Page 46 of Read To Me, Lyon

Kitty smiled at Harrison. “Thank you for allowing me to visit with my uncle before your departure.”

Harrison glanced at Larson. “Your uncle has insisted that he prefers the option to assist me over any further time spent in Newgate. Isn’t that true, Larson?”

“Yes, captain,” Kitty’s uncle said.

Oliver realized the man was standing at attention. Maybe his time in Newgate and this trip would be good for him. Harrison nodded to Larson. “At ease. Speak with your niece.”

Larson didn’t move from his position but relaxed a little. “Kitty, I want to apologize. I don’t know what I was thinking, going to Larson Bookshop, and trying to force you to give me money. I have a gambling problem. Captain Harrison said he plans to help me with that. I want to be better.”

“You pointed a pistol at her,” Oliver bit out, not believing his newfound sincerity. He suspected that Newgate had terrified him.

Larson flinched. “I would have never shot you. I’m sorry. I have no justification that would suffice.”

“I hoped once that you and I could be close. You are all that Hazel, Anna, and I have left of our father, but that isn’t possible now. Still, Uncle Dominic, I wish you well. My only request is that you don’t try to reach out to us ever again. Live your life and become someone of whom my father would have been proud. He believed that you could be, all the way up until he passed.”

Shockingly, no resentment or contempt appeared on Larson’s face. He nodded. “I plan to.”

“I wouldn’t have taken him on if I didn’t think he could become a better version of himself,” Harrison stated.

One of Oliver’s government associates had recommended reaching out to the captain. He was known for allowing men who needed rehabilitation in his command. Still, while Oliver appreciated the officer’s assurance, he wouldn’t be relieved until they were on their way to Asia. “When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow, and Larson will be by my side or with one of my men until then,” Harrison said.

“I will also never mention the bookshop again,” Larson added.

He wasn’t saying it aloud, but that was his way of assuring them that their underground publications were safe.

“Thank you,” she said.

“If there isn’t anything else, we have a great deal of work to do before our departure,” Captain Harrison said.

They both rose, and Kitty said, “Goodbye, Uncle Dominic.”

He was silent for a moment as if he was trying to decide how to respond. Finally, he said, “Goodbye, Kitty. I wish you and your sisters all the best. That is what your father wanted.”

Kitty’s eyes watered at his words. She nodded and then the butler escorted them back to the front door. Once in the carriage, Kitty began to wipe at her eyes. “I can’t believe I’m crying. I wish this whole situation hadn’t occurred.”

“He is in the best place to make a better version of himself. Your father would be proud of you. Most people would have let him rot in prison.”

Oliver pulled her to his side of the carriage. “He needs to figure out who he is without relying on the goodness of others. If he can do that, he will become the man your father wanted.”

A thought occurred to her then. “You know, I am certain you are the man my father would have wanted for me. I hope you know that.” She burrowed into his shoulder. “I love you, Oliver.”

He kissed her head. “Let’s look to our future and figure out what we want.”

She snuggled into him. “I hope it involves reading in bed, the bookshop and printing press, and having a big family.”

He smiled against her cheek. “All of those sound like a perfect way to spend the rest of our lives.”

Epilogue

Eight years later.

Kitty glanced up as the door of the bedchamber opened. She placed the papers aside and beamed at her husband. “Where have you been, Lord Everly?”

“Well, I was writing, and then our son appeared, having escaped from his bed and governess. He, of course, had a story to tell me to prevent his return to his room.”

She giggled. “He is a crafty boy.”