The unbidden guest : or, Between two passions

At the edge of a rugged cliff overlooking the winding Greenbrier River, a restless seventeen‑year‑old watches the world beyond The Crags, a weather‑worn stone mansion that has sheltered generations of the proud Willoughby family. Inside, the estate’s matriarch, Miss Cyrilla Willoughby, devotes her days to preserving her lineage’s memoirs, while a bitter dispute with a stern military cousin summons the specter of a gypsy curse that promises misfortune to anyone who dismisses the wandering folk.

When Colonel Ritchie arrives with his wife and infant daughter for a brief stay, the house is already humming with whispered prophecies. The soldiers’ harsh eviction of a gypsy camp and a sudden telegram about a relative’s death set a dark tone, and the next morning the servants discover a lone, dark‑eyed baby abandoned in the woods. Miss Willoughby’s cold decree to send the child to a poorhouse clashes with the staff’s instant affection, hinting at a tangled web of fate, love, and lingering resentment that will shape the lives bound to The Crags.