In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton

In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton

The lord and lady of an old English estate have had to open up most of their manor to tourists in order to keep the place going. One day an American millionaire breaks off from the tourists and enters the private rooms of the manor where he meets the lady. They fall in love at first sight. The lord is momentarily helpless, and can offer no objection when his wife, after a restless weekend, announces that she is going into London for a few days. He does not want his wife to come back to him out of any sense of duty, but prefers to hold or lose her entirely. He engineers a plan that involves inviting the American to the estate for a weekend, together with the women his wife is ostensibly visiting in London. It's a bold plan, but he carries it off gaily. The evening culminates in a harmless duel, in which the lord is superficially wounded - by arrangement with his butler. The absolute seriousness of the situation shocks the lady back to her senses. The dialogue throughout sparkles with a delightful levity, and the roles are polished to a perfection of sophistiction.