Hiding from the Fortune-Hunters

The beautiful Colena Dalton has inherited a great fortune following the untimely death of her enormously rich father, Sir Arthur Dalton, in Paris after a long illness. After overhearing the Comtesse de Lyons telling her charmless son, Pierre, that he must propose to Colena as they need the money, she decides that she wants to marry a man who really loves her for herself and not for her money It is then that she and her cousin, Elizabeth, who has been living with Colena and her father in France, decide to change places. The two girls return to London where they join the Social world and are at once invited to endless parties as Sir Arthur's death has been widely reported in all the newspapers. And immediately the fortune-hunters start circling. One of them called Oliver Stone becomes particularly persistent and bombards Elizabeth, thinking that she is Colena, with attention and invitations, while ignoring Colena. As expected he proposes marriage and will not be shaken off whatever the girls try and in order to escape him they drive of Colena's father's house in the country. There they find they find that two famous paintings have been stolen and hearing that there is to be a sale of pictures and other treasures nearby, the girls go there to try to replace the pictures. It is then that they meet up again unexpectedly with the unpleasant Oliver Stone who tries to abduct Elizabeth and force into marrying him. Then an unfortunate accident occurs that changes everything. How Colena and Elizabeth meet the men of their dreams, who love them for themselves and not for their money, is told in this intriguing story by BARBARA CARTLAND.