Marianne and the Mad Baron
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Baron Tavish Kieghly doesn’t look like a hero. As he walks the crowded streets of Victorian London, his cyborg enhancements cause looks of fear, laughter, and perhaps worst of all, pity. But Tavish no longer cares for the world below. He’s found refuge as first mate aboard his beloved Aethership, Sheba. Floating high above London society, among the hardened sailors of the Sheba, he can concentrate on his work and forget about his foolish dreams of love and family.
Marianne Lindstrom’s debutant life is over. Her father’s suicide following financial ruin has left her orphaned and destitute. She must find work but with no skills, her future looks bleak. Without protection from family and friends, her ruin is imminent. On the cruel London streets, Marianne is rescued by a monster more frightening than the thugs who attacked her. But after her initial shock at the man’s huge stature and mechanical parts, something about the stranger calls to her. Tavish can’t leave the woman. The London streets would eat her alive in less than a day. He offers her a job aboard the Sheba. As Tavish teaches Marianne what life on an Aethership can offer, the two fall under each other’s spell. But a dark force is after Marianne, set on killing her, or worse. As they travel the Aether, collecting friends along the way, Tavish and Marianne must unravel the mystery of the demon chasing them and why it thinks Marianne must die. |