: Barbara Cartland
: A Gamble with Hearts
: Barbara Cartland EBooks ltd
: 9781788670814
: 1
: CHF 5.30
:
: Historische Romane und Erzählungen
: English
: 198
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
In the Black Forest spa town of Baden-Baden for the profits to be had at the gaming tables, professional gambler and Englishman Quintus Tiverton is disturbed to hear the sound of an English girl being whipped savagely in a hotel room. 'It is none of my business,' he tells himself - but the sound of her weeping is inescapable and he goes to investigate. Instantly he is captivated by Selena Wade, the blue-eyed waif he encounters and, finding that she is being exploited cruelly by a 'domestic agency' proprietor who is listtle better than a 'Madam', resolves to save her. And so naive Selena finds herself posing as the gambler's sister, as Tiverton tries to marry her off to someone suitably rich. Little does Quintus know that poor Selena's heart is already taken - and she only has eyes for him! Still less does he realise that he too is falling in love.

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.

Chapter One ~ 1868


It was pouring with rain and bitterly cold with the wind blowing from the mountains as a gentleman rode into the courtyard of the Posting inn.

The lit windows, the chatter of voices, and the sound of laughter were welcoming after a long ride when the elements had been more unpleasant than the mud and roughness of the road.

The gentleman swung himself down from the saddle and waited while his servant on another horse came forward to take the bridle and then he walked into the inn.

He was surprised to find, as he entered through the door, quite an inordinate number of people grouped about a log fire in a low-ceilinged room, drinking and smoking.

He walked to where the landlord was busy pouring beer into pewter mugs to say in a tone of authority,

“I want a bedchamber for the night for myself and one for my servant.”

“Impossible,Mein Herr,” the landlord replied without raising his eyes.

Then, as if under some compulsion, he looked up and, noting the appearance of the traveller, said in a very different tone,

“It is with the deepest regret,Mein Herr, that I cannot accommodate you, but the fact is we have more guests than we can cope with as it is.”

The gentleman looked around him.

“Where have they all come from?” he asked curiously.

He was well aware that this was only a minor Posting inn, so that he had certainly not expected to find it filled with elegant ladies in silk gowns and expensive furs or gentlemen wearing fashionably cut tight-fitting jackets and sable-lined overcoats.

“There has been a fall of stone on the Railway line,Mein Herr. These travellers are all on their way to Baden-Baden and have preferred to seek shelter in my inn rather than spend the night on the train.”

“I presume you can provide me with a meal of sorts?” the gentleman asked.

“Indeed,Mein Herr, it will be a pleasure and I can only offer you my sincere regrets that we have no bedchamber available.”

As the landlord spoke, his wife, a portly woman wearing a mobcap and a white apron, came to his side and whispered something in his ear.

The innkeeper appeared to hesitate and then he said,

“I hardly dare suggest it,Mein Herr, but there is an attic room still unoccupied. It is one that is usually allotted to a servant, but at least you could lie down and it would be more pleasant than spending the night in a chair.”

“I will take it,” the stranger nodded briefly. “And now, if someone will wait upon me in the dining hall, I wish to order some wine.”

He strode away in what was obviously the direction of the dining hall and the innkeeper’s wife’s eyes followed him admiringly.

There was no doubt that he was not only handsome but distinguished in appearance and his clothes, she noted, were worn with the indifferent elegance that proclaimed him an Englishman.

Like her husband she had not failed to notice the gold signet ring on his finger or the pearl pin in his cravat.

It was not only the impression of wealth and elegance that made her eyes follow the gentleman until he was out of sight. There was something else about him, something that had made several women, as he passed through the crowded room, gaze at him and then gaze again.

As it was late, the dining hall was empty, save for a couple of elderly men lingering over a bottle of port.

The new arrival seated himself at a table near the open fireplace. When the waiter came hurrying to take his order, he scrutinised the menu with care, selecting his dishes with a fastidiousness and knowledge of food that ensured him more respect than was accorded to most travellers.

Finally, after a short wait, he was provided with well-cooked pike, a tender fowl, venison marinated in wine, a choice ofZuckerwerk orPflaumemus and a selection of fruit dishes, which were all appetising.

The wine was not exceptional but certainly drinkable and, when he had eaten amply for it was his first meal of the day, the gentleman sat back in his chair and sipped his glass of port.

He was warm, he was no longer hungry and whatever the bed that awaited him upstairs was like, he knew that he would sleep well.

The dining hall was now empty and the room, which had been filled with travellers when he passed through it, was now much quieter.

Most of the women had retired upstairs to the bedchambers allotted to them and the men who were left still smoking round the fireside were nodding their heads obviously too tired to talk.

The gentleman looked