Barbara Cartland

A Battle of Brains Barbara Cartland

Daughter of the Earl of Longwood, a gentleman gambler, and the Countess of Longwood, a society beauty, Lady Yolanda Wood has an exciting if unconventional childhood travelling around the casinos and racecourses of Europe. But life changes dramatically after the tragic death of her father, and she and her ravishing mother are left penniless and alone. In mourning for her husband, and dependent on the kindness of selfmade millionaire Oliver Garrack, the Countess's gratitude swiftly turns to romance and Yolanda finds herself with a stepfather she neither likes nor respects. For several years Yolanda finds solace in her French Convent School but her world is rocked again when her mother suddenly dies, leaving her an orphan with only her stepfather to protect her from poverty and destitution. As fate forces them together, Yolanda begins to understand how much her stepfather worshipped her mother, and gains an insight into the workings of his clever brain. As her feelings change from acceptance to admiration she is shocked to find that he will stop at nothing to make money. Torn between helping him gain a contract that is certain to make him even more millions, and repaying an old debt to a friend of her fathers, Lord Milborne, Yolanda is plunged into the darker side of business. But when she secretly visits Lord Milborne she finds he is not in the least what she expected, and her loyalties are tested to the limits. Torn between who to trust and a desire to find true love, Yolanda faces difficult choices and challenges that she could never have dreamt of along the way to true happiness. If you like Downton Abbey you will love Barbara Cartland