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    The Duke Hated Women
    The Duke Hated Women
    The Duke Hated Women
    Ebook176 pages2 hours

    The Duke Hated Women

    By Barbara Cartland

    2.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Sheldon Kinswood was at White's Club with his friends when a Steward asks them if they know of a really good valet, as the Duke of Dartmoor is desperately looking for one.
    It is then that Sheldon tells his friends that the Duke is his uncle and he is living the life of a recluse in the country. The reason being that nine years ago the Duke's fiancée had left him the day before their Wedding and ran off with her riding master.
    This had affected the Duke so badly that since then he has categorically refused to allow a woman to come into his house nor onto his estate. Or indeed anywhere near him.
    Worse still, he has not allowed his family any of the money that they were entitled to as he did not want any of his money to go to females.
    Sheldon's friends suggest that, as the Duke would not recognise him, he applies for the position of valet at Dartmoor Hall to find out exactly what the Duke is doing with his money.
    They then take bets as to whether Sheldon will get the job and if he does whether he will be able to change the Duke in any way.
    Shortly after his arrival at Dartmoor Hall the Duke is shot by a burglar in his shoulder and is seriously ill.
    Sheldon then asks his cousin, Lady Kenton, to urgently send a nurse, who, of course, must be male, to care for the ailing Duke.
    How the male nurse, when he arrives, looks rather strange to the Duke's staff, but seems competent.
    How the Duke himself recovers almost miraculously and unexpectedly appears to have changed.
    And how Sheldon finds love at the magic pool in the wood is all told in this unusual and exciting story by BARBARA CARTLAND.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBarbara Cartland Ebooks ltd
    Release dateDec 12, 2016
    ISBN9781782139096
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      It started well but I expected much from the story

    Book preview

    The Duke Hated Women - Barbara Cartland

    Cartland

    CHAPTER ONE ~ 1876

    Sheldon Kinswood walked into the Morning Room of White’s Club where he was a member.

    Passing by what was known as the ‘Sacred Throne’, which was the seat once occupied by Beau Brummel, he went to the other end of the room where he saw a number of his friends.

    They greeted him by raising the glasses they were drinking from and called out,

    Good morning, Sheldon.  We were wondering if we would see you this morning.

    Of course I am here, Sheldon Kinswood replied.  If you are inferring that I was too drunk last night, I will be very annoyed.

    You were certainly better off than poor old Arthur, who had to be carried away on a stretcher, one member said.  But it was a very good party.

    It certainly was, Sheldon agreed as he sat down heavily in a comfortable armchair.

    The Club Steward quickly placed a glass of wine in front of him.

    At the same time, he went on, I thought that it was much of a muchness.  We have had so many of these parties lately.

    That is true enough! one of his other friends said.  They never change and the girls are always the same, out to catch a husband and the quicker the richer.

    They all laughed at this witticism.

    Then one member volunteered,

    I personally have had quite enough of the London Season.  It is always rather exhausting and, as Robert has just said, only politely, we were all rather drunk last night.  I am longing to go to the country and ride some decent horses for a change.

    You have a point there, Sheldon answered.  It is just what I would like to do myself.

    He realised as he was speaking that it would be impossible for him to go to the country or for that matter to boast of even one decent horse.

    He was only hoping that one of his friends might ask him to join them.

    But he was too proud to fish for an invitation.

    It was then as they were beginning to talk about the relentless boredom of the London Season that one of the senior Officials of the Club came up and said,

    Excuse me, gentlemen, for bothering you, but do any of you know of a really good valet?

    The members looked up at him in surprise.

    Before they could answer he added,

    I have a letter here from the Duke of Dartmoor asking me to recommend a valet, as the one he has had for many years has recently retired.

    The Duke of Dartmoor, one member questioned, who the devil is he?  I have never heard of him before.

    Then another piped up,

    Surely, Sheldon, he must be a  relation of yours?

    He most certainly is! Sheldon replied.  I only hope that none of you can give him what he is asking for.

    Why do you say that? the member sitting next to him asked.

    I thought you would all know the story only too well for me to have to relate it here of all places, Sheldon answered.

    There was a bitter note in his voice which they did not miss.

    Ignoring the Club Official who had just asked them if they knew of a good valet, they asked Sheldon almost in unison,

    Tell us what is wrong with him!  We always like to hear everything that we have not heard before about the aristocracy.

    There was laughter at this.

    As the Club Official moved away, one of them bent forward and insisted,

    Come on, Sheldon.  Tell us exactly why you are so secretive about the Duke.  If he is a relation, you must be proud of him.

    I most certainly am not, he replied vehemently.  I think some of you are being discreet, as you must know how much he has made my family suffer.

    We are being tactful, one of the older members said.

    I realise that, Sheldon answered. I can only hope that no one provides him with what he wants and he has to look after himself.

    He gave a sigh before he went on,

    Anyway I cannot believe that any servants would stay with him for very long before he would refuse to pay them.

    Refuse to pay them? one of the younger members questioned.  What do you mean by that?

    I expect your father would tell you all about the Duke if you asked him, Sheldon replied.  But now, as he is never seen, he is almost forgotten and I don’t always, when I do enter a ballroom, see people whispering behind their hands.

    You must tell us why this is going on, one of the older members said.  Of course I am curious and I have not the slightest idea just who the Duke of Dartmoor is and why you are being so peculiar about him.

    Not really that peculiar, the member sitting next to him said.  We are just feeling sorry for Sheldon as we always have.

    I really hate people feeling sorry for me, Sheldon replied sharply.  In fact I just want to forget that the Duke exists and never hear his name again.

    But why?  Why? at least three asked together.  Now we are all really curious and you have to tell us the truth.

