A harlequin romance

Maxwell Perring was a surgeon with a special distinction about him; "star quality" it might have been called in another profession. Nurse Alma Miles admired his work, but had never thought about him as a man. All her thinking of that sort was centered on Jeremy Truscott -- and he was presenting quite a problem.

Anya, is a 'displaced person'; a young girl who formost of her life had known nothing but the ugliness and hardship of various refugee camps. Then came the day when her life was strangely linked with an English party visiting Bavaria. David Manworth was the first to wish to help her; his cousin Bertram's professional eye saw in her possibilities for a stage career; kind Mrs Preston wanted to make her one of the family; only Celia Preston, with an eye on David, was unwelcoming. Returning to England with them, Anya found that even in a secure and prosperous world there can be doubts and anxieties; but in the end she was to attain a happiness greater than she had ever dared to imagine.

When Uncle Niall left his Canadian fruit farm equally between his manager and his niece Lucie, with the proviso that Lucie should spend a month there, it seemed obvious that he was hoping to set the scene for romance. It also seemed, though, that there were certain factors he couldn’t have taken into account. There was the character of Lucie herself, not easily rushed into decisions; there was her gay friend Dinah, unrivalled as an upsetter of carefully laid plans; there was Matt Leverson the forceful neighbour, whose supposed designs on the farm caused Lucie some anxiety. It looked as though the old mans’ hopes might be disappointed; or had he after all, foreseen and intended a different ending to the story.

Pamela Hughes thought the career of air stewardess the most interesting and romantic of all. She was the youngest and most eager of the embryo stewardesses on Skywide Airlines’ Air Hostess Course, enjoying every moment of her training, the excitement of her trips to colourful far-away places, and the crowning dignity of her first trans-atlantic flight. But even the most glamorous job has its problems, and Pamela was to have her share, in the form of Roger Carson, the attractive Technical Instructor, who disapproved of women on the airline in general, and, it seemed, of Pamela in particular.

At the age of twenty, Claire Wyndham went out to the lovely island of Santa Catarina. She was prepared to be enchanted by the beautiful island - but she was very far from prepared for the overwhelming attraction of the forceful Portuguese aristocrat, the Conde Manuel de Castro. Claire could not avoid being thrown constantly into his company, but from the beginning there was antagonism between the charming and imperious Conde and the young and sensitive English girl. Manuel was polite, devastating - but clearly uninterested in Claire as a woman. How, after all, could he be otherwise when the beautiful singer Francesca Alvares was so obviously suited to him in every way?

Kay found her situation incredible. She had come out from England to do a welfare job - straightforward enough in itself, though in strange exotic surroundings - and here she was marooned on an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean, alone with two men of utterly different personalities. There was Jeff, handsome and lazy, who loved good times and had never talked of marriage, but who might fall in love from the sheer lack of anything else to do. And there was this other man, big, dark and incalculable, and apparently not at all fond of women, but who would be the one to get the three of them out of there if anyone could. In fact they were not stranded for very long, but by the time they got back to civilisation Kay knew that her whole life had taken a new direction - whether for good or ill, she could not tell.

Life on the airways wasn't all glamour. Sally was thrilled when she began her new job as stewardess for Lancing Airways. She quickly made friends with her co-workers and her future looked bright. There was only one major problem. She found it impossible to get along with the airline's stern, uncompromising director, Dick Sutherland. He was a man who demanded utmost efficiency and would brook not the slightest slipup. In spite of all her efforts to avoid trouble, a clash was inevitable.

In her work as assistant to Dr. Ben Vaughan at the tiny town of Port Quentin, Laurette had never encountered any man who remotely stirred her heart — until one stormy day when Charles Heron skilfully sailed his uncle’s yacht into the tricky harbour. When Laurette was bandaging Charles’ injured arm, she decided on the spot that he was an autocrat who thought too much of himself, and for his part it seemed that he could not forgive her the crime of being only nineteen; all of which provoked her into hostile reaction. Unfortunately he got on well with her father, and Laurette found herself unable to avoid or ignore him. Then suddenly she realized she was in love with him—and she meant nothing at all in his life...”

When a car accident followed soon after an unhappy and embittering love affair, fashion model Francesca Cornel felt thoroughly dispirited, and wanted only to get away from everything. The remotest place she could think of was Andorra, that charming, little-known miniature republic nestling in the heart of the Pyrenees, so she set off for a quiet holiday to recuperate and try to sort out her problems. And up to a point she succeeded. She soon began to feel better, made some charming friends, and was offered an interesting and worthwhile job. But if she accepted, and stayed on in Andorra, could she adjust herself to the complete change from the gay life she had known? And, in view of her decision to avoid romance for a while, was it the wisest thing for Francesca to remain in the orbit of the attractive Nicolas de Vega?

