MocPOGO

Victoria Holt (the pen name of Eleanor Hibbert) is the undisputed queen of Gothic romance, known for her atmospheric tales of "mist and moonlight" where a brave governess or companion finds herself in a crumbling mansion filled with secrets.

I reached a heavy oak door at the end of the north wing. It was ajar. Pushing it open, I saw him—Sir Alistair. He wasn't the monster the villagers described. He was sitting by a cold hearth, clutching a locket.

As the iron gates of Ravenscroft groaned open, a sense of foreboding washed over me. The manor stood like a silent sentinel against the graying sky. "You’ll find the master in the library," the housekeeper whispered, her eyes darting toward the winding stone staircase. "But take heed, Miss Vance. Some doors in this house are locked for a reason."

The carriage jolted over the rutted track, the salt spray of the Cornwall coast stinging my cheeks. I, Elara Vance, was a woman with nothing but a trunk of modest dresses and a letter of employment. I was to be the new tutor for the young ward of Sir Alistair Ravenscroft—a man whose reputation was as dark and jagged as the cliffs below his estate.