The beautiful Flavia Linwood had been living in the country until she was nearly nineteen. She should have been a debutante in London the previous year, but she was in deep mourning for her mother who had died suddenly. Now at last
she travels to London for her Season. Her father, Lord Linwood, and his friend Lord Carlsby are courtiers in attendance on Her Majesty Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle and they are very proud of their position at Court.
Quite by chance Flavia secretly learns that they are increasingly concerned that the Queen is becoming too interested in the handsome Earl of Haugton and heeds his advice rather than theirs. They therefore concoct a plan to get him out of their way by marrying Flavia off to him.
She is completely horrified at the idea! She has long ago made up her mind that she will only marry someone she loves and who loves her. How she tries to avoid the Earl, but finally meets him face to face and then finds that he feels exactly as she does and learns that, although he is nearly twentyeight, he has no intention of marrying anyone, not even to have an heir to his title and fortune.
How Flavia and the Earl plan to circumvent the ingenious scheme of Lord Linwood and Lord Carlsby. And, how by a strange and frightening drama at Windsor Castle, they finally find what they are both seeking is all told in this unusal romance by BARBARA CARTLAND. Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life."