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Keeping up appearances for her older brother, and his Society lifestyle while also caring for their young brother and sister is becoming too much for the beautiful Minerva as they have very little money and the bills are mounting every day. So when Tony confesses that he owes the terrifying gambling debt of two thousand pounds to his friend, the Earl of Gorleston, with an unsavory and raffish reputation, she is mortified. In utter desperation, Minerva dresses herself up as a highwayman, creeps into The Castle and tries to blackmail the Earl at gunpoint.

If you like Downton Abbey you will love Barbara Cartland. Beautiful Jasmina Winfield is a thoroughly modern American girl who likes to make her own decisions. A skilled and daring horsewoman, she is used to taking care of herself and takes orders from no one - especially not a man. Arriving in Yorkshire from Missouri to visit her relations, the Duke and Duchess of Harley, Jasmina is captivated by the sad romantic tale of her near neighbour the reclusive Earl of Somerton.

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.

The Marquis of Wynstanton had become involved with one of the beauties of London Society - Locadi, Lady Marshall and when her husband died unexpectedly, the Marquis set out on a long journey to India and Nepal, as he wished to avoid any gossip arising about their liaison. After his return, he resumed the affair, staying on in London for some time when he should have gone straight to Wyn Castle and his country estate. Then he began to suspect that Locadi was using black magic to entice him to her and to induce him to propose marriage.

Michael, the Earl of Danesbury was being hounded to marry Lady Alice Randall, a woman he did not love. Even the Prince of Wales was determined to force him into marriage. Michael fled to his dilapidated ancestral castle for the first time since inheriting his title. There he heard a girl singing and fell in love. She was Bettina, daughter of an eccentric Major, a genius with gardens plants and herbs. Determined to put the castle gardens in good order, Michael hired the Major and found himself becoming more and more enchanted with Bettina.

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.

"I will not marry a man I do not love!" When Lady Verena's widowed father suddenly remarries, she finds that her stepmother is anxious to make a match of convenience for her new stepdaughter and produces a suitor who repels her. Verena has always sworn that when she marries, it will be for love and for no other reason. Feeling that she has no choice but to run away, Verena makes a daring midnight escape from her home.

The irresistibly charming and cosy first novel in the bestselling Petticoat Police Mystery series, inspired by the true story of Australia's pioneering policewoman, Kate Cocks 'An outstanding debut - funny, poignant, historically fascinating, and an absorbingly good crime read - The Death of...

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 good-looking Sir Thomas Watson who is most attentive and much admires her beauty when he joins the Arbuthnot table for dinner.

Set in 1906, Dreamhunter describes a world very similar to ours, except for a special place, known simply as "The Place", where only a select group of people can go. These people are called Dreamhunters, and they harvest dreams that are then transmitted to the general public for entertainment, therapy - or terror and political coercion. Inside The Place, 15-year-old Laura finds out what happened to her missing father and uncovers a government secret.

The horror of the Rainbow Opera riot is the talk of the country. Dreamhunter Grace Tiebold's reputation is in tatters and Laura is in hiding. But the nightmare has only just begun. Rumours about the government's torture of prisoners have been suppressed and corrupt minister Cas Doran is free to take his plans to shocking heights.

Shenda, the beautiful daughter of Lord Linbury, finds herself all alone when he dies. She finds a letter he has written to his friend, the Duke of Wellington, asking him to look after and protect her. The Duke is in Paris having just won the Battle of Waterloo and Shenda travels nervously to Paris to meet him and he quickly realises that as she is young and innocent, he cannot have her to stay in his own house. He, therefore, takes Shenda to nurse one of his young Officers who has been badly wounded at Waterloo. Captain Ivan Worth, as he calls himself, is really the Marquis of Kenworth.

Charles Arram, the son of the Marquis of Arramford, their next-door neighbour. Because the Earl is so rich, he is afraid that his daughter, who at eighteen is exceedingly beautiful, will be pursued by fortune-hunters. Malvina is horrified at the idea. Her father is suddenly summoned to Scotland and Malvina decides she will travel with her Nanny to Paris, where she will be able to see Charles Arram without him knowing he is being spied on. During the journey Malvina meets the brother of one of her French school friends and he tells her of the extraordinary parties that are given in Paris by the courtesans.

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. 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.

Francis, the Marquis of Wimborton needed an heiress. Lexia had money and her father wanted her to marry a Lord. But she was a spirited girl, raised in America and she wanted to choose her own husband. The Marquis was too proud to court her, especially as he believed her heart was given to Wayne Freeman, an American that her father had brought her to England to avoid. They unexpectedly became the best of friends, escaping together from family pressures and boarding a cruise liner in search of their dreams.

"No, Papa! I cannot believe that you no longer want me here." When Marina Fullerton's beloved mother dies in a tragic riding accident, she is horrified when her father sends her away from the family home in Harley Street, saying he is unable to bear her near him. She finds herself packed off to stay with family friends in Paris, chaperoned by her faithful maid, Ellen. Soon Marina finds herself captivated by her French host's good-looking son - but is he what he seems?

When Rosina's dear friend leapt to her death after the man she loved betrayed her, she vowed vengeance on all men. Rosina declared that no man could be trusted, including Sir John Crosby, Member of Parliament, whom she had secretly loved since girlhood. Now a debutante, she found herself caught up in a whirl of social activity. An election was imminent and her father, Sir Elroy Clarendon, was favoured to be made a government Minister.

"How could you, Mama? Papa has not even been dead a year!" When the beautiful Lucia Mountford's mother remarries less than a year after her father's death on the Titanic, she is shocked when the family's fortunes suddenly go into rapid decline and her mother becomes ill. Deeply in debt, her stepfather borrows a considerable sum of money from the handsome but roguish Lord Winterton.

The Earl of Cariston is faced with insuperable problems as he has completely run out of money. He has sold everything on his estate that he can, but even so there is nothing he can do to support those who rely on him and they are on the verge of starvation. In desperation he calls into his Club to find an old friend, Lord Shield, and tells him all his woes. Lord Shield is in a bad way himself, but does suggest that he visits a certain Mr. Randon who is temporarily in London and beg for his help.

Eugenia Dovedale's father had been High Steward to the Marquis of Buckbury and after her father's unexpected death, Eugenia had to leave "Paragon" the family's beautiful and much loved cottage on the estate. She and her mother now lived uncomfortably with her Great-Aunt Cloris in London as they could not afford anywhere else. Mrs Dovedale maintained strong hopes of her daughter making a good marriage and improving their position.