On A Highland Hill (Gunn Guardsmen)
On A Highland Hill
KARA GRIFFIN
ON A HIGHLAND HILL
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2013 Kara Griffin
Cover Photo © 2013 All rights reserved - used with permission.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book contains adult material, reader discretion advised
DEDICATION
To one of my dearest friends, Christy Gissendaner Mann,
for her endearing support and friendship all these many years
Table of contents:
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
OTHER HISTORICAL TITLES
BY KARA GRIFFIN
WARRIOR’S PLEDGE
CLAIMED BY A CHARMER
LASS’ VALOR
ONE & ONLY
SCI-FI ROMANCES
COSMIC HEARTS
COSMIC CHEMISTRY
COSMIC CHAOS
PRAISE FOR KARA GRIFFIN’S HISTORICALS
ONE AND ONLY - I just finished this book ten minutes ago and I'm still smiling. Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. ... This story has so many truly fantastic scenes. Oh, the days of men of honor, governed by loyalty, duty, and chivalry. And to top it off, they are all strapping warriors wrapped in the Gunn plaid. Need I say more? This author writes truly wonderful historical romances.
Past Romance, Amazon - 5 Star
WARRIOR’S PLEDGE is a touching story of two people who, after never having known love or happiness in their lives, learn to trust and to love, which in the end, gives them more happiness than they’d ever known existed. Don’t miss this touching tale. It is a definite keeper.
Karen H. - The Romance Studio
What I enjoyed about CLAIMED BY A CHARMER is it’s a story about finding the one person who makes you feel more alive than any other on the planet. The struggling relationship between Isabel and Douglas is passionate, amusing and the essence of true romance. They are both strong characters who have met their match and have to learn how to compromise in order to be together. Claimed by a Charmer also reinforces the fact that you can’t hide who you really are. That the one who loves you, loves you for who you are and not what you believed they want you to be. Claimed by a Charmer is charming, sweet and an enjoyable romantic read.
Janet - Fallen Angel Reviews
Ms. Griffin’s story LASS’ VALOR was impossible to put down. Her characters popped off the pages. The dialogue held me while not overpowering me with the Highland brogue and still grounded me within the time-period. The conflict between all the characters was strong and believable, adding richness to the setting. Definitely a historical not to be missed by Ms. Griffin’s fans or lovers of Highlander tales.
Kimber - Coffee Time Romance
ON A HIGHLAND HILL
They were destined to meet, but they never expected to fall in love…
His tormented soul
Kenneth McInnish, guardsman for the powerful Gunn Clan, is not prepared for the tender devotion from the lass his clan steals from the king. Tricked into marrying her, he decides to make the best of it. But it’s her kisses that win him over to the fact that he just might enjoy being wedded. Beneath Kenneth’s wounded heart lies a protector. But Elisa is more than capable of taking care of herself. The only place he’s sure of himself with her is at night when he shares the most passionate experiences of his life.
Her giving nature
Elisa always thought she’d wed the ruthless warrior who abducted her. When she finds out the truth behind her abduction and is mercifully rescued, she is forced to wed for her protection. She chooses the warrior whose soul needs saving the most. Everything she does to aid him goes awry and puts him in a worse position. Faced with the possibility of endangering his clan, she risks her own safety to save him.
Their dangerous encounter
When Kenneth learns of the trickery which caused him to marry her, and forces him to confront his demons, he’s not sure how to handle it or her. She’s everything he never knew he could have. As they aid all those around them, can they save each other and find the love they both need and desire?
PROLOGUE
McInnish Clan Holding
Highlands, Scotland
1215
The old lady limped into the darkened cottage of the wisest woman in the clan. It was said if anyone wanted to know anything, she was the one who foretold of certain futures. A brisk wind blew the door closed behind her, sending the cottage into obscurity. She heard the bustle of the seer, but she could not see well as it was too dark within.
The old lady’s heart thumped madly for she knew she had to get answers. She avoided coming here because she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear disheartening news.
“Come, sit, and I shall tell all. I expected you.”
She did as she was bid and noticed the glow from a small candle alit on the table near the dim hearth. Why the seer had no fire lit on such a windswept chilly night, the lady didn’t discern nor could she ask. She set her misshaped stick beside her, the only crutch she would use as she had long since been unable to walk on her own.
“You come seeking answers?”
“Aye, I hope ‘tis noble news and not ill?” As she sat waiting, she watched with expectant nerves.
The seer became still and quiet. Her long white hair blew from unknown wind, and her glowing bright eyes looked at her with a bemused gaze. “Firstly, you shall hear of my forsooth … then I shall tell you about the McInnish. For that is why you have come seeking my guidance.”
