Their Search for Real Love
BARBARA CARTLAND
www.barbaracartland.com
Copyright © 2016 by Cartland Promotions
First published on the internet in July 2016
ISBNs
978-1-78213-886-0 eBook
978-1-78213-848-8 Print
The characters and situations in this book are entirely imaginary and bear no relation to any real person or actual happening.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval, without the prior permission in writing from the publisher.
eBook conversion by M-Y Books
THEIR SEARCH FOR REAL LOVE
Sir John rode back as fast as he could.
As he went onto his own land, there was no sign of anyone.
He thought that Melita, giving him up for being so late, had already returned to the house.
Perhaps it would be a good idea to go there first and find out where she was.
He rode up the drive and thought, as he always did, that the old oaks standing like sentinels on either side made it a perfect entrance to Gilmour Hall.
As he galloped up to the front door, he saw Bracken and two of the grooms with him.
He therefore imagined that Melita must have just gone inside.
As he then drew his horse to a standstill, the Head Groom hurried towards him and said,
“I’m that glad you’ve arrived, Sir John. We were worried because Bracken’s come back ’ere alone.”
“What do you mean?” Sir John asked sharply.
“’Er Ladyship weren’t with ’im,” he said, “and we thinks perhaps she’s ’ad a fall.”
This did not seem likely to Sir John for the simple reason that Melita was such a good rider and he could not imagine her having a fall from any horse.
THE BARBARA CARTLAND PINK COLLECTION
Barbara Cartland was the most prolific bestselling author in the history of the world. She was frequently in the Guinness Book of Records for writing more books in a year than any other living author. In fact her most amazing literary feat was when her publishers asked for more Barbara Cartland romances, she doubled her output from 10 books a year to over 20 books a year, when she was 77.
She went on writing continuously at this rate for 20 years and wrote her last book at the age of 97, thus completing 400 books between the ages of 77 and 97.
Her publishers finally could not keep up with this phenomenal output, so at her death she left 160 unpublished manuscripts, something again that no other author has ever achieved.
Now the exciting news is that these 160 original unpublished Barbara Cartland books are ready for publication and they will be published by Barbaracartland.com exclusively on the internet, as the web is the best possible way to reach so many Barbara Cartland readers around the world.
The 160 books will be published monthly and will be numbered in sequence.
The series is called the Pink Collection as a tribute to Barbara Cartland whose favourite colour was pink and it became very much her trademark over the years.
The Barbara Cartland Pink Collection is published only on the internet. Log on to www.barbaracartland.com to find out how you can purchase the books monthly as they are published, and take out a subscription that will ensure that all subsequent editions are delivered to you by mail order to your home.
If you do not have access to a computer you can write for information about the Pink Collection to the following address :
BarbaraCartland.com
Camfield Place
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL9 6JE
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 1707 642629
Fax: +44 1707 663041
Titles in this series
These titles are currently available for download. For more information please see the Where to buy page at the end of this book.
The Cross Of Love
Love In The Highlands
Love Finds The Way
The Castle Of Love
Love Is Triumphant
Stars In The Sky
The Ship Of Love
A Dangerous Disguise
Love Became Theirs
Love Drives In
Sailing To Love
The Star Of Love
Music Is The Soul Of Love
Love In The East
Theirs To Eternity
A Paradise On Earth
Love Wins In Berlin
In Search Of Love
Love Rescues Rosanna
A Heart In Heaven
The House Of Happiness
Royalty Defeated By Love
They Sought Love
Love Is The Reason For Living
They Found Their Way To Heaven
Learning To Love
Journey To Happiness
A Kiss In The Desert
The Heart Of Love
The Richness Of Love
For Ever And Ever
An Unexpected Love
Saved By An Angel
Touching The Stars
Seeking Love
Journey To Love
The Importance Of Love
Love By The Lake
A Dream Come True
The King Without A Heart
The Waters Of Love
Danger To The Duke
A Perfect Way To Heaven
Follow Your Heart
In Hiding
Rivals For Love
A Kiss From The Heart
Lovers In London
This Way To Heaven
A Princess Prays
Mine For Ever
The Earl’s Revenge
Love At The Tower
Ruled By Love
Love Came From Heaven
Love And Apollo
The Keys Of Love
A Castle Of Dreams
A Battle Of Brains
A Change Of Hearts
It Is Love
The Triumph Of Love
Wanted – A Royal Wife
A Kiss Of Love
To Heaven With Love
