Emma V. Leech

When the snow falls thick and bright over Hatherley Hall, the Honourable Mr Nathaniel Ashford faces his family’s relentless matchmaking with only one hope of escape: a fake engagement.

Enter Miss Margaret Bancroft, penniless but unbowed, who agrees to play his fiancée during a Christmas gathering bustling with gossip and cheer. Their charade, however, draws the sharp scrutiny of Nathaniel’s disapproving cousin, the top-lofty Duke of Hawkney—whose formidable presence threatens to unravel their delicate deception.

Yet as candlelight and laughter warm the grand estate, the impossible begins to seem possible, and love emerges as the most delightful surprise of the season.