Synopsis:
Sarah Sophia Paul Daviess (I will call her Sophie from now on) is seriously down on her luck. A few years earlier, her husband (who I believe had some sort of position in the Navy, although I can't remember what it was) hanged himself after he came under suspicion for something he swore he didn't do. Not long after her husband's suicide, Sophie's young son died because she was unable to earn enough to take him to a doctor when he fell ill. Since then, Sophie has been able to earn barely enough to provide for herself, by acting as a companion for elderly ladies. She uses almost all of her money to travel to her latest job, only to learn that the lady she would have been working for has died and her services are no longer needed.
Ever since his retirement from the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Charles Bright's older sisters have been hounding him, driving his servants crazy, trying to marry him off, and ordering awful furniture for his new home without his approval. Desperate to get them off his back, he hits upon the idea of a marriage of convenience, but the woman he decides upon never shows up for their arranged meeting. Spotting the obviously down-on-her-luck Sophie (who also happens to be much prettier and a better conversationalist than the woman he'd originally settled on), the kind-hearted Admiral tells her a little about his situation and proposes a marriage of convenience. Sophie doesn't have many choices left to her, so the offer is tempting. Eventually, deciding that marriage to Admiral Bright really is better than the alternative, she caves.
Their marriage turns out to be a surprisingly good and smooth one, helped along by the fact that Sophie and Bright's personalities mesh well. Bright had not mentioned that his home is a bit...scandalous...due to its previous owner's interests, but Sophie takes the pornographic statues, books, and decorations in a stride. As part of the first steps towards redecorating and making the house theirs, Sophie and Bright meet and befriend their neighbors and hire more staff. Sophie turns out to be reasonably good at dealing with Bright's temperamental French cook and his overbearing older sisters.
However, Sophie has been hiding a big secret. Bright doesn't know that Paul is only her maiden name and that her husband's name was Daviess. Although she tells him about her husband's suicide, she doesn't mention the specifics of what he was accused of. Realizing she has begun to fall in love with her new husband, Sophie can't help but wonder and worry: if Bright finds out the truth about everything, how will he react?
