The Loom of the Tancred // Bride of Tancred — Diane Pearson

Young Miriam Wakeford was full of hope when she arrived to take up her new appointment as needlewoman and companion in the bleak, windswept House of Tancred, high on the South Downs. But her strict Quaker upbringing was no preparation for the experiences which awaited her there...

Her master, John Tancred, is a moody widower, whose scarred face reflects the emotional torment of his soul... He is frequently harsh and sometimes surprisingly kind. His young daughter, Esmee Tancred, seemed unbalanced... His mother was an imperious old lady who ruled the decaying mansion from her wheelchair. Above all, the atmosphere was filled with the evil, violent presence of his dead father, Richard Tancred, who by his excesses had brought ruin, infamy and tragedy to the name of Tancred.

Miriam's fate becomes entwined with the sinister past of the ancient mansion and its strange and mysterious master, a strong, passionate, frightening man, with whom no innocent girl should dare to fall in love...