This Royal Breed

The English Channel isle of Jersey sets a backdrop at once lush and rugged for this tale of love rebuffed and regained. Having been spurned by an American dancer and unaware that a son was born of that brief liaison, Charles Laurient, the morose heir of a wealthy Jersey family, reserves his passion for raising orchids. Rochelle Dubois is the daughter of Charles's estate manager. When her parents die unexpectedly, Charles reluctantly adopts the odd youngster, who has an uncanny gift for growing the delicate plants. After Jersey is occupied by the Germans during WW II, Charles and Rochelle skulk around aiding the Resistance, until Charles is caught and sent to a concentration camp. At the time, he is still reeling from the shock of a letter in which his son, Laurie, has revealed his existence. Laurie, too, has a way with orchids, it seems, though once America joins the war his services as a pilot are in demand. Leaning heavily on coincidence, Saxton ( A Family Affair ) maneuvers encounters between Laurie, whose plane is shot down, and Charles, who has escaped from the camp; later, Laurie and Rochelle meet on Jersey. Effective depictions of Jersey during the Occupation and postwar London are undermined elsewhere by clunky transitions and breathless prose. (Jan.)