Dinah had travelled all the way from Wales to New Zealand, with the intention of getting to know Russell Milgrove well enough to be sure she was doing the right thing in agreeing to marry him. She had allowed herself six months for the task - and then she discovered what a very great deal could happen in six months.

Miss Merriden was a benevolent autocrat whose rule over a small North country village was cheerfully accepted by most of those whom it concerned. But perhaps she went rather too far in engineering a fictitious engagement between her grandson, Robert, and the pretty school mistress, Monica Page – particularly as Monica considered that she had the best of reasons for disliking Robert. It was a situation that even Mrs Merriden was to find she couldn’t completely control.

Nurse Hilary Hope, just recovered from an attack of pneumonia, took the job of accompanying Lady Vesper to Auvergne, in France, as her nurse. There she met her ladyship's doctor, Raoul de la Rue, to whom she was attracted despite herself, for theirs was by no means an amicable relationship.

Rennie Gaynor found Kent Bradfield’s criticisms of the way she and her father ran their farm quite intolerable. It was true that they were rather poor and unused to South Africa, but Kent’s assurance and good looks annoyed her. It was not until Rennie’s sophisticated friend Jackie came to stay with the Gaynors and showed a distinct interest in Kent, that Rennie herself found that her feelings for Kent were something deeper than anger. In “Mayenga Farm” Kathryn Blair describes how these two stubborn people, Rennie and Kent, came to realize that they needed each other.

The prospect of an unexpected six-months' trip to the beautiful island of Bermuda, to work in the beauty salon of a luxury hotel, seemed like Paradise to Caroline. But she had reckoned withopt the dampening and disapproving presence of lan Dryden, the hotel's owner and manager. For some reason, she always seemed to get on the wrong side of him; before they had even met, he suspected his young cousin Colin of being in her clutches; he criticised her behaviour, doubted her common sense, and - most annoyingly! - her sailing ability; and he even tried to interfere with her friendship with the hotel's diving instructor, Jake Macauley. Caroline decided that the best thing was to try and ignore him - but that was easier said than done!

It was unfortunate, but inevitable Tess realized. Since their arrival on the west coast of Canada four years ago, she and her father had dreamed of developing the guest house by the lovely lake at the foot of the Rockies. But now her father was dead and her mother had decided to return to England, leaving Tess with no alternative but to follow as soon everything had been wound up. So the house was put up for sale and all Tess had to do was to wait for a prospective buyer. He materialised - in the form of a coolly domineering wretch of a man who not only wanted to take over the guest house, but apparently organise Tess's life for her as well. In no time at all things had slipped right out of her grasp and into the large strong hands of Mr. Steve Fenner - and there didn't seem to be a thing Tess could do about it. She was quite powerless to defy the man - but, to be honest, did she really want to?

A boys' public school, set in a pleasant old cathedral town, is the background for this charming story of Ingrid Southbrook, who came to keep house for her brother during his wife's illness. Sylvia Southbrook also had a brother, rather celebrity, and Ingrid had no doubt that he would be a selfish and disagreeable as Sylvia herself. But Ingrid would have been surprised to know that her meeting with Patrick was destined to change the whole course of her life.

There is no part of Africa with more potentialities than Kenya, and when Penelope inherited a farm there she was confident that she could run it single-handed. Her neighbor, Paul Conway, declared that she couldn't--which only made her all the more determined to prove him wrong!

Elizabeth Davenport had decided that the frivolous life of a deb was not for her and made up her mind to embark on a nursing career. But was she wise to choose to work at the hospital where her father was a senior consultant?

He was famous, she was a nobody. Erica was heartbroken. She'd been forced to give up her musical training and hopes for a career as a concert pianist. For suddenly, with the death of her stepmother, she had to devote all her time to housekeeping. Then fate lent a hand. Erica met the dynamic Charles Winlake, an eminent conductor. And he, dismayed at this waste of young talent, took an interest in Erica ... an interest that became far more than just professional!

Sandra had gone a long way - from England to New Zealand - to get away from a love affair that had gone wrong. She soon fell in love with her new home - but it was far too early to fall in love with another man, as she told Blake firmly when he asked her to marry him. Or so she thought - until she met Rob Farr and lost her heart to him almost on sight. And much good that would do her, for it was more than clear that all Rob's interest and affection was reserved for the lovely Lisa Maybury.....

The impoverished Greeve family used to say in moments of financial crisis, 'There's always Great-Aunt Tabitha' — thinking of the fortune which the very old lady was due to leave them. The one exception was Leslie Greeve, for whom the future meant only Oliver Bendick — the man it was generally agreed she would one day marry. But when Great-Aunt Tabitha did considerately die, the way ahead was not so simple as it had seemed. Into their lives (not least Leslie's) burst Reid Carthay, self-confident, cynical, a disturbing stranger with power to affect all the members of the Greeve family without exception...

