A Fugitive from Love by Barbara Cartland

“My love is boundless, as boundless as the sea and the sky”

Her back criss-crossed with weals raised by the Prince’s whip, Salena first hesitated, then plunged into the grey waves…

Salena’s happiness at joining her father in Monte Carlo had quickly turned to terror and despair when she learnt that she must marry the sadistic Prince Petrovsky to pay her father’s debts.

Saved from a watery grave and nursed back to health by the debonair Duke of Templecombe, Salena finds a strange new contentment in exotic nineteenth-century Tangiers. But the long arm of the Prince brings unforeseen dangers before the touch of the Duke’s lips brings Salena a rapture beyond words.

(FYI – set in 1903)

Ooo loads of drama going on here.

Salena (our heroine) is made to marry and the on her wedding night she discovers that her ‘husband’ is already married with children. She refuses to go along with the lie and is whipped for this. Add in a struggle and a knife and Salena throws herself into the sea. But her attempt at suicide has a hiccup when she finds she can’t sink as she knows how to swim. And then along comes our Duke and plucks her from the wave…And all of that before page 70!

One of the best things about this book is that very nearly all of the romance boxes are ticked.

There is –

• The jilted mistress
• The vile, slimy villain (complete with evil intentions aimed at the heroine)
• Dead beat dad (seriously, the guy basically sold his daughter!)
• The heroine may as well be an orphan for all of the care her D-B-D shows her.
• And the arrogant hero (but he takes care of Salena from the second he rescues her so I am willing to forgive a lot for this)
• And not to forget an abduction as well!
• 
  

The thing that I enjoyed most about this book is the way the Duke is with Salena. I am a sucker for protective men (not controlling though!) and the pretty much from the minute that he sees her he feels the need to keep her safe – even from her nightmares.