Regency Romance: To Love A Viscount (CLEAN Historical Romance) Read online

  To Love A Viscount

  Jessie Bennett

  Contents

  Copyright

  Free Book For You

  A Personal Note From Jessie Bennett

  Dedication

  About The Author

  To Love A Viscount

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  Preview of To Love A Viscount

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  Acknowledgement

  If You Have Enjoyed This Book…

  Publisher’s Notes

  Copyright © 2016 by JESSIE BENNETT & CARLTON HOUSE PUBLISHING CO.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author/publisher. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

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  A PERSONAL NOTE

  FROM JESSIE BENNETT

  To My Dearest Lovely Readers,

  The female characters within my stories are women who have a strong faith of love, they know what they want to pursue during this era. They are constantly seeking and believe the true love really exists as they are often being looked upon as an inferior gender. Because of these social stigma, it motivates them to overcome challenges they may face while waiting for the man of their dreams to appear.

  Will these insecurities and stigma encourages them in believing true love despite the differences and challenges in social standing that they will face during this Regency Era?

  Read on to find out the answers!

  Thank you very much for your strong support to my writing journey!

  With Hugs, Kisses and Love…

  DEDICATION

  “A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

  Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)

  This Story Is Specially Dedicated To You, My Dearest Reader!

  It is with gratefulness and gratitude that I am writing to you this personal dedication.

  Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to share with you my creative side of me.

  I hope you will enjoy reading this story as much I have enjoyed writing it!

  It is with such great support from you that keep us authors writing and writing, presenting to you with great and interesting stories.

  Have you checked out my other historical romance books series?

  Click the link below to get started

  *** AMAZON USA ***

  Do you like what you have read?

  I would want to hear from you!

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  [email protected]

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jessie Bennett is an obsessed romantic freak. She loves historical romance stories. Recently, she discovered another interest within the historical romance, which is Regency Romance stories. She wants to use her ideas, knowledge and interest of the regency era to spin out characters that readers wants to read. She aspires to be the next Jane Austen that combine grace, love, and simplicity to delight readers to find their happy endings.

  She lives in Norfolk county, England most of the her time. When she's not writing, you will find her walking down the countryside with her husband and her beloved dog.

  TO LOVE A VISCOUNT

  by

  JESSIE BENNETT

  and

  Carlton House Publishing Co.

  If it is so great, why aren’t you married?

  Who you should marry and who is the most eligible gentleman in the area. Mother is already dreaming about you becoming a Countess or a Duchess or who knows what else.

  It hurt his pride to be poor, but it hurt his heart to be in Emma’s presence and be unable to look her in the eyes.

  Emma Roberts, will you be my wife?

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  “Now you have a good dowry, and I am sure that many real gentlemen will start considering you as a prospective wife."

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  CHAPTER ONE

  HIGH SOCIETY

  “I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them.”

  Jane Austen

  Northavon, Moreland House

  1816

  “Marriage! Are you
out of your minds?” Miss Emma Roberts, the third daughter of Baron Roberts, laughed at what her two elder sisters were saying. “I am not even twenty years old. My whole life is in front of me.”

  Charlotte and Jane exchanged exasperated looks and then turned back towards their little sister. Both of them wanted to see her happy and well in the future. Emma returned their look and smiled, her bright, big, brown eyes shining in the evening light.

  “It is true that you are still young and that you have just come out into society, but you remember how hard it is for us to find a husband, right?” Charlotte used logic to put some sense into her sister. “Our family is not wealthy, and we need to try harder than other girls.”

  “Why do you always need to be so serious about things? Why can’t I just enjoy life for a while?” Emma asked, her hands gesturing in all directions. “Look at my life now. Since I came out into society, I have been the subject of much attention from gentlemen. It is tiresome to always have to be on my best behavior.”

  “But it is great to be married, Emma,” Jane cried out. “It would be hard at the beginning, but after all the suffering, we will find happiness.”

  “Oh, I know all about your happiness,” Emma replied teasingly. “After all, I have to witness it every time you two see a handsome gentleman. If it is so great, why aren’t you married?”

  “Laugh now, dear sister,” said Charlotte as she gently pulled Emma’s hand. “Soon, you will face the same. I am sure of that. And as for us not being married, that is not something to joke about.”

  “I know that you wish me all the best,” said Emma, suddenly becoming very serious. “I think that I am too young to be considering marriage so seriously.”

  “Good,” Charlotte raised her hand, stopping Jane from speaking. “If this is how you feel, we are going to leave the subject alone for now. However, Emma, I urge you to continue to search for that particular gentleman who is going to make your heart race and your blood boil.”

  Emma smiled shyly at her sister’s words, thinking that like most young girls of her time, she too was dreaming of finding love and having a happy life with the perfect gentleman. Emma simply did not feel ready to do that right away, because despite what everyone was saying, she still hoped to have the great, life-shattering experience that all the romance novels were describing.

  The three sisters returned to their family home, chatting about different things and leaving the painful subject of marriage for another time. The Baron and his wife were waiting for them on the veranda, looking happy and relaxed together.

  “Emma,” her mother said to her when everybody was seated around the small tea table. “There is a letter for you.”

  Emma extended her hand and took the white envelope. It was of the regular type, but the return address was unknown, and she did not recognize the handwriting. She turned it a few times, thinking it was mysterious and appeared to have been opened already. Emma thought nothing of it and carefully opened the letter, taking out the single piece of paper and starting to read it. She was so taken with the letter that Emma never noticed that her family was sitting quietly at the table, watching her movements.

