The Highlander's Braw Lass: Romance in the Highlands, #1

By Fiona Grant

A rebellious lass who is forced to wed.

A groom still mourning his lost wife and child.

It's not a recipe for a happy union in the Highlands of Scotland...

"That wildcat in the Chisholm clan," is the way most people describe Mairi Chisholm. Mairi makes no secret of the fact that she would rather be out taking down a wild pig with her childhood friend Iain, the fletcher's son, than plying a needle with the women.
Her father, tired of her rejection of one suitable match after another, finally presents her with an ultimatum: Marry Alastair Maclean or spend the rest of her life in the priory.
Mairi knows that she would never survive in a priory, locked away from her beloved outdoor pursuits. But nor can she endure the thought of a loveless marriage to Alastair, who has never stopped mourning the loss of his adored first wife Madeline in childbed.
Left without choices, Mairi becomes Alastair's wife. Life is every bit as bad as she feared. Alastair's sister Rhona clearly does not want to see her brother married to the Chisholm wildcat, and Alastair himself is as cold as the frigid wind that blows across the Highlands.
Mairi resolves to resign herself to the demands of the marriage bed, and devote her life to raising bairns with the love she was never shown.

But one day, she finds herself in more danger than she has ever known… and everything changes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Gem Publishing
• Release date: Nov 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9780645215106

Book preview

The Imperfect Daughter

Mairi Chisholm made haste to tuck the stray strands of her dark hair behind her ears before the door in front of her opened. She knew what Agnes would say if she saw her standing there with her hair all over her face.  

The heavy wooden door to Agnes' home cracked open, and the buxom woman with pale red hair who peered out gave a delighted grin. Miss Mairi! It's been too long! She narrowed her eyes at the sight of Mairi's blue lips and reached out a large ruddy hand to pull her inside. Ach! Dinna be standin' out there in the cold! Come in, lassie! Come in! 

Good day, Agnes. Mairi grinned as the larger woman crushed her in a hug. The strands of her hair, so carefully tucked into place, fell back out of their clasp, and Mairi blew them off her face with a sigh. 

Ach, lassie, why do you always look like yeh've been dancing around with the ghost of the Picts? Agnes wet a thick finger with her tongue and then rubbed at something on Mairi's cheek. She guided the young woman into the kitchen, pouring them both a mug of thin ale before scolding, What would your mama say? Her shrewd eyes surveyed the girl in front of her. Especially now yeh got a big decision to make. 

Mairi winced, less at the woman's rough touch and more at her words. She was constantly being reprimanded for being 'like a laddie' and getting dirty. She'd had more to worry about than a speck of mud during her walk that morning. It was the decision she'd made on that long, lonely walk through the moors that had brought her to Agnes' house now. 

Sorry, Agnes. Mairi stared at the woman who had been more like a mother to her than her own and thought about what she wanted to say. She swallowed to try to shift the lump in her throat. I've been on a walk across the moors this morning.

Agnes took a generous gulp of ale. Never taking her eyes off Mairi, she clunked her beer mug down on the table and said, Aye, that's no' hard to tell. And what would take a lass out on the moors on a morning like this? Shouldn't yeh be at home working on yer sewing?

Mairi felt tears prick her eyes. Agnes was right; she should have stayed home with her mother rather than scrambling through the heath like a reckless child. Now, her dress was ripped and muddied at the hem, her hair was a wild tangle, and her face was speckled in dark mud from splashing through the bog. What would her mother say? She'd be disappointed; Mairi knew that much. 

Lily Chisholm had never understood her youngest daughter. Lily was prim and proper. To her, a woman was nothing if she could not carry out her family duty. She must be delicate and engaging, submissive to her husband and parents, and she must have no desires of her own. The men around her owned a woman's life. Her only domain was the home and all the arts of womanhood associated with it. 

