Miss Hastings' Excellent London Adventure (Brazen Brides Book 4)(18)

She spun around to face her intended. "I thought you said there were no aristocrats in your family!"

 

"Lady Fiona's not a blood relative."

 

"Your brother married a member of the nobility?"

 

Adam shrugged. "All things are possible when one's pockets are deep. Not that I care a fig about titles. And I assure you none of my siblings who've married into the nobility did so purposely. They all married for . . . " He paused. Swallowed. "For love."

 

His comment pricked her exuberance. He would be deprived of a loving marriage because of her. She drew a breath, then recalled his words and was stunned. "How many of your siblings have married into the nobility?"

 

The coachman opened the door. She shook her head. "Please, Adam, not yet. I can't go in there just now."

 

He nodded sympathetically and spoke to his servant. "Give us a moment."

 

She felt only slightly more at ease when the coach door closed and it was just she and Adam sitting in the dark carriage.

 

"Actually, all of my siblings, but I assure you two of the three fell in love without knowing their loved ones came from noble families."

 

"How can that possibly be?"

 

"My sister and the Earl of Agar—Lady Fiona's brother—admired each other from afar for many months of morning rides in Hyde Park. And the story of my youngest brother's courtship with Lady Sophia is quite an amusing one. She pretended to be someone else when she first met William, and even when he thought she was what he has referred to as a Shady Lady, he fell quite desperately in love with her."

 

"What about this brother who lives here?"

 

"That's another amusing story. Lady Fiona—who is quite beautiful—actually asked Nick to marry her. She needed his fortune to save her brother from Spanish bandits."

 

"Then neither of them loved when they married?"

 

"Supposedly not."

 

"Do you believe Nick married her for her family connections—and her beauty?"

 

Adam puckered his lips. "I believe he loved her from the moment she came to him, but he would not admit it. "

 

"And it's been a successful marriage?"

 

"They are besotted over one another. I will own, it took some time before either would express their true feelings."

 

For a fraction of a second she allowed herself to hope that a marriage between Adam and her would grow into a powerful love. Then, she sank into melancholy. She needed to release Adam. If she weren't standing in the way, he could also marry one from a noble family. He could marry a beauty like Lady Fiona. He could marry for love.

 

She had no right to deprive him of happiness. "I can't go in there. I don't belong. You deserve someone like Lady Fiona."

 

He took her hand and spoke gently. "I told you. Titles don't matter to me. And you, my dear Emma, underestimate yourself. With all your new finery, you will be one of the loveliest ladies in all of London. Did you not hear how Madame De Guerney praised your elegance? I assure you, that woman has a reputation for being ruthlessly blunt. If she thinks you're pretty, the ton will think you pretty." He squeezed her hand. "I think you're pretty."

 

That one little compliment that likely meant nothing to him buoyed her and actually made her feel as if she were pretty. She did so want to marry him. "Lady Fiona is sure to think me a country mouse."

 

"Lady Fiona's not like that. You will see. When she first married Nick and found out he had a natural child ensconced with caretakers, she insisted the little girl come to live with them. She has raised that little girl as if she were her own daughter. And, mind you, the child's mother was not fit to be in the same house as a sweet little girl."

 

"Then I will be very happy to make Lady Fiona's acquaintance."

 

* * *

 

"Surely the Prince Regent's house cannot be as grand as this," Emma exclaimed when she found herself in the soaring, candlelit entry hall of Nicholas Birmingham's mansion.

 

Adam shrugged. "I've never been to Carlton House, so I cannot judge. Ask my brother. He and Lady Fiona have been there."

 

"Did your brother build this house after they married?"

 

He shook his head. "No. My brother commissioned it before he ever knew Lady Fiona."

 

"He's certainly possessed of exquisite taste."

 

Adam looked up the broad, gilt-railed marble staircase as his brother and his wife came down, calling out a greeting.

 

When she looked up, Emma was astonished. Nicholas Birmingham looked so much like Adam, they could almost be twins. Of course, she found Adam the more handsome. She also easily understood why it would have been no sacrifice for Lady Fiona to have offered herself to Nick.