At her father's request and on the instructions of the Royal Council of Scotland, flame-haired young Scottish beauty, Sheena McCraggan, sails in Junre1554 to France to become a companion to the fourteen-year-old Mary Stuart – Mary Queen of Scots – at the Court of the French King Henri II.Once there she is to report on the young Queen's intentions and those of the French Court regarding the future of Scotland and specifically whether it will support Mary's rightful accession to the Throne of England.When she arrives, Sheena finds that her mission is far more difficult and dangerous than anyone at her home had ever imagined. She is overwhelmed by the intrigues of the Courtiers and everybody seems to be hating everyone else in a very unhappy Palace.Not only is the French Court a seething nest of depravity and corruption, the deceitful aristocrats close to King Henri exploit innocent young Sheena in an evil Black Magic plot to ensnare...

Beautiful, flame-haired eighteen-year-old Princess Thea is horrified when her father, the King of a Balkan country called Kostas tells her that she must marry the old white-haired King Otho of the next door State.Thea feels strongly that she cannot marry him as he is so old and she has always believed that her dream Prince Charming will one day come and find her, they will fall madly in love and become a part of each other for ever.So she decides to run away from The Palace taking her beloved stallion, Mercury, with her. She soon finds herself lost in the wooded mountains of Kostas. There by chance she meets an overwhelmingly handsome artist called Nikōs, who seems to be able to read her thoughts with no effort. And almost instantly the two fall in love and Nikōs invites her to visit some local Hungarian gypsies, who ignite her passions by playing wild romantic music.But then a gang of bandits takes them prisoner and fearing what these wicked men might do to Thea, Nikōs tells...

Dashing Selby Harle, Lord Harlestone, has a reputation in London as a 'ladies man' and at the instigation of the influential Princess of Wales is all but blackmailed into marrying a Society beauty he does not like let alone love. And so he decides to escape to America, where he has invested some of his fortune in cattle ranching. In the wilds of Colorado, where the gold and minerals rush is at fever pitch, even this man of the world is shocked by the brazen houses of pleasure in Denver where 'madams' shamelessly ply their trade. He is even more appalled when a gang of rough cowboys arrive at one such house with a helpless young waif offering her for sale, who has just lost her mother and father to the Red Indians.The girl's name, they say, is Nelda Harle. Could this be the daughter of his estranged cousin, 'Handsome Harry', a notorious gambler and 'card sharp'? Selby feels duty bound to 'purchase' the girl for her own protection and proposes to send her safely home to England as...

With Russian, English and Irish blood in her veins and described by her uncle Sir Terence O'Kerry, Head of the India Office, as 'as mysterious as the Sphinx, but as lovely as Cleopatra must have been at that age', it is no surprise that the beautiful young Quenella O'Kerry has suitors continually falling at her feet. The trouble is that among them is the lecherous Prince Ferdinand of Schertzenberg, who not only has pursued her relentlessly but has even attempted to force himself on her in her bedroom!It seems the only way for Quenella to escape the Prince's clutches is a marriage of convenience and to leave England for some time.. And this is just what the dashing Major Rex Daviot requires if he is to accept the huge promotion offered to him by Queen Victoria to become the Lieutenant-Governor of India's North-West Provinces, when India is under British rule.The prospect of a loveless marriage depresses Rex, who enjoys the attentions of many a Society beauty, but even as they...

Famed for his horse racing successes on the turf and worshipped by London's Society beauties, the dashingly handsome Marquis of Broome is unjustly renowned as heartless and selfish.So, when on a night time journey from London to his Surrey estate, he discovers a young stowaway hidden below his carriage seat, he appears to be angry and wants nothing to do with this new problem in his life.But when the 'boy' is revealed to be a feisty but very beautiful young girl, he quickly softens.Cara, as she reveals is her name, is running away. From what or from whom she will not confide in the Marquis.With highwaymen prowling the roads and revolution in the air, the Marquis cannot let this young innocent go on alone and defenceless to Paris, which is her intended destination.Despite her protests he rather reluctantly takes Cara under his wing, finding out eventually that she is fleeing a forced marriage arranged by her cruel and wicked uncle, the Earl of Matlock.Just as the Marquis saves her...

