Elizabeth Mayne - The Highlander's Maiden

Cover Page

Excerpt Had she a blade on her, she’d certainly have run him through. Unarmed, Cassie settled for jabbing a stiffened finger in the middle of his chest. “Stop mincing words and say what you mean, you blackguard, else I’ll cut out your heart and make you eat it. Don’t think 1 don’t dare. You’re beginning to make me very angry.” Robert caught her hand and restrained it, infuriating Cassie even more. Her already flushed face hovered just under his in a delicious temper. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her quivering lips was almost more than he could bear. He hesitated to be that imprudent. “Let go of me!” Cassie tugged to get her hand free. He didn’t let go. “Och! You’re a proud Highland maiden, full of temper and spirit and as hotheaded as your own fearless father!” Robert laughed.…

Dear Reader Dear Reader , If you’ve never read a Harlequin Historical, you’re in for a treat. We offer compelling, richly developed stories that let you escape to the past—by some of the best writers in the field! Author Elizabeth Mayne is notorious for her alpha heroes, and has won the hearts of many readers with previous books such as Heart of the Hawk and All That Matters. Her latest, The Highlander’s Maiden, is a tension-filled Medieval tale about a handsome Scottish mapmaker who, by king’s decree, must join forces with a fearless female mountain guide from an enemy clan. He vows to make this the partnership of a lifetime! Be sure to look for Hawken’s Wife by talented Rae Muir. In this continuation of THE WEDDING TRAIL series, a beautiful tomboy falls for an amnesiac mountain man. A Rose at Midnight by Jacqueline Navin is a dark and passionate Regency tale about a powerful earl who thinks he’s dying and must find a wife to have his child. He never intended to find love… Rounding out the month is For Love of Anna by multipublished author Sharon Harlow. In this sweet, heartwarming Western, a young widow with children finds her happily-ever-after in the arms of a cowboy who is running from his past. Don’t miss it! Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historical® novel. Sincerely, Tracy Farrell, Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Harlequin Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page The Highlander’s Maiden Elizabeth Mayne www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author ELIZABETH MAYNE is a native San Antonian, who knew by age eleven how to spin a good yarn, according to every teacher she ever faced. She’s spent the last twenty years making up for all her transgressions on the opposite side of the teacher’s desk, and the last five working exclusively with troubled children. She particularly loves an ethnic hero and married one of her own eighteen years ago. But it wasn’t until their youngest, a daughter, was two years old that life calmed down enough for this writer to fulfill the dream she’d always had of becoming a novelist.

Dedication For Gabriel You promised all, and wouldn’t settle for anything less. My hero.

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

Dear Reader

Copyright

Unarmed, Cassie settled for jabbing a stiffened finger in the middle of his chest. “Stop mincing words and say what you mean, you blackguard, else I’ll cut out your heart and make you eat it. Don’t think 1 don’t dare. You’re beginning to make me very angry.”

Robert caught her hand and restrained it, infuriating Cassie even more. Her already flushed face hovered just under his in a delicious temper. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her quivering lips was almost more than he could bear. He hesitated to be that imprudent.

“Let go of me!” Cassie tugged to get her hand free. He didn’t let go.

“Och! You’re a proud Highland maiden, full of temper and spirit and as hotheaded as your own fearless father!” Robert laughed.…

Dear Reader,

If you’ve never read a Harlequin Historical, you’re in for a treat. We offer compelling, richly developed stories that let you escape to the past—by some of the best writers in the field!

Author Elizabeth Mayne is notorious for her alpha heroes, and has won the hearts of many readers with previous books such as Heart of the Hawk and All That Matters. Her latest, The Highlander’s Maiden, is a tension-filled Medieval tale about a handsome Scottish mapmaker who, by king’s decree, must join forces with a fearless female mountain guide from an enemy clan. He vows to make this the partnership of a lifetime!

Be sure to look for Hawken’s Wife by talented Rae Muir. In this continuation of THE WEDDING TRAIL series, a beautiful tomboy falls for an amnesiac mountain man. A Rose at Midnight by Jacqueline Navin is a dark and passionate Regency tale about a powerful earl who thinks he’s dying and must find a wife to have his child. He never intended to find love…

Rounding out the month is For Love of Anna by multipublished author Sharon Harlow. In this sweet, heartwarming Western, a young widow with children finds her happily-ever-after in the arms of a cowboy who is running from his past. Don’t miss it!

Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historical® novel.

Sincerely,

Tracy Farrell, Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Harlequin Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

www.millsandboon.co.uk

is a native San Antonian, who knew by age eleven how to spin a good yarn, according to every teacher she ever faced. She’s spent the last twenty years making up for all her transgressions on the opposite side of the teacher’s desk, and the last five working exclusively with troubled children. She particularly loves an ethnic hero and married one of her own eighteen years ago. But it wasn’t until their youngest, a daughter, was two years old that life calmed down enough for this writer to fulfill the dream she’d always had of becoming a novelist.

For Gabriel

You promised all,

and wouldn’t settle for anything less.

My hero.

Glencoe, Scotland

February 20, 1598

“Aunt Cassie.” Five-year-old Millicent MacGregor caught a handful of Cassandra Mac Arthur’s snood and yanked on it urgently. “Did Lady Quickfoot sink to the bottom of wee Black Douglas’s bog?”

“Millie!” Cassie exclaimed as her eyes were blinded by the sudden drop of her cloak’s deep hood over her face. Thick wool muffled the rest of her words. “I’m trying to tie this skate on your brother’s foot. You’ll hear the rest of the Lady Quickfoot story tonight.”

“But now is a verra good time to tell it.” Millie smiled winsomely.

“Annie Cass, lookie! Soldiers!” Ian swung his hand over Cassie’s head to point behind her.