Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Lovers In London
    Lovers In London
    Lovers In London
    Ebook170 pages2 hours

    Lovers In London

    By Barbara Cartland

    3.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Witty, sardonic and with an eye for beautiful ladies, the handsome Marquis of Rakecliffe has earned himself the nickname, 'Rake' amongst his friends and family. As he cuts a swathe through the glittering balls and elegant soirees of London society he is pursued by debutantes and married hostesses alike. Admired by men, including the Prince of Wales, for his intelligence, bravery and ability to take on any challenge to defend his country it seems the Marquis lives a charmed life. Beautiful Lanthia Grenville is a stranger to the city and the new fashions set by the Prince of Wales and his wild, fun loving 'Marlborough House set'. Leaving her sheltered life in the country for a shopping trip chaperoned by the kindly Mrs Blossom, Lanthia looks forward to an exciting stay at the celebrated hotel, The Langham. But it seems that the Marquis' luck has finally run out after a liaison with a beautiful Spanish Contessa inflames the jealousy of her fiery husband. Eager to avoid a duel, he flings himself upon the mercy of Lanthia persuading her to enter into a secret pact to avoid social ruin. Protected by her doting parents and dreaming of true love, travel and adventure, Lanthia is suddenly plunged into more excitement than she could ever have imagined as their ruse threatens to be uncovered. As friendships are tested to the limits and danger threatens will Lanthia be the one to halt the Rakes progress and teach him the meaning of true love, loyalty and fidelity? Or will the fanatical Conté ultimately wreak his revenge and shatter the lives of everyone?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBarbara Cartland Ebooks ltd
    Release dateAug 14, 2012
    ISBN9781908303752
    Lovers In London

    Related to Lovers In London

    Titles in the series (100)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Ngā Pukapuka

      Jan 7, 2021

      Ngā Pukapuka
      3 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Sep 8, 2021

      Great Read
      5 min read

    • Article

      Forgotten Authors

      Sep 22, 2021

      Never meet your heroes. As a wannabe writer, I learnt that lesson early on. I was ten years old, and my favourite writer was Leon Garfield. Imagine how thrilled I was when my mother arranged for me to have tea with him! My mum was friends with Philip

      3 min read

    • Article

      Great Reads

      Sep 20, 2023

      by M.A. Kuzniar (£16.99, HB, HarperCollins) Loosely based on Swan Lake, this frosty, festive and fated fairy tale is sure to seduce you. As the first snowflake of winter falls on post-war London, invitations appear for the most talked-about party of

      2 min read

    • Article

      Worlds Of Ink And Paper

      Nov 22, 2022

      As a young girl, I still remember my dear mother, smile on her face, curled up with Family Circle magazine in her lap. She was engrossed in an article titled “Butternut Wisdom,” written by Gladys Taber. At my age, it didn’t mean a thing to me. But as

      6 min read

    • Article

      Christmas Books Guide

      Nov 30, 2022

      This is Fiona McIntosh’s first novel set entirely in Australia. Her heroine, Fleur, is just eight when she is already helping her adoptive undertaker parents prepare bodies. Mother Mae knows their only daughter is capable of running the Port Adelaide

      10 min read

    • Article

      Venice Peach

      Oct 2, 2023

      1. THE DRESSMAKER AND THE HIDDEN SOLDIER by Doug Gold (A&U) WWII thriller about Kiwi soldier and Greek dressmaker 2. SUMMER FAVOURITES by Vanya Insull (A&U) Recipes from @vj_cooks 3. TE REO KAPEKAPE: Māori Wit and Humour by Hona Black (Oratia) Having

      4 min read

    • Article

      Reading CORNER

      Mar 5, 2023

      Life isn’t a bed of roses for three intriguing women If ever there was a time that we needed stories to escape into, this past summer has been it. And I particularly liked escaping with this novel. Love, glamour, secrets, broken hearts and a beautifu

      3 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jul 13, 2022

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      Story Time

      May 20, 2020

      Can true love conquer all? This is the question at the heart of Australian author Felicity Volk’s deeply affecting debut novel, and the answer is complex and devastating. Set over five decades from 1952 and told in alternating narratives, we piece to

