A Georgian-set prequel novella to the award-winning Audacious Ladies of Audley series

Five squabbling guardians.

Three rivals for an earldom.

And one dashing cavalryman threatening to overset it all...

At fourteen, Arabella Audley inherited her father's Scottish barony—but was denied his English earldom. Shuffled between five quarrelsome guardians for six long years while Parliament dithers over determining the Earl of Audley's rightful heir, Belle's tired of being reduced to the role of pawn. This year, at the King's Birthday Ball, Baroness Culmaily will finally risk a gambit of her own...

The prize? Her beloved Audley Priory, and the chance to serve its people. The plan? To ally herself with one of her rivals to the earldom. A perfectly sensible scheme—until a rakishly handsome cavalry officer starts haunting Belle's dreams, challenging everything she thought she wanted.

Caught between legacy and love, audacious Belle must decide how far she'll go to secure the life—and heart—she truly desires.