Helsa, the exceptionally beautiful daughter of the Reverend Alfred Irvin, is thrilled when she learns that Irvin Hall, their vast ancestral home, has been rented for a large sum by a certain Lady Basset.Her Ladyship wishes to host a grand house party and has invited a number of distinguished guests including the handsome Duke of Mervinston.Helsa's friend, Mary, agrees to play the vital role of lady's maid to Lady Basset. But at the last minute Mary cannot do it as she has to visit her ill grandmother.So Helsa has to step into her shoes and be the lady's maid.To everyone's surprise Lady Basset organises a steeplechase and the Duke is the favourite to win on his stallion Masterpiece.However Helsa uncovers a dastardly plot on the day of the steeplechase to lure the Duke into marrying against his will.How Helsa saves the Duke and unexpectedly finds the love of her life is all told in this exciting romance by BARBARA CARTLAND.

The beautiful young Corena Melville is horrified when a sinister Greek man with the name of Mr. Thespidos calls on her at her home to announce that he is holding as his prisoner her beloved father, Sir Priam, a prominent archaeologist and an expert on Ancient Greek antiquities.Without Corena to help him, Sir Priam is presently in Greece excavating around the Temple of Athena where he is confident of finding a long lost statue of the Goddess Aphrodite, which is obviously coveted by Mr. Thespidos, who will sell it to the highest bidder on world markets.What is worse is that the only way that she can save him from torture and death is by travelling to Greece with the wealthy Lord Warburton, an avid collector of Greek treasures, from whom they aim to extract the whereabouts of other ancient statues they want to steal and then sell. In effect she is to be the bait in the wicked trap set for Lord Warburton. When Lord Warburton refuses her request for passage to Greece on his yacht to...

Charles, Lord Hartley, was at his wits end. He had spent a fortune on his cousin John, and still the embittered John demanded more money.Charles knew he needed an heiress and he became swiftley attracted to Cliona, who had recently moved in to the neighbourhood.He did not know that she was an heiress. When he found out, he felt there was no way that he could approach her with honour.But Cliona, a spirited girl, had her own ideas.Charles was the man she wanted, and when John appeared again, determined to court her for her money, she put an audacious plan into practice.To win the man she loved she first had to win an extraordinary game of cards, using skills that no lady was supposed to have.How her lucky star helped her triumph over villainy and win the man she loved is told in this exciting and romantic novel story.

Dispatched on a secret mission to Paris by the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Benjamin Disraeli, the dashing Earl of Hawkshead is held up on the road out of Calais by an accident between a post chaise and a diligence. Stopping to assist the victims, he is accosted by a beautiful young waif called Baptista, who pleads with him to take her to Paris to escape the clutches of her cruel father the 'Preaching Peer', who aims to have her locked up forever in a Home of Penitence as punishment for the 'sins' of her wayward mother. Reluctantly his Lordship agrees to escort Baptista to Paris in search of her mother and soon she is caught up in his perilous adventures on a thrilling journey whose final destination is love.

Arriving exhausted in Ampula, the Capital of the tiny nation of Kozan on the Black Sea, and carrying top secret information from India for the Viceroy, adventurer and British Secret Service agent Drogo Forde is in need of fresh air and decides to go for a walk in the City. To his amazement he encounters a beautiful young woman hanging perilously down a high wall from a rope. She calls to him for help and, Master of disguise though he is, Drogo can barely cover the fact that he is instantly smitten with her. With revolution in the air, the violent streets are no place for a young woman, so chivalrous Drogo escorts Thekla, for that is her name, to his rather sparse lodgings. To his amazement she reveals that she is none other than the daughter of the King. And since the revolutionaries have now stormed the Royal Palace and killed the King, he has no choice but to save her and take her with him on his dangerous mission. As love blossoms between them, despair fills Drogo's...

Martina knew that Sir Hugh Faversham adored her. She was uncertain how she felt about him, but she knew she could always turn to him for help.So when her friend, Harriet, begged her for help to avoid a forced marriage, Martina went straight to Sir Hugh with her plan.She proposed that the two of them should 'marry', with Harriet taking her place at the altar at the last minute.Afterwards nobody could be sure who was married to whom and they would all escape on Sir Hugh's yacht and sort everything out later.Sir Hugh tore his hair at her absurd idea, but he could not let his darling take such risks alone. So much against his better judgement, he plunged into the maddest scheme he could possibly conceive.At the last minute they were joined on the yacht by Robin, a young friend of Sir Hugh's who was immediately attracted to Harriet.While they were falling in love Martina came to know Sir Hugh better and began to understand her own heart.But then, just when she discovered...

