We were all knocked sideways by the death of my old friend Ambrose Ashley, hundreds of miles away in Italy. I’m guardian to Philip, the young heir to the Ashley estate and he went haring off to Florence when he received word of his cousin’s serious illness. Ambrose had only recently met his cousin Rachel out there, a great beauty, by all accounts, and married her in weeks. Naturally we were all agog to meet this mysterious creature, particularly since Ambrose was such a confirmed bachelor. But now all this! Philip is returned and my spirited young daughter Louise has been bending my ear to learn the full tragic story from the lad. What she doesn’t yet know is that Ambrose’s widow has contacted me by letter and we may, all three of us, be encountering the alluring Rachel sooner than we imagined. I, for one, find the prospect highly intriguing!
‘My Cousin Rachel’ will be performed by the Saddleworth Players at the Millgate Arts Centre from 28 September to 5 October. Tickets are available online from our booking site or from the box office at Delph Library (Tuesdays 2pm–5pm, Wednesdays and Thursdays 2pm–7pm, and Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30am–1pm). The box office telephone number is 01457 874644.