Publisher: Sovereign
A young wealthy gentleman looses everything in speculation and is forced into a humble life of a grocer. He finds his circumstances tragic at first and keeps his fate secret from all his friends and family. He re-considers his attitudes only when the woman with whom he is falling in love discovers he is a grocer, and throws him over.
Arriving alone and unannounced at her Aunt Lily’s Paris home, the innocent young beauty Gardenia is overwhelmed by a whirl of glamourous parties, exotic food and endless champagne. Her aunt, the imposing Duchesse de Mabillon, is it seems a well-known and popular Society hostess ¬who counts Lords and Comtes among her many friends. Indeed, already at her wits’ end after the death of her mother, Gardenia is so shocked by the immediate and over-insistent attentions of a drunken Nobleman called Comte André de Grenelle that she faints. And her mind is hardly set at rest when, after coming to her rescue, a haughty and disdainful Lord Hartcourt warns her to leave her aunt’s house and stay elsewhere.Her aunt plies her with fabulous clothes and introduces her to her sophisticated world and slowly Gardenia’s eyes are opened to the decadence and deceit behind the glamorous façade. The innocent and trusting Gardenia has suddenly become embroiled in a world of women of low virtue, international espionage, intrigue and terrible danger. Luckily for Gardenia, the handsome Lord Vane Hartcourt is a gentleman of honour who would steal nothing – except perhaps her heart.Show book
From the USA Today–bestselling author, one night leads to shocking consequences in this thrillingly intense second romance in the Stolen Brides series. Dutiful heiress Sophie has never challenged her gilded existence, even agreeing to a loveless arranged marriage at her father’s command. Until she meets ruthless, gorgeous, Sicilian billionaire Renzo. Their one passionate night awakens unimaginable desires in Sophie, but also leaves her pregnant and trapped in an engagement to the wrong man . . . When Renzo uncovers her scandalous secret, he’ll stop at nothing to legitimize his child—including storming Sophie’s wedding and stealing her away to his castle in Sicily as his own bride. She may be exchanging one marriage of convenience for another, but could Renzo be the one who will finally set her free? “Passionate, sexy, sometimes over the top—classic Harlequin Presents drama unfolds here . . . an enjoyable and entertaining romance.” —Harlequin Junkie Don’t miss the first Stolen Brides book, Kidnapped for His Royal Duty, by New York Times–bestselling author Jane Porter.Show book
Handsome, wealthy and some might say spoilt, Hugo, Lord Roxburton, the ‘Don Juan of St. James’s Street’ has all London’s beauties falling at his feet. But, one day when skiing in the mountains above St. Moritz, one of those feet lets him down. In agony from an injured ankle, he’s at the mercy of the icy elements – until a lovely Swiss girl called Utta comes to his rescue. And instantly his whole life and outlook are transformed.Discovering that this innocent young beauty is a gifted skater competing for the Swiss Championship, he’s suddenly revolted by the attentions of high society fraud Carole Munton. When he finds out that Utta is none other than his deceased, older brother Andrew’s long-lost daughter, Hugo is determined to take her to Rox, his English family estate, to meet his sister Pamela and Grandmother Lady Loth.Utta arrives in London bewitched and bewildered by its glamour. How is she to know Carole is lying when she claims to be pregnant with Hugo’s child? How is she to know the evil in her heart or that of the predatory ‘talent scout’ who tries to seduce her? Overwhelmed by the hopelessness of her love, Utta flees to the closest thing to home she can find, working at a tawdry London ice rink where the man who gave wings to her heart can never find her…Show book
Isolated monasteries nestling in the peaks, precipices and giddying gorges of the snow-capped Himalayas… The filth-encrusted and lice-infested hovels of the native people… It’s all a far cry from the genteel sophistication she’s left behind in Monte Carlo. But as always, Vivian Carrow’s as defiant as she’s beautiful – and, nursing a broken heart, she’s determined to accompany her father on a perilous mission to Tibet. Faced with a haughtily handsome and arrogant Captain whom she suspects is a murdering spy, a lecherous, drug-crazed Indian prince and gangs of murderous monks, that defiance is tested to its limits – indeed almost to the death. Will Vivian plunge to an icy death in a mountain crevasse? Or fall into love with the man she so hated.Show book
The beautiful Lencia is the image of her dear departed Mama – and so is still the apple of the eye of the widowed Earl of Armeron. Knowing how profoundly Lencia and younger sister Alice are missing their mother, their father promises to take them to see the fabulous historic Châteaux of the Loire Valley in France – of which the most exciting and impressive of all is Chaumont. But to their chagrin, their hopes are dashed when the Earl returns from a trip to the South of France with a new wife on his arm – a stepmother who sees Lencia’s beauty as competition for her husband’s attention. Nevertheless, the sisters have their hearts set on their French adventure and set off in secret, Lencia disguised in her late mother’s clothes and make-up to look like an older Society lady. By chance, they happen to meet along the way the dashingly handsome Duc de Montrichard, owner of Chaumont, who invites them there to stay! And soon, while Alice’s heart is fit to burst with excitement as they explore his fairy-tale world, Lencia’s if filled with love for the dashing Duc. But, tragically, it seems that love is doomed since it is based on deceit!Show book
The beautiful golden-haired Orlina Runford is the daughter of the renowned author, Sir Nicholas Runford . She lives very quietly in the country helping her dedicated father translate ancient manuscripts from all over the world and, as she is so intelligent, she learns many languages including Ancient Greek. To her surprise her great friend, Lady Sarah Lonslow, arrives unexpectedly, She is the daughter of the Marquis of Avingforde, whose nearby house was burnt down and Sarah had then gone to London after her husband dies and was acclaimed a great beauty. Sarah has come to ask Orlina for a very great favour. Because Orlina has been such a success in the plays they arranged as children, Sarah asks her to pretend to be her chaperone at a party given by the Earl of Kentallan on his superb yacht. Sarah has made up her mind to marry the Earl who was, however, determined to avoid marriage. Because he was so rich and handsome women pursued him relentlessly and Sarah has little chance of succeeding where so many others have failed. At the same time she is determined to have her own way, but the Earl refuses to let her join his party unless she provides herself with a chaperone. The only person she can trust to do it is Orlina, who finally succumbs to Sarah’s blandishments and is dressed in elaborate gowns and hats to conceal her glorious golden hair, Made up as an elderly woman, she goes with Sarah to the Earl’s yacht to find a party of two attractive men and two dancers from the London stage. It is only when they hurry on the Earl’s insistence to the Mediterranean and on to the Aegean Sea that Orlina is convinced that he is on a secret mission on behalf of the British Government. How Orlina dramatically saves the Earl’s life, how he discovers her secret and how Sarah as well as she find unexpected happiness is all told in this exciting romance by BARBARA CARTLAND.Show book
