Love At The Helm

Fresh from heroic exploits in the Battle of Trafalgar, Captain Conrad 'Tiger' Horn has returned to Portsmouth take command of a magnificent new ship, The Invincible, which he is to sail to Antigua to defend British trading routes against American privateers and, of course, the French.
But the fly in the ointment is that he is obliged to take with him on his voyage his cousin, Lady Delora Horn, whom he has never met but whom he already loathes, assuming that she is cut from the same cloth as her obnoxious brother, the Earl of Scawthorn, who has arranged for her to marry in Antigua a certain Lord Grammell, who is the Governor of the British island.
Conrad at once feels sorry for her, as Lord Grammell is not only past sixty and notorious as a drunkard, he is also hugely fat, unpleasant, foul-mouthed and debauched.
And he is only interested in marrying Delora for the large fortune she has inherited from her American mother as he will be able to control it once they are wed.
But Delora's appearance comes as a shock to Conrad. Far from the hard-faced mature woman he anticipates, she is young and utterly lovely with eyes the colour of the deep blue sea, golden hair, and with an air of unsophisticated and unspoilt innocence.
Soon amid perilous battles on the high seas when Conrad is seriously wounded in the leg by enemy grapeshot, the beautiful Delora saves the Captain's life and limb and love blossoms between them.
But so does despair for she is already unwillingly betrothed to the monstrous Lord Grammell, who is waiting eagerly for her when The Invincible eventually does arrive in Antigua.

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.