Highland Light: The MacGrough Clan Book 1

Book 1: The MacGrough Clan

by Cherime MacFarlane

Genres: Historical Romance; Scottish & Highlander

Synopsis

She wanted the young one. Done. Now he must fight to keep them alive.
Voted No. 2 Goodreads Listopia's "Scotland the Brave and then some."
HIGHLAND LIGHT is a historical romance set in 1308 during the Scottish war for independence.
A bargain made of desperation ...

Orphaned at a young age and raised by warriors, Gideon is more adept with weapons of war than with women. When a bargain is made to marry him off to the daughter of the MacGrough clan, he finally has the chance to have everything he's ever wanted—a family of his own.

Men only want Ailene MacGrough for her dowry and lands, not her heart. When her father arranges her marriage to a nameless warrior she has never met, Ailene is certain he will be like all the others—motivated by greed. He will prove her wrong.
Let the games begin.
“Needs the option of 6 stars! I can actually smell the heather! What a powerful read, full of fabulously detailed descriptions that bring 14C Scotland to life. I literally could not put this book down. Pulled an all nighter on it, the intensity of the whole thing keeping me turning the pages until the very end.” Reviewed by1D82 Many

Release date: January 23, 2017

Publisher: Paper Gold Publishing

Print pages: 284

Content advisory: Steamy

Sample

 

In the morning Ailene woke him. "Up with ye husband. I want ye ta see my special place."

She was already in her chemise. There were still droplets of water clinging to the hair around her face. Gideon rose from the bed naked. He reached for her with both hands. Ailene looked down as she dodged away from him.

"Nae. In a little while."

Gideon sighed. "I knew it could not last." He reached for his clothing but had a bit of difficulty getting his trews on.

Ailene giggled as she watched him tug at his pants.

"Are ye clothes ta tight, my lad?"

He smiled at her. "Aye, and it’s yur fault for not relieving my problem this morning."

What he did notice when she slipped on the dress which laced in the front, was that she wore no additional under things other than the chemise. Wherever they were going early this morn, they might be able to make it interesting a bit later. He bathed his face then dried with the cloth she had used. They ate the last of the bread but still had some smoked meat for the evening.

Ailene threw him his plaid before gathering up her own. They both ran outside in the brisk morning air to empty their bladders. That accomplished, Ailene took her husband's hand and led him further up the glen.

She followed a smaller burn, which branched off from the main stream. The narrow watercourse led them higher into the head of the glen. They reached a ridge where the burn had carved a notch in the rock. Ailene turned to Gideon. Putting one finger to her lips, she cautioned him to be quiet. Pointing upward, she indicated a rough trail they could use to climb over the ridge.

Gideon was amazed to see a small bowl open out before them. Trees lined the fringes of a beaver pond. There was a fog bank surrounding the pool, and faint gray fingers of it teased the branches.

She drew him quietly into the shelter of the trees. The sun had not yet found this small bowl. Ailene took them to a downed tree which provided a bench where they could sit. One plaid was spread on the lichen-covered trunk, the other she wrapped around them. Side by side they sat on the log.

Ailene reached for Gideon's hand as she leaned against him. Gideon wrapped his arm around her. The fog thinned slightly. He caught sight of the animals drinking from the pond. Roe deer clustered around the water hole and a stag stood to one side, keeping watch as his herd drank.

Gideon hugged Ailene. She squeezed his hand in acknowledgment. They sat and watched until the sun rose above the peak which had blocked its rays. Once the sun reached the pond and its tiny meadow, the deer bounded away.

Their heads still together, the young couple sat on the log for a while drinking in the sounds of birds in the small bowl.

"Tis my verra special place, Gideon. I come ta this corrie when I need peace. I wished ta share it with ye."

"I thank ye, Ailene, for bringing me here, for sharing this with me. This is a special place, I agree."

"Gideon, I would teach ye ah new word, one only for us, 'gradh'. It means 'lover'. Ye are my lover, my husband."

"Ailene." His voice was the softest of whispers in her hair. "I have no words for the feelings ye evoke in me. Lover is one word, wife another, my woman. This gift of knowing ye is more than I ever expected to find in this new place, Scotland. I want ye so much I cannot believe the depth of it. The other gift ye have given me is a greater understanding of what my father and mother shared. I thank God for ye daily."

Ailene rose to retrieve the plaid from the log and draped it around her. Gideon followed her as they retraced their way back down over the edge of the ridge. When they reached the cottage, they sat in the sun holding hands.