A Heart in Heaven Read online

  A HEART IN HEAVEN

  Roderick smiled down at her with a tenderness that filled her with joy.

  "Dear little girl, you are so young and you think the world is so simple."

  "If two people love each other, then the world is simple," Louisa protested.

  "I wish I could live in your world," he said wistfully. "It sounds such a pleasant place, where only love matters. But the real world is a hard place, my d– "

  He drew a sharp breath and checked himself.

  "Yes?" she cried wildly, "what were you going to call me?"

  "Nothing, I – nothing."

  "That is not true." Why can't you say it?"

  "You know why. I am a servant. You are a great lady."

  "I am not a great lady. I am a woman. I want to be loved and I want to give love back. Can't you feel that? Can't you sense it?"

  THE BARBARA CARTLAND PINK COLLECTION

  Barbara Cartland was the most prolific bestselling author in the history of the world. She was frequently in the Guinness Book of Records for writing more books in a year than any other living author. In fact her most amazing literary feat was when her publishers asked for more Barbara Cartland romances, she doubled her output from 10 books a year to over 20 books a year, when she was 77.

  She went on writing continuously at this rate for 20 years and wrote her last book at the age of 97, thus completing 400 books between the ages of 77 and 97.

  Her publishers finally could not keep up with this phenomenal output, so at her death she left 160 unpublished manuscripts, something again that no other author has ever achieved.

  Now the exciting news is that these 160 original unpublished Barbara Cartland books are ready for publication and they will be published by Barbaracartland.com exclusively on the internet, as the web is the best possible way to reach so many Barbara Cartland readers around the world.

  The 160 books will be published monthly and will be numbered in sequence.

  The series is called the Pink Collection as a tribute to Barbara Cartland whose favourite colour was pink and it became very much her trademark over the years.

  The Barbara Cartland Pink Collection is published only on the internet. Log on to www.barbaracartland.com to find out how you can purchase the books monthly as they are published, and take out a subscription that will ensure that all subsequent editions are delivered to you by mail order to your home.

  If you do not have access to a computer you can write for information about the Pink Collection to the following address :

  Barbara Cartland.com Ltd.

  Camfield Place,

  Hatfield,

  Hertfordshire AL9 6JE United Kingdom.

  Telephone : +44 (0)1707 642629

  Fax : +44 (0)1707 663041

  Titles in this series

  1. The Cross of Love

  2. Love in the Highlands

  3. Love Finds the Way

  4. The Castle of Love

  5. Love is Triumphant

  6. Stars in the Sky

  7. The Ship of Love

  8. A Dangerous Disguise

  9. Love Became Theirs

  10. Love drives in

  11. Sailing to Love

  12. The Star of Love

  13. Music is the Soul of Love

  14. Love in the East

  15. Theirs to Eternity

  16. A Paradise on Earth

  17. Love Wins in Berlin

  18. In search of Love

  19. Love Rescues Rosanna

  20. A Heart in Heaven

  A HEART IN HEAVEN

  BARBARA CARTLAND

  Barbaracartland.com Ltd

  Copyright © 2006 by Cartland Promotions

  First published on the internet in May 2006 by

  Barbaracartland.com

  ISBN 978-1-906950-88-0

  The characters and situations in this book are entirely

  imaginary and bear no relation to any real person or

  actual happening.

  This book is sold subject to the condition

  that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise,

  be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise

  circulated without the publisher's prior consent.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

  in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically,

  including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval, without the prior

  permission in writing from the publisher.

  eBook conversion by M-Y Books

  THE LATE DAME BARBARA CARTLAND

  Barbara Cartland who sadly died in May 2000 at the age of nearly 99 was the world's most famous romantic novelist who wrote 723 books in her lifetime 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, books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She also found time to be a political speaker and television and radio personality.

  She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and this was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback and was translated into 6 different languages. She wrote continuously throughout her life, writing bestsellers for an astonishing 76 years. 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.

  Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her good looking and dashing heroes and above all her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone's life.

  "Love knows no barriers of time, space or age."

  Barbara Cartland

  CHAPTER ONE

  1852

  “Quick, quick, come up on deck! We’re nearly there!”

  Louisa Hatton grasped her friend’s hand and did not stop running until they were up in the fresh air, leaning over the ship’s rails, gazing at the white cliffs of Dover.

  “There!” Louisa cried ecstatically. “There is the coast of England, Arabelle. Soon we will be home.”

  “I am longing to see your home,” said Arabelle Regnac in her pretty accent. She was French, and had become Louisa’s closest friend in L’Ecole des Anges, the Paris finishing school where they had both spent the last two years. Now Louisa was on her way home, taking Arabelle with her for a visit.

