Château de Verzat Series, Excerpt by Debra Borchert

Her Own Legacy:

A Woman Fights for Her Legacy as the French Revolution Erupts

Determined to inherit her family’s vineyard, Countess Joliette de Verzat defies society’s rules, only to learn of her illegitimate half-brother, the rightful heir.

Her Own Revolution:

A Woman Forges a Treacherous Path to Save Hundreds from the Guillotine

If Geneviève Fouquier-Tinville had the same rights as a man, she wouldn’t have to dress like one. A suspenseful page-turner led by a renegade heroine whose compassion for innocent people leads to both loss and love.

Excerpt: Her Own Legacy, Nantes, August 21, 1792

Joliette must board a ship during a storm

The officer clambered up the ropes to the ship’s deck fast as a monkey. A few lights from the vessel blinked and shimmered against the choppy water. The sky was indiscernible from the water. Darkness, as deep as that of the tunnels, fell.

Henri whispered to Étienne and turned to me. “You must climb the ropes. I will be above you, and Étienne will be below you.”

Everything stopped—my breath, my heart, my thoughts. The wind stirred a cacophony of waves crashing against the hulls. Cold spray drenched me. I stared at Henri’s eyes, dark and pinched.

“Climb…to the ship?”

He tied a rope around my waist and the other end around his own. He put out his hand. “Hurry. Before the storm worsens.” My mouth would not open. Henri’s fingers wrapped around my wrist. He stepped onto the rope ladder.

Étienne held out the bottom rung. My feet were part of the deck, as if rooted to it. Étienne took my other hand and coaxed, “Do not look down. Only up, at Henri.”

The makeshift ladder swayed above. Waves leaped through its rungs. Henri’s foot slipped, but he caught himself. “The first step’s the most difficult, but you’re braver than I am.” He gently tugged me.

Like Papa. They both knew I could not resist a challenge. I pressed my feet to the deck, lifted my foot, then grasped the side rope. A wave crashed, and the deck dropped from below me, leaving my foot pawing the air. I screamed but did not hear it. I clung to the side rope. Étienne’s hand pressed my foot onto the rung. I panted for breath and pressed my forehead against the ship. Cold, black waves jumped and swallowed my foot.

“Keep looking up!” Étienne shouted.

My legs vibrated so I pressed all my weight into my foot as soon as it found a rung. A sliver of pale light spilled over the ship’s deck. I wanted to fly to it.

The wind skirled, twisting the rope and me around so I faced out over the harbor. Like a giant hand it pushed me away from the ship, then slammed me back against its hull. My breath burst from me. I lost my grip. Henri held me tighter, and another hand grasped my flailing arm. My legs pedaled. Hands gripped my arms and hauled me up over the rail and onto the deck, landing me like a fish. I lay on my stomach, gasping as the world spun and rain thundered.

Henri draped a woolen blanket over me. He crouched down, helped me to sit up, and rubbed my back.

As if by magic, a pair of tall, shiny black boots appeared before us. The man’s uniform was spotless, all white, trimmed in red and blue, with brass epaulettes broadening his shoulders—le Capitaine. He looked down. Water streamed off his tricorne and puddled onto the blanket.

“You wish passage?” His voice was rough as the wind.

Henri stood. “Yes,Monsieur, le Capitaine.”

The man chuckled. “With a woman?”

Feeling like I still clung to the rope, I pushed myself up with the words searing my mouth. “I arranged for the wine shipment—”

Henri gripped my arm and pulled me back.

Le Capitaine let out a grunt, turned, and walked away. “We sail when the tide turns.”

Her Own Legacy: https://books2read.com/u/bWYod1
Her Own Revolution: https://books2read.com/u/m0aJVl

*Her Own Legacy will be only 0.99 in the UK, CA and AU stores from March 5^th – 15^th, 2024!*

Universal Buy Links:

Series Buy Links:

US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9KN1536
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B9KN1536

Meet Debra Borchert

Debra’s the author of the Château de Verzat series that follows headstrong and independent women and the four-hundred loyal families who protect a Loire Valley château and vineyard, and its legacy of producing the finest wines in France during the French Revolution. Her Own Legacy published 2022, Her Own Revolution published 2023, and Her Own War will be published in 2024. A passionate cook, she also wrote a companion cookbook to the series: Soups of Château de Verzat, A Culinary Tribute to the French Revolution, 2023.

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical fiction. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and standard poodle, named after a fine French Champagne.