As the Darcys are about to embark on their wedding trip to Italy, they lose the capable service of Miss Darcy's long-time companion. What will they do? They cannot leave dear Georgiana without a proper lady for a companion. Elizabeth Darcy's aunt comes to their rescue, recommending the lovely spinster Lucy Wetherspoon, whose family she has long known.

Darcy also asks his neighbor, Lord Fane, to watch out for Georgiana in their absence. At two and thirty, Lord Fane has decided he needs to wed an heiress to restore his ancestral pile. Miss Darcy's fortune is just what he needs.

Then he meets the shabbily dressed Miss Wetherspoon, and his world is utterly shaken by the profound feelings the beautiful woman elicits in him. After meddling from misguided-but-well-meaning Mr. Collins, Lord Fane's honor demands he offer for Georgiana Darcy though his heart will ever belong to her shabbily dressed companion.