Separated by Hate

Cara Blue Debussy is a beautiful quadroon who can pass for white and is the heroine of this story. When she is twelve a terrible incident changes her life forever. The incident becomes a deeply veiled secret. There are four men who shape her life. Thrumpet, a runaway slave, loves Cara Blue and no other woman for his entire life. Pierre Honoré, her half-white uncle sends her to school in France where she becomes the darling of diplomatic society. Tom O'Riley, insurrectionist, teams up with Thrumpet to free slaves. And Captain Braydon Renner loves Cara Blue whom he meets at a diplomatic party. She could love him but believes her unforgettable secret will kill his love for her. He refuses to let her go, and she keeps her secret buried in her heart and marries him aboard his ship. The Sea Minx is blown out of the water by a Union spy ship, and Braydon is lost at sea. Tom O'Riley saves the heart-broken Cara Blue and takes her back to Thrumpet. Thrumpet helps her live with her despair over believing shes lost the man she loves. Thrumpet loves her more each day. He tries to prepares her to meet her secret past regardless of the ramifications facing them both.