31 Solita and the Spies

Solita arrives alone in London from Italy where she has been living to confront the Duke of Calverleigh. She is angry and hurt with him because although ostensibly he is her guardian, he has neglected her for ten years. The Duke who, after serving in the army in India had unexpectedly come into the title, had actually forgotten about the child, the daughter of one of his brother officers, whom he had placed in the care of his cousin. He is very conscious of his lapse of memory which is in part due to his present infatuation for the beautiful Russian Princess Zenka Kozlovski. Solita has an unusual perception which tells her the Princess is evil and the Duke is therefore in danger. Because the Duke, when he was in India was involved in the secret espionage of the British Raj, he is appalled when he learns that Princess Zenka and her brother Prince Ivan are plotting to use him as a pawn in the Russian infiltration amongst the Indians, and also to get him into their power by forcing him to marry the Princess. How Solita saves the Duke from destruction, how she helps him find a secret, very important to the India Office, and how finally they find both safety and love is told in this fascinating, dramatic story of love and intrigue, the 414th book by Barbara Cartland.