Wealth cannot buy peace … or direction.

For Cora Kensington, the Grand Tour was to be the trip of a lifetime. She discovered the family she never knew she had, and may have even found the love she longs for in Will. And yet her life has just become infinitely more challenging …

Hounded by journalists chasing the beguiling story of the newest American heiress, Cora fights to remain true to her past, reconcile her present, and still embrace her future. But as Will struggles with her newfound wealth, she begins to wonder if their love is strong enough to withstand all that threatens to pull them apart.

Complicating matters is the stubborn pursuit of Pierre de Richelieu and the increased demands on her time and attention. Cora must stand up for what she believes—regardless of how that might challenge current family and cultural norms—in order to remain true to who she really is. 

And as she glimpses the end of the tour, Cora knows it’s time to decide Who and what defines her … and who and what does not.

Actor who might resemble him

Hmm…I didn’t have an actor’s picture on my bulletin board for him, since he was kind of a composite of men. Maybe Brett Tucker is close–but Pierre is more lithe, more “Mad Men”-lean-in-a-suit. Classically handsome, but not a big man.

Strengths and weaknesses

On the surface, Pierre de Richelieu is a handsome, aggressive, generous romantic. And he’s used to getting what he wants, everything he wants. So when Cora doesn’t immediately fall into his arms and decide to move to Paris at the first opportunity, it drives him fairly mad with frustration. In a way, he’s a bit spoiled, under the surface, and as Cora’s worldwide fame spreads, he becomes more and more aware of the public stakes of his pursuit, which reveals a weakness in worrying about what everyone will think of him. Not that he lets on to his concern, up front…Which is revealing in itself. There’s a lot going on inside Pierre, but because we’re never in his POV, we can only absorb what Cora or Will absorbs about him.

Quirk

Spending gobs of money in trying to woo Cora. Their deal is that they’re always on boats together–the ship across the Channel; a hired ancient replica of a ship in Versailles; a gondola in Venice.

Your inspiration for the character

I was thinking about what a classic “prince” of 1913 might look and act like. Pierre is a nobleman (not a prince), but to someone like Cora, growing up on a hardscrabble farm in Montana, he’d seem like a prince. I wanted him to be that archetype in the story, because I think, deep down, we women were all raised with the romantic notion of finding our handsome prince. Sometimes that leads us to a true prince of a man, and sometimes, notsomuch.

Background to the story

Cora Diehl Kensington is on the grand tour of Europe with a group of young people. The Grand Tour was something many wealthy people sent their young adult children to do–to explore the “Continent” (typically France-Switzerland-Italy, and sometimes Germany and Greece too), but also to learn firsthand about history, politics, customs, religion and people. So on the surface, Cora is on this journey of discovery about the greater world, but deeper down, she’s on a quest to discover who she really is…and who she isn’t.

Thanks Lisa ~ I’m impressed you picked an Aussie for your Frenchman 😉