T.J. Laverne

Lisette Durocher

As the elder sister of Philippe, Lisette isn't lucky enough to inherit the Durocher family fortune, though she lives luxuriantly enough on Esplanade Avenue. After a long-standing engagement with a violent drunk, which she managed to escape, she has grown into a morbid young woman, bitter and resentful of her life and everyone in it. She has dramatic, black eyes and wild, curly black hair, and ever since her parents died and she spent over a year in mourning, black has become her favorite color. Though Philippe has thrown every eligible bachelor in New Orleans at her, she remains headstrong and independent, and finds not a single one of them the least bit desirable. Instead, she covets the only man she can’t have - a priest.

Philippe Durocher

Philippe has had a difficult time acting as the head of Durocher House since his father's death. Though he expanded the wealth of Durocher estate when he inherited his father’s law firm and joined forces with Claude Gauthier, he has not been so successful when it comes to finding a suitor for his sister. With a wild mane of curly, black hair and black eyes, Philippe has similarly grown into a morose young man, and for this reason is drawn to Marie’s optimistic attitude towards life. Though he is unwilling to take many things in life seriously, he is deathly afraid of any type of illness, especially ever since his mother died of yellow fever four years ago.

Marie Baptiste

Friends with Lisette since childhood, Marie is full of all the youthful joy and light that Lisette has lost. As the Durocher seamstress, Marie’s mother brought Marie along to Durocher House for Lisette’s gown fittings before Marie grew up and took over the business. Endlessly clever, optimistic and kind, Marie is one of the few people who can still make both Durocher siblings smile. As a woman of color from Tremé, Marie's challenges have been great and she has faced opposition and racism from many directions. For this reason, Lisette has resolved that her job on this great, green earth is to protect Marie and prevent the darkness of the world from touching her.

Sabine Fontenot

The daughter of a wholesale retailer, Sabine always has an invitation to attend the great society balls of Esplanade Avenue as Lisette's guest. Not quite “one of them,” Sabine lacks the refinement and grace of the upper crust of Esplanade Ridge, one of the many reasons Lisette finds her a great friend. Often crass and sassy, with fiery-red hair, Sabine believes she needs to be taught a thing or two about how to be a proper lady. Though she has an ardent and loyal admirer in Rafferty “Mac” McCallister, an Irish shoemaker among the lower-class of the French Quarter, she prefers to evade the attention of men - until she meets one who catches her eye.

Pierre Benoit

Ridiculously handsome, especially for a priest, Father Benoit - or Pierre - has all the smoldering looks of a man approaching 40 who is violently repressed and shy. Slender, tall and fair, his light brown hair is just barely a fuzz atop his perfectly molded head. Though he's a priest, the intense looks of longing he sends in Lisette's direction could set the entire church on fire. The heated flirtations between them sometimes leaves Lisette feeling as though he is courting her on the dance floor of a ballroom, and not standing with her as priest and parishioner in the middle of a church. This leaves Lisette wondering one thing - how often do priests leave the priesthood for women?

Luis Segura

Of French and Spanish parentage, Luis is a successful coffee merchant and a member of "the club" of wealthy residents on Esplanade Ridge, though he is not quite one of them. His real friends are the shoemakers, peddlers and fishermen of the French Quarter. As friends and neighbors who have known each other all their lives, Lisette knows Luis's every vice - eating meat during Lent, as well as visiting his favorite pub, Rendez Vous, every weekend, a pub which is notorious for hosting paid female escorts. Soft-spoken and gentle, almost shy-acting, Luis is admittedly handsome, with deep, bedroom eyes; thick, black hair; tanned skin; and a rather sweet smile. Sometimes Lisette wonders if Luis might be sweet on her, though she doesn't mind flirting with him on occasion, knowing it means nothing.