Mairi had never fit into Lily's idea of a marriageable daughter, and it had her mother mad with frustration. Two years ago, her parents had begun their search for a husband for their headstrong youngest daughter, and Mairi had rejected them all. Now, in the warmth of Agnes' cottage, images of each one flickered through her mind. 

First, there was Angus MacDonald. He was tall and handsome and verra sweet—and everything a girl of fifteen, as Mairi had been then, should have wanted in a husband. And indeed, there was many a lass, villager and noble, who would have gladly warmed Angus' bed. They stared at Mairi with hungry, jealous eyes during the days Angus spent at her family castle. But Mairi paid them no mind. She could not get past her reservations about Angus. Sweet he might be, but he was also dull and uninteresting. There was no fire in him, and Mairi, who loved to laugh, couldnae bring herself to connect to a man who was so meek, no matter how kind or beautiful he was. So, she dismissed him.

One failed suitor wasn't enough to deter William Chisholm, Mairi's father and the Chisholm clan's chieftain. He'd broken his fair share of spirited horses, and he was determined to break his daughter too. He thought mayhap what she needed was a man more like himself, strong and imposing, in charge. Maybe the boy had been too young, too easy for her to inflict her own will upon. 

And so Mairi met Rodrick MacLeod and then Neilan Fraser. Both were established men, clan chieftains in their own right. They knew how to handle a wild lass like Mairi, or so William hoped. His dreams were dashed, however, as Mairi refused them both in turn. 

You are my daughter! You will marry whatever man I choose for you! William had roared at Mairi after she sent Neilan away. Her father had burst into her bedchamber moments after his departure, fuming and red-faced. It was one of the few times in her life that William had taken an interest in his daughter, preferring to leave her upbringing to her mother and the servants. He had no time or love for his female children, seeing them only as pawns to be traded off for his advancement and clan stability. 

Mairi felt her feet quaking in her rough, deerskin boots, but she refused to back down. Papa! I cannae marry a man so much older than me! Her mind was racing, trying to think of a way to rationalise this choice to her father. The truth was, neither of the men had been attractive to Mairi. She shuddered at the thought of bedding down next to their grey hair and ageing skin, and Rodrik smelled of something that reminded Mairi of a peat bog. What was worse to her, though, was their dour demeanour. Neither of the men had cracked so much as a small smile in all the time they'd spent together, wandering the grounds of her castle. 

William raised an open hand, and Mairi felt herself wince. It wouldn't be the first time her papa had landed a good smack on her cheek. She had to think fast if she wanted to convince him not to be angry. Och, Papa, I cannae marry a man who already has grown bairns of his own! Both Rodrik and Neilan were widowers who had sired sons with previous wives. You know as well as I do that when he dies, his sons may cast my bairns and me out in the cold! She turned pleading eyes on him, knowing all too well the effect of her large grey eyes. I'm thinking of our clan, Papa!

William paused, irresolute, and then finally lowered his hand, looking thoughtfully at his daughter. Well, well, Mairi, I see you're not only a wild lass but a shrewd one. Verra well, if you want a younger suitor, you shall have one. He swept out of her chamber, the tail of his plaid whirling behind him. 

A few weeks later, Mairi met her parents' next suitor deemed worthy of their family, Jaime MacKenzie. He was young, as Mairi had requested, and handsome. Powerfully built, with a temper to match, he reminded Mairi much of her Papa. There was a coldness in his eyes that frightened her. 

She refused him, too. 

This time, it was her mother, Lily, who cornered her in her bedchamber. You're lucky tis I here and not your Papa, lassie. He wanted to give you a good beating, thought mayhap he could change your mind. I told him you'd be no good to us bruised.

Mairi bit her bottom lip. She could feel tears welling up. Mama! I cannae marry any of these men yeh've brought to me!

What was so wrong with Jaime? Lily spat at her daughter. He's a strong young man who'll be clan leader one day! He's a good match for you and our clan.

"Och! But he beats his horses! I watched him kick his rouncey, out