Philip is disturbed by the letter, but he ultimately puts it out of his mind. One day, while sorting through Ambrose’s old books, Philip finds an unfinished letter in which Ambrose accuses Rachel of extravagant spending and kleptomania (the uncontrollable impulse to steal). The weeks pass, and Philip gradually becomes infatuated with Rachel. However, she eventually reconciles to the idea, and even kisses Philip (his first kiss), which stuns him. When Rachel learns of this allowance, she is initially offended because she feels Philip is patronizing her. He even applies to Nick Kendall, his legal guardian until his birthday, with a request to provide Rachel a monthly allowance, since no other financial provision is made for her in Ambrose’s will. Over the ensuing months, Philip and Rachel bond over their shared love of Ambrose, and Philip begins to enjoy Rachel’s presence at the house, even though he set out to hate her. The servants at the Ashley estate, particularly the steward, Seecombe, are kind to Rachel unlike them, Rachel has not been provided for in Ambrose’s will, which bequeaths the estate to Philip on his twenty-fifth birthday. Determined to question her about Ambrose’s final days, he invites his cousin Rachel to stay with him. Within a few weeks, Philip learns that Rachel has just arrived in Plymouth, England. Swearing vengeance on Rachel, whom he believes to have somehow contributed to Ambrose’s death, Philip returns to Cornwall. In Florence, Philip learns that Ambrose has recently died, allegedly of a brain tumor, and that Rachel is nowhere to be found.

Ambrose seems completely taken with Rachel, but within a few months the tone of his letters shifts: he has begun suffering from extreme headaches, and he refers to Rachel as “my torment.” Alarmed, Philip consults with his godfather and guardian, Nick Kendall, who recommends Philip travel to Italy immediately. Philip soon receives a letter from Ambrose saying that he has met and married an Ashley family relative named Rachel, the former Contessa Sangalletti. On one such winter, when Philip is twenty-four, Ambrose travels to Florence, Italy. After Philip graduated from university, Ambrose began spending winters abroad as treatment for his rheumatism. An orphan, Philip grew up on a large estate in Cornwall, raised by his beloved older cousin Ambrose. Twenty-five-year-old Philip Ashley narrates the novel, prompted to reflect on the events of the past year by his guilt over the death of his cousin Rachel Ashley.

My cousin rachel novel