En route vers l'amour

by Barbara Cartland

Que faire quand on a vingt-six ans, un titre respecté, une fortune considérable, toutes les femmes à ses pieds et qu'on s'ennuie ferme ? Pour mettre un peu de piment dans sa vie, le marquis de Whisinford accepte le défi que lui lance un vieil ami : il doit, incognito et vêtu comme un homme du commun, rejoindre le nord de l'Angleterre à cheval. Est-ce le hasard qui lui fait croiser le chemin d'une ravissante cavalière ? Quoi qu'il en soit, la jeune Velina réclame son aide. - Je vous en prie, permettez-moi de voyager avec vous. Je me suis enfuie de chez moi parce que mon beau-père veut me marier de force. Seule, je n'ai aucune chance de lui échapper. Comment refuser de secourir une demoiselle en détresse ? Ian a l'âme chevaleresque. Et puis, n'est-il pas parti pour chercher l'aventure ? En l'occurrence, il va être servi !

156 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2001

About the author

Born in 1901, Barbara Cartland started her writing career in journalism and completed her first book, Jigsaw, when she was just 24. An immediate success, it was the start of her journey to becoming the world’s most famous and most read romantic novelist of all time. Inspiring a whole generation of readers around the globe with her exciting tales of adventure, love and intrigue, she became synonymous with the Romance genre. And she still is to this day, having written over 644 romantic fiction books.
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com

Reviews

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Marquis of Whisinford and his friend Lord Alfred Middleton meet at White's Club and tell each other how bored they are with the London Season and the same parties with the same people night after night. They commiserate with each other for finding life so repetitive where nothing new ever happens. Listening to them, the old Duke of Dunstead tells them that he has a solution to their problem and so he bets one of his well bred horses against one of theirs that, if they go out disguised as ordinary men, they will undoubtedly find an adventure of some kind on the open road. Because it is a bet and betting at White's is traditional, the Marquis agrees to ride North as far as Northumberland disguised as an ordinary man, while Lord Alfred is to go South to Land's End. The Marquis sets off alone, his only possessions being what he can carry on his horse, Samson, using the name of Neil Barlow. But he has not gone very far when a very pretty girl joins him on the road in a state of agitation and asks him if he will be kind enough to allow her to ride beside him. She explains that she is running away from her stepfather who is forcing her into marriage with a man she loathes and detests. She tells the Marquis that her name is Velina, but does not say anymore and he tells her only his Christian name and they ride on until they reach what appears to be a quiet inn. After dinner, when the Marquis goes out to see if their horses are happy, he overhears three men talking and learns that they have been sent by Velina's stepfather to kidnap her and take her forcibly back to her home. The Marquis alerts Velina and they slip away at four o'clock in the morning before anyone else is awake and it is then that the Marquis suggests that they should stay off the main road and travel North by the twisting lanes of England. How they encounter even more dramas than they have already. How they rescue a small boy and his dog from a cruel drunkard. How eventually Velina saves the Marquis's horse and him from a highwayman and how they find even more on a road to romance,