Whispering Tower, The

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. The letter arrived on a Tuesday morning when the autumn mist still clung to the cobblestones of London like ghostly fingers. Evangeline Hartwell turned the cream-colored envelope over in her hands, studying the elegant script that spelled out her name in deep burgundy ink. The wax seal bore an unfamiliar coat of arms—a tower crowned with thorns beneath a crescent moon. She had been expecting word from the solicitor regarding her late aunt's estate, but nothing quite so formal or mysterious. Aunt Cordelia had always been an eccentric woman, spending her final years in self-imposed exile at some remote manor house in the Scottish Highlands. Evangeline remembered her as a shadowy figure from childhood visits, always draped in flowing fabrics and speaking in riddles that made little sense to a young girl. Breaking the seal with trembling fingers, Evangeline unfolded the parchment and read the contents that would change her life forever. The letter was brief but extraordinary in its implications. She had inherited Ravencroft Manor, a centuries-old estate built around what was known locally as the Whispering Tower. More shocking still was the substantial fortune that accompanied the property—enough to free her from her dreary position as a governess and provide security for the rest of her days. The solicitor's letter included a second document, written in Aunt Cordelia's familiar spidery handwriting. It contained specific instructions that seemed almost supernatural in their urgency. She was to travel to Ravencroft immediately, tell no one of her inheritance, and above all, she must never spend a night away from the tower once she had taken residence. The letter concluded with a cryptic warning: "The whispers hold the key to everything, dear child. Listen with your heart, not just your ears."