The Duel for Consuelo by Claudia H. Long

They spin a financial web intended to ensnare Consuelo¿s father, torture her mother, and threaten her own life and happiness. As her mother¿s mind begins to fail, her hidden allegiance to her ancestral religion emerges, drawing the attention of renegade priests. Born to a Crypto-Jewish mother, raised as a Christian, living under the Inquisition, she must balance the safety of conformity against loyalty to her heritage.

But Consuelo cannot simply follow her heart¿s desire. Like most well-born young women in eighteenth-century Mexico, Consuelo Costa Argenta hopes for a good marriage, preferably to handsome Juan Carlos, son of the local landowner. But once Juan Carlos arrives at the Condera court and Consuelo¿s father promises her to the wrong man, her future looks grim.When the Inquisition¿s renegade priests kidnap her mother, only Consuelo can save her. Learning about herbs eases Consuelo¿s pain, as does flirting with another potential suitor. Misunderstanding her father¿s demands for money, Juan Carlos rejects her, and his parents arrange to send her to the nuns of Condera to pursue her education.

The Duel for Consuelo by Claudia H. Long