As Napoleon Rises from the Ashes of The French Revolution, One Woman Dares to Spy Against Him.
Sentenced to eight months in an insane asylum for the crime of impersonating a man, Geneviève LaGarde fears giving birth in a filthy cell will mean certain death for her and her unborn child. Desperate for her release, her husband, Louis, trades his freedom for hers and must join Bonaparte’s army in Egypt.
As Geneviève wages her own war against the tyrannical general, she not only risks her own life but also those of her children and the four hundred families who depend on the Château de Verzat estate. Knowing her desperate actions could cause the government to confiscate the entire vineyard, she sacrifices everything to save her husband and protect the people who become her family.
A captivating tale of the power of love, hope, and courage, and the strength of community.
Praise
“Fans of historical fiction will find this novel a most captivating read.” —Kirkus Reviews
Egyptian Desert
The gangly beast was two heads taller than Louis and smelled of dry excrement. This was Murat’s challenge? His cure for Louis’s cowardice?
Because he did not wish to be spat upon or bitten, he avoided looking directly at the animal. Its bulging amber-brown eyes were soulful yet harbored distrust. The thick brown lashes were as long as Louisa’s fingers. How his daughter would giggle. The camel must be female with such lovely eyes. A quick look confirmed his guess.
Louis pressed his lips against a laugh, blessing the night he and three other courtiers had broken into the King’s menagerie at Versailles. Louis had been the only one who not only successfully mounted the beast but also rode him around the enclosure. Despite his past success, Louis needed a lesson.
A black-robed and turbaned Bedouin held a rope tied around the creature’s neck and muzzle.
Louis nodded to him. “Inshallah.”
The man’s eyebrows rose. Louis could not tell if the man was surprised or impressed or both. “Inshallah.” His reply was gritty as sand.
Louis’s men stood around the Bedouin and his herd, watching carefully. He stood to the side and stroked the camel’s long soft neck, patting her wrinkled curve, and whispering, “I shall call you Sophie. Let us be friends you and I, surprise them all.”
Her small ears twitched.
The Bedouin brought a stick behind the camel’s front knee and pulled down on her rope bridle. After a bit of growling, Sophie knelt, rested back on her haunches, and sat, calmly chewing, her jaw sawing side-to-side.
Removing his hat, Louis pointed to the Bedouin’s turban. Then he pointed to himself. The Bedouin called out to a boy, who unwrapped his own red turban. Louis bent for the child to wrap the fabric around his head and neck. Louis placed his bicorne on the boy’s head, brought his hands together, and nodded, for he knew no other gesture for thanks.
The boy grinned. “Shukran.”
Louis repeated it to the boy and then to the Bedouin. The Bedouin’s lips relaxed their grim line.
Atop Sophie’s hump, draped in a colorful rug, sat a leather saddle with a carved wooden post at its front and back. Camel riders kept one leg bent around the front post and used the opposite foot to kick the animal’s flank. As there were no stirrups, Louis held onto both knobs, hoisted himself up onto the saddle, and hooked his leg over the front knob. The Bedouin gave him the rope and stick and slapped the camel’s hind quarter.
Sophie jolted forward, lumbering to her knees, and it seemed she was trying with all her feminine wiles to pitch Louis forward and fling him over her head. He leaned back to counter her efforts and gripped the rope. Sophie hissed and spat as she rose. Louis patted her neck. “All will be well, beauty.”
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Her Own War
Debra Borchert
Debra Borchert has had many careers: clothing designer, actress, TV show host, spokesperson for high-tech companies, marketing and public relations professional, and technical writer for Fortune 100 companies. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Writer, among others. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and independently.
A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical French fiction. She has been honored with a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice, Publishers Weekly BookLife Editor’s Pick, and many other five-star reviews.
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