Highland Scoundrel

Zusatztext “These are three great Scottish stories! by a first-time author! you don’t want to miss.”—Fresh Fiction “McCarty has captured the true feel and essence of the Scottish Highlands. . . . Most authors aren’t this good from the start.”—Night Owl Reviews Informationen zum Autor Monica McCarty is the bestselling author of the Highlander trilogy ( Highlander Untamed, Highlander Unmasked, and Highlander Unchained ). Her interest in the Scottish clan system began in the most unlikely of places: a comparative legal history course at Stanford Law School. After a short but enjoyable stint practicing law, she realized that her legal vocation and her husband’s transitory career as a professional baseball player were not exactly a match made in heaven. So McCarty traded in her legal briefs for Scottish historical romances with sexy alpha heroes. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two young children. Klappentext Framed for a crime he did not commit, Duncan Campbell, the illegitimate son of a chieftain, has returned to the Highlands determined to clear his name after ten years in exile. He is drawn to the unforgettable sensual beauty of Jeannie Gordon, the headstrong girl who once pledged him her love, gave him her innocence, and then betrayed him. Now, in the glow of the moonlight, she defiantly shows Duncan the bad end of a pistol. Jeannie is stunned to discover that the broad-chested brigand she just shot is the rogue who broke her heart years ago. No longer a starry-eyed girl but a woman with dangerous secrets, Jeannie cannot forgive Duncan's shattering mistrust of her-nor can she sign his death warrant by turning him in. Soon passion flares hotter and bolder than before, sealing a fate the onetime lovers can no longer deny. Caught up in a deadly game of murder and intrigue, Jeannie is willing to risk everything for a man and a love she vows never to lose again. Chapter One “A Black beginning maks aye a black end.” Scottish Proverb Near Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire, Autumn 1608 Jeannie went to the loch on a whim, which was notable in itself. Rarely did she give in to an impulse or flight of fancy. If the apple had been Eve’s downfall then “that little voice” in the back of her head barraging her with “good ideas” had been Jeannie’s. Over the years she’d learned to ignore it, leaving little of the impetuous girl who’d come so perilously close to ruin. Whenever Jeannie felt the urge to do something, she forced herself to stop and think, and invariably ended up reconsidering. But not this time. The pull of an unusually hot day so close to Samhain, and the knowledge of how refreshing it would feel to swim in the cool waters of the loch before the sun gave way to the gray of winter proved too tempting. As was the thought of escape. Just for a little while. To carve out a moment of peace and solitude where the troubles of the recent months could not find her. It was only a swim. For an hour, no more. She would bring a guardsman. And her pistol. Something she kept close to her side of late. She couldn’t stay locked away forever, a prisoner in her own home. The short outing to the loch was just what she needed. She was almost out the door when a voice behind her halted her in her tracks. “Going somewhere, Daughter?” The sharp voice of her mother-in-law, teeming with censure, set her teeth on edge. If mourning the death of her husband wasn’t enough, Jeannie had been forced to contend with the oppressive presence of his mother, the formidable Marchioness of Huntly, for the past few months as well. She clamped her lips together, biting back the ready retort that it was none of her blasted business. Taking a deep breath she turned around and even managed a smile—albeit one that stuck to her teeth. “It’s so lovely outside today I thought I’d go for a quick swim in the loch. I’m taking a g...

Product details

• Authors: Monica McCarty
• Publisher: Ballantine
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 24.03.2009
• EAN: 9780345503404
• ISBN: 978-0-345-50340-4
• No. of pages: 416
• Dimensions: 104 mm x 173 mm x 26 mm
• Series: Campbell Trilogy; Campbell Trilogy; Random House Publishing Group
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature