Cecilia’s childhood was not a happy one in Northrangerland Abbey. Her mother Cilla wanted to encourage her to play with dolls while her father wanted her to learn piracy and poetry. She, however, simply wanted to relax and read books. When Cilla took her away from her father, she offered a life of fun and games, both of which were then lost to Cecilia until Ned came into her life. Two years after their escape from Morvath, Morvath found them and murdered Cilla in front of her. Cecilia escaped and Miss Darlington found and rescued her. 

Now, Cecilia wakes in her childhood bedroom in the abbey with her cousin Frederick beside her. Frederick waxes poetic about Cecilia and the beautiful bride she will be while Cecilia moves around the room to open the secret passageway. In the passage, she finds Ned, who apologizes for chloroforming her. She is skeptical of him but still listens to him. She then returns to her room for a bath before meeting her father.

Ned goes to the cellars to tell Pleasance that Cecilia is in the abbey and that he will help the ladies escape. He pretends to be the ghost of Emily Brontë, as Pleasance seems more receptive to the presence of ghosts.