DECEIVE NOT MY HEART
Leonie Saint-Andre's life this 19th-century New Orleans is nothing but a bitter memory. Her home, a fine Southern plantation, has fallen to decay and her grandfather continues to gamble away what is left of the family fortune. To recover her grandfather's latest gambling loss, Leonie creeps into the gambling house to steal his voucher. Hearing footsteps, she escapes into a dark room and into the arms of Morgan Slade, a man who mistakes her for the bed partner promised him by his host. Her vain protests serve only to arouse his passion but there is no hope for escape. Haunted by the memory of that night, Leonie is shocked to learn that her grandfather has arranged for her to marry none other than Morgan Slade. Leonie, to please her dying grandfather, agrees to marry under two conditions: that Morgan never lay hands on her, and that her dowry is merely loaned to him for five years. What Leonie doesn't realize is that her future husband is not Morgan Slade, but his nearly-identical cousin, Ashley, who, as soon as the charade of their wedding is play out, escapes to Europe with her dowry.