His rhythm was accelerating now, and she clung to him passionately, swept along on the powerful current of their unleashed passion, rushing at last to fulfillment. She knew this was the moment she’d been waiting for. Ever since that night in the blackness of the hallway, surrounded by the fury of wind and rain, this was the moment they had both been living for! It was as though he had plunged the eye of that storm into the very center of her being, where it would come to culmination at last!
That final thrust was like a shaft of lightning charging the heavens… bursting into a blinding climax that fused them at last into one!
A throaty cry of ecstasy burst from Miguel’s lips, and with a husky sob he fell forward and buried his head between her breasts, momentarily spent with the force of his passion.
“You’re mine, Monica… really mine!” he murmured, his breathing still labored but a great joy throbbing in his voice.
They lay there a few moments longer, locked in passionate embrace, the length of his body still molded to hers. Monique’s whole being was one great sigh. She felt complete now. All the anguish and tears of earlier that day… all the prejudices and doubts of the past… they had all dissolved in that wave of passion that had swept over them.
It was as though a great weight had been lifted from her. The war that had raged within her for so long had finally ceased, and she was at peace now with the world… with Spain… with Miguel Vidal… and, most of all, with herself, for love had set her free.
She stirred a little, delighting in the feel of flesh against flesh, the imprint of Miguel’s kisses still covering her body. She had felt not only his great desire for her but a deep abiding tenderness in every touch of his hand, in every pressure of his lips. She was sure now that he really loved her.
He turned a little and shifted her gently into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. “Are you all right, my dear?” he asked gently, brushing her temple with a kiss as he stroked her hair back from her forehead.
She snuggled in closer to him and gave a little purr of contentment in reply.
“I love you, Monica. God, how I love you!” His voice was still husky with emotion.
Suddenly she sat bolt upright in the bed as a thought occurred to her. “Oh, Miguel, do you think we’ll have to wait very long before we can marry? I want to be with you like this always…”
He chuckled. “Don’t fret, my sweet. As your guardian, I certainly will give my most consent.”
He ran his hand caressingly down the white smoothness of her back from where he still lay reclining against the pillow.
“But let’s not fret over anything right now,” he told her. “Tomorrow at dawn I have to see the governor, and in the afternoon I have to talk to your grandmother about us, but tonight… tonight, my dear, is ours.”
He pulled her back down beside him and their passion surged anew.
Author’s Note
In the story of New Orleans, the Spanish regime seldom receives the recognition it deserves. Yet it is an ironic fact that, in retrospect, many modern-day historians have come to the conclusion that the Louisiana colony often fared better under its Spanish rulers than it did under its French ones.
The year 1794 was particularly crucial for New Orleans. The colony was plagued not only by elements of nature—hurricanes, crop failures, and devastating fire—but also by the political upheavals of the times. France and Spain were at war, and, technically, Louisiana belonged to Spain, yet in spite of its elegant Spanish exterior, New Orleans was still fervently French at heart. Although Iron Lace is a historical romance, primarily meant to entertain, the symbolism is there for those who wish to look for it.
The changeover to the cultivation of sugarcane, begun skeptically in 1794, is, of course, a part of Louisiana history and was one of the major factors in giving birth to the Golden Era of the South that followed in the nineteenth century.
Less known, however, is the narrow escape New Orleans had from the Spanish Inquisition. In his personal correspondence to Spain, Governor Miró speaks of how and why he secretly deported a commissary sent to New Orleans to establish the Inquisition there. Nevertheless, the fact that a torture chamber, obviously meant to be used by such a tribunal, remained hidden beneath that city’s old calaboose didn’t come to light until fifty years after the Spanish regime there had come to an end.
Several leading Louisiana historians refer to the discovery of that dark secret in the mid-nineteenth century when the old calaboose was finally torn down.
Strange things came to light [says Lyle Saxon in his Fabulous New Orleans]. There were found secret rooms, iron instruments of torture, and other indications that a private court had held meetings there. These things were never explained satisfactorily. In addition to this, old newspaper files tell of the discovery of an underground passage which led from the rear of the Cathedral or from even beyond… [and] ended somewhere under the Calaboose… One day the paper tells of the discovery and promises further disclosures… But it is evident that some pressure was brought to bear on the Editor, for there is not a line in any of the later editions of the same paper regarding the discovery. One can only draw his own conclusions.
So, using these intriguing data as inspiration for its climax, Iron Lace draws its own conclusions. Who knows… perhaps it really did happen the way saucy little Monique Chausson “lived” it!
Lorena Dureau
New Orleans, La.
LORENA DUREAU lived for over 15 years in Mexico City before returning in 1977 to New Orleans, where she was born. She has pursued careers as an opera singer, editor, photographer and writer, and has published newspaper and magazine articles worldwide. She is the author of the historical romances The Last Casquette Girl and Lynette, and is currently at work on her fourth novel.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Author’s Note
Iron Lace Page 26