The Shimmering Stones of Glendower Hall

[vintageromancereader]

"Ye have been here before, child. Ye cannot deny it."

As an infant, she was left in a basket on the steps of a simple cottage in the South of Wales. Now, the kindly couple who raised her have died; Gwynneth Morys is an orphan once again, totally alone in the world with only her odd, recurring dreams - dreams of a towering mansion on the moors...a beautiful lady in a pale green gown...a tall man whose dark eyes speak of passion.

Bereft of funds and family, Gwynneth has no choice but to accept the only offer of work to come her way - a position as companion to an elderly woman in the North of Wales. And as Gwynneth approaches the many-turreted manor house rising out of the mist, close by the fog-enshrouded moors and still closer to the roiling sea, she knows that this is the place she has dreamed of all her life. And the handsome, dark-eyed Owen Price-Jones, who steps forward to greet her, can be none other than her destined lover...

But not even in her dreams had Gwynneth learned of the tragic death of Lady Jane's only daughter, or the dark desire for vengeance that still burns in the old woman's heart. Nor does she guess that an enemy - her enemy - lurks among the shadowy towers, waiting for her to climb a certain flight of stairs to the one turret from which there could be no escape...and no one to hear her plea for mercy.

Original Publisher: Zebra
Original Year of Publication: 1991
Page Count: 304

The October 2024 #TBRChallenge is "Spooky (Gothic)," and I knew exactly where I wanted to go: my tiny collection of Zebra Gothics, all of which have amazing covers and intriguing blurbs. I definitely got into my feels with this, and whilst in the mood for Gothic romance, sought out as many of the Zebra titles as I could find. What I found was that they are extremely rare on the secondhand market - I added books to my PBS wishlist that haven't been posted in 17 years 😲😲😲 Some were available for more than $20 at other known sources of secondhand books, which is way too rich for my blood. Plus I learned that Harlequin had its own Gothic line at some point, so now I only want to find these elusive books even more, LOL.

But I digress...

This was an interesting read, because the blurb up there is only half-right. 17-year-old Gwynneth Morys has known for all of her life that she was adopted by the couple that raised her, but she's never known anything about her family of origin. So when her father dies and leaves her alone in the world, she has very few choices. There's no one to help her work her hardscrabble farm, and no marriage prospects on the horizon. So it seems like the hand of God intervening in her life when her priest, Rev Jenkins, receives a request for an intelligent, hard-working young lady for a position in a grand house in the north of the country. She is being asked to be an assistant aide/companion to the sickly lady of the house, Lady Glendower. Jenkins and Gwynneth feel she has no choice but to accept the position, so she does.

She arrives at Glendower Hall and is struck by its unusual appearance. She has an innate sense of having been there before, though she knows logically that she has never been beyond the village where she was raised. She meets the woman who sent for her, Mrs Hoskins (aka Nanny), a fiercely loyal woman who serves as companion and nurse to Lady Glendower. Gwynneth is surprised that her duties as a servant are extremely light, and that she's invited to dine with Nanny Hoskins instead of with the other servants. Nanny practically commands Gwynneth to tour the huge pile on her own time. Gwynneth is confused (she's a little dim) and scared, because she has strange visions of scenes from the past, all centering around a beautiful young woman dressed in shades of green. She sees things and hears things that others can't, but tries to convince herself that she doesn't because she had been shamed and taunted for this gift as a child.

So Gwynneth is wandering around the house, confused and curious about why she's really there. She has a deep sense of foreboding and a sudden desire to learn more about her family of origin. In the midst of all this, she she meets Charles Price-Jones and his nephew, Owen. The Price-Jones men are neighbors and welcome, regular visitors to Glendower Hall and dear friends of Lady Glendower. Gwynneth learns that Lady Jane is the last of her family, long widowed and with a munch-hinted tragic loss of her child in the past.

