Showing results by narrator "Anthony Wren" in All Categories

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.

Shana, the beautiful daughter of Lord Hallam has not yet been a debutante as she has been helping her father write his autobiography. Although retired from the Foreign Office, Lord Hallam agrees to go abroad leaving his daughter alone in the country. Before he leaves, he asks Shana to run an errand to the landlord of the village inn known as the Rose and Crown, where she finds there is a crisis in the kitchen and offers to cook luncheon for the Marquis of Kilbrooke and his shooting party.

Davina is the younger daughter of Lord Shelford and she has fallen for an actor who did not meet her father's approval. He has banished her from London to his newly acquired country seat, Priory Park, where Davina felt lonely, but not for long. She soon meets the Delverton brothers who live nearby, and also their mysterious companion, Jed Barker. There are dark secrets surrounding Priory Park and the Delverton family, but Davina cannot help becoming attracted to the handsome Lord Delverton despite his indifference to her.

After the Battle of Waterloo and the subsequent Army of Occupation in France, the Earl of Monthurst returns to his ancestral home in England to find it in a very bad condition. Because labour had not been available during the war, The Hall, which goes back to Tudor times, was badly in need of repair, while the farms on his extensive estate were untenanted and the fields unploughed. The Earl had unwisely brought back with him a French Comtesse who was very beautiful and possessive and was obviously determined that he should marry her.

Lord Waincliffe breaks his horse’s bridle out one day and calls at the nearest house for help so that he can ride home in safety. It belongs to Terence Stourton, a Professor of Literature, and he meets his daughter, Rosetta, who repairs the bridle for him. Not only does he think that Rosetta is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen, but he feels there is something unusual about her. Only when he returns home, does he realise that she bears an extraordinary resemblance to his sister, Dolina.

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.

Narina Kenwin is the only daughter of the Bishop of St. Albans and since her mother's death she has been living with her father. She is very beautiful and is happy, but when riding in the woods she wishes she had someone special with her. Narina receives a letter from her great school friend, Louise, who is married to Prince Rudolf, the Ruler of the small Principality of Alexanderburg in the Balkans. Louise begs Narina to come to stay with her immediately and is sending a Battleship to take her to Alexanderburg.

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 beautiful golden-haired Orlina Runford is the daughter of the renowned author, Sir Nicholas Runford. She lives very quietly in the country helping her dedicated father translate ancient manuscripts from all over the world and, as she is so intelligent, she learns many languages including Ancient Greek.

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.

The beautiful Ilena Foringham not only helped her father, who was a senior Member of Parliament, with his speeches but she also assisted Lord Witherington with his. She had always found him a tremendous bore, but when he eventually proposed marriage to her she knew that this was something that she could not bear and that she could never be happy with him. As Ilena realised that her parents also wanted her to marry Lord Witherington, she knew that she had no option but to run away.

The beautiful Ariana Dancer is orphaned and has led a cheerless life in London with her disagreeable Guardian, Uncle Konstantin Bardici. He has shown little interest in his niece and she has been left very much to her own devices. One day Uncle Konstantin suggests that Ariana marry an Albanian Prince - one who is seeking an English wife and who claims to have fallen in love with her portrait - and it does not take much to persuade her to agree.

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.

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.

After her quiet life in the Highlands of Scotland, the Laird's daughter Ola Mcnewton is looking forward to going to London to take part in Queen Victoria's Jubilee. At first it seemed a good joke to pretend to be a Balkan Princess, and be entertained by the handsome Duke of Cranborne. During one enchanted evening with him, they fell in love. But did the Duke fall in love with her, or the mysterious Balkan Princess.

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.

Vanda Sudbury and Robert, the Earl of Cunningham, had been friends from childhood. They knew all each other's faults and weaknesses and squabbled like brother and sister. So when her father tried to force a marriage between them, they were equally horrified. Fond though he was of Vanda, Robert was sure he could never love such a forceful, strong-minded female. She was equally dismissive of him as a husband.

Lady Elvina, theal and in love. Any day now Captain Andreaw Broadmoor would propose to her. But then she overheard him saying that he did not love her and would only marry her for her money. Elvina fled, travelling to Cumberland, where she had heard that the Duke of Castleforde was looking for a governess for his unruly sister, Violet. Concealing her true identity, she presented herself as plain Mrs. Winters and in Violet, Elvina found a troubled, rebellious young girl who needed her help.

Viola Brookfield has not a care in the world until the awful day when her parents are tragically killed in a road accident, leaving her all alone in the world. So when her Aunt Mary, Lady Wakefield, writes to invite her to come and live with her in India, Viola decides to accept. But when she arrives, she finds a country fraught with unexpected dangers and that her uncle, Lord Wakefield, behaves as if she is not welcome. Viola's life is further complicated when she meets the handsome but enigmatic Earl of Devonport.

After Della had been orphaned she came to live in the country with her uncle, Lord Lainden, who rented a delightful house on the estate of his great friend the Duke of Marchwood. She was blissfully happy with her uncle and rode the Duke's horses every day. But a cloud was gathering on the horizon in the form of Jason, the Duke's only son and heir. Jason had returned to his ancestral home having led a very dissolute life in Paris and his father was desperate for him to settle down, make a good marriage and continue the Ducal line.