BOOK INFORMATION
Highland
Guard
Murray Family # 20
Murray Family # 20
By: Hannah Howell
Releasing March 3rd, 2015
Zebra
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BOOK SUMMARY
New York
Times bestselling author Hannah Howell brings back the daring Murray family in
a brand-new tale of dangerous love rekindled. . .
Lady Annys
MacQueen has no other choice. The deception that enabled her to keep her lands
safe is on the verge of being revealed by a cruel kinsman. To shield her young
son from the sword and her people from devastation, she must turn to the one
man she could never forget. . .
He lives
for duty and honor. So the only way Sir Harcourt Murray could repay the laird
who saved his life was to agree to father a child with Sir MacQueen's wife. .
.Lady Annys. Now the passion he still feels for the lovely strong-willed widow is
as all-consuming and perilous as securing her lands. But to convince her that
his love is forever real means confronting her most wrenching fears--and
putting everything they treasure most at stake.
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EXCERPT
Annys nodded and
then politely excused herself. It was early to turn in for the night but she
needed some time alone. Seeing Sir Harcourt again, realizing he could still
stir a fire in her blood, and discovering that someone could have murdered
David was all she could bear for now. She needed time to just be alone, to
think about it all, and sort through her confused emotions.
It was not until
she entered her bedchamber that she realized Joan had followed her. Annys told
herself she had no reason to be surprised by that. The woman did act as her
maid after all. Yet she had taken no notice of Joan falling into step behind
her. She said nothing as Joan helped her prepare for bed. Sitting still before
a fire while Joan brushed out her hair worked to ease a lot of the knots in her
belly, however, and Annys was soon glad the woman had followed her.
“Dinnae let it prey
on you, m’lady,” Joan said as she sat down beside Annys.
“I dinnae want it
to but I am nay sure I can stop it.” Annys stood and moved to her bed, sitting
on the edge so that Joan could lightly braid her hair for the night. “So much
has happened today. Mayhap it is just that I am unaccustomed to so many
disturbances in my life.”
Joan laughed
softly. “Weel, six verra handsome men coming in answer to your request for aid
is certainly disturbing. It would be to any lass with blood in her veins.”
“True and it will
be verra hard to keep the maids in hand while they are here.” She looked at
Joan.
“But ye ken why I
find one of them more disturbing than all the others, aye?”
“He is as handsome
as he was all those years ago.”
“And looks so verra
much like Benet.”
“Only if ye ken to
look for it.” She patted Annys’s arm when she saw the woman’s look of doubt.
“Truly. Our laird had black hair and brown eyes. And ye have that touch of gold
in your eyes. Any other features that may match Sir Harcourt’s willnae show for
many a year yet. But, in truth, there is a strong similarity betwixt him and
our poor laird. The mon is just bigger, stronger, than Sir David e’er was.”
“Are ye just saying
such things to ease my worries?”
“Nay. ’Tis the
truth. Only if ye ken what we do can ye look and see it. If ye dinnae ken that
he bred the lad, weel, then it isnae so clear to see.”
Annys sighed in
relief. “Good. That is a trouble I dinnae need.”
“Nay, ye have
enough to deal with now. I think ye should write to Sir Adam’s sire and tell
him what that fool son of his is doing.”
When Joan stood up,
Annys settled herself in her bed as she thought over that suggestion. “And how
can I be certain his
father isnae the one prodding him to do this?”
“Ye will ken it by
what the mon says in reply.”
“Ah, there is that.
It cannae make matters any worse, I suspect. I will think on what to say. Sleep
weel, Joan. I forsee a verra busy time ahead for us.”
“If only because we
have six big knights to feed and tend to.”
Annys laughed
softly and made herself more comfortable in her bed as Joan left. She thought
on Sir
Callum’s suggestion
that poison may have caused her husband’s death, unable to banish the thought as
she wished to. Having spent so many years at Glencullaich she found it hard to
believe that anyone would hurt David. She did not even understand why Sir Adam
would have done such a thing for it was not enough to place Glencullaich in his
hands. There was still Benet standing between him and the laird’s seat.