  “It’s strange to think how I disliked being sent to finishing school,” Louisa mused. “I just wanted to stay at home with the dogs and the horses. Oh, Arabelle, just wait until you see our stables filled with so many lovely, lovely thoroughbreds.”

  “Yes, you have told me about them so many times,” Arabelle replied, amused. “My dear friend, you are horse mad.”

  “Oh, yes,” Louisa agreed happily. “I cried at leaving them. I didn’t want to go to ‘the School of the Angels’.”

  “It would be hard to find anyone less like angels than we were on that first day,” Arabelle laughed.

  “But Mama said I had to learn to be a great lady, ready to take my place in Society. She said if I married a man in a high position, I must be a credit to him and be able to speak French fluently, and preferably Italian and German as well.”

  At finishing school she had perfected not only languages but deportment and all the social skills. She could play the piano, sing, draw and dance all the fashionable dances.

  She also read the new
spapers and took an intelligent interest in the world. This of necessity involved a delicate balance.

  Her Mama had impressed on her that young ladies were not supposed to appear too clever and must never, on any account, seem knowledgeable about politics. On the other hand, a wife was expected to take a well informed interest in her husband’s affairs.

  So Louisa had learned to acquire many opinions – and keep them to herself.

  Now she was eighteen and ready to face her destiny – whatever it might be.

  She had a tall, elegant figure and a pretty face, surrounded by flowing light brown curls. How to dress elegantly was one thing she had gladly learned in Paris. The fashions of the day with their tight waists and huge bustles suited her shape admirably.

  Now she was wearing a blue velvet travelling dress, trimmed with braid and a matching blue velvet hat with a cheeky little feather. Her feet were neatly shod in black kid boots and wherever she went heads turned.

  It was not just her looks that people admired. She boasted a vivacious spirit and a charm that captivated everyone who met her, and her wide blue eyes held a delightful air of candour and her smile combined innocence and mystery in a way that was intriguing.

  More than one young Frenchman had lost his heart to her. Louisa had smiled kindly on them all, but flirted with none of them.

  But the other girls at the school had flirted madly. At night they told stories, giggling, about their conquests. Louisa had listened and dreamed.

  “And are you going to marry a man in a high position?” Arabelle asked as they leaned on the rail and watched Dover Harbour coming slowly closer.

  “I have no idea. It does not matter, as long as I love him and he loves me. What does his position matter?”

  “That is admirable,” Arabelle agreed, “but a good position is nice too. Perhaps your parents have already chosen a husband for you.”

  Louisa shook her head, but she could not dismiss this idea as completely as she would have liked. She had always known she was being groomed to make a brilliant marriage. She was her parents’ only child and all their hopes were fixed on her.

  She was also a little troubled by the visit her Mama had paid her a few days ago to say that she must return home at once.

  “But Mama,” she had protested, “it’s only November. Term does not end until just before Christmas.”

  “I know, my darling, but I miss you so much. We will go home now.”

  Her mother’s soft speech often lightly concealed a determination that nothing could sway. But Louisa did not think of that at this moment, because Mama’s next words were, “and we will arrange a big ‘coming out’ party for you.”

  Louisa had given a cry of delight and clapped her hands.

  “Oh, Mama, I would love it,” she said. “But it will be a real grown-up party, won’t it? The parties you have given me in the past have been for children.”

  Her mother laughed.

  “You had to grow up first before we could give you a grown-up party,” she said. “Now you are eighteen and I promise you will make your debut like a young lady.”

  “We will give a big ball for you. Then you can take your place in Society and before long we will be planning your wedding.”

  Louisa had sighed ecstatically.

  “Oh, Mama, that will be so wonderful. Will I have a really glamorous wedding?”

  “The most glamorous in the County, my darling.”

  “I want to sweep down the aisle in white satin, with a long train and lots of lace. I will be on Papa’s arm and he will be so proud. And there at the altar my bridegroom will be waiting, young and handsome and wildly in love with me, as I am with him.”

  “I am sure he will be wildly in love,” her mother had said indulgently, “but young, handsome men are not so easy to find.”

  “Oh, no, he must be young and handsome,” Louisa had insisted, laughing. “I do so wish I could meet him soon and fall in love in the moonlight and –”

  “That is all very well,” Lady Hatton said, “but real life is sometimes rather different. Your Papa and I want other attributes in your husband – stability, correct opinions and a high position.”

  “But Mama, I don’t want you to find me a husband,” Louisa said, astonished. “I might not like him.”

  “Louisa –”

  “Stability and correct opinions? My goodness! Suppose – suppose he is fat?”

