A Highland Christmas Wish: A Highland Christmas, #3

By Fiona Grant

Eimhir Mackenzie has never been a biddable lass. 

Her mother thinks of her as a wild thing, and is pleased that she will be finally off her hands and wed to a future Chieftain, Angus Gordon—but Eimhir has a secret. 

When she slips away from the castle for a few hours of freedom before agreeing to accept Angus Gordon as her husband, she meets a man who promises her the kind of life she has dreamed of: adventure, excitement, and freedom. 

Liall Gunn is a free spirit, a seaman who has decided that his future lies with the same tumultuous seas that have always beckoned to Eimhir. He makes her a promise: that he will be back by Christmastide to claim her as his. But life moves on, and her father has promised her to Angus Gordon. 

If Liall cannot make it back by Christmastide, Eimhir's dreams of freedom and love will come to naught...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Gem Publishing
• Release date: Dec 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781922772183

Book preview

A Highland Christmas Wish

A Highland Christmas Wish

FIONA GRANT

BLUE GEM PUBLISHING

Contents

About This Book

1. A Woman On Her Own

2. Two Daggers

3. A Sailor’s Stories

4. Something To Be Dealt With

5. Fate and Duty

6. Keeping Secrets

7. Man Overboard

8. Someone Is Waiting

9. A Choice To Be Made

Preview: The Highlander’s Braw Lass

A Word from Fiona

About the Author

Also by Fiona Grant

About This Book

Eimhir Mackenzie has never been a biddable lass.

Her mother thinks of her as a wild thing, and is pleased that she will be finally off her hands and wed to a future Chieftain, Angus Gordon—but Eimhir has a secret.

When she slips away from the castle for a few hours of freedom before agreeing to accept Angus Gordon as her husband, she meets a man who promises her the kind of life she has dreamed of: adventure, excitement, and freedom.

Liall Gunn is a free spirit, a seaman who has decided that his future lies with the same tumultuous seas that have always beckoned to Eimhir. He makes her a promise: that he will be back by Christmastide to claim her as his. But life moves on, and her father has promised her to Angus Gordon.

If Liall cannot make it back by Christmastide, Eimhir’s dreams of freedom and love will come to naught...

Chapter 1

A Woman On Her Own

The ale was thin and watery compared to what the lass was used to. And still, she drank it, and then pressed the wooden tankard down onto the surface of the table at which she sat. It felt good to be away from her keep and in the company of men who paid her no more mind than if she were a fly on the wall. With her thick woollen cloak pulled tight against the late summer chill and her hood over her face, she was no competition for the bright tavern maids who flounced about the room. She was glad about it. She had had enough of men’s attention in the last few weeks. Twas nice to be invisible for a time. 

Eimhir MacKenzie reached out a hand to the next lassie who skipped by her. The girl shrieked in surprise as Eimhir clasped strong fingers around her arm. 

Another ale, Eimhir said, flinging a coin to the woman who bowed and scurried off the keg which sat, fat and weeping condensation, in one corner of the bar. Eimhir watched as she expertly opened the tap and filled her tankard with more of the thin, golden liquid. The woman brought it back to her, full to the brim, and Eimhir thanked her with a nod before shooing her away. 

She knew she should return to the keep soon. Twas not wise or safe to be here, in a tavern full of wild, drunk men and far away from the safety of her father’s guards. If any of these creatures should discover who she was, she would surely be in danger. The MacKenzie clan was powerful in these parts, but they were not loved by all. Especially not in a coastal town like Dornach, which saw sailors and merchants from beyond the Highlands. But she was not ready to return just yet. Eimhir knew as soon as she crossed through the gates of her keep she should once again be subject to the attentions of Laird Angus Gordon. 

He was a nice enough lad, to be sure, the eldest son of a powerful clan chieftain. Laird Gordon was a strapping, russet haired mountain of a man, whose voice boomed out across the halls of her keep and who seemed to have enough energy to keep up with her. By all accounts, he was a good match, the best a lass like her could hope for. He would bring her lands and a title as a chieftain’s wife and enough money to care for the rest of her family. And he wanted her, as all men did who laid eyes on Eimhir. More than once during his visit, he had made a comment about her own thick, red hair; how he should like to start a clan of ginger bairns with her.