That thought
chilled her to the bone. If she accepted, or even proved, that David had been
murdered, then her child was in terrible danger. If Sir Adam could get to David
then he could get to Benet. He could claim his hands were clean if accused of
poisoning David for he had not actually done the deed. All he needed was a way
to be able to claim the same thing when he struck at Benet.
Her growing fear
for her child made it impossible to sleep. Annys got up and pulled on a robe.
She moved into the small room where there was a door that let her go up on the
battlements. A pang of grief went through her as she opened the door and heard
the soft bell ring. David had been so pleased when he had arranged that warning
to the men on the walls. It had allowed them some privacy if they chose to go
outside at night. She had never appreciated it more than she did now.
Climbing the narrow
stone stairs, Annys fought to calm her fears. She could find reasons for someone
to betray them all by helping Adam rid Glencullaich of its laird. Yet, try as
she would, she could find none for anyone helping him murder a small child. She
simply could not believe any of the people she knew would be capable of such a
heinous crime. If she did not convince herself to accept that possibility,
however, she would be putting her son’s life in danger.
Resting her arms on
top of the wall, Annys looked out over the moonlit lands of Glencullaich. She
had no trouble at all in understanding Sir Adam’s greed for the place. It was
too far from the border to suffer from raids, and too out of the way of the
roads to the cities or the king’s court to have to worry overmuch about an
enemy force sweeping through. It was good land and well watered. A man would
not have to work hard to have a very comfortable life here, a rare thing in
Scotland. David had even managed to keep them out of any local feuds.
Sir Adam MacQueen
was not a man to appreciate such things, however, she decided. He would settle
into Glencullaich and immediately want more. He was also of a temperament to
tangle the clan up in feuds with the neighboring clans. Yet, she could think of
no way to get him to end his quest to gain hold of the lands.
“Weel, I could just
kill the fool,” she muttered.
“Kill who?” asked a
deep voice from right behind her.
Annys squeaked in
alarm and looked behind her. She was relieved to see that it was Harcourt but
also annoyed that he had frightened her. The way he looked at her as she stood
there in her nightclothes wept both feelings aside, leaving her struggling to
crush the warmth of welcome and womanly interest.
“Who do ye think ye
should just kill?” he asked again as he stepped up beside her.
“Sir Adam.” She
looked back out over the land. “I dinnae think he will e’er stop trying to get
his hands on Glencullaich.”
“Nay,” agreed
Harcourt. “He willnae. ’Tis good land.” He patted the wall. “With a good strong
keep.
And that has ye
worried?”
“If your friend is
right, then he has already killed David. The only one left standing between him
and this land is Benet, a little boy. My son. Aye, I am worried.”
“Good.” He smiled
at the way she frowned at him. “Then ye will be keeping a verra close watch on
the lad and all who draw near him. I ken ye do now, just as any mother does,
but ye have always trusted everyone in this keep, probably everyone in the
clan.”
“Aye, I do.” She
sighed. “Did.” She shook her head. “I try to deny that my husband was murdered
with poison yet it answers too many questions about the strange illness that
took his life. I have seen most illnesses a mon can get and I had ne’er seen
one quite like that. The learned men we brought in to help were uncertain as
weel, although they did their best to hide that. I e’en ken most of the things
that can poison one and what happens but ne’er that. The way it can be slipped
into food or drink by an unseen hand is the most frightening. How does one
fight that?”
“Weel, some kings have someone taste their
food first.”
Annys smiled.
“Benet may nay like that. But it does give me something to think about. Mayhap
his meals should be prepared only by one I completely trust until the threat to
him has passed.”
“And who would that
be?”
“Joan.”
“Of course.”
Harcourt was
finding it difficult not to touch her, to reach out and stroke the thick braid
of hair hanging down her back, touch her soft cheek, or even just hold her
small hand in his. He wanted her but knew it could be something that would only
add to the troubles she now carried. The whole keep would know as soon as they
became lovers. Even if that did not make everyone look more closely at Benet,
it could weaken her position as lady of the keep, as the one acting in the
stead of the laird.
