Border Lord

The superheroes had best look out, for there's a new laddie on the block: Border Lord. Like an 18th-century Superman, Duncan Armstrong Kerr, Earl of Kidalton, convinces Lady Miriam MacDonald that he is a mild-mannered, bumbling Scot with thick spectacles and a kilt. But at night he becomes Border Lord, galloping across the countryside, tartan cape flying, to ``mete out justice'' when English baron Aubrey Townsend or his household ruffians cause trouble. Queen Anne has sent Miriam, ``star of her diplomatic corps,'' to settle the ongoing hostilities. Though Duncan is charming in a bashful sort of way, he's just as unhelpful as Aubrey when it comes to clearing up the dispute. No wonder that Miriam, though ignorant of his true identity, is seduced by Border Lord's straightforward lust in a late-night encounter. Lamb ( The Betrothal ) makes her story so intensely dramatic (and drops so many mentions of men's testicles, or ``lady crackers,'' as they are called here) that it transcends silliness and ends in sheer boredom. (Feb.)