title: The Lady's Ghost
author: Ladd, Colleen
description: The Lady's Ghost
   -- a Regency romance by Colleen Ladd
  After her husband's death, Portia Ashburne finds herself banished to Ashburne Hall, left to fend for herself in the crumbling old manor.
  Ten years ago, when Giles, the previous Lord Ashburne, was accused of murdering his fiancee, he fled on a ship that was lost at sea. Locals claim his spirit haunts Ashburne Hall.
  Portia doesn't believe in ghosts. She suspected the Hall's hostile caretakers of playing tricks on her. When she sets out to prove it, she puts herself on a crash course with both Giles and the real killer. Will The Lady's Ghost be able to save her?
  *****
  First Portia's late unlamented husband left her penniless, then his nip-farthing brother dumped her at Ashburne Hall to decay. If mice in the walls and holes in the roof aren't bad enough, someone wants her to believe the place is haunted. But Portia doesn't scare that easily, even if catching sight of the brooding ghost leaves her strangely breathless.
  When he was accused of murdering his fiancée a decade ago, Giles Ashburne fled the country to his supposed death. Now he's returned to the Hall to uncover the evidence that will exonerate him, only to find himself playing a ghost in his own home. Nothing he does drives Portia away, and worse, the stubborn chit is starting to grow on him.
  The more Portia learns about Giles Ashburne, the more certain she becomes that her ghost is not only innocent, but far from dead. When she sets out to prove it, she puts herself on a crash course with not only Giles, but the real killer. If Giles and Portia don't learn to stop striking sparks off each other and work together, there will soon be two ghosts at Ashburne Hall.