Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that
the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who
will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first
choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal
with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling
family manor outside of town.