Aunt Dimity, book 02: Aunt Dimity and the Duke
Nancy Atherton1994

Emma Porter is forty, fat, frumpy, and a passionate amateur gardener. When her longtime lover dumps her for a younger woman, Emma escapes the cloying sympathy of family and friends by setting out on a summer-long driving tour of England's glorious gardens. A Dimity-contrived coincidence brings her to Penford Hall, a sprawling Gothic mansion in Cornwall, where the Duke of Penford is awaiting a miracle. An ancient artifact known as the Lady's Lantern must light of its own accord or the Penfor line will come to an end--but the lantern is missing.

Convinced there's more than one mystery to solve at Penford Hall, Emma accepts the Duke's invitation to stay on and restore the once-glorious chapel garden to its former beauty. The dark rumors surrounding the death of rock star Lex Rex, who drowned five years ago in the Duke's yacht, and the suspicious near-death of the Duke's beautiful, supercilious cousin, set Emma--with Aunt Dimity's ghostly guidance--on the path to Penford Hall's secrets and the discovery of an unexpected love.