Nurse on Castle Island — Sharon Heath

Was she a prisoner on that strange island--or the guest they had long awaited?

As the fog rolled in over the sea, Tracy lost sight of the boat. Suddenly the storm broke in all its pent-up fury, and Tracy was pulled into a violent undertow as she struggled to keep afloat. But it was no use; the waves lashed against her and the rain whipped at her face and arms. Then blackness overcame her panic: her head struck a reef.

Three weeks later, Nurse Tracy Inglis awoke. She found herself in a strange bed in the ancient castle on Trelona -- the island castle she has so foolhardily dared to see close up, by swimming to it, against the mainland villagers' warnings. Deverell, the brooding master of the island, soon told her she was believed dead -- missing at sea.

Who would come for her? Who would know how very much alive she was and how very much in trouble?

Tracy packed her few possessions hastily and stole our of the castle silently. She want to shake the dust of Trelona--the place she had once longed to visit--from her feet forever.

She sped as fast as she could to the cave, and sank down on the rock steps, to rest a moment. When her breathing and heartbeat were back to normal, she rose and picked up her suitcase... Then she heard it--the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps.

For an instant, Tracy was too terrified to move, her eyes searching the gloom in an attempt to find out where this sound was coming from. Then, with a muffled cry of terror, she realized the truth. Deverell had not followed her from the house. Instead, he had descended by that secret stairs within the cave to intercept her at the moment when she was almost certain of escape...