It’s 1817, with geese flocking just before Christmas—but Maria’s all alone… Maria Fitzroy wants to do just two things this Christmas: avoid all questions about her matrimonial prospects, and see more of this strange Mr. Walter who appeared at Chalcroft asking strange questions. He’s new to the village, mysterious and handsome, and has a strange fascination with Maria. Which absolutely should not get her heart racing. But an instinct that pulls her to him just as the geese are drawn across the sky keeps pulling Maria into Walter’s path, and before she knows it, scandalous kisses and games she should absolutely not be playing are pulling her away from her family. His questions about her family continue as gossip about them starts to appear in the papers—but none of that matters. Not when Maria knows Walter is the one for her. Six geese a laying in the farmyard, and Maria is about to give everything to the one man who sees her as something more…