ISBN:10 1463589123 ISBN-13:978-1463589127 DEDICATION This book is dedicated to my children who never lost their faith in me. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to The Killion Group for cover art and design and Amy Nord for her editing skills. New Orleans 1748 Chapter 1 Lauren De Beauville needed a hurricane. She was never satisfied with gentle rainfall or a passing shower. To feel alive, Lauren always needed a tempest, and that is what she received on her wedding day. * * * A crack of thunder greeted Lauren as she emerged from the chapel door. At fifteen, she was now a married woman. Before she could pull up her hood, old Monsieur Heathstone, her husband, hustled her out into the horizontal rain. It was practically impossible for her to keep her eyes open as the drops pelted her in the face.
