A Time for Silence — Philippa Carr

As a way of life vanishes, Lucinda still dreams of love and happiness.

Even Madame Rochere's exclusive Belgian finishing school cannot shelter wealthy young ladies from trouble. Lucinda is distressed by her friend Annabelinda's reckless romantic escapades, and stunned when she learns the truth of the mysterious illness that requires Annabelinda suddenly to leave school. Worst of all, the terror of World War I sends the German army sweeping across Europe, and the girls must flee for home.

Escorted by handsome Major Marcus Merrivale, they struggle toward England, unaware that a shared secret they cannot discuss is a ticking bomb, waiting to dash their desires. They do not realize that the harsh necessities of war are killing the world they once knew, or that the sly invasion into their lives of a sinister enemy will challenge friendship and destroy love -- and that Lucinda's cherished dreams may never come true....