The Baron Without Blame (The Prestons, #0.5)

This free prequel novella kicks off The Prestons series.

When Martin Preston, Baron Ashforth, is caught on a dark balcony with a debutante, he does the right thing. Even though he was only freeing her skirts from the railing. Even though he doesn’t know her name. The next morning, he faithfully offers for her hand in marriage.

Lolly Turner has nothing against Lord Preston. He is handsome, kind, and honorable. Yet she can’t bring herself to marry a man solely because of gossip. When she knows she should say yes, she says no. Instead, they concoct a false engagement: they tell the world they plan to marry, while in reality Lolly will jilt Martin once the scandal has died down.

Martin invites Lolly and her family to spend the Easter holiday at his country home to keep up appearances. As he and Lolly spend more time together, they share visions for the future and realize they both hope for a world very different from the one into which they were born. But when Lolly’s father catches wind of their shared politics, he changes his mind about the wedding. Which means it is up to Lolly and Martin to choose: should they do the right thing, or follow their hearts?