Orchid Bloom (The Orchid Bloom Trilogy Book 1)

Aurelia is used to people whispering about her. She first noticed the hushed conversations behind lace-gloved hands, heads tilted together, fans swishing excitedly when she was 3 years old. Her mother adored being the center of such fascination and years later, Aurelia would be quite convinced it was the sole reason she stayed in Paris. The power and fame of aristocracy far outweighed her love of husband.

As a young girl, Aurelia was the portrait of what every young Parisian woman should be. She walked in elegance, floated effortlessly across the ballroom floor, spoke three languages and always dressed in the latest fashion. Her mother took pride that the most eligible bachelors yearned for her hand in marriage and that all of society adored her. Or at least they used to.

Older now, Aurelia refuses to be confined by corsets and defined by the chauvinistic expectations of 18th Century France. She plays the part well when she visits home but prefers to spend the majority of her time at sea with her father as a member of his crew. Society would be shocked to know how she dresses, how she moves and the things she does abroad that are so scandalous and so unbefitting a Parisian aristocrat. Gossip like that would do nothing to serve her mother's reputation but ruin it.

There are two sides to Aurelia but only her parents are aware. Skilled and courageous, alluring and manipulative, Aurelia can handle herself in the best or worst of circumstances so no one needs to worry about her. Except perhaps the man whose heart she will steal, the enemy whose reputation she dares to mock and the man whose empire she is about to destroy.