The Spectral Bride by Margaret Campbell
published by Signet Books
Copyright 1975
Terror or Romance,
Legend or Love?
Was lovely Adelaide Fenton a simple country girl, or was
she the pale shadow of another maiden who had met
violent death many years before? Was handsome James
Daintry, the last Earl of the Seagroves, a fanciful
young man, or the final victim of a legendary specter
which had taken its toll in madness and sorrow?
Was it the power of love which drew them together, or
were they caught in a darker pattern - cursed for a crime
they did not commit, reliving a tale they scarcely knew?
Adelaide's family warned her not to look beyond her
station. James's advisors tried to keep him from their
secret trysts. But fate beckoned them on, down a
pathway from which no once could turn them, on a journey
which must lead them to happiness or death ...
Okay, so is this cover supposed to lead us to believe that these "trysts" between Adelaide and James take place in a cemetery? And not just any normal run-of-the-mill cemetery either but a long forgotten, tall-grass, crumbling tombstone, condemned "where's the roof" abandoned church, kind of cemetery?
I mean, stealing a few hours with a forbidden lover could be great, but not if you spend those few hours checking each other's hair for ticks. I feel certain if they don't have ticks they are at least assaulted by chiggers.
I just don't think that shaw is going to give Adelaide the protection she needs in that environment but I'm not sure what would. Maybe one of those suits that people who keep bees have. Or at the very least she needs to be carrying a fly-swatter. Maybe it could be hanging elegantly from her wrist tied with a little satin ribbon.
