastian followed, closing the doors behind him. Martin walked over to the fireplace and studied the painting above the mantel—a Dutch still-life of various fruits on a wooden table, the colors dark and muted. “I always hated that painting,” he admitted.

“Why are you here?” Sebastian asked.

“I wanted to attend my son’s funeral.”

“Maxwell wasn’t very fond of you.”

“I deserted him when he was ten years old. How could he be?” Martin agreed, turning to face Sebastian.

Sebastian poured a scotch and offered it to Martin, who gratefully accepted. “How did you know he died?” Sebastian inquired, sipping his own glass.

“I pay someone here in London to keep tabs on you children. They report back to me. It was the only way I could stay in touch—”

“And still keep your stipend?” Sebastian cut in.

Martin bowed his head in embarrassment. “Yes. I’d be damned if I was going to back to teaching rich old women to play tennis. I’d become accustomed to a certain way of living. I wasn’t willing to give that up.”

“I can’t believe you just admitted that aloud,” Sebastian said.

“It’s the truth.”

“And the truth isn’t always pretty,” Sebastian muttered to himself, recalling the conversation he’d had with Tess all those years ago when he’d tried to explain how he lived his life as a Libertine. “You’ve lost your stipend now. Lily will cut you off.”

“I know.”

“How sad it took the death of your child to make you come to your senses.”

“It wasn’t Max’s death. It was you, actually,” Martin declared, looking him in the eye.

“Me? I don’t understand.”

“You were so much like me, Sebastian. Wealthy playboy, outrageous parties, getting kicked out of Eton—you were the ultimate party boy. And then you disappeared for a few years and my man didn’t have any information on you.”

“I was in America.”

“You changed your life around. You became a man—someone I’m proud to call my son. When you turned up in Corfu with your wife and I saw how responsible and refined you’d become, I started to wonder if maybe I could make amends and become a better man.”

Sebastian stared at Martin. He was gobsmacked, unsure he had just heard the words come out of his father’s mouth. “Wait—you knew about me! You pretended to not know who I was in Corfu. You said you didn’t know Lily was pregnant when you left.”

“I lied. It was a shock to see you standing on my doorstep. I didn’t know why you would track me down.”

Without thinking, Sebastian made a fist and threw a punch at his father, landing the hit square on his jaw. The crystal glass Martin was holding crashed to the ground and shattered into tiny pieces. “What about the comment you made in Corfu? The one about when I grow up someday I’ll understand?” he questioned with disdain.

Martin opened his jaw and worked it in a circle to confirm it wasn’t broken. “Life is complicated, Sebastian.”

“I’m fucking aware of that fact, Martin,” he growled.

“I’ve handled this poorly. I admit it. Max’s death shook me to the core. I want to make amends, Sebastian. I want my children back in my life.”

“And what if we don’t want you back in our lives?”

“Then I will accept it and know that I tried. I could hardly blame any of you for turning me away,” Martin admitted, defeated.

It seemed they were at an impasse—Martin asking forgiveness and Sebastian unsure he could grant it. The door creaked as it opened, gaining Sebastian’s attention. Tess was standing in the doorway, dressed in black, looking beautiful as ever. The corner of his lips curved up at the sight of her. Seeing her made his anger instantly disappear.

“I guess I’ll be going,” Martin said, breaking the silence. He began to leave the room.

“Where are you staying in London?”

“Grosvenor House.”

“I’ll talk to Victoria and Sigourney. If they have any interest in hearing what you have to say, we’ll meet you tomorrow at noon in the lobby,” Sebastian informed him.

“Thank you, Sebastian.”

Martin walked past Tess and gave her a feeble smile. Then he was gone.

Tess looked at the fireplace and noticed the pieces of glass and amber liquor on the floor. “Are you okay?” she gingerly asked, reaching for her husband’s hand.

He let out the heavy breath he’d been holding in—it sounded like a cross between a weary sigh and a chuckle. “I’m so tired, Tess. All I want to do is get pissed and smoke a cigarette,” he confessed.

“Neither one of those things is good for you.”

“I know,” he agreed, sitting down on the sofa and propping his feet up on the antique coffee table. Tess sat next to him. “How is it that I’ve become a more responsible adult than my parents?”

“I don’t know.” Pointing to the shattered glass on floor, Tess asked, “What was that all about?”

“Martin admitted he knew about me all along. I punched him,” he replied matter-of-factly.

“What?”

Sebastian merely shrugged, at a loss for words.

“Why can’t anything ever be simple with your family?”

“I’ve asked myself that question for years and I still don't have the answer.” Sebastian stood from the sofa and offered his hand to Tess. “Let’s find Penny and go home.”

Penny and Alistair walked together, keeping a proper length distance from one another. “Thank you for coming to the funeral today. You didn’t have to do that,” Penny said as she looked out upon the horizon.

“I wanted to show my support. I liked Maxwell. We belonged to the same club.”

“I
loved
Maxwell.”

“I know.” Alistair stopped and shuffled his feet of the stone path. “Things didn’t end so well for you and me. I’m truly sorry for that. I’d like to be friends again, if you’re willing to try.”

Penny had walked ahead, but stopped and turned to face him. “I could certainly use all the friends I can get right now,” she acknowledged.

“Can I call on you for tea some afternoon?”

“Sebastian and his family are staying with me right now. Yes, it would be nice for you to stop by. Mattie loves her tea parties,” she added, almost breaking into a grin.

“That little one is something else. Sebastian seemed to be the wildest of us all—and now, looking at him today, the transformation is astonishing,” Alistair commented, scratching his head.

“Sebastian was lucky enough to find his soul mate.”

“There you are,” Sebastian called out from behind them. “Are you ready to go, Pen?”

“Yes.”

The three of them began walking back to the house, entering through the back door. Tess and Mattie were waiting with their coats on. Surprisingly, Lily, Victoria, and Sigourney were there as well.

“We still need to talk, Sebastian,” Lily said, her gray eyes cold and void of emotion.

“Not now. We can talk after the will is read at the solicitor’s office on Wednesday.” The confidence with which he spoke seemed to take Lily by surprise, and she didn’t speak another word. He turned toward his sisters. “Tomorrow at noon?”

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

Penny sat in the lounge chair, dressed in black trousers and a cashmere turtleneck sweater. The latest issue of
Vogue
sat open on her lap in her meager attempt to feign interest in something other than her own grief.

Mattie walked into the room, dressed in her school uniform and ready to start the day. She was carrying a china plate with a scone and a side of clotted cream. “Aunt Penny, I made you breakfast,” she gleefully announced, walking to toward her.

“Why did you do that?”