The Phantom Baron

The Countess of Saint-Hélié arrives from Paris with her daughter Elfy and her adopted daughter Anne at an old castle in south-west France. They intend to live with the countess's uncle, the elderly Baron Carol. Toussaint, the servant, warns that the Baron has mysteriously disappeared and is believed to be a ghost, yet the countess moves into the habitable part of the house anyway.

Baron Carol has mysteriously vanished after the Countess arrives, and Toussaint claims he is now a ghost haunting the castle. The family is left to settle in without their guardian uncle. The mystery of the missing Baron shadows the household from the start.

Ten years pass without news of Baron Carol. Elfy and Anne have grown into beautiful young women, while Hervé—once their childhood playmate—lives in the game-keeper's house on the estate. The dynamic among the inhabitants begins to shift as potential alliances form.

The Countess aims to secure a marriage between Elfy and Albéric de Marignac, a young cavalry officer. Albéric lacks a dowry and faces opposition from his colonel, prompting him to seek help. He looks to Monseigneur, a man who pretends to be Louis XVII, living discreetly in the locality.

Elfy and Anne reveal that both secretly love Hervé, their childhood friend. Anne even muses that Hervé could love Elfy in return, complicating the love triangle. The sisters' affections create tension with the accompanying adult suitors.

On the eve of Elfy's engagement to Albéric, Elfy vanishes, triggering a full-scale search of the castle and grounds. The family and their guests fear a forced marriage could be doomed to fail. The mysterious disappearance fuels suspicion and urgency.

The old black cat of Baron Carol leads Anne and Hervé to a dungeon beneath the castle. There, they find Elfy, who has fainted from her disappearance and danger. The discovery deepens the mystery and raises stakes for the fortune and future.

Anne quietly discovers a secret room nearby containing the Baron Carol's treasures. She also uncovers the Baron's mummified body, which crumbles to dust when she screams. The eerie discovery underscores the Baron's long absence and the fragility of his legacy.

Anne finds the Baron’s testament declaring Hervé to be his son and heir. She keeps the document to herself, withholding it from others for now. The revelation introduces a potential shift in fortunes and power within the household.

Elfy announces that she wants to marry Hervé, angering her mother. The engagement with Albéric becomes more fragile as ties to Hervé are revealed. The ensemble tensions intensify due to conflicting loyalties and love.

One night, Hervé, prone to sleepwalking, comes to Anne's room and carries her through the castle and grounds. He demonstrates his love for her in a raw, unrefusable way, yet does not openly acknowledge it. The moment consolidates the love between Anne and Hervé and complicates the other relationships.

Anne reveals the contents of the baron's will and Hervé's fortune, elevating the stakes for everyone. Rivalries and misunderstandings escalate as Albéric challenges Hervé to a duel to settle the tensions. The duel marks a turning point in the relationships among the principal characters.

In the duel, a stray shot wounds Monseigneur, who is then revealed to be Eustache Dauphin, a poacher living under an alias. This revelation exposes the base nature of Monseigneur and alters the power dynamics around the women and their suitors. The incident shifts the balance back toward acceptance of Hervé and Elfy's union.

Elfy is reconciled to Albéric, soothing the apparent obstacle to their marriage. Concurrently, Anne and Hervé are united, consolidating the couple of the story. The social and familial reconciliation completes the central romantic arc.

With Monseigneur exposed as a poacher, Eustache Dauphin is appointed game-keeper to the castle. He returns to the grounds in a new role that stabilizes the estate. The ending solidifies new order and the future of Hervé and Anne together.