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? Broker a betrothal to one of her rivals for the earldom. A perfectly sensible strategy-until a rakishly handsome cavalry officer checkmates Belle's schemes, challenging everything she thought she ever wanted...

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