“I am gladdened to learn anything you say,” the lady said exuberantly, hoping for good tidings.
“Sad events will happen before the one to lead the clan returns. Deaths and such woe, I see. The laird’s son who you believe to be the heir will be taken from the McInnish.”
Her hopes dashed. “You mean … he shall die?” The lady frowned at the thought of the heir being lost to them, for they hadn’t much time before her husband’s demise, which is why she sought the wise guidance of the seer. Though her husband’s sons were her stepsons, she cared for them and considered them her own.
“Aye, the eldest shall not exist long enough to lead the McInnish clan and shall perish before the laird, your husband. The other shall be hesitant to take his place, but a lass is the key to the younger McInnish’s heart and only she will bring about the clan’s forbearance of him and his acceptance of his title.”
“When shall he come?” the lady asked. “We haven’t much time before my dearest departs.”
“Events must happen before the younger one can return. Return he shall, on a night when you least expect. He will show himself and take the mighty position as his father wills.”
“The lass who comes is crucial to the McInnish’s happiness, och the lass will have help. For the Red Lady will aid her and she will not be alone in her endeavor.”
“Is the lass to be the McInnish bride?”
The seer closed her eyes waved her hands over the candle which flickered and sent light to the farthest part of the cottage. She moaned. “Ah poor lass, for she only wants to be loved and needed. But the one doesn’t want any help from anyone and prefers to be alone. She will have a hard time convincing him.”
“How long do we have?”
The seer took a deep breath and then spit on the table. She used her curved nail and scratched through it before dripping a bit of candle wax, mixing it with the liquid. She stared at it for several moments. The old lady was afraid to interrupt her thoughts and remained silent and patient.
“Events are already taking place. Much time will pass before he comes and the clan will be destitute and sorely in need of his leadership.”
“We cannot wait that long, we could perish before his return,” the lady said dolefully, sadly realizing the woe that would befall her clan.
“You have no choice, for it will be as I foretold.”
CHAPTER ONE
MacQuarrie Clan Holding
Highlands, Scotland
1215
A cold wind whipped past the mourners as they stood beside the four gravesites. The sea’s wrath at the atrocities blew the hale and encased the land with its fury. There, on a stone pedestal, lay sheathed in the finest linen, Alexander’s lady. Strife over the western lands caused great skirmishes and rivalries, especially between his father the king, and Domhnall mac Raghnaill, who held the western lands. Domhnall’s role in the deaths was evident in that he’d heard Alexander was on his way to parlay with him. The man was impatient and had not awaited the negotiations.
Though Alexander’s visitation was primarily to suggest Domhnall abdicate his desire for the crown of Norway and to hold the lands to which he would be greatly rewarded. The price would be high but well worth it. Tensions rose and Alexander knew his father, the present King of Scotland, wanted peace. Alexander had even offered to be the emissary for this mission in hopes of winning his father’s favor. It occurred to him that Domhnall didn’t much care for his father’s desires and it was apparent he didn’t want to take part in any discussions. Nor did he care for rewards. Domhnall didn’t consider death of the innocent a consequence of his actions, as long as the message was delivered. Indeed it was.
“King of the Isles, my arse,” Alexander muttered under his breath for the sake of anyone overhearing. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword with such force his knuckles burned. A will to use his sword to enact retribution came to him as his ire increased. For this day, Domhnall became his sworn enemy.
Upon their meeting, the future king and heir to the succession of Scotland, Alexander, swore their love to be unmatched and never to be unrequited. Mauri. Her glistening hair, spun from the beams of sunlight, shown through the linen and caused many of the grievers to weep quieted sobs. Hers was a life taken too soon and for such an ignoble purpose. A knot of emotion rose in his throat, for the life he envisioned with her would never be.
A beautiful soul one never beheld until Mauri smiled at them with lips so soft and sweet, and eyes as gentle as an early morning sunbeam. He recalled how her bright eyes showed love and tenderness. Life with Mauri would have proven to be the fairest, and she would have made him an honest, passionate king. Even at such a tender age, he realized she was the woman he was destined to be with, the woman fated to be his queen.
Alexander sighed at the thoughts riddling his mind with pain. It was not to be. Why would he be honored to be wedded to the fairest lass in the land? The anguish of that loss encased his heart and tore at his soul. His bonny lass had been cut down like a boar in a slaughter, crushed to the ground by his now cursed enemy Domhnall. The light of his life was snuffed out and was replaced with darkness, a merciless vigilance that would stay with him until the end of his days.