“Why did I hear a
bell?” he asked, trying desperately to get his mind off how sweet she smelled
and how badly he wanted to pull her into his arms.
“Ah, David fixed
that. I have always liked to come out here if I am too restless to sleep. He
wanted me to be comfortable in doing so nay matter what I was clothed in.” She
blushed as she ran a hand down the side of her robe. “Some nights he would join
me and we found it helped us sort out some problem to stand here looking at the
stars and talking quietly. He wanted no one to interrupt those moments, either.
So the men move away from this small part of the wall when they hear the bell.”
“Clever. And have ye been able to sort out the
problem that brought ye here tonight?”
“Aye. I must accept
that someone in this keep helped kill my husband and may be convinced to try
and kill my son.” The moment she said those words she knew she had finally
accepted that chilling truth and nodded. “I ken it now and so now I will work
to keep Benet safe and find out who betrayed us all.”
She looked at him
standing so close to her that she could feel his warmth. He awoke something
inside her that had been sleeping since he had walked away a little over five
years ago. Annys was not sure what she should do about that. A part of her
insidiously whispered that she should take what she wanted but the practical side
of her hesitated, mulled over how complicated that would make her life, and
reminded her of how her heart had broken when he had just walked away. It was
just another thing she had to think about.
But not tonight,
she told herself. Not when he was standing so close her hands itched to reach
out and touch him. Not with the night sky bathing them in a soft welcoming
light that had her memories of their time together rushing to the fore of her
mind. None of those things made a rational, practical decision possible.
“I had best get
inside,” she said even as she started to move away from him. “It has been a
verra long day and it appears there will be many more to come. Adam will make
certain of it. Sleep well, Sir Harcourt.”
“And you, m’lady,” he
replied and watched her until she went back into the keep.
CAT'S REVIEW
"Highland Guard" by Hannah Howell. I have been a big fan of Ms. Howell's for a while now, enjoying her Highlanders. Although this one is not necessarily my favorite, I did enjoy it. In "Highland Guard", Harcourt Murray returns to help save Lady Annys MacQueen from losing her lands. She is the woman he loves and shares a child with, however, no one knows that! I liked Harcourt - he was genuine and would protect those he loved at all costs. My heart ached for him when he first sees his son. Annys, at times, did rub me the wrong way - I'm not quite sure what it was about her. I suppose it was because she believed she couldn't be with Harcourt. Of course, he had issues with believing he was good enough for her too. It frustrates me when true love is denied, especially for not such great reasons. Overall, the characters of the book were terrific and the story line was good too. This book read a bit slower than others that I've read from Ms. Howell but I still found it quite enjoyable. (received copy from NetGalley for honest review)
★★★★
AUTHOR INFO
Hannah
D. Howell is a highly regarded and prolific romance writer. Since Amber Flame,
her first historical romance, was released in February 1988, she has published
25 novels and short stories, with more on the way. Her writing has been
repeatedly recognized for its excellence and has "made Waldenbooks Romance
Bestseller list a time or two" as well as was nominated twice by Romantic
Times for Best Medieval Romance (Promised Passion and Elfking's Lady). She has
also won Romantic Times' Best British Isles Historical Romance for Beauty and
the Beast; and, in 1991-92 she received Romantic Times' Career Achievement
Award for Historical Storyteller of the Year.
Hannah
was born and raised in Massachusetts (the maternal side of her family has been
there since the 1630's). She has been married to her husband Stephen for 28
years, who she met in England while visiting relatives, and decided to import
him. They have two sons Samuel, 27, and Keir, 24. She is addicted to
crocheting, reads and plays piano, attempts to garden, and collects things like
dolls, faerie and cat figurines, and music boxes. She also seems to collect
cats, as she now has four of them, Clousseau, Banshee, Spooky, and Oliver
Cromwell.
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ReplyDeleteI like the length and depth of this excerpt today. It explained much to me about this new story. I have loved all of Hannah's books, and this one appears to be written just as well as those that came before. I look forward to reading it. Thanks for the post. jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks for following Janice! I always appreciate and look forward to your comments!
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