The Phantom Lover

by Elizabeth Mansfield

Fiery young ‘Nell’ Belden went to Thorndene Castle to escape a lover, not to find one. She was bound by the strict conventions of England’s Regency to a man she could never love, then bound by the ties of passion to a man she could never marry! For at Thorndene, she discovered a new and startling love, a love that was as intense as it was doomed. “You must leave Thorndene!” said the ghost. Then he added, more gently, “I come to warn you, not to harm you. I may never touch you, any more than a shadow may.” “What does that signify?” Nell asked. “Since you are dead, you can have no need or inclination to touch me anyway.” “You can’t know much about men—or ghosts—or how delightful you look in that nightdress, if you believe that,” he said with disturbing sincerity. Nell blushed and pulled the bedclothes over her. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the ghostly figure was gone.