The Duke Comes Home

Ever since the cruel death of her beloved brother, David at the Battle of Waterloo, Lady Ilina Bury's father, the fifth Duke of Tetbury, has taken out his grief on her and now he too has died and his will reiterates his contempt of her.
He leaves the beautiful nothing but the extremely valuable collection of jewels that had been given to his ancestor, the second Duke of Tetbury, by the Nizam of Hyderabad.
The trouble is that, although legendary, these jewels are also almost certainly mythical and Ilina and David have been searching Tetbury Abbey for them for years without any success.
All but destitute she dreads the arrival of her father's heir and rather than be a burden, she decides to pretend that she is a paid employee of the poverty-stricken estate.
And when the handsome new Duke finally does arrive from the Far East, he is visibly disappointed by what he sees, but worse still he says that he intends to abandon the estate, all its loyal staff and close up The Abbey for ever.
He very quickly sees through Ilina's disguise and then she shows the Duke round the dilapidated house and estate and regales him with the family's illustrious history over many centuries.
Although she despises him, she uses all her charms to persuade the Duke to stay and do his duty for his distinguished and aristocratic family.
And, as little by little he yields, so Ilina's heart slowly opens to love.

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.