Castle Dangerous — Kate Ward

Lucinda Medmenham, a flaxen-haired beauty of considerable charm and character, is left homeless and destitute when her father gambles away his fortune and ends his life ignominiously in suicide. Lucinda's only recourse then is to accept a position as companion to Clarissa, the young wife of the Lord of Bartrame Castle. ln disfavor with her handsome roué of a husband, Clarissa is a pallid and listless creature. She is easily dominated by the bitter and resentful maidservant Polson, whose family has served the St. Bartrames for generations, and against whose influence Lucinda is powerless. But as the two young women find themselves the victims of an invisible yet deadly intent taking shape within the Castle walls, Lucinda knows she must act.