Showing results by narrator "Anthony Wren" in All Categories

The Duke of Laverdale is ambitious to be appointed Master of the Horse and the new Queen Adelaide is determined that behaviour at Court should be moral after the licentiousness of King George IV. The Duke therefore ends his affaire de coeur with the enchanting Lady Sybil Mersham and drops his ballet dancer mistress as well. Up to now he has been determined not to be married, but he now decides to become respectable and find a suitable bride as befits his standing.

Hugo, Earl of Ruven, is sailing home after ten years in India, where he served with his regiment. His grandfather, the old Earl, has died and Hugo has inherited the title and estate of Castle Ruven. He has also inherited his late brother's fiancee, Felice de Lisle. No one who sees the handsome man standing at the rail with his face turned toward the approaching coast suspects the truth. During one of the first battles of the Indian Mutiny, Hugo was severely injured. The new Earl of Ruven is returning home blind.

The beautiful Martina Bradshaw has sadly lost both her beloved father and her loving mother. They live in the little Kent village of Preston Bailey where her father, a talented musician, had written his music, which had never been successful with the public. Now Martina has to find a way of making money to pay her household of Mrs.

The Earl of Wentworth has a fiery and unpredictable temper and is about to fight a duel in Hyde Park with a Frenchman who has insulted him, when he is restrained by his friend, Sir Thomas Babbington, and a helpful Policeman. At the same time the beautiful Temia Brandon is returning home from her Finishing School in France and is longing to see her horse, Lightning, again. Temia discovers that her father has been hiding a dark secret for many years and is now being blackmailed by the odious Lord Alphonse who threatens to reveal the secret and ruin the family’s reputation.

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.

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.

Lady Lolita Vernon, daughter of the late Earl of Walcott and Vernon, has run away. Her stepfather, Ralph Piran, is forcing her to accept the attentions and perhaps an offer of marriage from his business partner, Murdock Tanner, who is very rich but old and repulsive. While she is trying to cover her tracks in London she bumps into a small boy, Simon, who is weeping because he has been beaten cruelly by his stepmother.

When John Chester returned to England after suddenly inheriting a Dukedom he knew his life had changed forever. But he didn't know just how much. Gina Wilton was like a breath of fresh air. But she was also everything John disapproved of in a young woman, independent, assertive, always ready to contradict him. Yet she had ideas about restoring his dilapidated castle, and he found he needed her help. The more they were together, the more he noticed how pretty she was, how witty and sparkling.

When the Duke of Barningforde was told by his second son, Alastair, that he had married an actress in Paris without his approval, he exiled Alastair from England with only a very small allowance. His wife, Grace, actually came from a good Scottish family and was not an actress, but had a very fine soprano voice and sang with a famous French orchestra. But the Duke would not listen and Alastair and Grace never again set foot in their homeland.

"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.

"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.

The Marquis of Darincourt who is the greatest matrimonial catch in the Beau Monde decides at last that he will get married and has chosen Lady Charlotte Warde to be his wife. He has been pursued for years by every debutante and ambitious mother, but he has, however, preferred the sophisticated married women who amuse him with their provocative wit and attractions. He is a hero from the war with Napoleon and the Duke Wellington had twice awarded him the Gold Medal for Bravery.

The beautiful Alvita who had lost both her parents, was living quietly in her family home in Southern Russia. Her father had been Russian and her mother had been English. Alvita was pleased to receive a visit from her brother, Ivor, but shocked when he told her that they must leave Russia immediately, as a Revolution was inevitable and would start very soon. He had brought with him his friend, Nicholas, who said that he would help them pack up as many of their treasures as they could and make their way to England. Alvita felt a little unsure of Nicholas, but thought that perhaps she might be mistaken.

The Marquis of Kexley is just falling asleep beside the beautiful Isobel Heywood, when in a soft voice she suggests that they should be married. Only by pretending to be asleep does he escape answering her and then he realises that because she is a widow, she is extremely dangerous in that she is free for him to marry her. In his other affaires-de-coeur, the women were already married, so he was safe, and he avoided debutantes with ambitious mothers like the plague. Because Isobel is so possessive he thinks it best to leave London at once.

Neisa Moore is the beautiful daughter of a Vicar and she lives a quiet and secluded life in the country with her father. Her cousin, Carol Waverton has led a very different life in America with her immensely rich father, but when Carol comes to London for the Season, she is pursued by fortune-hunters only interested in her money. As Carol is so disenchanted, she persuades Neisa to change places with her when she is invited with a friend for a weekend house party with Sheldon, the Marquis of Denholme, who has planned a steeplechase for his guests.

The beautiful Aurora Hartnell has just left her Finishing School in Paris and returns home to Hadleigh Hall. It is Christmas Eve and she hears that an eligible bachelor, Lord Moreton, has moved into nearby Elton Hall. Aurora dreams that he is handsome, tall and exciting - until she meets him and finds that he is none of them. In no time Aurora has received an unwelcome proposal of marriage from Lord Moreton, but he appears to be strangely close to her intimidating stepmother, Lady Hartnell.

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.

The beautiful Lady Elva Chartham had returned to her family home in the country from her Season as a debutante as she had become disenchanted by the endless balls and empty-headed young suitors. She much preferred to be with her horses. Her father was away fishing and her beloved Aunt Violet came to coax her into returning to London to finish her Season. Elva was persuaded by Aunt Violet and in her London house, she overheard a conversation between her aunt and her cousin, the Duke of Sparkbrook, that would dramatically change her life.

Queen Victoria sends for the Duke of Sherbourne and asks him to undertake a very secret mission on her behalf. It is so secret that only his loyal valet is told. The Duke agrees and it takes him to Greece. He visits King George who is the same age as he is and whom he has known in the past. He has been a great success as King, although he was only eighteen when he took over the throne and he is married to Princess Olga of Russia and they are extremely happy. The Duke envies them and, although he has been pursued by a great number of beautiful women in London, he has never yet fallen in love.