Pray For Love
The Marquis Is Trapped
Hide And Seek For Love
Hiding from Love
A Teacher Of Love
Money Or Love
The Revelation Is Love
The Tree Of Love
The Magnificent Marquis
The Castle
The Gates of Paradise
A Lucky Star
A Heaven on Earth
The Healing Hand
A Virgin Bride
The Trail to Love
A Royal Love Match
A Steeplechase for Love
Love at Last
Search for a Wife
Secret Love
A Miracle of Love
Love and the Clans
A Shooting Star
The Winning Post is Love
They Touched Heaven
The Mountain of Love
The Queen Wins
Love and the Gods
Joined by Love
The Duke is Deceived
A Prayer For Love
Love Conquers War
A Rose in Jeopardy
A Call of Love
A Flight to Heaven
She Wanted Love
A Heart Finds Love
A Sacrifice for Love
Love's Dream in Peril
Soft, sweet & Gentle
An Archangel Called Ivan
A Prisoner in Paris
Danger in the desert
Rescued by Love
A Road to Romance
A Golden Lie
A heart of stone
The Earl Elopes
A Wilder Kind of Love
The Bride Runs Away
Beyond the Horizon
Crowned by Music
Love solves the Problem
Blessing of the Gods
Love by Moonlight
Saved by the Duke
A Train to Love
Wanted - A Bride
Double the Love
Hiding from the Fortune-Hunters
The Marquis is Deceived
The Viscount's Revenge
Captured by Love
An Ocean of Love
A Beauty Betrayed
No Bride, No Wedding
A Strange Way to Find Love
The Unbroken Dream
A Heart in Chains
One Minute to Love
Love for Eternity
The Prince who wanted Love
For the Love of Scotland
An Angel from Heaven
Their Search for Real Love
THE LATE DAME BARBARA CARTLAND
Barbara Cartland, who sadly died in May 2000 at the grand age of ninety eight, remains one of the world’s most famous romantic novelists. With worldwide sales of over one billion, her outstanding 723 books have been translated into thirty six different languages, to be enjoyed by readers of romance globally.
Writing her first book ‘Jigsaw’ at the age of 21, Barbara became an immediate bestseller. Building upon this initial success, she wrote continuously throughout her life, producing bestsellers for an astonishing 76 years. In addition to Barbara Cartland’s legion of fans in the UK and across Europe, her books have always been immensely popular in the USA. In 1976 she achieved the unprecedented feat of having books at numbers 1 & 2 in the prestigious B. Dalton Bookseller bestsellers list.
Although she is often referred to as the ‘Queen of Romance’, Barbara Cartland also wrote several historical biographies, six autobiographies and numerous theatrical plays as well as books on life, love, health and cookery. Becoming one of Britain's most popular media personalities and dressed in her trademark pink, Barbara spoke on radio and television about social and political issues, as well as making many public appearances.
In 1991 she became a Dame of the Order of the British Empire for her contribution to literature and her work for humanitarian and charitable causes.
Known for her glamour, style, and vitality Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime. Best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels and loved by millions of readers worldwide, her books remain treasured for their heroic heroes, plucky heroines and traditional values. But above all, it was Barbara Cartland’s overriding belief in the positive power of love to help, heal and improve the quality of life for everyone that made her truly unique.
“I know a number of people, both men and women, who have sought real love all their lives and have never found it. And at some stage they become desperate.
I am an eternal optimist and I always say to them, don’t despair as out there in the big wide world there is someone just waiting for you and, you know, he or she will surely find you one fine day when you least expect it and then you will be happy for ever.
Some people would call it Karma –
Barbara Cartland
CHAPTER ONE ~ 1891
Sir John Gilmour glanced at the clock and realised that it was nearly one o’clock in the morning.
It was time, he thought, for him to leave.
He turned to the pretty woman who was holding his arm and said,
“I am afraid that I have to go home. I have many things I need to do tomorrow and I must have some sleep before I start work.”
She laughed.
“Work to you is very different from what it is to other people. But you have not forgotten, John dear, that you are dining with me tomorrow night?”
“Of course I have not forgotten,” Sir John replied, “and I will be counting the hours until I see you again.”
She looked up at him.
As their eyes met, she said in a whisper,
“We shall be alone! As you know Arthur is going to the races and will not be back until Saturday.”
Sir John smiled.
“We will talk about it tomorrow,” he murmured.
Releasing himself from her arm he went across the room to where his hostess was saying goodbye to several people who, like himself, realised that it was now late.
