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Miss Hastings' Excellent London Adventure (Brazen Brides Book 4)(22)

By: Cheryl Bolen
 
A smile lifted Emma's face. "I've always hated sprigged muslin. I would be delighted to accept your kind offer."
 
For the next twenty minutes Lady Fiona, along with her maid, showed Emma the dresses, and the maid took her measure. "I will have them ready for you tomorrow."
 
"Now let's look at the chamber where you'll live until you're officially the next Mrs. Birmingham. It used to be Verity's room. That's Nick's and Adam's only sister. She's now Lady Agar and no longer stays here when she's in London because they have Agar House." Lady Fiona shrugged. "They spend little time in the Capital as they prefer living in Yorkshire."
 
From there, they mounted the stairs to the top floor, where Lady Fiona proudly showed Emma the huge turquoise ballroom that took up the entire top floor of their house. "We presented Verity, here. Several hundred attended that night."
 
Emma would loved to have been there, but only as a spectator, not a participant. She had no desire to participate until she was assured she would not embarrass herself.
 
They finished up the tour in the library where the brothers had been talking. Both rose when the ladies entered the chamber.
 
* * *
 
The bedchamber Lady Fiona assigned to Emma was even more beautiful than the one at Mr. Birmingham's house. It was a swathed in emerald silks—even on the walls—and all the furniture was gilded.
 
Dear Adam had her portmanteau sent around so she could claim her own necessities. After she dressed in night clothes and climbed upon the big, canopied bed, she had time to reflect on the most important day of her life. It was difficult now to remember the raw hurt that sliced through her when Mr. Wycliff told her she was not Uncle Simon's heir, when he’d disclosed Aunt Harriett’s death. She'd sat there before the solicitor's desk feeling as if the life had been strangled out of her, unable to utter a single word.
 
How grateful she had been to Mr. Birmingham . . . Adam, she thought reverently, for being her voice.
 
And how exceedingly grateful she was to him for what came afterward. His stature grew even more when he offered himself as her savior. For that is what he was. Her savior.
 
The drunken man she'd met the previous night bore no relationship to the commanding, kind-hearted man he was today. Even though she had only known him only four-and-twenty hours, and even though he might be a heathen, she believed she was falling in love with him.
 
It saddened her to know she would not see him the following day. He would be getting the special license for their marriage and tying up unfinished matters at his bank. Then, she thought with an explosion in her heart, they would marry the next day.
 
Even were he not vastly rich, she would have been drawn to him. It wasn't just his extraordinary good looks that attracted. It was the man's selflessness and generosity, his altruism. What woman wouldn't fall in love with him?
 
The day that had begun so badly had turned into the happiest day of her life. What fun it had been to be fitted for beautiful ball gowns, lovely bonnets, and dazzling jewels. She felt like a waif who'd learned she was a princess.
 
Even the nervousness that had assaulted Emma when she first faced Lady Fiona soon evaporated under that lady's friendly ways. Repeating memories of the day's occurrences prevented Emma from sleeping. Her thoughts dwelt on all of it.
 
Guilt assailed her, too. Were she truly altruistic, she would not have accepted Adam's offer. But she was far too selfish to deny herself. Instead, she assuaged her conscience by telling herself that marrying her would be good for him. After two consecutive drunken nights, he stayed sober tonight.
 
She had been able to divert his thoughts from Maria. If only she could purge his mind of that horrid woman!
 
* * *
 
As he stood before the altar at St. George's, Miss Hastings' tiny hand in his as she vowed to be his wife, Adam felt as if he were in a dream, a dream steeped in her light rose fragrance. This wasn't how his wedding day was supposed to be. He'd always thought he would marry a beauty with whom he'd fallen in love. Emma was not a beauty (at least she hadn't been when he'd proposed, but she looked quite fetching today). He was not in love with her. And he wasn't even going to bed her.
 
His tinge of regrets, though, wasn't as strong as his need to take care of Emma. From the first night he'd seen her lugging that giant portmanteau behind her frail little body, he'd felt the need to look after her.
 
Adam had never been one to sit idly by when he possessed the capabilities to solve problems. He preferred to lead. In Emma's case, he liked to be the one to make her dreams come true.
 
When the ceremony was concluded, he and Emma turned around to see Nick and Lady Fiona and William along with Lady Sophia and her brother, Lord Devere, gathered there to celebrate this special occasion. Seeing his family there made the wedding seem real.