268. A Magical Moment — Barbara Cartland

The beautiful Lencia is the image of her dear departed Mama and so is still the apple of the eye of her widowed father, the Earl of Armeron. Knowing how deeply Lencia and her younger sister, Alice, are missing their mother, their father promises to take them to see the fabulous historic Châteaux of the Loire Valley in France of which the most exciting and impressive of all is Château Chaumont. But to their chagrin, their hopes are totally dashed when the Earl returns from a trip to the South of France with a new wife on his arm, a stepmother who sees Lencia's beauty as distinct competition for her husband's attention and so she becomes increasingly hostile to the two sisters.Nevertheless the sisters have their hearts set on their French adventure and set off in secret, Lencia disguised in her late mother's clothes and her make-up to look like an older Society lady who is chaperoning the young Alice.By sheer chance they happen to meet on their journey the dashingly handsome Duc de Montrichard, the Guardian of Château Chaumont, who on an impulse invites them to stay with him in his own sublime Château! And soon, while Alice's heart is fit to burst with excitement as they start to explore his Fairytale world, Lencia's is becoming filled with love for the dashing Duc.But, tragically, it seems that her love is doomed since it is based on deceit!