  “Dear Miss Emma Roberts,” the letter began. “I am happy to inform you that your great aunt, Lady Rose Roberts has left you a great amount of money in her will. For more details about your inheritance, please contact me at the attached address.” The letter continued with some more information about the solicitor.

  Emma read the letter a second time, trying and failing to remember the last time, she saw Great Aunt Rose. The old spinster did not like to leave her house often, but on a few special family occasions, she had visited her nephew, Baron Roberts, and his family.

  “Father,” Emma turned toward her father and offered him the letter. “Have you heard recently from Great Aunt Rose?”

  “She is giving you money,” the Baron commented. “The solicitor says that she left the money in her will, but no one informed me of my Aunt dying.”

  “You should make some inquiries,” the Baroness urged him.

  “Yes. You are right, my dear,” her husband agreed and stood up. “Aunt Rose is Emma’s Godmother, so it is not a surprising that she is leaving her some money. I just need to know what happened to my Aunt before we do anything else.”

  Emma followed her father to his study and watched him sit behind the desk and quickly write a letter Lady Rose’s solicitor. Her father inquired about his Aunt’s health and about the letter that was sent to his daughter. He expressed his concern about the old lady and asked for a fast response to his letter.

  The solicitor wrote back only a few days later. Emma was called back to her father’s study as soon as the letter arrived. The Baroness followed them swiftly, and the three of them sat down in the cozy, semi-dark study, ready to read the letter together.

  “Lady Rose died one week ago, and she was buried last Friday. According to her solicitor, she wanted a small ceremony and explicitly asked for a simple funeral,” said the Baron. “She is leaving Emma a good amount of money. She had no other family than us.”

  “I am so sorry. We did not spend enough time with her,” the Baroness said softly, her eyes filled with tears. “We were so worried about our financial situation and all the problems with Timothy that there was no time left to worry about Aunt Rose.”

  “I am sure that she was aware of that, my dear,” her husband said. “Now, we need to pray for her and do our best to be happy, as Aunt Rose wanted us to be.”

  “I will never forget her, Papa,” Emma sobbed. “She was always so good to me.”

  “That she was, Emma. That she was,” her father nodded. “And tomorrow we are going to visit the bank to make the necessary arrangements for the money transfer.”

  “Aunt Rose’s generosity will make it much easier for you to find a husband, Emma,” the Baroness added. “Now you have a good dowry, and I am sure that many real gentlemen will start considering you as a prospective wife."

  Emma nodded, but to her, the money was not significant. She was rich now, but that fact did not change her attitude towards marriage. She still wanted to take her time in order to find a husband she could love and respect, and who would love and respect her in the same way.

  That night, Emma spent a lot of time in prayer, remembering all the happy moments she had had with her Great Aunt and thanking her for what she had given her. There were a lot of happy memories to recall, especially from two years ago, when Emma had gone for a week-long visit to her Godmother’s house.

  Aunt Rose had used the time to teach the young woman about life, insisting that Emma’s vivacious, lively and funny character was going to help her to face difficulties quickly. The elderly lady had also insisted that Emma was devastatingly beautiful with her long dark blond hair and big, brown eyes. Now, two years later, Emma Roberts looked into the mirror and saw what her Aunt was talking about – for a young and beautiful woman, nothing was impossible in life.

  Something changed in her that night. Emma Roberts became a different woman. Her heart was still the same, pure and gentle, but she acquired a new kind of confidence, a confidence that made her look at the world around her in a different way.

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  “The doctor came this morning, and he gave me some appalling news”

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  CHAPTER TWO

  DEVASTATING NEWS

  “Ah! There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”

  Jane Austen

  Moreland House

  “I still think that John is the most handsome man I have ever seen,” Emma insisted, smiling shyly at her sisters. “In my opinion, though, being handsome is not everything.”

  “You are right,” Jane agreed, giving a sideways glance at her elder sister Charlotte. “I also think that a nice character and a good education are more important than the looks.”

  “Charlotte, what do you make of
it?” asked Emma. She was the youngest of the three sisters and was vivacious, lively and funny, as well as devastatingly beautiful. Still, she was also the baby in the family and always liked to know what her older sisters thought about the important things in life.

  “Emma Roberts,” Charlotte spoke calmly, while her eyes shone with laughter. “You know that all I want in a man is his money…”

  “No!” Emma cried out.

  “You cannot be serious,” Jane complained and joined her sister in carefree laughter. “I’ve seen you tell Richard Thomson, the richest man we know, that his money doesn’t impress you.”

  “And we all heard what our mother thought about it,” Emma commented. “I don’t think I have ever seen our mother so angry before.”

  All three of them laughed at the memory, and Charlotte let her mind wander back in time. She and Jane had just been introduced to the local society and were attending their first ball when Richard Thomson had approached her and asked for the next dance. Charlotte was too shy then and almost scared that she might do something wrong, but the young Mr. Thomson had used her weakness to show off his social experience and rich background, disgusting Charlotte so much she was forced to act out.

  Baroness Roberts, their very concerned mother, had been very disappointed in her behavior and had made her feelings known to her daughter. Like all mothers, Baroness Roberts wanted to see her beautiful daughters married well, and it hurt her when one of them acted so immaturely in the presence of unmarried gentlemen.