      2 min read

    • Article

      Lesley Pearse

      Jun 4, 2020

      Lesley Pearse
      4 min read

    • Article

      Our literary HEROINES

      Aug 27, 2020

      Our literary HEROINES
      5 min read

    • Article

      November’s BOOK CLUB

      Sep 29, 2022

      The Ghost Woods by CJ Cooke (£14.99, HB, Harper Collins) Celebrate spooky season with this gothic thriller. When Pearl Gorham arrives at Lichen Hall in 1965 to have her baby, she knows immediately something is amiss. The Whitlocks are a troubled fam

      4 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 19, 2019

      Kya is just five when she watches her mother, carrying a packed suitcase and wearing her fake alligator high-heeled shoes, walk out on her alcoholic husband, her four children and the shack they all live in. One by one the remaining children follow s

      4 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Aug 19, 2022

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Great Read

      Jun 14, 2023

      Great Read
      7 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Oct 20, 2021

      by Joshua Ferris (£14.99, HB, Penguin) A ‘Walter Mitty’ character, Charlie Barnes has spent his life indulging in money-making ventures and daydreaming of financial success – and his story is a no-holds-barred profile of a man whose flawed businesse

      1 min read

    • Article

      Reading CORNER

      Feb 26, 2023

      Writer Eva delivers a February to remember Pop music lovers who remember the ’90s are going to get a huge hit of nostalgia while reading this novel. Set in London, it brings the era and its sounds alive vividly. However, it is billed as a feel-good

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ngā Pukapuka

      Apr 14, 2022

      by Victoria Cleal, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Te Papa Press, $29.99) A whānau lose their pāpā in Te Papa – that’s the fun set-up to this kids’ tale, which tells the story of the search for Dad among the national museum’s taonga. Along th

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Lovers In London

    3.5/5

    3 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Lovers In London - Barbara Cartland

      LOVERS IN LONDON

      Lanthia was thinking again about her dream man who always rode beside her in the woods. Instinctively the thought made her yearn for fresh air so she ran to the window.

      She looked out onto Portland Place, at the same time still feeling as if she was riding beneath the trees in the woods at home.

      In her thoughts, the sun was percolating through the broad leaves of the green canopy overhead and someone was riding beside her.

      Someone who was so in tune with her that he understood that she was listening to the goblins working deep in the ground.

      Someone who could see in the same way she could, the nymphs hiding behind the trunks of the trees.

      How could she explain to the Marquis, or anyone else, the strange feelings she harboured within her?

      She was sure that no one would ever understand that she was talking to an invisible man beside her, who felt the same as she did about everything.

      ‘How can I marry anyone,’ she asked herself, ‘if I am always thinking about someone else, even though he is invisible?’

      THE BARBARA CARTLAND PINK COLLECTION

      Barbara Cartland was the most prolific bestselling author in the history of the world. She was frequently in the Guinness Book of Records for writing more books in a year than any other living author. In fact her most amazing literary feat was when her publishers asked for more Barbara Cartland romances, she doubled her output from 10 books a year to over 20 books a year, when she was 77.

      She went on writing continuously at this rate for 20 years and wrote her last book at the age of 97, thus completing 400 books between the ages of 77 and 97.

      Her publishers finally could not keep up with this phenomenal output, so at her death she left 160 unpublished manuscripts, something again that no other author has ever achieved.

      Now the exciting news is that these 160 original unpublished Barbara Cartland books are ready for publication and they will be published by Barbaracartland.com exclusively on the internet, as the web is the best possible way to reach so many Barbara Cartland readers around the world.

      The 160 books will be published monthly and will be numbered in sequence.

      The series is called the Pink Collection as a tribute to Barbara Cartland whose favourite colour was pink and it became very much her trademark over the years.

      The Barbara Cartland Pink Collection is published only on the internet. Log on to www.barbaracartland.com to find out how you can purchase the books monthly as they are published, and take out a subscription that will ensure that all subsequent editions are delivered to you by mail order to your home.

