107. Love's dream in peril

Lady Georgina Lang returns to The Castle from her father's funeral to wonder what the future holds for her. Because her father had always longed for a son to succeed him, he had brought her up and educated her exactly as if she was a boy. She dressed as a boy and, although she had been christened Georgina, he liked calling her George. She was completely alone in the huge castle, which was now inherited by the new Earl of Langfield, a distant cousin who had been difficult to trace. Alister, however, had never, in his wildest dreams, expected to become the eleventh Earl of Langfield. He had left England in a fury because, having been pressed into marrying a very suitable young woman chosen by his family, he had run away to be free of her. When she died, he had sworn that he would never marry again as he disliked all women especially those who argued and were determined to have their own way.  He finds his cousin Georgina at The Castle and she shows him the vast estate, the farms, the villages and The Castle itself, all of which now belongs to him. He also learns that, as he is the Head of the Family, traditionally they rely on him entirely for financial support. Georgina has already been warned by her aunt that on no account is she to wear men's clothes in front of Alister and always to be soft, sweet and gentle in his company. And she has to persuade him as a weak woman to realise his position as the Earl of Langfield. How a newspaper article describing The Castle and its valuable contents brings a tiresome neighbour to the Castle. How the Earl, because she is un-chaperoned makes Georgina go to the Dower House. How the article attracts some ferocious burglars to The Castle. How Georgina saves the Earl's life and unexpectedly finds love and happiness is all told is this unusual story by BARBARA CARTLAND.