Web of Dreams
| Author | V. C. Andrews |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Richard Newton |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Casteel Series |
| Genre | Gothic horror/family saga |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
Publication date | February 1990 |
| Publication place | USA |
| Pages | 426 |
| ISBN | 0-671-67066-2 |
| Preceded by | Gates of Paradise |
| Followed by | Dawn (Cutler series) |
Web of Dreams was written in 1990 by V. C. Andrews ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman. It is the fifth and final novel in The Casteel Series, and serves as a prequel to Heaven. Told primarily from the viewpoint of Heaven Casteel's mother, Leigh VanVoreen, the novel explains her secrets and circumstances as a thirteen year old girl who was forced to flee her wealthy Boston home, resulting in her dying in childbirth and leaving her daughter Heaven to be raised motherless in the hills of the West Virginia mountains.
Plot summary
The novel opens with Annie Stonewall Casteel returning to Farthinggale Manor for the funeral of her father, Troy Tatterton. Annie, hoping to finally put the past to rest alongside her mother Heaven, feels drawn to the suite that used to be occupied by her great-grandmother Jillian. Annie soon discovers a forgotten diary hidden away in a back drawer in Jillian's suite. The diary was written by Leigh VanVoreen, Annie's grandmother and Heaven's mother. Surprised by the discovery, Annie begins to read the tragic story of Leigh.
Thirteen-year-old Leigh VanVoreen was the beloved daughter of cruise ship magnate Cleve VanVoreen and his beautiful Boston socialite wife Jillian. Leigh lived out a happy existence until her mother left her father for the much younger Tony Tatterton, the handsome and wealthy owner of Tatterton Toys. Shortly after Jillian married Tony, Leigh and her mother moved into Tony's estate, Farthinggale Manor. Leigh's only friend on the estate was Troy Tatterton, the five-year-old brother of Tony, and they spent a lot of time together. Eventually, Leigh was placed in an exclusive private school for girls.
On her visits home, Leigh would serve as the model for what would be a new line of toys for Tatterton Toys: A portrait doll (a doll created in the image of the person who models for one). During the portrait doll modeling sessions, Tony would act seductively towards Leigh, much to her confusion, as Jillian had stopped sleeping with him. After the doll was complete and presented to Leigh on her birthday, Tony raped Leigh one night while Jillian was away.
After a few weeks, Leigh discovered she was pregnant by Tony, and when she confronted her mother about this fact, Jillian believed that Leigh seduced Tony on purpose and accused her of being a slut, saying "good girls don't go all the way". Shocked and infuriated that her own mother did not believe her, Leigh told Jillian that she knew Cleve was not really her father, that Jillian had also had pre-marital sex and that she knew Jillian had, in effect, pimped her out to Tony in order to avoid having sex with him. After the fight, Leigh stole some of Tony's money that he kept in a strongbox and fled Farthinggale Manor with a few meager possessions and her portrait doll.
Leigh had decided to go live with her grandmother Jana in Texas, and purchased a train ticket. On a stopover in Atlanta, Leigh missed her connecting train and was stranded, but a stranger named Luke Casteel cheered her up. After he inquires about Leigh's portrait doll, she responds that it is indeed modelled after her, and that she had named it Angel. Luke responded that 'Angel' was a better name for her than Leigh, and he then proceeds to refer to Leigh as Angel exclusively. Leigh then confided in him about the circumstances of her pregnancy and he drove her to a motel so she could rest. He then returned with some food for her and watched with concern as though he were the expectant father. Leigh asked him to stay as she didn't want to be on her own and he agreed. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she cried out in fear for a split second but then Luke was instantly at her side, reassuring her that he'd always protect her. He then told her that he has fallen in love with her and wants to be the father of her baby because he loves her. Leigh thought that she dreamt this and went back to sleep. After waking up in Luke's arms, she asked him about it. He passionately talked about his plans for the future if the two of them were together and Leigh fell more and more in love with him.
Although they had only known each other for one day, they got married (by faking Leigh's birth certificate) and returned to Luke's West Virginia mountain home, where her young age was not so unusual. After meeting Luke's mother, Annie, and Luke's father, Toby, Leigh worked hard around the shack and ignored the stares of the local townfolk. For his part, Luke was madly in love with his Angel and had plans to build a house in town just for her and the baby. Whenever Luke would drink, Leigh would fear for his health and tell him off, which he liked because she put him straight. He also promised to make her happy because she was the love of his life.
Leigh's diary ends when she starts experiencing labour pains while out for a walk with Luke. She writes about how they went up to the hills and how Luke talked about their plans for the future. He told her that she was his one and only and that no man could ever love any woman more than he loves her. She responded by kissing him and asking him to go back to the cabin with her so he could hold her. As they walk back, Leigh stops and stares at the stars, telling Luke that when she goes to sleep tonight she wants to feel like she's going to sleep in heaven. These are the last words in the journal, sadly ironic because the reader knows that Leigh does go to sleep 'in heaven', due to her death in childbirth, and that it is this death which turns Luke into the heartless, bitter man he is in Heaven. In the present, Annie finds a note from a private investigator Tony hired, stating that Leigh died in childbirth due to inadequate medical care. The note also states that the child survived and that it was a girl. The implication is that both Tony and Jillian knew about Heaven long before she came to Farthinggale, but preferred to leave her to be brought up as a hillbilly rather than face what they had done to Leigh.
Saddened by what she has read, Annie puts the journal back in the drawer as she hears Luke calling her name. She goes to him and they leave Farthinggale to its ghosts.