Unlike what the blurb implies, Lady Jane is basically a non-entity in this novel. Gwynneth sometimes spots Nanny Hoskins and Lady Jane whispering about her, but she's so afraid of losing her position in their service that she doesn't question it. Owen Price-Jones is also an extremely minor character in this drama. He's only lived with his Uncle Charles for the last two years, and knows very little about the deep, dark secrets of Glendower Hall. He's the first person Gwynneth trusts of the lot of them, but that's about it. If you're looking for romance, you're going to have to look elsewhere.

The story of the tragic Lady Anne, the beloved daughter of Lord and Lady Glendower, comes in dribs and drabs from various members of the household. Indeed, the romance of this romance novel is squarely centered on Lady Anne. Apparently she was extremely sheltered as a child, and never allowed to know disappointment or failure; when she began to exhibit talents for the arts, a special tutor was sought and hired to develop these talents. Lady Anne was all of about 15, and her tutor scarcely older than her, so they fall in love with each other, though they are careful to keep their feelings secret from the household.

This is problem enough, but as Lady Anne grows up, she has several admirers who are far better placed to pay suit to her - including Charles Price-Jones, who returns from a long time abroad to find Anne has grown up before his eyes. He is quite a bit older than her, and though he dances with her at her coming-out ball, he decides to wait until she is a bit older to press his suit.

Unfortunately, he doesn't bother to let Anne know that he's fallen head over heels for her; instead, he goes straight to Lord Glendower to ask for her hand in marriage. Anne has no idea that her father has agreed and betrothed her to Charles; when she's told, she has a rather typical lovesick teenage reaction. Her feelings for her tutor are laid bare, and that man is summarily dismissed from the household, but Anne runs off with him and elopes before her family can stop her. Nanny Hoskins is sent after the young couple, and Anne only agrees to return to Glendower Hall if her new husband accompanies her. Lord Glendower will not yield; he's determined to send the man away and have the marriage annulled. Only...oopsie doodle, Anne is pregnant and is adamant that her husband will return for her, no matter what her father says.

I think we all know where this is going. Gwynneth is obviously Anne's illicit love child (though she doesn't figure this out until the end of the book, and doesn't believe Nanny when she tells her). But Anne is dead - Gwynneth has nearly daily visions of her jumping from the turret of the chapel, though she is too fearful to tell anyone - and what of her long-lost husband? Why does no one recognize her (other than her copper-colored hair, which neither parent possessed)?

Nanny Hoskins is the one who holds the hatred and vengeance here. Lady Glendower has some awful, grasping relatives who show up during the winter holiday season, basically to remind everyone that they're waiting for the old lady to die so they can swoop in, take over the estate, and help themselves out of/further into debt. Nanny is practically gleeful when these relatives show up this year, and the male half of this duo serves as a red herring for the "enemy" from the blurb. Gwynneth has had no real fear of anyone in the household until these people show up; so why not? She finds herself drawn to the tower where Anne killed herself and she doesn't really understand why, until she goes up there one day and realizes that someone is following her.

The novel moves at an almost excruciatingly slow pace until the last three chapters, when the action really ramps up. Gwynneth finally tells someone about all the things she's seeing and hearing; Nanny convinces her that she has 'the gift' of clairvoyance/mediumship; her unusual appearance is explained (she looks like her great aunt, natch); the fate of her birth parents is revealed; Gwynneth is stalked to the tower by a mad man who is determined to be reunited with his life-long unrequited love.

The ending is really rather bittersweet, considering all the characters and how their roles ultimately played out. Lady Jane makes a full recovery; Gwynneth takes her place has the true heir to Glendower Hall; she visits her adoptive parents' graves one last time. You really have to suspend disbelief during the climax of the plot, because the author really leans hard into the supernatural elements, even throwing in a bit of reincarnation just for good measure. It was about two twists too many for me, personally, but hey.

And yes, the stones of Glendower Hall do indeed shimmer in the light, as there is mica embedded in said stones, which were quarried locally. There is a big to-do about the shimmering in the winter light at the end that I didn't 100% understand, but hey. It's a nice visual no matter how you slice it!

This is definitely the best of the Zebra Gothics I have read thus far, and will stay in my tiny collection. If you don't mind a Gothic that's not really all that dark, lacks present-day danger and romance, and leans hard into the supernatural, I'd say give this one a shot.

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