Read 106. Love's Dream in Peril Online
Authors: Barbara Cartland
BARBARA CARTLAND
Copyright © 2007 by Cartland Promotions
First published on the internet in January 2008 by Barbaracartland.com
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The characters and situations in this book are entirely imaginary and bear no relation to any real person or actual happening.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval, without the prior permission in writing from the publisher.
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But Adella had never felt anything quite like the glow that was now spreading through her whole body and pulling her towards the young man who stood beside her.
In another moment she would be in his arms and everything would be forgotten.
Digby let go of her hand.
“I am sorry,” he said.
Adella knew that she must hurry, that there was still a little way to walk to the teashop and then the long road back out of town to Mottram’s, but she could not.
The golden spell of the Botanical Gardens did not want to let her go and her steps were slow and heavy as she walked beside Digby to the entrance.
As they stood beside the great stone archway, he drew her to him.
“We must leave this other world we have stepped into,” he sighed, “but before we do – ”
Adella felt all her breath leave her body as his lips touched hers.
It was the sweetest sensation, as if all the sunshine, the heavenly scents of the gardens, every blissful moment of the magical time she had spent with him, was caught up in his kiss.
Then he released her.
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 :
BarbaraCartland.com
Camfield Place
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL9 6JE
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1707 642629
Fax: +44 1707 663041
These titles are currently available for download. For more information please see the
Where to buy page
at the end of this book.
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.
“No sacrifice is too great for love.”
Barbara Cartland
“I cannot believe it’s the end of term. Tomorrow we will both be leaving here forever!” seventeen-year-old Adella May said to her dearest friend Jane Hartley, as they both prepared to go into the Chapel for early Morning Prayers, a ritual at Mottram’s School for Young Ladies.
Jane sighed,
“All good things must come to an end.”
Adella leapt up from her dressing table, where she had been sitting to comb out her glorious mane of golden curly hair.
“Don’t be miserable, Jane. Please! Endings lead to beginnings, all sorts of good things might happen to us!”
The two girls, both orphans, had grown up together at the school and had always been inseparable.
As they stood in the bright June sunlight streaming in through the window of Adella’s bedroom, they could not have looked more different.
Adella was a slight girl, small in stature with bright gold hair and brown eyes the colour of rich honey.
Her complexion was fresh and clear and she was almost always seen with a smile on her face, for everything about her glowed with light and warmth and the joy of life.
Jane Hartley was tall and slender with smooth black hair, dark eyes and a pale ivory complexion. Jane rarely smiled, as she was a thoughtful girl, but, when she did, the true sweetness of her character shone out of her face.
“No doubt they will, Adella. Shall we go down?” Janer suggested.
Adella put a comb through her hair one last time.
“There’s just one little knot I can’t untangle, but if I use this, I’m sure old Mottram will not notice!”
And she twisted a pink ribbon around her curls and tied it in a graceful bow.
The girls at the school were not allowed to wear pink, but Adella was a favourite of the Headmistress, Mrs. Mottram, and sometimes she would get away with it.
“I cannot wait to have my own lady’s maid, when I move to London,” she said. “I hope that she is young and cheerful, not like Pargetter.”
Pargetter was the stout Oxfordshire countrywoman who acted as maid to the older pupils at the school. Being ordered about by so many young ladies sometimes made her very irritable indeed.
“Well, you shall soon find out!” Jane replied. “And how will you get on with your Uncle Edgar?”
Uncle Edgar was Adella’s Guardian, her father’s older brother, and he lived in a big house in London.
“I hardly know him,” Adella answered. “He has always been very generous in paying for everything while I have been at school. But he is always away, working in India. I have only met him a few times.”
Each time he came to the school, he asked Adella if she still enjoyed her lessons and told her that he hoped she would be very good and do as she was told. He never once asked her what she had bought with the money that he sent to her from India.
“Come on,” Jane interrupted her thoughts. “We’ll be late for Prayers.”
The two girls left Adella’s bright sunny bedroom and went to the Chapel at the back of the house in Oxford where Mrs. Mottram kept her School for Young Ladies.