As the guests were moving away, he held out his hand saying,
“How can I ever thank you for a most amusing and delicious dinner and an even more delightful band?”
“I am so glad that you enjoyed yourself, John,” she answered, “and I will look forward to seeing you again next week.”
“If I am in London, I will be knocking on the door even sooner than you expect,” Sir John promised.
She pressed her hand closer into his and said,
“You know I want to see you.”
“And I want to see you,” he replied.
He raised her hand and touched it with his lips.
Without saying anymore he walked quickly through the dancers to the door that led from the ballroom into the passage.
Even as he did so, there was a patter of feet behind him.
He turned round to see a very pretty woman who had been often acclaimed as one of the most influential and attractive hostesses in London.
“John!” she exclaimed a little breathlessly.
As she reached him, she said,
“You have not forgotten that you are dining with us on Tuesday night. I have a special surprise for you, but I am so afraid that you will disappear into the country and forget you promised to be my guest for dinner.”
“Of course I have not forgotten your party,” Sir John answered. “How could I forget you?”
She looked up at him and her eyes said more than her lips.
Sir John kissed her hand and said,
“I will be with you at eight o’clock. Don’t worry, it is a date which is impossible to forget.”
“Just as I could never forget you,” she said in a low voice.
Because he could see several people coming from the room he had just left, Sir John released her hand and moved quickly down the passage to the front door.
It was always the same, he reflected.
Wherever he went it was difficult to get away.
There were always attractive women wishing to delay him when he wanted to be free.
As he expected, his carriage was waiting for him outside the front door and, as he stepped into it, he said to the footman holding the door,
“Tell Cochran to take me back home as quickly as possible. I am sorry to keep him waiting, but I wanted to leave at least an hour ago.”
“We thinks as ’ow you’d be ever so late, sir,” the man answered with a smile.
He shut the door, as Sir John sank down on the seat inside.
The horses moved off and were going at a very fast pace and Sir John lay back comfortably in the carriage.
He thought, with a sigh, that it was far later than he had intended to leave. But it was always the same at those parties.
The most attractive woman always seemed to come last on his list of dances.
It was impossible for him to leave without being unnecessarily rude.
All the same it had been an amusing evening.
He had had two of the most famous beauties in London Society at his side at dinner.
They had vied with each other in flattering him and made him feel embarrassed by whispering things he had no wish to be overheard or suspected by their husbands or, far more dangerous, older women who desired his attention.
It wou
ld have been impossible for Sir John not to be aware that he was the most sought after young man in the whole of London Society.
He had a reputation for being a roué, which was entirely justified.
It was inevitable that a great many men were not only jealous of his success but angry because their wives were infatuated by him.
“If it was not forbidden by the law and the Prince of Wales, I would call him out for a duel,” more than one member at his Club had said to a friend.
“You are not the only one saying that,” the friend had replied. “But while I suspect what Gilmour is after, he is too clever for them to be certain.”
Although the men were suspicious of him, they had to admit he was an excellent sportsman both in the hunting field and as a gunshot at fashionable shoots.
His racehorses which were kept at Newmarket were outstanding and he had, they were obliged to admit, one of the finest and most impressive houses in the country.
“The trouble with young Gilmour,” an older man at the Club had said, “is that he is determined never to marry and as you all know he avoids the ambitious mothers who want their debutante daughters to share his ancient title.”
“If you ask me, he is too damned clever for all of us,” another member asserted.
While those to whom he was speaking laughed, he added,
“You mark my words he will come a cropper one day and will find himself walking up the aisle when he least expects it!”
There was laughter at this suggestion.
At the same time a twinkle in one or two of his friends’ eyes told the speaker, and it made him very angry, that they were all well aware that the girl he was about to marry had fallen madly in love with Sir John Gilmour.
So she had broken off the engagement one week before the Wedding was due to take place.
It was no compensation at all to know that he had no intention of marrying the young girl concerned.
Sir John had avowed openly that he would never marry until he was very much older and obliged to have an heir to whom he could leave everything he possessed.
“If you ask me,” one man at the Club said bitterly, “he’ll fall on his face when he least expects it. Then we will all be able to cheer his downfall instead of praising him as you do at the moment.”
As he walked away, one of his friends laughed.
“Poor old geezer,” another said. “But the real truth is that Gilmour always gets the better of us and it appears that we are all too silly and feeble and there is nothing we can do about it.”