    For a moment Sheldon hesitated.

    Then, as if he felt that it was much better to speak out than to remain silent, he began,

    "The story of my uncle was, at one time, the talk of Mayfair.  The Beau Monde enjoyed every minute of it."

    They would! someone remarked loudly.  If there is something unpleasant, it is always the best story of the week.

    Two of the members laughed.

    The rest bent forward towards Sheldon.

    Do tell us, they begged.  You have made us very curious and now we want to hear the truth.

    Just for a moment there was silence as if Sheldon struggled with himself.

    Then he said,

    My uncle became the Duke of Dartmoor when he was twenty-one. As you well know every ambitious mother paraded her daughter in front of him as if it was a ‘Spring Horse Fair’.

    We all know exactly how they do it, one member laughed.  They are quite bad enough with my small title, but with the Duke it must have been quite sensational.

    It was indeed and he was captured by a very pushy mother who was just determined that her daughter should be a Duchess.

    Now everyone was listening intently and Sheldon carried on,

    I think the Duke genuinely fell in love.  In fact I am sure he did because the girl who was pressed on him was very lovely.  I have been told that she was the belle of every ball she attended.

    He paused for breath and then one of the members listening called out,

    Go on!  What happened then?

    What happened, Sheldon continued, was that the day before the actual Wedding was to take place, the girl who was engaged to my uncle ran away with her riding-master.

    There was a gasp of surprise from the members listening to him.

    Then Sheldon went on,

    The Wedding was all arranged.  They were to be married at St George’s in Hanover Square naturally.  The Prince and Princess of Wales had promised to attend the Reception.

    He paused again and two of those listening bent forward again to urge him,

    Go on!  What happened next?

    My uncle was struck down badly with the shock of losing his future wife, who I think he genuinely loved, Sheldon told them.  But worse still was being top of the London gossip and receiving condolences from everyone he met.  The newspapers, of course, made a big story of it.  Then suddenly and unexpectedly he retired to the country.

    There was silence and he went on,

    Everyone believed that it would just be for a short time until he recovered from the blow that had struck him and, as the women put it, ‘from a broken heart’.

    I suppose he is still in hiding, one of the listeners said, which is why we have never heard of him.

    That’s true, Sheldon agreed, but the people who really suffered were the members of his family.

    Why? someone asked.

    Because, he replied, my uncle said that in future he would have nothing to do with women and no woman would ever again cross the threshold of his house or the boundaries of his estate.

    There was silence for a moment.

    Then a younger member asked,

    Do you really mean that?

    I have told you the truth, Sheldon replied.  No woman has ever been allowed in Dartmoor Hall where my uncle lives and he refuses to give one penny to any female member of the family.

    I don’t understand! someone exclaimed.  How can he possibly do that?

    Very easily, Sheldon replied.  As you know a Duke or the head of any renowned and aristocratic family has complete control of all the money and treasures they possess and they only receive what they may be entitled to from him and him alone.

    Those listening to him lent forward attentively.

    Are you saying, one of them asked, that none of your family, and I know it is quite a large one, receive any money from the Duke?

    Not a penny! he answered.  My mother was his sister, but she was cut off completely which meant that we all suffered from never being able to buy the best horses and so had to put up with inferior nags!

    He gave a sigh as he went on,

    And it was only through the kindness of some of my old friends that I was able to go to school at Eton and then on to Oxford University.

    I find it hard to believe, another member said.  Are you saying that ever since it happened the Duke has never allowed a woman to even enter his house?

    That is all the truth and the whole truth, Sheldon admitted.  They all thought that it was just a passing fancy and by the time he reached the age he is now he would have married someone else and forgiven his first love for deserting him.

    What age is he now? one of them enquired.

    He will be thirty-one on his next birthday,

    They all stared at him.

    Is that really true? one man asked incredulously.  But surely, if he lives isolated in the country, he must be exceedingly bored if he never entertains anyone.

    He has a few men friends and I am told that he has a good number of really first rate horses which he rides on a Racecourse he has built himself.

    But does he entertain? the member persisted.

    He does have people to stay, Sheldon informed them.  But none of the family, because they all have wives or daughters, have seen him since he retired to the country and closed the tall gates of Dartmoor Hall to anyone in the family who is a female or is by any chance likely to be courting a woman.

    I have never heard anything so extraordinary, one of the listeners said.  I cannot think why I have not heard of this strange Duke before.

    I think by now that people have forgotten all the consternation which was caused when the Wedding had to be cancelled at the last moment and His Royal Highness was informed that he could not go to the Reception.

    Sheldon paused for a moment.

    Then he said,

    I was, of course, only twelve at the time.  It did not make a very great impression on me until I grew older and realised how much my family missed out because the Duke refused to give my mother the money she was entitled to.

    That was disgraceful of him even though he was hurt by a woman, someone remarked.

    I suppose, another said, if your mother went to Law, they would make him hand over the money which was hers by right.

    I doubt it, anyway my family are too proud to do anything except, of course, complain amongst themselves.

    The listeners nodded, but did not speak.

    I recall being told over and over again, Sheldon went on, that I could not have certain things I wanted or go, when I was older, to places I wanted to visit, simply because there was not enough money and my dear mother already had had to sell her jewels to pay the bills.

    It’s the most extraordinary story that I have ever heard! one member exclaimed.  Are you telling me that no one has seen your uncle since this happened?

    None of my family, Sheldon replied. I think that he has some friends who visit him, but they are obviously told not to discuss him and his peculiar ways.  So they are very discreet and refuse to answer any questions which, of course, the family are longing to ask him.

    "Well, I think someone

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