A QUESTION OF HONOUR

More glorious self-discovery to the trumpet's martial sound- -here, the British march on Egypt to retake Khartoum after their defeat in 1885. And Drummond gives a lift to Anglophilic readers by staging much of her romance and destiny-dreaming in one of England's stately homes. As in That Sweet and Savage Land (1991) and others, the ideal Soldier's Way is riddled with noble potential. Led by family head Sir Gilliard Ashleigh, solemn toasts are offered once a year by men of the family to the dead Lieutenant Vorne Ashleigh, Sir Gilliard's grandson, the ``hero of Khartoum'' who perished on the desert sands. (Some time later, that saintly perishing will be closely examined.) But, now, after Sir Gilliard's death, his surviving grandsons have worries. Young Val, 17, wants to buck tradition and join the cavalry instead of the family regiment, where the Ashleighs have distinguished themselves. Vere, 25, regarded as a frail introvert, is an artist and pacifist and looks forward to a peaceful life managing the estate. But when Vere is thrown over by his fiancÇe, who is infatuated with the dead hero, he bings off in a rage to join the army in Egypt—with embarrassing-to-comic results. Vere is warmly welcomed, but officers and troops soon learn he's useless. Then Val is seduced by the wife of a school official and nips out to join a cavalry unit incognito as a mere trooper. Back home, Sir Gilliard's granddaughter Margaret has her troubles with her dreadful clergyman husband. All will end well, of course, with the bulk of the tale devoted to the reconstituting of Vere, who becomes a fine ``old campaigner'' to whom new worlds of death and pain and courage have opened up. Pleasant romantic messes, mansion ambiance, and offhand amusements. And, again, Drummond does a hope-and-glory drumbeat for the nasty old gentlemanly glories of war.