Cover of The Cruel Count
Read Time: ~3.1 hr

The Cruel Count

by Barbara Cartland (1974)

About this book

In 1819, Lady Vesta Cressinton-Font travels alone to the small Mediterranean island of Katona as bride by proxy to its hereditary Prince. As soon as she left her ship and set foot on to Katona, the blue-eyed, exquisitely beautiful Vesta felt frightened and totally alone. It was certainly not the reception she had expected. Where, she wondered, were Prince Alexander's representatives? Surely His Royal Highness would not let his future bride arrive on Katona without a formal greeting. Really, it was quite unthinkable: traveling all the way from England to marry a man she had never met and then being rudely abandoned.... "They tell me you have arrived alone." The words cut across Vesta's indignant reverie. Startled, she directed her gaze toward the man who spoke them. His stern, domineering manner, his penetrating glance quite alarmed her. And yet he was so darkly handsome.... "I am Count Miklos Czako," the stranger continued harshly. "I will take you to His Royal Highness." To her dismay the imperious Count Miklos tells Vesta that revolution has broken out and she must return to England. This Vesta refuses to do and commands the unwilling nobleman to take her to the Capital. After a hazardous journey and capture by brigands, Vesta arrives at the Royal Hunting Lodge only to face new dangers for the Count who aroused in her an ecstasy such as she had never imagined.

Setting / LocationLondon & UK
Story EraContemporary / Future
Protagonist / CoreThe Cruel Count Lead Character

Readers who enjoyed this also loved

Cover of A Sister's Courage

A Sister's Courage

Catherine King

"Sacrifice. When her mother passed away, Meg Parker was forced to sacrifice her chance at love for the sake of her family. She hopes she will be able to live a full life once again after her father remarries - until tragedy strikes a second time. Suddenly, Meg is facing a darker future altogether. Struggles. Lady Alice Langton is travelling the Yorkshire Dales, spreading the suffragette message. Florence Brookes, the daughter of a prosperous grocer, accompanies her, impassioned by the cause but seeking distraction from her own troubles. Appalled by their lack of domestic skills, Meg decides to flee her old life and joins the two women as their maidservant as they make their way to London. Strength. When Meg is reunited with her old flame, she is hesitant about her feelings for him - not least because of the rift this causes between her and Lady Alice. It's not until Florence's actions land them in jeopardy that Meg realises she must find the courage to make a heartbreaking choice."--Publisher description.

Cover of Pure and Untouched

Pure and Untouched

Barbara Cartland

The Duke of Ravenstock awoke and was aware that everything was very silent. He looked for Anoushka, but at first he could not see her. Then he realised she was beside him in the bed, sound asleep. For the moment he was astonished. Then he realised there was nowhere else she could have slept, except on a hard wooden chair, and because the bed was large, there was quite a gap between them. The Duke turned over cautiously and looked at her. Her eyelashes were dark against her cheeks, her hair was tumbled over the pillow. Then because he could not help himself, because everything seemed far away in another world, he raised himself towards her.

Cover of As Eagles Fly

As Eagles Fly

Barbara Cartland

Natasha Melikov was a Countess and a hostage. Kidnapped from her home in Tzarist Russia by Moslem rebels, she and her young brother were being held captive high in the Caucasian mountains. Overcome with fear, Natasha made an otherwise unthinkable bargain: her brother would go free and she would give herself in marriage to a rebel ally, the Sultan of Turkey. Knowing Natasha needed an escort out of the mountains to guarantee her safe delivery to the Sultan, her captors turned to the handsome, irreproachable Lord Athelstan --already in the Caucasians on a diplomatic mission. But Athelstan refused to lend either his name or his country's to such an unprincipled exchange. His cool rejection of her impassioned pleas for her brother's life was transforming the Countess's fear into frenzied desperation....

Cover of A Fortune for the Outlaw's Daughter

A Fortune for the Outlaw's Daughter

Lauri Robinson

Cole 'Lucky' DuMont is off to forge his future in the Alaskan hills. Standing in his way? A dark-haired beauty in need of rescue. Maddie Stockwell's life has always been ruled by men. And now, to ensure her freedom, she strikes a deal with her gorgeous saviour: she'll help Lucky in his quest, and find her own fortune along the way! Except when Maddie has to pose as Lucky's wife, she feels a thrill she could never have anticipated. And suddenly, there's something even more tempting than gold on her mind.

The Cruel Count by Barbara Cartland | Literally Just Books