James River trilogy

Nicole was a passionate French beauty, kidnapped by mistake and swept accross turbulent seas ... to be the bride of a stranger. In eighteenth-century Virginia, the lush lands embraced the rivers that bounded the great plantations. There Clayton awaited his English lady ... but when he showered his bride with ardent kisses, the woman he found in his arms was Nicole Courtalain!

As a child, Leah was given a $20 gold piece from handsome Wesley Stanford and vows to marry him in the future. When she grows up and is ready to marry, she finds that he is engaged to someone else.