Ariadne Alton, lady's maid par excellence, is in desperate straits. She has just been sacked by her employer and has nowhere to go—until, that is, she sees a letter requesting a bride for Viscount Holt. Not even a haunted estate or rumors of the viscount's eccentricities will stop Ariadne from securing her husband even if it means concealing her true identity until she falls in love. James Knighton, Viscount Holt, has no intention of taking a bride, especially when his mother has seen fit to auction him off like livestock by sending out a proposal letter to a neighboring family. Then he sees Ariadne for the first time and decides marriage could be just what he and his ailing estate need. Will their new love be strong enough to withstand deception and the estate's sly ghost?