Star of the East: A Lady Emily Christmas Story

Emily and Colin Hargreaves make it a rule to spend as little time as possible with her parents in Kent, but are unable to refuse Lady Catherine Bromley’s invitation to join them for a pre-Christmas party that includes the family of Ala Kapur Singh, a powerful Punjabi maharaja who has come to England after receiving the Order of the Star of India. Lady Bromley, quite taken with the exotic beauty and spectacular jewels of the maharani and her daughter, Sunita, and throws herself with abandon into her own version of Indian culture, planning a feast she is certain will be more spectacular than any seen on the sub-continent. When a priceless emerald and diamond maang tika and a simple gold bangle disappear from Sunita’s room, a diplomatic incident seems imminent, particularly after the maang tika turns up in Emily’s possession. Emily may have what appears to be the more valuable of the two pieces, but the maang tika cannot be worn without the bangle, upon which is engraved the words necessary to ward off a curse placed on the set five hundred years ago by a princess forced to forsake the man she loved. Sunita must wear the maang tika at her wedding, which is scheduled to take place as soon as the family returns to the Punjab, but cannot do so without the bangle. Can Emily convince the maharaja that she is not a thief? And, more important, can she and Colin find the bangle?