Allworth Abbey

At Allworth Abbey, a noble family's apparent happiness hides a legacy of violence, superstition, and buried guilt. When Lord Leaton and his wife welcome their beautiful daughter Agatha's engagement to the honorable Malcolm Montrose, the household seems secure—until death, inheritance, and a mysterious succession of visitors begin to unsettle everything. Into this fragile peace come the impoverished Princess Pezzilini, a glittering exile with secrets of her own, and Eudora, a captivating young heiress whose sweetness wins immediate trust even as a warning is whispered against her. As Lord Leaton falls suddenly and violently ill, suspicion gathers around Eudora, a shadowy figure is seen at his bedside, and his death is ruled natural despite a doctor's fears of poison. Malcolm Montrose returns to the Abbey amid storms and lingering unease, while the story widens to include Edenlawn and the tragic household of Mrs. Elverton. There, her daughter Alma grows up in isolation under the care of a devoted governess, starved of affection and haunted by her father's disappearance, her mother's coldness, and the prisonlike grandeur of her home. Gothic atmosphere, family secrets, forbidden feeling, and the threat of hidden crime drive this dark tale forward. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.