  “He isn’t –” Lady Hatton checked herself and finished smoothly, “isn’t likely to be fat.”

  Louisa was too carried away to notice her mother’s slip of the tongue.

  “Mama, I hope I am a dutiful daughter but I really could not love a man who was enormously fat, however correct his opinions.”

  “Now, stop this foolish talk. A young girl should trust her parents to know what is best for her.”

  She looked at Louisa with sudden suspicion.

  “I hope that while in Paris you have always been modest in your behaviour, no entanglements, nothing that would make you talked about and damage your reputation.”

  “No, of course not, Mama,” Louisa said meekly.

  Her heart had never been touched. She knew nothing about love except what she had read in novels that the girls smuggled into school and read at night by candlelight. The men in those books were all so attractive and real life men seemed dull by comparison.

  Now she would be asked to consider marriage with a man whose only virtues were that he was stodgy and boring (for what else could stability and correct opinions mean?)

  She gave a little shudder, but only discreetly, in case her mother was shocked.

  She had begged to be allowed to bring her best friend, Arabelle, home for a visit.

  “After all, Mama, I visited her family. We must invite her back.”

  Her mother had agreed, although a little reluctantly, Louisa had thought, and when a message had been sent to Arabelle’s parents, seeking their permission, it was time to prepare for the journey.

  Now the steamer had nearly reached the English coast and Louisa was full of excitement. Because she had spent the summer with Arabelle, it was six months since she had seen her home.

  Leaning over the railing, looking at the white cliffs of Dover, Louisa recalled that conversation, and how there had been something strange and troubling about her mother’s manner.

  “Whatever Mama says, I don’t believe she would try to arrange a marriage for me,” she asserted firmly.

  Arabelle shrugged. Although she was a few months younger than Louisa, she was the more worldly wise of the two. Her favourite occupation was lying on a sofa with a book.

  She claimed that Louisa’s high spirits and energy left her exhausted. Yet, despite being so different, they were firm friends.

  “Would it be so terrible?” she asked. “They would choose a man with money and a title to give you an assured position in the world. Then you could shine in Society.”

  “But they could not choose a man who loved me,” Louisa cried passionately. “Only I can do that. I want love – the kind of love which increases year by year.

  “I want to feel how lucky I have been to find a husband who loves me like Papa loves Mama. And I want to love him with my whole heart and soul.

  “Mama talks about arranging my marriage sensibly, but she and Papa enjoy a happy marriage.”

  “Ah, but were they in love when they married?” Arabelle asked.

  “Oh, yes. They say my father was the most handsome young man in the county, with a terrible, wicked reputation.”

  She said the last words in a thrilled voice. She was too innocent to know much about a wicked reputation, but it sounded exciting.

  “Really wicked?” Arabelle asked eagerly.

  “Well – he was certainly wild. He gambled and rode dangerous horses and flirted madly with every lady he met.”

  “That sounds nice and wicked,” Arabelle agreed.

  “But then he met Miss Sarah Beale and fell so madly in love that he became a
reformed character for her sake. She stopped his gambling and once he had married his true love, he never looked at anyone else.”

  “That is so romantic.”

  “After all these years they still do little things to please each other. They would not want me to be less happy than they are.”

  Louisa thought of how secure in each other’s affections her parents were. But she also knew that she wanted more than the security of love. She longed also for the excitement of romance.

  ‘But will I ever find what I long for?’ she whispered to herself.

  There was no chance to muse any more. They had reached the harbour and the clamour and excitement of docking was all around them.

  Louisa went below to fetch her mother, who was dozing below deck, attended by her maid.

  After a light lunch at Dover they boarded the train that would take them to Surrey and Hatton Place. Lady Hatton, who was not a good traveller, settled herself in the corner of the first class carriage with her smelling salts.

  Neither of the girls spoke much for the rest of the journey. They stared out of the window. Arabelle wondered at the beautiful English countryside, covered in the reds, oranges and browns of autumn. And Louisa’s heart was full to overflowing with joy at being home again. Soon she would be reunited with her beloved father.

  “We’re nearly home,” she breathed. “Oh, how happy I am! Mama?”

  Lady Hatton had been lost in a dream, staring out of the window. Now she gave her daughter a reassuring smile.

  “Are you all right, Mama?” Louisa asked anxiously.

  “Of course, my darling,” Lady Hatton answered quickly.

  “I have often thought you seemed sad and thoughtful these last two days.”

  “It’s only the strain of the long journey.”

  Louisa had a strange feeling that her mother was concealing something, but she did not know what to say.

  At last the train was drawing into the little country station. Louisa looked out of the window, curious to know which of the grooms had come to meet them, but there was nobody that she recognised. She saw only a young man.