Ruined by the Highlander

RUINED BY THE HIGHLANDER A MEDIEVAL HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVEL MADDIE MACKENNA CONTENTS Before You Start Reading… A Gift from the Highlands Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Epilogue Extended Epilogue Preview: The Story of his Highland Bride Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Also by Maddie MacKenna Loved this book? About the Author BEFORE YOU START READING… Did you know that there’s a special place where you can chat with me and with thousands of like-minded bookworms all over the globe?! Join Cobalt Fairy’s facebook group of voracious readers and I guarantee you, you’d wish you had joined us sooner! Let’s connect, right NOW! Just click on the image above! ⇧ A GIFT FROM THE HIGHLANDS Thank you very much for purchasing my book. It really means a lot to me, because this is the best way to show me your love and support! As a way to show you my gratitude, I have written a full length novel for you, called Highlander’s Untamed Bride. It’s only available to people who have downloaded one of my books and you can get your free copy by tapping the image below or this link here. Once again, I can’t thank you enough for your support! Maddie MacKenna ABOUT THE BOOK Her presence was the sweetest torture… After she found her -now ex- betrothed with another woman, Beitris swore off men and took work as a healer in the castle. But the Laird proved to be the most beautiful, though irritating, distraction… Laird Andrew needs to focus on his clan and his clan only. But when he overhears the little minx, the healer, complain about needing to have a betrothed in her brother’s wedding, he volunteers. Though their betrothal is supposed to be fake, Andrew’s desire for Beitris grows day by day. But someone is very determined to not see Beitris happy… 1 MacKenzie Castle Bracing his hands on the windowsill, Andrew Middleton, the incoming laird of the clan, gazed out at the western lands of Clan McKenzie, over the hills to the north and the loch to the west of the castle. Outside, the long twilight was drawing out as the sunset lingered on the horizon, the vivid orange rays spearing into the dark clouds above. The sky to the west had turned red and dusky, promising another warm day to come. The day had been one of the warmest Andrew could remember, and he wanted to savor it as the moment winter set in, all this lush greenery would be gone, and the water would be a sheet of ice. “Sir?” Andrew’s footman, Stuart, came into the room. “Lady Middleton is asking for ye.” Turning from the window, Andrew nodded. “I suspected she would like to speak to me soon.” They left the room and headed to the other half of the massive castle, where his paternal grandmother’s rooms spanned over a quarter of the floor. He entered the first room to find his grandmother seated near a window, her plump, matronly body wrapped in a green kirtle with a thick wool shawl around her shoulders. Eilidh’s head was down, her eyes on a book on her lap, and the afternoon light glinted off her silver hair. His footsteps had her looking up, and she smiled at him. “Grandmaither.” He dipped his head. Her wizened hands rested on top of the pages. “Ye look like yer faither more and more with every day that does by.” Thinking of his departed father Malcolm, Andrew felt tempted to smile. His father, the younger brother of Laird Mathias, had passed away last winter from a sickness in the lungs, months after Uncle Mathias and his son Ian, had drowned. Their ship returning from the outer isles had been caught in a vicious spring storm. “Thank ye,” Andrew replied. “Da was an honorable man too. I only pray I can follow in those footsteps well.” “Ye will,” Eilidh replied. “But I want to talk to ye about another matter. Ye ken that when ye are laird, especially as ye are the only direct heir of me husband, ye must marry quickly and have an son or two. Our clan is a proud one; such pride has trickled down from the head right down to the people we serve. They willnae take it well if someone not bearing the name Middleton takes over the seat.” Andrew pressed his lips tight. He had known this was coming, but he had not expected it to be right now. “How quickly do ye reckon?” “Before the year’s end,” she replied. “If ye daenae have anyone in mind, I’m sure our allies have daughters that will happily wed ye. I ken yer just like her faither who wanted to marry for love, and because he was my second son, he had the time and opportunity to search for the woman he wanted.” “And he did,” Andrew replied while thinking of his mother. “Maither was gentle, loving, and supportive of him being a master of ships. She stood by him when he was gone for weeks on end.” “Aye.” Eilidh nodded, her eyes taking on a reflective sheen. “Tis true, yer maither was a rare kind. Nay many women would have taken lightly to their husband leaving for so long.” “But the gifts he came back with made up for it,” Andrew replied. “Well, some of it. I ken chests of gold and rare gems donae make up for yer husband’s absence.” He slumped over in his seat. “I suppose I daenae get that freedom, do I?” “For a few months, but ye will have to marry,” Eilidh replied. “Ye ken, yer grandfaither and I married for duty, nay love. At first, we