The Dew of Their Youth

In the leafy outskirts of a Scottish academy, Duncan MacAlpine balances duties as a teacher’s son with an uneasy fascination for the school’s lively girls, especially the swift‑running Gertrude Gower in her grey‑green dress. His days drift between supervising rounders and listening to the murmurs of classmates, while a solitary guard, Sandy Webb, supplies the latest gossip from the village. The rhythm of lessons and pine‑scented walks is broken only by the occasional clatter of a broken bell‑rope or the occasional hint of something unsettled.

One breezy afternoon, Sandy delivers a curious tidbit: a phantom has taken residence in the long‑abandoned Marnhoul House, the looming mansion that shadows the nearby road. The “Haunted House” stands silent amid a forest of timber‑cutters, its dark towers a magnet for local rumor. Intrigued and eager for a diversion from schoolyard dramas, Duncan feels the pull of that looming mystery, setting the stage for a summer where youthful curiosity may meet the uncanny.