Highland Sword
A Witch, A Warrior And The Wilds Of Scotland…!'Twas like a quest out of legend, Merrick MacAndrew knew, but he would risk anything to save his dying son–even kidnapping Allegra Drummond, whose mystical healing talents ran apace with her power to set his heart ablaze!What enchantment, this? A giant of a Highland lord had torn Allegra Drummond from idyllic seclusion to do his bidding! No matter that his reasons were noble, rousing her compassion and concern. Merrick MacAndrew had used a life-transforming magic of his own to bind her to him forever–heart, body and soul!
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“Are you a witch to be feared?”
She looked up and he felt the smoldering heat of her anger. “Are you like all the others, my lord? Eager to use my gifts when it suits your purpose, then resorting to cruel names to brand me different?”
He reached for his goblet, avoiding her eyes. Her words were too close to the mark, and shamed him. But he’d be damned if he’d ask forgiveness of this…this tart-tongued female.
“We waste time talking, woman. We’ll eat, and then you can return your attention to my son.”
Allegra shivered as cold settled into her bones. Whatever tenuous truce they’d attempted, it had dissolved like the wisps of fog that often drifted over the Enchanted Loch until banished by the sun.
The man across the table was once more the demanding lord. And she, like it or not, his unwilling captive.
Highland Sword
Harlequin Historical #654
Acclaim for USA TODAY bestselling author
Ruth Langan
“Ruth Langan is a true master at involving your
emotions, be they laughter or tears.”
—Romantic Times
“…another tautly written, fast-paced and sensual
romance. A fine example of why this author is
such a successful romance writer.”
—Romance Reviews Today on The Sea Sprite
“Ruth Langan makes us believe in the beauty
of true love.”
—Romantic Times
“…characters so incredibly human the reader
will expect them to come over for tea.”
—Affaire de Coeur
#651 LADY ALLERTON’S WAGER
Nicola Cornick
#652 MCKINNON’S BRIDE
Sharon Harlow
#653 ADAM’S PROMISE
Julianne MacLean
Available from Harlequin Historicals and
RUTH LANGAN
Mistress of the Seas#10
†Texas Heart#31
*Highland Barbarian#41
*Highland Heather#65
*Highland Fire#91
*Highland Heart#111
†Texas Healer#131
Christmas Miracle#147
†Texas Hero#180
Deception#196
*The Highlander#228
Angel#245
*Highland Heaven#269
**Diamond#305
Dulcie’s Gift#324
**Pearl#329
**Jade#352
**Ruby#384
Malachite#407
The Courtship of Izzy McCree#425
Blackthorne#435
§Rory#457
§Conor#468
§Briana#480
One Christmas Night#487
“Highland Christmas”
‡The Sea Witch#523
‡The Sea Nymph#545
‡The Sea Sprite#565
††Badlands Law#620
††Badlands Legend#628
††Badlands Heart#636
◊Highland Sword#654
Other works include:
Outlaw Brides
“Maverick Hearts”
Harlequin Historicals Christmas Stories 1990
“Christmas at Bitter Creek”
For Maureen, who puts the bubbles in champagne to shame.
And of course for Tom. Always.
Contents
Prologue
Scotland—1540
The pewter sky was boiling with clouds threatening rain. A chill wind ruffled the tall grass growing across the meadow. The weather didn’t deter the populace from enjoying market day. Those on foot cast a wary eye on horse-drawn carts and hay wagons vying for space along the narrow roads leading to Edinburgh.
Nola Drummond, a young widow, threaded her pony cart through the crowd. Her mother, Wilona, was seated beside her. In the back were Nola’s three little daughters, sitting atop the bundles of dried herbs, skeins of yarn and baskets of eggs, which the women sold at market. Crowded in beside them were Bessie, a withered old crone with a hunched back, and Jeremy, a fat little troll dressed in a tiny top hat and frock coat. Both Bessie and Jeremy had been shunned by others before being taken in by this family.
“Look, Mum.” Six-year-old Allegra pointed to the crowd of people gathered around the banks of the loch.
When their little cart drew closer, they could see women and children weeping as they stood watching a group of fishermen hauling the body of a young lad from the water.
Nola reined in the pony, bringing their cart to a halt. She and Wilona, helped five-year-old Kylia and three-year-old Gwenellen to the ground before starting toward the others.
Unable to control her curiosity, Allegra was already out of the cart and running ahead. Once she’d reached the shore, it was an easy matter to inch her way through the crowd until she could see and hear everything.
“Nay! Not my Jamie.” A woman threw herself upon the body of the lad, her voice hoarse from sobbing. “I’ve already buried my man, and three of my babes. Jamie is all I have left in this world. Oh, no. Please. Not my Jamie, too.”
One of the fishermen laid a big hand on the woman’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mary. But the lad is gone. We were too late to save him.”
A wave of terrible sadness swept the bystanders. Even the fishermen, hardened by years at sea, could no longer hold back their tears as the woman gave in to a fit of sobbing.
Caught up in the emotion of the crowd, Allegra crept forward until she was standing beside the distraught woman. Before anyone could stop her she knelt and placed her hands on the lad’s chest.
At once she was seized with a violent tremor as the icy shock was absorbed into her fingertips and passed through her body. The water of the loch had been cold. So very cold.
Shivering, Allegra looked up at his mother. “Your Jamie isn’t dead.”
