Fondly yours,
Writing as Laura London
From the desk of Sue-Ellen Welfonder
Dear Reader,
At a recent gathering, someone asked about my upcoming releases. I revealed that I’d just launched a new Scottish medieval series, Scandalous Scots, with an e-novella, Once Upon a Highland Christmas , and that TO LOVE A HIGHLANDER would soon follow.
As happens so often, this person asked why I set my books in Scotland. My fi rst reaction to this question is always to come back with, “Where else?” To me, there is nowhere else.
Sorley, the hero of TO LOVE A HIGHLANDER, would agree. Where better to celebrate romance than a land famed for men as fierce and wild as the soaring, mist-drenched hills that bred them? A place where the women are prized for their strength and beauty, the fiery passion known to heat a man’s blood on cold, dark nights when chill winds raced through the glens? No land is more awe-inspiring, no people more proud. Scots have a powerful bond with their land. Haven’t they fought for it for centuries? Kept their heathery hills always in their hearts, yearning for home when exiled, the distance of oceans and time unable to quench the pull to return?
That’s a perfect blend for romance.
Sorley has such a bond with his homeland. Since he was a lad, he’s been drawn to the Highlands. Longing for wild places of rugged, wind-blown heights and high moors where the heather rolls on forever, so glorious it hurt the eyes to behold such grandeur. But Sorley’s attachment to the Highlands also annoys him and poses one of his greatest problems. He suspects his father might have also been a Highlander—a ruthless, cold-hearted chieftain, to be exact. He doesn’t know for sure because he’s a bastard, raised at Stirling’s glittering royal court.
In TO LOVE A HIGHLANDER, Sorley discovers the truth of his birth. Making Sorley unaware of his birthright as a Highlander was a twist I’ve always wanted to explore. I’m fascinated by how many people love Scotland and burn to go there, many drawn back because their ancestors were Scottish. I love that centuries and even thousands of miles can’t touch the powerful pull Scotland exerts on its own.
Sorley’s heritage explains a lot, for he’s also a notorious rogue, a master of seduction. His prowess in bed is legend and he ignites passion in all the women he meets. Only one has ever shunned him. She’s Mirabelle MacLaren and when she returns to his life, appearing in his bed-chamber with an outrageous request, he’s torn.
Mirabelle wants him to scandalize her reputation.
He’d love to oblige, especially as doing so will destroy his enemy.
But touching Mirabelle will rip open scars best left alone. Unfortunately, Sorley can’t resist Mirabelle. Together, they learn that when the heart warms, all things are possible. Yet there’s always a price. Theirs will be surrendering everything they’ve ever believed in and accepting that true love does indeed heal all wounds.
I hope you enjoy reading TO LOVE A HIGHLANDER! I know I loved unraveling Sorley and Mirabelle’s story.
Highland Blessings!
www.welfonder.com
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Contents
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
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 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Also by Laura London
A Preview of The Bad Baron’s Daughter
The Dish
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 1984 by Thomas Dale Curtis and Sharon Curtis
Excerpt from The Bad Baron’s Daughter © 1978 by Sharon Curtis and Thomas Dale Curtis
Originally published by Random House, May 1984
Published by Bantam, November 1994
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
Cover art by Alan Ayers
Hand lettering by Iskra Johnson
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitutes unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: April 2014
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ISBN 978-1-4555-7329-5
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