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.As he is the owner of one of the most famous houses in England, immensely rich and of high social standing, he is determined not to be married except for himself as a man.However, as his family are so insistent on his marrying for an heir to carry on the title, he drives to Lady Charlotte's house to ask her to be his wife.When he arrives to his astonishment Lady Charlotte informs him that she is going to marry the young Duke of Nottingham simply because he is a Duke.Furious and frustrated, he drives his...

Over six feet tall and square-shouldered, Norwin, the Earl of Kensall is beyond dispute extremely handsome and known to have an eye for the ladies.But when the beautiful young Sadira Bourne is told she is to marry him, she is appalled. Not only because she does not love him or even like him, but also because he has little regard for her and is actually in love with her stepmother, the Marchioness of Langbourne. The Earl only means to marry Sadira to save her stepmother's reputation and indeed his after her husband discovered her affair and is intent on divorce, which would take a long time and cause a major Society scandal, which everyone involved in will suffer from.Wickedly the Marchioness gives Sadira little choice, threatening the lives of her beloved horse and dog and assuring her that she will besmirch Sadira's name forever in the Social world.Refusing to marry a man she will never love, Sadira flees to Morocco to become a student of the famed Medical Missionary, Father...

Having read with breathless excitement the tales of the legendary Dukes of Burgundy – Philip the Bold, Charles the Rash and John the Fearless – the beautiful Lady Yursa Home is thrilled when her grandmother takes her to Castle Montvéal, where the Head of their Family, the illustrious Duc César rules almost as if he was a King.The untouched and innocent Yursa has a good idea of the visit's real purpose as she has overheard a supposedly secret conversation in the drawing room between her grandmother and her father.Her grandmother aims to marry her off to the Duc , thereby saving him from the clutches of the sinister yet most alluring beauty Zelée de Salône, who is staying for far too long at his magnificent Château..Blissfully unaware that she has made a mortal enemy, Yursa is kidnapped by Zelée's gang of followers and to her horror finds that she is a witch and a Satanist.Tied to a stake, Yursa is to be sacrificed to Satan by burning at the stake as a perverted revenge for Joan...

To afford the food and medicine her ailing mother needs, the beautiful Honourable Olinda Selwyn, daughter of the late Lord Selwyn, former Lord Chief Justice of England, is obliged to conceal her background to take employment with the Dowager Countess of Kelvedon as an expert embroiderer at the family stately home in Derbyshire. Taken aback to find that the ageing but still beautiful Countess is having a love affair with a dissolute young rake, Olinda sympathises with her estranged son, the Earl, who despises his mother for her loose morals. Drawn reluctantly into the Kelvedon family's tangle of bitterness and resentment, Olinda finds herself gently advising the Earl – or as he puts it, inspiring him. But just as the love she has only ever dreamt of seems almost within her grasp, Kelvedon is rocked by a sudden and suspicious death – and, incredibly, the man she loves with all her heart stands accused.

Beautiful young Aspasia Stanton and her twin brother Jerry are horrified when they receive a letter addressed to their uncle and Guardian, the much-loved Reverend Theophilus Stanton, from Her Grace the Duchess of Grimstone.  In it she coldly announces that that "having reached the age of sixty-five, you are retired from your Living and you will vacate the Vicarage within a month of this date." Whatever are they to do?  Without the Reverend's stipend they will have nothing at all to live on and Jerry will be forced to leave Oxford University. And what of Little Medlock's parishioners, who love their Vicar so dearly after all his years in their Parish?  Although the Duchess is known by all the locals as a completely ruthless woman without a heart, Aspasia resolves to go to visit her and throw herself on her mercy, saying, 'I will do – anything you ask of me if Uncle Theophilus may remain at Little Medlock.' The poor innocent Aspasia has no grasp...

