Alfred Deane’s own hard work has always been engulfed by the charity he has received in life. All the more reason to prove himself by working twice as hard as those around him. But his determination to prove himself hinders him from one of things he wishes for most: a loving wife and family of his own. He has no time to court in person. His solution? Advertise. Courtship through letters is the perfect way to discover if he and the lady in question are suited to one another in heart and mind. 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 vivacious, unmarried, but most of all, determined to support herself. When the opportunity comes to be employed by a 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 season: Christmas. With Mr. Deane against her at every turn, Clara finds happiness and hope in her exchange of letters with 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