AND GOLD WAS OURS By Rebecca Brandewyne Leisure Romance Copyright 1984, Re-issued June 1999 ISBN# 0-505-52314-0 {Click here to buy this book} This adventure takes us from the royal courts of Spain to the New World of South America. And across time. In 1548, Don Santiago

Dona Aurora Leila Gitana Maria Raquel Montalban y Torregato is known in Spain as the Ice Princess. One of Spain's most beautiful and financially attractive women, she spurns every suitor who tries to win her hand. This is not because of anything other than she has promised herself to marry only for love. She will know him when he comes to her. Indeed he has come to her throughout her young life, ever since she was but five years old. Coming to her on a white steed in her daydreams, he teaches her about life and love as she grows. And when Aurora is older she realizes that these were not daydreams but moments when her memory was transported back to a past time, and a past love. She has a feeling that her lonely soul has been searching for her true love for centuries. Now in 1848, Aurora feels that he is near and her heart aches for him. It's Don Juan Rodolfo de Zaragoza y Aguilar who will have her though. He will wed her to get retaliation on her family because her brother Basilio had won the hand of the woman Juan himself wanted. Wedding Basilio's sister will enable him to get the revenge on the Montalban family through his torturous acts upon her. But when Aurora escapes, just as her brother did with his bride, Juan is incessant and reeks havoc on all of their families.

Aurora finds a new life in the Amazon Basin, living on the plantation her brother Basilio had purchased, "Esplandor". Before he has the chance to make something of the old plantation he is stricken ill, as his late wife had been, and dies leaving Aurora with nothing. Basilio had willed "Esplandor" to his friend known as El Aguilar, the Eagle, before he knew that Aurora was coming to him. When El Aguilar shows up on the front steps of "Esplandor" Aurora falls into a swoon for her dream lover has come to her at last. El Aguilar is the man in her dreams, the man from the past life memories, and the man she'd promised to marry. But he doesn't recognize her.

Don Salvador Domingo Marcos Eduardo Valentin Rodriguez y Aguilar, also known as El Aguilar, was unprepared when he was hand-delivered the deed to his friend's estate of "Esplandor". And even more unprepared, standing on the front steps to the run down plantation, when he sees the woman of his dreams come striding up to him. She is not only the woman of his dreams but also the woman in the pocket watch he'd purchased from his new friend in Spain. He and Basilio were fleeing political prosecution in Spain and boarding the ship that would bring them, and Basilio's new bride, to the New World of South America, when Basilio realized that he didn't have enough money for the private quarters on the ship. Salvador purchased Basilio's prized pocket watch so that the newlyweds could travel in more comfort for the long journey and while on the trip had befriended the couple. Basilio told El Aguilar that it was his sister Aurora who had gifted him the watch and placed her photograph in it. Since that day Salvador had dreamed of the day he'd meet this woman because not only had he fallen in love with her beauty and the stories Basilio had told him but also because he'd dreamed of this woman most of his life. Now standing before her at the estate of "Esplandor" his life seems to have full circle. But Aurora doesn't recognize him and his heart all but breaks.

Legally the estate belongs to Salvador, but really it belongs to Aurora. So Salvador strikes a bargain with Aurora. They will be equal partners in the estate. He has the money necessary to bring the estate back to its original condition. Aurora will help in the decision making and running of the household. When she is ready to return to Spain he will pay her half of what the estate is worth. But when Aurora learns of Don Juan's continued search of her in the New World she asks for Salvador's protection. This comes in the form of a marriage. Salvador has been fighting with himself to keep his distance but her beauty and his love for her has been making it difficult. Married, he can claim his marital rights while at the same time protecting Aurora from the man who's sworn to do her harm. When Aurora is injured in a freak accident Salvador discovers how much Aurora really loves him and suddenly the black cloud that seems to hover over "Esplandor" vanishes . . . until the night when Aurora is kidnapped.

If there was only one word to describe "And Gold Was Ours" by Rebecca Brandewyne that word would be "rich". I felt completely enveloped by this tale's history and the beautiful scenery. The characters were well developed and dynamic. The settings were incredibly detailed . . . I could almost feel myself there in the arid climate of Madrid and the heavy humidity of the Amazon Basin. The historical accuracy of every aspect of the story was brought to vivid life and laid out simply to understand the politics of the time. Sprinkled throughout the story are Spanish phrases that pull this story together with the rich culture and setting. This book has everything the discerning reader looks for in a great read . . . passion and romance, greed and deceit, lust and revenge, history and culture and more. "And Gold Was Ours" is bound to become a classic and has certainly earned itself a special place in my heart.