Free Lady Emma's Dilemma (9781101573662) by Rhonda Woodward

his pride to think of her living in the wreck of his home.
    Tonight, that did not matter either. The only thing that did matter was that she would be here any moment and they would be flying through the night toward their future.
    Nothing else mattered except that his life would start anew because everything that gave it purpose and joy would be at his side.
    He continued to wait beneath the gnarled tree, feeling an uncharacteristic sense of patience settle over him. Everything would be fine. It had to be.
    When he fumbled returning the flask to his pocket, it occurred to him that he had eaten little since breakfast. After the several draws from his flask, on top of the tankard of ale he had drunk at the posting inn, he’d probably consumed enough false courage for one night, he thought with a wry laugh.
    Besides, he did not need courage for everything was going as planned, he reminded himself.
    From the moment they had been introduced two and a half months ago, every other interest and pursuit faded before this sudden and single-minded desire to be with Lady Emmaline Wenlock.
    Of course, like everyone else, he had heard that the announcement of her engagement to Charles Fallbrook was imminent. But those rumors had not caused him even a moment’s pause.
    Charles Fallbrook was not his only rival for Emmaline. Every other eligible buck in Town was smitten by Lady Emma. Not only was she unusually beautiful, but she was also quick witted and up for any spree. Her sparkling personality had captured the beau monde, and within a week ofher arrival in Town, Beau Brummel himself had declared her an Incomparable.
    Spooked by the caw of some night bird, the horses neighed and fidgeted, but Jack’s thoughts never left Emma.
    His love for her had been so immediate and intense that, from their first dance, he had had to resist the urge to take her by the hand, walk out of the ballroom, and hang the scandal.
    Despite his straitened circumstances, Jack felt confident about his future. After all, his father had not been able to sell off everything the Devruexs had accumulated over the centuries, and he was—thankfully—no longer able to accrue any more debt.
    Jack’s pride had prevented him from revealing to Emma that since his father’s death more than a year ago, he had been reeling from the discovery of how bad his father’s gambling excesses really were.
    It was shameful enough to owe tradesmen such enormous sums, but to find out that his father had left debts of honor had been the most lowering news of all.
    The day he had discovered the sheet of parchment in his father’s desk, with its neatly written columns of gambling losses, had been the darkest day of his life. His father had lost staggering sums of blunt to some of the most prominent men in the realm.
    Feeling the sting of mortification with every quill stroke, Jack had immediately sent letters to all the gentlemen, simply explaining his circumstances and promising to settle the debts as soon as he was able.
    To his surprise, most of the peers had written back, expressing the very generous desire that the new baron dismiss the matter completely.
    Jack’s relief that he would not have to immediately sell more family heirlooms was matched by his determination to pay back every guinea and remove the stain from his name.
    But his relief was short-lived, for one of the gentlemenwho had been so gracious about the gambling debt turned out to be none other than Emma’s uncle and guardian, Lord Chilcrest.
    Jack took another swig from the flask as he recalled the day he approached Lord Chilcrest about marrying Emma. The gentleman had not been as gracious about this matter.
    Lord Chilcrest had made it exceedingly clear that it was one thing to forgive the debt of a deceased peer and quite another thing to give his consent for his niece—one of the greatest heiresses in the land—to wed a penniless, disreputable young man.
    â€œIt matters