Ghost of My Dreams
Ghost of My Dreams by Angie Ray is an old novel that I have only recently found.
Vincent Parsell, sixth earl of Helsbury had been betrayed by the woman he intended to marry. Riding out in a storm to stop her wedding another he drowns in a river and returns to Helsbury House in the form of a spirit.
And from that day forth the earls of Helsbury were seemingly cursed when it came to marriage. Which was why Jason became in 25 years time the tenth earl of Helsbury.
As soon as Jason received the news that he was the new earl he realised that he could afford to marry Mary Goodwin, the woman he loved. After she accepted his proposal he left for his estate, intending to marry her later.
Time passed and only three letters came from Jason. But despite the fact that the final letter was short and curt Mary saw only that Jason wanted to travel to his estate and marry him one week later. On her arrival though she found that Jason had changed a great deal and the world he was living in was totally different to the one she had left behind. Not only that, there seemed to be something on Jason’s mind that he was keeping from her.
The other members of the household, including the kindly Cecil and the scheming Beatrice, soon told Mary of the curse of the earls. That since Vincent had been betrayed he had haunted the house and scared away all the subsequent earls fiancées…and Mary was the next one to be targeted for removal.
Mary laughed off the stories but Jason could not, for he had seen the ghost of Vincent and although Vincent had helped him with his new earldom duties he knew that Vincent was determined to see Mary off of the property for Jason’s own good. No matter how hard Jason tried to convince him that Mary was not like the rest of them.
And there begins a delightful story as Vincent attempts to rid Jason of the woman he loves. But unlike the fainthearted court ladies, Mary is more strong-willed and is just as determined not to believe in the ghost or to leave through a silly curse.
The fun escalates when a second spirit is conjured up to battle against Vincent and each of the other members of the household play their parts in either bringing together or parting the happy couple.
Beatrice is a scheming young woman who is determined to have the new earl for herself, whether he wants her or not.
Lady Weldon is Beatrice’s mother and is as obnoxious as her daughter, she is also eager that her daughter marries Jason, even as she helps Jason and Mary prepare for the wedding.
Aunt Sally however is a more delightful character. A friend of Elizabeth (Vincent’s fiancée), she had introduced the couple and blamed herself for their parting. She was also convinced that Vincent blamed her to and resolved never to leave her rooms for fear of the ghost.
Cecil Parsell, Jason’s cousin, is another of the likeable characters who helps to make the story as delightful as it is.
And of course there is the amusing, if manipulative, Vincent Parsell and the second ghost who will battle him, who is just as manipulative and just as amusing and more than a match for the vengeful Vincent.
A fast-paced and highly amusing novel of a romance
that is determined not to be foiled by a ghost and the curse he helps to
fulfil.
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Also by Angie Ray: Ghostly Enchantment and My Lady in Time
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