Darkness at Middlebrook — Juanita Tyree Osborne

When young Ariana Evans became a governess at the grand old plantation of Middlebrook, it was haunted by the shadows of tragedy: Eva, the wife of the plantation owner, Lance Barlow, had recently drowned under suspicious circumstances. And Ariana vowed to help banish the pain from the lives of the handsome young widower and his little girl, Jamie.

But the new governess soon found her own life darkened by shadows, shadows connected to Eva's death. Now someone or something wanted to destroy Ariana. Was it one of the jealous women surrounding Lance, or one of his strange, vindictive tenants or what? Would Ariana be able to unmask the evil force in time -- or become its next victim?