The Starlight Wish

the long version

When Xanthe glimpses careworn Major Aubrey Kelland's wish upon a glittering Christmas Star -- for a staid, capable wife to manage his dilapidated ancestral home and unruly young sisters -- she vows to assist him in finding such an estimable female. To this end, Lady Xanthe Simms hosts a house party with an array of eligible ladies. — Although Aubrey's bewitched by Miss Desdemona Lynton, his military precision is offended by her scapegrace conduct and carefree mirth. Such a flighty chit could never set his household to rights! And Desdemona, though dazzled by this virile officer, despairs of sparking his long-lost joie de vivre. Only by turning the impetuous miss into a damsel in distress can Xanthe and Titus reconcile Aubrey's heroic nature with his disorderly desires -- and a love that is written in the stars...