146. The Weapon is Love

The Earl of Rockhaven calls on his friend the Vicar, the Reverend Simon Wolverham, to ask if his beautiful daughter, Lucinda, will pretend to be his own daughter, Muriel, who is away in Scotland staying with her aunt. Fortunately the girls have similar looks and Lucinda could easily be taken for Muriel. The Earl explains to the Vicar that a certain Baron Schlesinger and his son, Kurt, from Germany have invited themselves to luncheon at his nearby ancestral home and are insistent that his daughter is present for the occasion. They want the Earl’s help in planning a ball in London and another one in Berlin for the Baron’s daughter at which the German Kaiser will be present. However, the Earl is sure that what they really want is information about a unique gun which his son, Ivan, has invented and wishes to keep top secret at all costs, particularly from the Germans. Lucinda has known Ivan since she was a child and she shares his love of horses and riding as well as the lovely countryside. She is deeply suspicious of the Germans’ motives in planning these balls as she feels that it is just a pretext for finding out what they can about Ivan’s gun as it could be of considerable use for Germany’s growing Army and Navy, which at some stage might be a menace to England. How Lucinda helps the Earl and Ivan entertain the Germans and help them with the two balls. How she finds the Baron’s son, Kurt, very frightening and unpleasant. And how, when they reach Berlin, Lucinda finds intrigue and love, is all told in this exciting and romantic novel by BARBARA CARTLAND.