Justina Mansell, the youngest daughter of Lord and Lady Mansell is told that her sister has been invited to visit India, but cannot accept. So Justina jumps at the chance to go in her place.Her aunt arranges for her to be chaperoned on board ship by the stately Mrs. Arbuthnot, who is travelling with her two daughters and her little terrier, Muffin.Justina is quickly attracted to the goodlooking Sir Thomas Watson who is most attentive and much admires her beauty when he joins the Arbuthnot table for dinner.When the Arbuthnot ladies succumb to seasickness Justina takes Muffin for walks along the deck. There she meets the solitary figure of Lord Castleton with his own dog. He knows her father and they strike up a friendship.Justina finds herself compromised in her cabin by Sir Thomas even though she has given him no encouragement and is forced to agree to become engaged to him to prevent a scandal.Lord Castleton is not at all pleased by this turn of events,...

Venetia was very lonely after the death of her parents.So when her cousin Mary begged her to help to save her from a forced marriage, Venetia was ready.Mary was in love with another man and expecting his child. yet the Queen wanted her to marry the Earl of Mountwood at a moment's notice and go with him to India.A reckless impulse made Venetia promise to take Mary's place at the altar. She would worry about the consequences later.Lord Mountwood was handsome, but he was also haughty and autocratic, demanding instant obedience from his servants and his wife. When he discovered the trick Venetia had played on him he was furious. She had only her quick wits to protect her from his wrath. On the journey to India they quarrelled and sparred, each getting the measure of the other, while the growing attraction between them became impossible to ignore.In India they travelled to the NorthWest frontier, to a fort that was under constant attack by the Russians. And there,...

Returning home from France Robina Melville finds surprises awaiting her – not all of them pleasant. Almost immediately it becomes clear that the familiar surroundings of Trentham House are not the sanctuary that she hoped for, and she soon feels unwanted and alone.Still in mourning for her beloved mama and shocked by the changes in her father, Robina struggles to come to terms with all that she has lost. Alongside this her stepmother, the new Lady Melville, seems intent on marrying off her to the wealthiest suitor, regardless of Robina's wishes.A chance encounter with a childhood friend, the handsome new Earl of Hampton, provides Robina with employment as his secretary and a temporary escape from her stepmother's clutches.But when Robina is forced to flee in order to avoid the unwanted attentions of Lord Drury, she finds herself at the mercy of the Earl's dissolute brother, Ellis.With a stepmother who will stop at nothing to marry her off, can Robina discover her true...

"Do you really think you could work as I had to work to keep your mother from starvation? My dear child, you have lived in the lap of luxury all your life. You could no more earn a penny piece than fly over the moon!" Kasia's father laughs scornfully.This is justification for his decision to marry her off to a man she does not love – purely to save her from fortune hunters. So Kasia runs away to prove him wrong by working as Governess to the Duke of Dreghorne's unruly nephew. As Kasia gains the trust of the child, she earns first the respect and then the growing affection of the Lord. But when she and the boy are kidnapped the stakes are irrevocably raised and the Duke's reputation as a Dare-Devil will be tested one final time... Will Kasia's father forgive her? Will Fate finally unite the hearts of Kasia and the Dare-Devil Duke?

Two attractive, intelligent people with one thing in common both of them have sworn never to marry, unless it is for true love.Beautiful and headstrong, Lady Elva Chartham shocks her family when she denounces the debutante balls and festivities of London as a waste of her time. Determined not to bow to the pressure of polite society into an early marriage, she returns home to the pleasures of the country and to dream of travel and adventure.Little does she know that opportunities for both will be presented to her during a surprise visit from her cousin, the enigmatic Duke of Sparkbrook. Handsome and equally adamant that he will not marry the eligible young ladies paraded before him, they enter into a pact to help the British Government.Leaving the safety of England for Russia and the opulent court of Empress Catherine, Elva and the Duke grow closer as they face great danger amongst the plotters and espionage they discover.Will they succeed in their mission and...

The Honourable Richard Brooke, the younger son of the Earl of Grandbrooke becomes a close friend of Prince Ivan of Karlova.The Prince however does not use his title as he is incognito. He is therefore known as Ivan Sazon.As is usual in Aristocratic families, Richard, as the second son is ordained and is then appointed to a Parish in Oxford.Prince Ivan is often at his house and it was not long before he falls in love with Richard's sister Elizabeth, who is very beautiful.They marry and are very happy for six years and have one child, whom they christen Tarena.Unexpectedly Ivan is called back to Karlova because his father, the King, has died and he has to take his place. He also learns that he is expected to save Karlova and its adjacent country Dubnik from the Russians, who are determined to annex both countries.To do so he has to marry Princess Catrina of Dubnik.Shortly afterwards Elizabeth dies and Tarena goes to live with her Uncle Richard.Tarena is...