THE JADE PAGODA

A breezy adventure/romance which trips along through an agreeably exotic setting--early 19th-century India and Nepal--as young Englishwoman Tawny Butler (who has fled the scandal of an unpleasant love affair in England) arrives in Kashmir to join her brother. But after a short time brother Gavin disappears, presumably on government business--and Tawny, short of funds, reluctantly accepts an assignment from Lord Gordon Harding to ride herd on lovely Lady Bianca, Gordon's sister, who's tooting about the continents intending to join adventurer David Markus. in no time, however, Bianca is captured by bandit chief Khan Shayet; she'll be rescued by Gordon's friend Toby Roberts and by Gavin (who suddenly appears), Toby and Gavin then both disappear; and David Markus, who pops up and gives Tawny a mysterious parcel to keep, is killed. So now the two women are alone, trekking and seeking shelter: Bianca has a baby (Markus')--and Tawny is dispatched to bring the tot to Lord Gordon. Narrow escapes ensue, Tawny and Gordon pair off, and at last everyone is reunited at Katmandu after some handsome caravaning, with the mysteries concerning the tiny jade pagodas in David Markus' packet finally aired. A bouncy business fairly billowing with atmosphere--the ceremony of monasteries and royal courts, lumbering elephant processions, and those snow-tipped mountains. Pretty.