Gently reared Martin finds himself adrift without means when his uncle goes bankrupt with gambling debts. He seeks a livelihood as tutor to the young children of an earl on a remote Welsh estate. Arriving on a dark and stormy night that sets the tone for his whole adventure, he falls into intrigue, mystery, and powerful new loves -- for the three traumatized children and their enigmatic guardian.<br><br>Dylan has been called back from service in South Africa when his elder brother supposedly finds his wife with another man, kills the pair and then himself. He’ll now have to assume most duties of the earldom, raise his nephew to majority and care for three orphaned children. Desperate for help, he hires a young man sight unseen to become their tutor while he works to uncover the facts of the scandalous tragedy that tore apart his family. Both matters reveal surprising results.

Dark and Stormy

“I think I know you,” he said, after a moment. “Were you not the one who snatched me from the mired coach and bore me to Ravensrawn the night of the terrible storm back in February?”


The masked man laughed and answered in an oblique way. “It seems you have a proclivity for getting yourself caught up in difficulties. You’re the young tutor for the Ravensrawn children. How come you to be out in the woods alone?”


Something familiar about the man’s voice tugged at Martin’s awareness. Although he tried, he could not quite pin it down. He lacked time to ponder on it for he knew he needed to answer the man’s question and did so. “The children and the housekeeper are away for a few days and I was at loose ends. Since I hiked in my youth on my grandfather’s estate near the Scots border, I thought to explore a bit. I must’ve gone farther than I intended or else I got turned around completely. I’ve been lost since well before sundown.”


Chapter 10