While her beloved parents were alive, the beautiful young Cledra Melford had basked in the radiance of their love, barely noticing that they were poor and had to scrape by. To make ends meet.But, since they were tragically killed in an accident and she came to live with her hateful and bitter uncle, Sir Walter Melford, she has been cruelly abused and ill-treated. His violent beatings the lovely Cledra can almost bear, but when he decides to sell her adored horse, Star, to a man known for his cruelty, it is the last straw for her.So Cledra appears at the door of the dashing Earl of Poynton, who is famed among the sporting fraternity for his pedigree stable and in the Social world for his many affaires de Coeur with fashionable ladies.Cledra begs him to secretly buy Star from her to ensure that her stallion will be safe and well cared for and he insists on renaming him 'Winged Victory' and then the Earl agrees. Soon, when Sir Walter attempts to wreak violent revenge on his niece,...

When the lovely but demure eighteen-year-old Safina, daughter of the Earl of Sedgewick, is called home from her Finishing School in Florence by her stepmother, Isobel, her heart leaps at the happy thought of going back to her beloved home, Wick Park, and seeing her father again after living abroad for so long. But to Safina's dismay, Isobel has summoned her to return under false pretences to force her to marry the penniless Duke of Dallwyn, a gentleman she does not even know, let alone love! The Duke too has been duped and Isobel is using blackmail to coerce him into this marriage with Safina. So the reluctant bride and bridegroom meet for the first time at the altar in the family Chapel at the Duke's house to seal their terrible fate. The whole plot is designed to ensure that the wicked Isobel can get her grasping hands on the enormous fortune left to Safina by her adored late mother. But, as the Duke discovers before very long, there is much more to the beautiful Safina than...

When her mother dies, lovely Sylvia Mace is left penniless and homeless. Rather than depend on the charity of her unpleasant uncle she must find work and is entrusted with the upbringing of Sir Robert's daughter at Sheldon Hall. But a sinister secret overshadows all those living at the Hall, which is ruled by a possessive and ambitious old dowager, Lady Clementine. In a cruel twist of fate, a murder is revealed by a spurned mistress leading to another death, and Sylvia must choose between her love of the child and her hidden love for Sir Robert. With few people she can trust, she runs to safety, but her ward lies dangerously ill. How the secrets of the past are exposed, and how she returns to the Hall to save the lives of those she loves are all revealed in this thrilling tale of betrayal, lies and overwhelming love.

The thunderclouds of World War Two are gathering, sweeping away old notions of class. But still in 1938 there are almost insurmountable barriers to love – and not just those of Social rank. In the Highlands, the lovely Skye is determined to marry her penniless childhood sweetheart, Hector, but her hidebound grandfather forbids it. Meanwhile in London's Theatreland, Paris and Cannes, Skye's stepfather Norman worships the voluptuous and volatile actress Carlotta, who is blinded to her own feelings by an infatuation with money, fame and Hector too! Will Skye, Hector, Carlotta and Norman ever grasp happiness? It seems only a fatal accident has the power to seal the lovers' Fate.

Widowed Mrs. Mansforde and her younger daughter Philomena (or 'Mena' for short) are pleasantly surprised when elder daughter Lais returns unannounced to the family home.They have not seen her for an age, not even at her father's funeral. And the news she brings is not so pleasant as it seems that she too has been widowed, but already has another wealthy and prestigious husband in her sights, the highly respected Duke of Kernthorpe.The Duke, who is much older than Lais, has invited her to bring her mother to meet him, an invitation that Lais does not extend to young Mena, seeing how beautiful she has become.Mrs. Mansforde insists that Mena goes with her and then it is decided that she will pose as her mother's employed companion.Once at the Duke's Castle Mena goes for a walk in the garden and then sees a stallion and rider galloping towards her. The horse is clearly out of control and throws the rider so Mena rushes over to see if he has been hurt.He is a handsome...