This is book three in the series about the Lorme family. World War I sees a wing of the castle converted to a convalescent home for wounded officers (apparently this happened in every stately home in England?) run by the indomitable Lady Constance, the former radical suffragette. Right off the bat, the black sheep of the family, Stephen, is killed as is one of the family's footman, and Lord Aynthorp's nephew, Ralph is seriously wounded.

The war, however, does not take up much of the book. Much of it is devoted to the soap operish antics of the rest of the family. The wayward niece Rosalind who bolts from her ne'er-do-well Irish husband for an Italian count and to the rather incestuous relationship of brother & sister Lucy & Lucien. Then throw in some pregnancies, both of which result in difficult deliveries and the appearance, at the very end of the black sheep's heretofore unknown American wife & one wonders why this series was never made into a TV mini-series.

This book is no great shakes as literature, but it's a fun read. ( )