      If you do not have access to a computer you can write for information about the Pink Collection to the following address :

      Barbara Cartland.com Ltd.

      240 High Road,

      Harrow Weald,

      Harrow

      HA3 7BB

      United Kingdom.

      Telephone & fax: +44 (0)20 8863 2520

      Titles in this series

      These titles are currently available for download. For more information please see the Where to buy page at the end of this book

      The Cross Of Love

      Love In The Highlands

      Love Finds The Way

      The Castle Of Love

      Love Is Triumphant

      Stars In The Sky

      The Ship Of Love

      A Dangerous Disguise

      Love Became Theirs

      Love Drives In

      Sailing To Love

      The Star Of Love

      Music Is The Soul Of Love

      Love In The East

      Theirs To Eternity

      A Paradise On Earth

      Love Wins In Berlin

      In Search Of Love

      Love Rescues Rosanna

      A Heart In Heaven

      The House Of Happiness

      Royalty Defeated By Love

      The White Witch

      They Sought Love

      Love Is The Reason For Living

      They Found Their Way To Heaven

      Learning To Love

      Journey To Happiness

      A Kiss In The Desert

      The Heart Of Love

      The Richness Of Love

      For Ever And Ever

      An Unexpected Love

      Saved By An Angel

      Touching The Stars

      Seeking Love

      Journey To Love

      The Importance Of Love

      Love By The Lake

      A Dream Come True

      The King Without A Heart

      The Waters Of Love

      Danger To The Duke

      A Perfect Way To Heaven

      Follow Your Heart

      In Hiding

      Rivals For Love

      A Kiss From The Heart

      Lovers In London

      This Way To Heaven

      THE LATE DAME BARBARA CARTLAND

      Barbara Cartland, who sadly died in May 2000 at the grand age of ninety eight, remains one of the world’s most famous romantic novelists.  With worldwide sales of over one billion, her outstanding 723 books have been translated into thirty six different languages, to be enjoyed by readers of romance globally.

      Writing her first book ‘Jigsaw’ at the age of 21, Barbara became an immediate bestseller.  Building upon this initial success, she wrote continuously throughout her life, producing bestsellers for an astonishing 76 years.  In addition to Barbara Cartland’s legion of fans in the UK and across Europe, her books have always been immensely popular in the USA.  In 1976 she achieved the unprecedented feat of having books at numbers 1 & 2 in the prestigious B. Dalton Bookseller bestsellers list.

      Although she is often referred to as the ‘Queen of Romance’, Barbara Cartland also wrote several historical biographies, six autobiographies and numerous theatrical plays as well as books on life, love, health and cookery.  Becoming one of Britain's most popular media personalities and dressed in her trademark pink, Barbara spoke on radio and television about social and political issues, as well as making many public appearances.

      In 1991 she became a Dame of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to literature and her work for humanitarian and charitable causes.

      Known for her glamour, style, and vitality Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime.  Best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels and loved by millions of readers worldwide, her books remain treasured for their heroic heroes, plucky heroines and traditional values.  But above all, it was Barbara Cartland’s overriding belief in the positive power of love to help, heal and improve the quality of life for everyone that made her truly unique.

      ‘How can I marry anyone,’ she asked herself, ‘if I am always thinking about someone else, even though he is invisible?’

      Barbara Cartland

      CHAPTER ONE

      1880

      Lanthia was riding alone through the woods as she did every morning.

      She was thinking that nothing in the universe could be lovelier than the sunshine streaming through the spring leaves and turning them to gold.

      As usual she was telling herself a story. It seemed that whenever she rode into the woods her imagination was on fire and stories just flowed into her mind.

      As she often said to her father, she had travelled the world just by reading the books in his library and listening to the wonderful stories he told her.

      They all seem so true and real, Papa, she had told him over and over again.

      Her father had laughed, delighted.

      Sir Philip Grenville had been very much an ardent traveller in his youth, but now he was content to stay at home in the country.

      He wrote about his experiences rather than taking part any more.