Drops of cold hard rain began falling on the faces of the mourners, and yet he felt nothing but the unbearable loss of his beloved. He glanced at the other members of Mauri’s burial party, that of her parents and her older brother lying on their pallets, ready to join the sacred hereafter. Her twin sister, Elisa, was fortunate to have escaped with her life. Though he knew not where she was. And even as he looked at the mourners, suppressing the urge to let tears fall, trying to locate her, his thoughts returned to his beloved. She would not want him to hold such vengeance, yet he could do nothing more than atone this dastardly deed.
After the last body was placed in the ground and the last prayers spoken, the MacQuarrie clan began dispersing. Alexander stood numb, content to wait until he could see Mauri no more and the last rock placed with the greatest of care atop the fresh mound of dirt.
“Your grace, I received a missive,” Thom, his man-at-arms, and closest comrade said as he approached.
“Have you word from mac Raghnaill? How does he defend this atrocity?” Alexander stepped next to him and began the long walk up the hill to the walls of the village. The wind hampered him from taking great strides and rain soaked his already sodden garments.
“Nay, I’ve word from Edinburgh. The king calls you home. You must put aside this cosh with Domhnall mac Raghnaill for now.”
“My father is the very reason this cosh began. If mac Raghnaill wants the coastal lands, he needs wrest them from my hands.” The fury of the rift stiffened his body. “He will not have lands or the crown he covets, that I vow.”
“One day, you shall wrest them back from him. All you need is an army, a large one.” Thom stepped lively to keep up with the tall, angry, lord, for even though Alexander slowed his gait, his strides much longer than his. “I’ve been given a missive to give to you, my lord. I was concerned of what it speaks … Aye, I took liberty and read it and it will anger you.” He held out the rolled parchment and stopped, waiting to see if the lord would take it.
“It is from the interloper, himself?”
Thom nodded. “I was standing by the guardsmen at the village entrance when a young lad approached with it. He ran off before I could ask him who gave it to him. Read it, my lord.”
Alexander caressed the carefully written words with his eyes, disbelieving what was said.
“He says you are condemned to a life of misery for he has taken your love and the banner you boasted of. Domhnall is nothing but a bastard son of a …”
“Aye, I can read, Thom. The swine does not realize his error, for my love lies hither in yonder ground. I should not have mentioned Mauri, but my lips were loose with drink that night. I considered him to be a fair man, a man of honor, yet he is not.”
But Thom wouldn’t let the mention of the lass go and was like a wolfhound with a soup bone, unrelenting. “Who has he taken then? If he hasn’t taken your love … some unfortunate lass is being held.”
“It is of no consequence to me, Thom. For no one else matted to me as Mauri.” Those words sunk in and Alexander wanted to spit to rid his mouth of the foul taste.
“What of the pinsel she sewed for you, the banner. Remember what she said? ‘In these stitches are sewn the good graces that will weave around you when you carry this banner.’ Are ye not worried to lose such favor of grace now that Domhnall has taken the banner?” Tom scuffed the ground with his boot, and Alexander knew he didn’t want to bring up such foreboding. A superstitious lot, none in Scotland would deny any such fate lest they endure hardship all their days.
“’Tis just a pinsel that Mauri sewed, i
t was a miniature one that she wanted me to keep inside my tunic. She said to protect me. I know not how it would’ve protected me. It couldn’t have been more than my foot’s length. I will not hold such a belief, Thom, ‘twas just foolhardy nonsense.”
Thom continued to bait him, “So you test the fates? A brave man ye are, my lord, aye destined to be king and yet you stare lady luck in the eyes. Mayhap Domhnall has taken Mauri’s sister, the fair Elisa? She wasn’t at the burial and they look much alike. Do you deem he mistook her? We should retrieve her. She is your sister-in-law.”
“Mayhap he did mistake her. Was to be, she was to be my sister-in-law, Thom, but alas she is nothing to me now. Aye, Mauri would have been my wife after years of courtship. My own father would not let me wed her yet, she and I too young to take the oaths. You only want to retrieve her sister because she’s so bonny.”
“Bonny doesn’t being to describe… Nay, I pity her for she is now in the hands of Domhnall.”
“I cannot do anything about it presently. My father calls and I must to Edinburgh. I dread telling him of what occurred. He’ll be angered.” Alexander stopped at the gatehouse and motioned to a lad to bring his horse.
“You’ll not have your father’s favor now, my lord. The clan MacQuarrie is one of the oldest in Scotland. Domhnall has killed their chieftain and his family and now holds one of its kin. The king will be more than wrath,” Thom said, with a bit of disdain in his tone.
“He’ll have many an enemy here in the north after what he’s done. The fool will have to live with his misfortune.”
Misfortune would be Alexander’s once he realized what he had lost.