Alfred Deane’s own hard work has always been engulfed by the charity he has received in his scholarship to Eton, his appointment as secretary to a wealthy earl, both opportunities put in his by those better off than he. All the more reason to prove himself by working twice as hard as those around him. But his determination to prove himself keeps him from one of the most important things he wishes a loving wife and family of his own. He has no time to fall in love and court in person. His solution? Advertise. Courtship through letters is the perfect way to discover if he and the lady in question are of one heart and mind on the things that matter most. And when a likely candidate draws him in more and more with her wit and happy nature, it helps him endure the days dealing with a particular thorn in his side. At twenty-six, Clara Winters is lively, vivacious, unmarried, but most of all, determined. She will not be a burden to her family. Instead, SHE will help THEM through her own hard work and industry. When the opportunity comes to be employed by an influential countess, nothing can stop her, not even the stiff, disapproving secretary, Mr. Alfred Deane, standing between her and the job. Though once the position is secured, she and Mr. Deane (who is everything at once disagreeable and unlikeable!) must work together to prepare for the countess’s favorite festive Christmas. With Mr. Deane against her at the outset, going out of his way to make her life more difficult, Clara finds happiness and hope in her letters to and from an anonymous man to whose advertisement she had the audacity to reply. Each letter from him solidifies her belief that the perfect match for her just might exist. Matrimony if suited. Could her wish to find a loving husband and home finally come true this Christmas?