The Jewel Thief
I think many of us have watched some of the haunted house
type shows where a group of intrepid paranormal investigators go into a house
with cameras, sound equipment and night vision goggles to track down an errant
ghost. Have you ever visited an historic mansion where you felt a certain
presence, or had an affinity with the building as if you had been there before?
And most of all, have you ever actually seen a ghost? And what would you do if you did? Probably not what
you think you would do! It’s easier to imagine being brave when it’s in the
abstract. Being there would be so different. Imagine the hairs standing up on
the back of your neck as you suddenly felt as if something or someone was
there. An unusual sound. A sudden inexplicable change in temperature, or an
actual shimmering apparition. Would you stay or run? And if you did run, who’s
to say it wouldn’t follow you. Surely a ghost has a right to be inquisitive
too? Would you try to talk to him or her? Perhaps they are as curious as you
are.
In The Jewel Thief, Griffin Blackstone, the Earl of Blakenheath
is staying at Tallander Castle with his sister Lissy. The last thing he expects
is to discover a ghost riffling through her jewelry box while she is out
walking with her nanny. Running won’t help, though he is tempted. And he can
hardly have his little sister come back to a room occupied by a ghost. So he
decides to confront the specter. Would you? And what exactly would you say?
Would you be lost for words or full of questions? Or would you pack and get out
of there?
Meeting an errant ghost is just the beginning of The Jewel Thief, and Tallander Castle has
some odd surprises in store for everyone. All brought on by a jewelry loving and
playful ghost. It almost makes me want to spend a little time in a haunted
mansion. Almost.
The Jewel Thief
A
Regency Ghost Story
Griffin
Blackstone, the Earl of Blakenheath, is resting in his room after a long
journey to attend a house party at Tallander Castle with his younger sister
Lissy. While she is out exploring the castle grounds with her long-time nanny,
Griffin hears a strange sound in the room adjoining his own and hurries to
investigate, but instead of a maid he discovers a shimmering apparition wearing
his sister Lissy’s jewels.
Upon
discovery, the spirit immediately disappears. Shocked but curious, he tamps
down his initial alarmed instinct to dash out of there and waits for her to
reappear. After all, even if he left she’d still be there and he can hardly have his sister return to a room bearing
a ghost. But the playful and curious young specter is not easily deterred from
her goal of acquiring the shimmering jewels, and Griffin finds himself in the
strange predicament of trying to understand the ghost—that he discovers is
known historically as the White Silhouette—and her motives.
He
nicknames her Magpie as she is attracted to shiny objects. But his research
shows her to be a young woman named Melissande DeMesurier Tallander who died of
influenza a hundred years earlier.
Tallander
Castle is up for sale, and not only is their hostess, the current Miss
Tallander, hoping for a buyer, but she has also attracted many of the guests to
the party by informing them that they are welcome to search the castle for the
long missing Tallander jewels, though Griffin suspects he knows exactly who has stolen them.
A mischievous ghost, a bewildered and
fascinated earl, a masquerade ball and some ghostly surprises feature in this
lighthearted Regency romance.
