Shana, the intelligent and beautiful daughter of Lord Hallam, has not yet been a debutante as she has been helping her father write his autobiography. But he has promised her that she would soon have her debutante season in the city.
Although retired from the Foreign Office, Lord Hallam has been called back to duty during a crisis abroad. Not happy with the idea of leaving his daughter alone with only the servants at their country house he suggests various relatives that could stay with her; but his daughter refuses, considering their company boring and preferring her independence.
Before he leaves, he asks Shana to deliver a gift to an old friend, the landlord of the village inn known as the Rose and Crown, where she finds there is a crisis in the kitchen following the unexpected arrival of the Marquis of Kilbrooke and his shooting party. Shana offers to help. She not only cooks the food but helps to wait at table, and she meets the marquis, who to her surprise is young and very handsome.
Shana returns to the Rose and Crown to cook again, this time for two strangers from Italy, and overhears, as she speaks Italian fluently, the strangers planning to rob the marquis of his extremely valuable collection of gold and silver heirlooms. She feels it is her duty to warn the marquis of their plot—and in doing so becomes involved in an exciting and dangerous adventure.
How Shana overcomes the perils confronting her and unexpectedly finds love and happiness is told in this unusual and exciting story by Barbara Cartland.
If you liked Downton Abbey, you will love Barbara Cartland’s romance novels.
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