After Myles O'Malley's death Johanna wasn't sure why she had come to Ireland to seek out his family, when they didn't even know she had known him, let alone that she had planned to marry him. And when she had met Shay and Douglas O'Malley, Johanna was even less sure....

When Tracy spent a night with Brett Hardwick on the moors, it was due to force of circumstances and couldn't have been more innocent, but unfortunately the episode led to a lot of damaging gossip. So Tracey suggested to her friend Wayne Eastwood that they should become "engaged" to put a stop to it. It was a suggestion that was to create more problems than it solved...

It was a shock to Cathie, after years of taking comfortable, prosperous living for granted, when her father died and she found that all the money was gone, but at least she still had the love and support of her fiancé Keith, who insisted that it would make no difference to them. Both of them would have to make sacrifices, but surely they would be worth it? But the news had come as a very unpleasant shock to Keith’s ambitious, domineering mother, and she lost no time in trying to break up the engagement, even to the extent of pointing out to Cathie that, in the glamorous Melanie Seymour, she had a far more suitable candidate for the position of Keith’s wife than Cathie would ever be. Should Cathie take the hint, especially as another equally attractive man was taking an interest in her?

When Antonia agreed to go as secretary-companion to her unknown Aunt Harriet, she did not take very seriously the promise that she would be made the old lady's heiress. She was startled, therefore, when on arrival she found that the estate was a considerable one and that there was a dispossessed nephew in the person of her attractive cousin, Giles, who had quarreled with their aunt over his engagement to Vanessa. Characteristically, Antonia set herself to reconcile aunt and nephew, and in doing so uncovered some very strange fragments of family history. She found something else too - her own conviction that Vanessa was not the right girl for Giles.

A night of heavy snow, and dogs barking outside an old Cotswold farmhouse.... When Nancy and her two sisters went out to see what was the matter, they found a handsome stranger unconscious in a snowdrift. They and their parents saved his life; but when he recovered consciousness, he could not remember anything about himself. He stayed on to get work on a neighboring estate - and so began a warm and tender love-story.

Three months of luxury, at an exclusive seaside resort, and all at Aunt Gabrielle's expense! Elaine would indeed have considered herself lucky, had there not been one very, very delicate condition attached to the situation -- a condition on which her whole future depended. She held out no great hopes that she would succeed, but what was to become of her if she did not?

To leave London for a remote Northumbrian village may sound like a descent into dullness; but Veronica Benley found it quite the reverse. An only child, she was enchanted by life with the Elveys —a large family, gay and affectionate, who joyously accepted her as one of themselves. Then came romance—and for a time it seemed as if the claims of love were in conflict with those of the friends who had come to depend on her. Could she possibly take her own happiness at the expense of theirs?

1796 Miranda was delighted when her boss asked her to accompany him on a business cruise to the Caribbean, even though she knew the whole purpose of the trip was a large take-over bid and that there would be as much work as play. But when it came to sweet-talking one Roger Gallant, she realized she had taken on more than she could manage. Roger was clearly in the habit of taking what he wanted and then throwing it away - and it did look as if Miranda was going to be his latest victim!

Margaret Dunne went to Rowanbank at Scotland as a private nurse to pull herself out of the doldrums. All went well until she met her employer's son, the insufferable Richard Morrell, who greeted her with the words "Plain, wholesome and oh, so good for us!". It was the beginning of a relationship part bitter, part stimulating until Margaret realised she loved him.

Laura had practically raised little Mandy, but she had no legal claim to the homeless child. And now the authorities wanted to take Mandy away. Paul Penalis could help her to keep Mandy, but his price was marriage. Was the price too high for Laura to pay, or could she find true happiness in a marriage of strangers?

Laurie thought that marriage would open the door to a happy and carefree life, but she soon acquired a loved and loving husband, but an unwelcome admirer and a jealous, desperate enemy, who between them were almost to wreck her marriage. Laurie, however, found a way to defeat them and establish her own plan for happy living.

Virginia had never expected to inherit the prosperous wine business in The Rhineland -- but the manager, Ingram Ashe, refused to believe that her motives were anything but mercenary. She could only hope that in time she could make him change his mind about her. But was time on Virginia's side?

