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Barbara Cartland

Double the Love

The beautiful Ariana Dancer is orphaned and has led a cheerless life in London with her disagreeable Guardian, Uncle Konstantin Bardici. He has shown little interest in his niece and she has been left very much to her own devices.
One day Uncle Konstantin suggests that Ariana marry an Albanian Prince — one who is seeking an English wife and who claims to have fallen in love with her portrait — and it does not take much to persuade her to agree.
Even before she sets out for Albania, she begins to dream of romance and her lonely heart ensures that she quickly fancies herself in love with a man she has never seen.
She is sure in her heart that she will find everlasting happiness with Prince Stefan of Dukka in the depths of Albania.!
But the journey she must take to fulfil her dreams is longer and more treacherous than she could ever have imagined. When she and her hapless maid are kidnapped en route to Castle Dukka by brigands, the rosy future she dreamed of becomes bitterly compromised.
Soon life in the wild mountains begins to exert an unexpected pull, while the King of the Brigands turns out to possess an irresistible charm.
Ariana discovers that love can have a double meaning and that image is not all that it seems.
Forced to choose between honour and passion and faced with the responsibility of deciding life or death for the man she loves, she bravely makes the ultimate sacrifice.
Even then Ariana’s torment is not over —
Find out how Ariana unexpectedly finds all that she has been seeking, and more, in this exciting and unusual romantic tale by BARBARA CARTLAND
151 printed pages
Copyright owner
Barbara Cartland Ebooks Ltd.
Original publication
2015
Publication year
2014
Have you already read it? How did you like it?
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Impressions

  • fatimahj07shared an impression4 years ago
    👍Worth reading

    Her uncle’s voice roused her from her thoughts. “Since you finished with your schooling you have become somewhat idle in your habits.” Ariana sighed.
    “I would not be idle, Uncle, if I had actually been educated to do something.” - too true!

    “What did it do for Mariamne?” he repeated. “It made her happy,” returned Ariana softly. “Happy!” He lowered his hands and thumped the table. “Who was she to have the right to be happy? The daughter of an Albanian aristocrat, who once owned land from Berat to Fieri. Land that was lost when we were driven from our country by all those Ottomans with their fezes and hookahs! It was her duty to marry an Albanian and carry on the sacred blood tie with her country.” - happiness isn't a concern 😑

    “Tell him – yes, Uncle,” she whispered. “Yes – I will come.” - usually BC females run away from an arranged marriage...

    He would surely go straight to Prince Stefan and relate what had happened. And then the Prince would have to come and rescue his bride-to-be from the clutches of these animals! - animals are majestic creatures. People are brutes and barbarians!

    In the night, lying awake on her pallet, she pressed her fingers to her mouth as if to recreate the pressure from Lorenc’s lips. She should be imagining the kiss of Prince Stefan, but it was Lorenc’s dark eyes that flashed at her when she closed hers. - again, unusual sentiment in a BC novel. The lead female is attracted to her captor.

    He certainly had a nobler bearing than she could imagine a gypsy possessing. But then when had she ever met a gypsy that she should entertain such a prejudice? - yes!

    Although her own room was pleasant, Ariana found the rest of The Castle somewhat gloomy. Walls were lined with paintings depicting scenes of hunting and the furniture was heavy with the legs of chairs ending in claws or hoofs. - that's appalling. All those poor dead animals 💔💔💔

    Ariana felt faint. Break someone’s heart? Whose heart she wanted to cry, but she dared not reveal the extent of her jealousy. It was clear that Lorenc was so taken with Bonnie that he did not wish to part with her. - brain cells not connecting...

    With Lorenc her heart was a lark that soared into the spring air. With Stefan it was a captured finch lying motionless in its cage. - that's the life of most, if not all, captive animals 💔💔💔

    The Prince’s carriage passed her at such a speed that she was alarmed. What had the Prince discovered to have his horses lashed so hard on what was the home lap? - cruelty to animals and children is a crime like no other!

  • Jayshree Gujarshared an impression4 years ago
    👍Worth reading
    🔮Hidden Depths
    🚀Unputdownable

  • b5empathshared an impression6 years ago
    👍Worth reading
    💞Loved Up
    🌴Beach Bag Book
    🐼Fluffy

Quotes

  • xmrajanhas quoted5 years ago
    He leaned on the table with hands under his chin.
  • Agnieszka Sapinskahas quoted8 years ago
    very well.

    He also proposed a visit to the town of Glinica.

    Bujar was surprised and commented,

    “He does not like to go out into Society or to be seen by the people. You surely have an effect on him.”

    “I only suggested what is sensible,” replied Ariana, wondering at Bujar’s reaction.

    The morning of the trip to Glinica, Ariana was up early. Gezim had laid out for her a gown of red brocade with a short red jacket and a hat with a veil.

    It had been decided against Ariana’s wish, although she had said nothing, that Gezim accompany her Mistress and the Prince to the town.

    “You must be seen to have a maid in attendance,” the Prince had asserted.

    He eyed her approvingly as she descended the steps to the carriage.

    “You are a vision this morning, Ariana,” he said in a low voice, handing her into the carriage himself.

    Gezim climbed onto the box with the driver and the party set off. It was the end of May and the carriage was of an open type drawn by a pair of snow-white mares.

    The Dukka estate was in full flower with endless rhododendrons and almond blossom.

    ‘If only the man beside me was Lorenc himself and not his double, how happy I would be,’ thought Ariana.

    She regarded the countryside eagerly as the horses tripped along. It was very beautiful, if rather austere, once The Castle estate was left behind.

    As they approached Glinica, the road then became thronged with the country folk carrying baskets of produce and farmers with carts of piglets or wicker cages of hens. It was obviously Fair day in the town.

    Prince Stefan did not seem happy to discover this and cursed himself loudly for not remembering and Ariana saw with surprise that he was growing increasingly uneasy.

    When people doffed their caps or curtseyed to the carriage, he did not acknowledge their greetings, but stared straight ahead.

    When the carriage pulled up in the square before a large hostelry, he seemed impatient to go inside and out of sight of the crowds.

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