      To Lanthia, ever since she had been small, the huge library with so many books overflowing into almost every other room in the house created many fairy tales in which she herself always played a vital part.

      She envisaged herself climbing the Himalayas as her father had tried to do, or travelling for endless miles over deserted countryside to Tibet and finding a monastery perched on the side of a cliff where no European had ever set foot.

      In all of her dreams she was accompanied by someone special, a dream companion, who understood what she was thinking and who enjoyed the adventure of discovering a new world as much as she did.

      She dreamed, as she was travelling up the Nile or the Amazon, that she instructed her invisible companion.

      At other times he instructed her, but always in her dreams they were together and she was never frightened or alone.

      Lanthia had always been a lonely child.

      A late baby, her mother, Elizabeth, was already thirty-nine years old when she was born. The age gap between Lanthia and her older bother, David, was too great for him to make a natural playmate, so the little girl came to rely on her own vivid imagination for companionship.

      When the Honourable Elizabeth Ford married Philip Grenville – he had not then come into the family Baronetcy – their families had been delighted. Their happiness had seemed complete when the young couple welcomed a son and heir within a year of marriage, and their families eagerly anticipated siblings to follow swiftly.

      However, because Philip Grenville wanted to travel the world and his devoted wife always went with him, there were no more children.

      Accepting that their family was complete, the well-travelled couple had given up hoping that there might be any more.

      So Lanthia had been an unexpected surprise, or ‘afterthought’ as someone had wryly commented.

      Her parents were thrilled and delighted with their baby daughter. It seemed as if the fates had given them a special gift when they were least expecting it.

      Lanthia herself had always looked as if she had stepped straight out of a fairy story.

      Dainty, pretty and intelligent, Sir Philip was prouder of his daughter than of any of the books he wrote or even his vast library that he had spent years compiling. Enchanted, he spent a great deal of time telling her stories, which fascinated her until she began to feel that she was living in them rather than just hearing them.

      Now, riding through the woods that were part of her father’s country estate, she was blissfully imagining that she was riding in the hot sun in India towards a magnificent Palace, where she was to stay with the Maharajah.

      India was very often in her thoughts because that was where David was presently stationed. He was serving as aide-de-camp to the Viceroy.

      He did not write to her very often, but when he did, her bother’s descriptions made Lanthia feel that she was exploring India herself.

      In her mind she travelled from the Viceregal Lodge in Calcutta to the North-West Frontier where many hostile tribesmen lurked behind every rock and bush. She could visualise all too well the dangers she would be facing.

      David had told her when he was last at home for a short leave how afraid they all felt about infiltration by the Russians.

      So adding to the pictures in her mind, she could almost see the Cossacks riding across the desolate plains towards India, which was considered the most magnificent jewel in the British Crown.

      But the Czar himself and the Cossacks who served him were determined it should sooner or later be in their hands.

      We have to be always on our guard, David told his sister, who listened to him wide-eyed.

      The Russians infiltrate, he went on, amongst the local tribesmen and incite them to rebel against us. They intrigue with the ordinary Indians everywhere and we are never sure what mischief they are plotting until the trouble actually strikes us.

      He also told her how beautiful the Palaces were and how India itself was so enchanting.

      When he returned to his duties Lanthia felt as if she was still with him.

      She was, in her mind, living in India amongst its smiling people, its exquisite monuments and its burning sun.

      In reality the sunshine was only slightly warm on her soft cheeks, glittering on her fair hair, as she was not wearing a hat.

      Tossing her head defiantly, she thought how much easier it was when she rode alone just to jump onto a horse. Why bother about jackets, hats and of course gloves, which every lady who rode was expected to wear, when it took up valuable time that she could be outdoors in her beloved woods?

      Her fine black stallion was called Jupiter, after the Roman King of the Gods, and she loved him best after her parents.

      He seemed to understand everything she was saying when she talked to him. The grooms had told her and she knew it was true, that when it was her regular time to come to the stables, Jupiter was always waiting at the door of his stall listening for her footsteps.

      Now as they moved slowly over the moss-covered paths in the woods, Lanthia was talking to him,

      "Today,

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1