Prologue
The whole situation was preposterous. Cora swallowed hard and stared at the man in front of her. He was a hulking older man and looked uncomfortable in the small confining carriage space. He was a virtual stranger, but the more she studied him, the more familiar he looked.
She had the same hazel-colored eyes that her friends said looked so good with the new pastel fashion. His were older, harder, and when they swept over her, she could sense the pity in them. He knew he was usurping her from her home. They both had auburn hair, although her hair didn’t get as red as his until she’d spent some time under the summer sun. Her guardians used to admonish her for basking in the sun, but she loved it. The same straight nose. At least now she knew who to blame for that. From what she remembered of her mother, she had the daintiest button nose. Her mother had been a beautiful woman, but Cora more resembled the man in front of her.
Not sure what to do in the silence of the carriage, she unfolded the letter that was crumpled in her hand and reread it.
“Cora,” the older man said softly, “I know this is a wee bit strange.” His thick Scottish brogue was foreign to her ears. She’d heard tales of the wild highland men, but his was the first that she’d ever met.
“A wee bit strange?” she exclaimed. “Surely you realize this is more than strange. Two days ago, I was Cora Isles and about to enter my third season. Now I’m the illegitimate daughter of a Scottish laird and betrothed to a complete stranger!”
Duncan MacKay reached across to take her hand. “If I had known that this would happen, I would never have approached my King. You must believe me.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Yer guardians were kind?”
Calvin and Donna Thistle were more than kind. They took her in when she was eight after her mother had died. Together, with their daughter Lana, they were her family. Cora’s family history made it difficult for her to find a husband, but Calvin had promised her that she’d be taken care of no matter what happened. The Thistles were her parents, and Lana was her younger sister. They’d all cried when Duncan showed up to declare his daughter and whisk her away to the harsh Highlands.
“They love me,” she said with great difficulty. “And I love them.”
Duncan watched her with sadness in his eyes. “That’s good. I looked into them when ye became their ward. I hoped they’d be good to ye. It saddens me to take ye away, but I have to think of my clan.”
Cora shook her head. “I find it very hard to believe that your clan would want an English bride at the head of its table. If you want this Innes Campbell to be their laird, why not just make it so? Why force him to marry me?”
“If I could, I would. I doona take this action lightly. I approached the matter to King Edward, but he wants MacKay blood to rule. My son is cruel, and my clan would suffer at his hands. Cora, yer my only option.”
“Your people hate the English. They’d never accept me no matter whom I married,” she pointed out.
“They’ll come around.” He smiled gently. “How could they not? Yer my daughter. Yer kind and bonnie. Ye will win them over. I know it.”
“And Innes Campbell?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “Is he kind?” She was aware of the famous Scottish temper and brutality. It terrified her to think of marrying one.
“I’ve known Innes his whole life. He and my son are friends, but they are verra different. He’ll be a good husband. I’ll see to it. I promise.”
Cora fidgeted nervously. The past few days felt like a whirlwind, but it gave her an opportunity that she’d never had before. “Do you remember my mother?”
He pressed his lips into a thin line and sat back. “Ye ask that with trepidation.”
“I’m not naive,” she said dully. “I know what she was. I’ve heard it all my life. I’m the daughter of a whore, but to me she was strong and beautiful. She loved me, and she protected me. She made sure I had a real chance at life.”
“Aye,” Duncan said with a snort. “She was strong and beautiful. I fancied myself in love with her.”
Cora blinked in surprise. “You knew her more than a single night?”
“Before I