Masquerade in Madrid With her dying breath Ventura's mother had said, "Go to Madrid," and Ventura knew that, somehow, her destiny lay in that city. She dared to travel as page to the English Lord Lynke who was on his way to an arranged marriage with Dona, one of the richest women in Spain. Little did he know that she is the most beautiful, promiscuous and ruthless women in Mandrid! Lord Lynke himself was fooled by the masquerade until a midnight attempt on Ventura's life drove her into his arms for protection. Her masquerade was over. If she were aver to reveal her growing love for him, she must learn the secret of her birth--the secret that lay somewhere in the Spanish capital.

Lindley Harding was a singer nearing the end of his career; Laurence Morven was a new star -- and rival -- coming up over the horizon. And Lindley's daughter Natalie, who loved them both, found herself torn two ways as the bitterness grew between the two men. Was the situation going to ruin her life?

Joanna Ransome was hoping to embark on a singing career - and with the great conductor Oscar Warrender taking an interest in her she could hardly fail! But how could she manage to convince Elliot Cheam that she was not just a cheap little gold digger?

They had met by chance in circumstances of danger and embarrassment. Both of them believed that love was well lost for money, although they had no money and fell in love with each other. If they ran true to their beliefs, they would say goodbye and pursue their preordained course. Could they?

Miranda was in the unhappy position of being married to one man while loving another. But Sim was such a kind and affectionate husband that the marriage might yet have work out had Jeff not come back into their lives again.

After a disastrous love affair, Peta Sheppherd was "off" men - with a vengeance. Therefore, she was in no mood to put up with her new boss, Lee Merril, his sweeping changes and his assumption that everyone was going to jump to his bidding. Peta certainly wasn't!

The improvident Laverhope family were in the worst financial straits that even they had ever been in, and the eldest daughter, Ismay, knew that the only thing that would save them would be her marriage to the richest man in the district, Keith Otterbury. But she also knew that Keith was one creditor who would not wait indefinitely for payment...

Selina was going to marry Roger Peters -- but unless they waited another three years, Selina would forfeit a large legacy and lose her beloved Tall Tops. She was prepared to wait; so was Roger. That maddening Joel Grant had no right to be so sarcasiic about it all.

Madeleine was the good-natured type of girl who always finds it had to say 'no' to a request to help a friend - so when her friend Fiona was asked to act as temporary housekeeper to her cousin Robert Austin in Scotland, and for reasons of her own suggested that Madeleine should take her place, Madeleine once again found herself agreeing. She found herself accepted as Fiona, but, in the house of the 'Black Austins', it was not long before complications set in - and the biggest of them was Jake Austin. It was soon clear to Madeleine that he had seen through her deception - but why did he say nothing about it to Robert? Was it true that Jake had been responsible for the death of his brother Alastair? And how far was he involved with Isobel? Madeleine felt the net of mystery closing more and more tightly round her... what could she do to escape it?

It was a considerable surprise to Naomi when she found herself in charge of a young niece and a large house in at charming Dorsetshire village, and without much money to keep either of them. But she had reckoned without the kindly villagers of Monks Portle, to whom the whole topic was of burning interest, and who proceeded to take the entire affair into their own capable hands. So far, so good, and Naomi was touched and grateful for their help but when they proceeded to organise her love life as well, she began to wonder if things had not gone a little too far!

Jessica's plans for the future depended entirely on her unknown but reputedly harsh landlord, and she was understandably nervous about her forthcoming interview with him. So it was a welcome surprise when he turned out to be young, good-looking, and only too willing to help her.

It’s a tough world, and you are soft!” The two week educational cruise started badly for Kate Cameron. She had found a young stowaway for whom she felt sympathetically responsible and had therefore fallen foul of Mark Templar, the powerful Chief Officer and, unexpectedly, her ex-fiancee was on board. “Just remember, Kate,” the Chief Officer said, “that he is ex., don’t try to revive anything.” Kate had told herself the same thing but she resented Mark’s advice. It wasn’t any of his business anyway.

Aunt Irene was just as selfish as Aunt Jane, just as determined to exploit Jocelyn to the uttermost under the pretext of "giving her a home". Still, Jocelyn felt that in leaving Jane for Irene she had made a change for the better. There was the lovely country house instead of Bloomsbury; there was kind Uncle Philip; and there was Richard Barnewell. And whenever he spoke to her, she could say to herself, happily: "This could never have happened at Aunt Jane's."

Nicola had grown accustomed to being the 'poor relation' of the Round family. They had adopted her when she was orphaned, and been casually kind to her ever since -- then dismissed her, equally kindly, as a nobody. Still, her cousins were exceptionally pretty and talented, while Nicola herself had nothing to commend her but a plain face and a nice nature. It would, of course, be nice to be noticed and admired, but where was the man who was likely to do that? Then she met Piers Mason, who certainly was interested in her -- until he turned out to be not quite what he seemed. And what about his stern but attractive cousin Leigh? Would Nicola have any better luck with him?