RELUCTANT ROMANCE The chattering and giggling in a ballroom full of hopeful young debutantes had sent Lord Alexander hurrying for covers He had promised his father, the Duke of Carlyle that he would marry, but the fun-loving young lord was finding the selection process quite a bore, and sought a moment of reprieve in the library. Elizabeth Bethingame had accepted the invitation to the magnificent ball at the London home of the Duke and Duchess of Carlyle at the insistence of her aunt, but was appalled at the idea of parading herself for Lord Alexander's inspection. The independent young beauty was managing nicely as owner of Bething's Folly, the racing stable she inherited from her father, and marriage was definitely not part of her immediate plans. The library seemed the perfect escape. But the chosen refuge of Elizabeth and Lord Alexander did not turn out to be the safe retreat that either had anticipated, for their unexpected meeting proved to be the beginning of a most tempestuous alliance.