Rainbow

Wonderful characters at cross purposes with each other. Heiress Meredith Seaton was 8 years old when she met the young man Quinnlin Devereux, 21 - he made a swing for her and her half-sister, Lissa. Ah, now she is a young 24 year old silly acting ninny. Her fortune is being doled out to her by the banker, Brett Devereux. She has a habit of spending most of her time visiting up and down the Mississippi and is heading home on the paddle boat, Lucky Lady. The Lucky Lady is owned by the gambler and rogue, Quinn Devereux who leads everyone to believe that Cam is his slave. Meredith is traveling with her Aunt Opal and maid, Daphne, a young woman purchased from the slave traders. Meredith gets mixed up in her remembrance of Quinn as a gentle, happy young man and the cold, calculating mercenary he has become. We slowly learn of the background and hellish ordeal that makes up the character of Quinn. And have to laugh at his misunderstanding of Merry's character. But the hormones do them in. Both are wary of each other but can't seem to keep from seeking each other out. Neither can afford to have a great deal of trust for anyone. [chuckle] Then the bounty hunters go on the prowl. Quinn and Meredith - Cam and Daphne - Lissa and a few others make up a great list of characters woven into a great story plot. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -M - Definitely a keeper and is followed by Notorious, the story of Marsh Canton who stops in SF - the Devereux's Pacific Palace.

Potter has proven time and again that she is an excellent writer and an expert on human behaviour. This book is wonderful. Set in pre-civil war south, Meredith Seaton was raised by her cold, callous father...and she dearly loved her black half sister! Her plantation owner father sold Lissa to avoid scandal and Meredith was devastated. She withdrew into herself determined that she would find her sister one day....Years later she emerges as this eccentric, southern belle ninny......corkscrew curls, makeup, layers of frilly, unbecoming dresses and a giggle that breaks glass. In this guise she is not only searching for Lissa but helping free slaves for the underground railroad. The dialogue and situations she devises for her "character" are a sketch. However in her travels she meets Capt Quinn Devereaux, a paddle boat owner who clearly 'mistreats' his slave, Cam. Quinn can't understand why he is drawn to this air headed girl and with secrets of his own he tries very hard not to be. A gambler, rogue and intimidating man, he has scars to prove the hell he has lived through and he distances himself from people to survive. He also hides a gentler self that even he doesn't know exists anymore. When meredith sticks her nose in secret business, quinn is forced to kidnap her to save the lives of his friends. Meredith jumps overboard to escape him and he believes she is dead and quinn is beyond distraught. Don't want to give the plot away but this book has many facets and never a dull moment. Each character has full background and you learn the stuff in their souls........love, adventure, history and characters to love...It's a keeper......(p.s. is quinn also with the underground railroad????)