Author Description

Edmund Symme, a stuffy London barrister, finds himself increasingly fed up with his every-day cares and decides to get away to his country estate in Yorkshire. There, he is confronted with visions of a beautiful woman who addresses him by name. When she appears in his library, he's sure he's going mad. Worse, he finds himself enjoying the ethereal presence. She's French, she knows wine, she smells of gardenia, she's jealous, and she wants him to avenge her murder. She seems to know more than he does about his own family. To complicate matters, Remy, the estate's housekeeper (whom Edmund dismisses as "just a servant") also sees visions of the ghostly woman. Employer and employee are therefore thrown together in uncharted territory. Is this ghost more than a figment of their imaginations? Can they believe her story of murder? How do their long-ago ancestors fit into her tale? Can Edmund shake himself out of his traditional male attitude to recognize his housekeeper as a vibrant, intelligent woman? And what about the ominous poignard en pierre-the dagger in stone? An enjoyable tale for romance, history and mystery aficionados.