Mischief at Marsden Manor

<p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>England September 1926</em></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>An engagement party at venerable Marsden Manor serves up annoyances big and small for Bright Young Thing Philippa Darling and her cousins Christopher and Francis Astley. </span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>There's the scheming Lady Laetitia Marsden now engaged to Christopher's and Francis's cousin (and Pippa's personal nemesis) Crispin Viscount St George. </span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>There's Laetitia's brother the handsy Lord Geoffrey and his proclivity for trying to seduce anything in a skirt-by force if necessary.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>There's the general feeling of ill-will towards Pippa's and Christopher's new friend the </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Graf</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>von und zu </em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Natterdorff-including the tension between the </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Graf</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> and Francis left over from the war Francis fought against the Germans. </span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>There's the handful of Crispin's old flames who have received invitations one of whom is expecting a child and who is remarkably close-mouthed about exactly whose child it is.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>And then of course there is the murder and the other murder and the attempted murder and the other attempted murder...</span></p><p></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>All in all it's not quite the relaxing weekend in Dorset Pippa had expected but what's a girl to do when life serves up one mystery after another? </span></p>