Title:
The Maiden’s Defender
(The Ladies Of Scotland)
Author:
E. Elizabeth Watson
Release
Date: November 27, 2017 (ARC)
Publisher:
Entangled ~ Amara
Category:
Historical Romance
Type:
Digital
Blurb:
Training men to be ruthless soldiers
is a skill at which Highlander Teàrlach MacGregor excels. He can kill three men
with nothing but a sword and a couple of daggers. After he rescues a ward of
the king, the beautiful Lady Madeline Crawford, the fierce warrior begins to
yearn for a cottage of his own in the Highlands, with the sweet, delicate
Madeline as the mother of his bairns.
Madeline begins to see a side of
Teàrlach that nobody else has witnessed. The strong silent Highlander takes her
to her first fair, teaches her to read, and bestows upon her a passionate
kiss—her very first. But Madeline is informed that she is betrothed to another
with the blessing of the king, making her and Teàrlach’s love forbidden.
Teàrlach, the famed fighter, vows to
make Madeline his even if that means bringing down her corrupt warden, and
Madeline knows that she must defy the king if she hopes to claim her
Highlander.
By
reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age.
If you
are under the age of 18, please exit this site.
Favorite
Line(s):
He chuckled. “I take
it Master Fingal and Greta have yet to depart for their daughter?” She nodded.
He took a step closer to her. “Did I wake you?” She shook her head , her reply
sounding ragged. “Nay. I could nay sleep either.” He took another step. “Did I
wake them?” She shook her head again. “Nay. They sleep still.” He was now in
front of her and took up both her hands in his. “Good. They won’t see me do
this then.” ~ Tearlach and Madeline
Excerpt:
He came back! Greta was right.
He nodded to her and didn’t fight his smile.
Lord! She gazed up at him, her mind swirling with excitement,
but his eyes were like liquid whisky in the sunlight. His hair was dark, wind
tossed, and highlighted with lighter tones of brown…and he wore the tunic she
had made. She resisted the urge to beam, for there was no greater compliment
than a man donning the garments made for him.
“I do well, and how do you fare, Madeline?” he replied,
swinging his leg over and dismounting.
King tossed his head and lurched the cart, but Teàrlach
stayed him with a firm hand. She opened her mouth to answer when she looked to
his disgruntled horse, only to then trail her gaze along behind him, at the
cart, at the mountain of goods, the handles of tools, canisters of kitchen
goods, sack of onions, bolts of fabric…no, he brought her bolts of fabric?
Ready-made?
A smile sprang to her face, and she turned back to
Teàrlach with wonder in her eyes, only to realize he had been watching her
intently.
“Wherever did all of this come from?” she asked.
He shrugged, a tick in his cheek indicating he wanted to
smile, even though he didn’t. “A few things from Glengarnock. Nothing of
import. Dungarnock seemed in need of some items, and I thought to bring them to
outfit this place.”
“Nothing of import?” she blurted out, biting her tongue.
Where on earth had such an unladylike disagreement come from? If Teàrlach said
it was not of import, she should be gracious, but acquiescing. But she
couldn’t. Not now. She moved to the cart, giving everything a slow perusal.
“Though it may be of little import to you, I would be remiss to nay tell you
how much it means to me. Goodness, this fabric…”Her voice left her as she
reached out a hand to caress the blue silk. “Such richness…”
“Do you like it?” he asked, unable to contain himself. “I
can return it for a different color if it’s nay what ye like.”
She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. She
refused to look at him or let the water drip over her lids as she looked
stoically at the bolts.
“It’s beautiful, sire. So beautiful…” Her fingers
lingered on the fabric, then she turned back to him, grabbed his hand, and
squeezed. “My thanks, sire. I’ll never be able to repay you this.”
…
His hand tingled where she had so boldly touched it. He
didn’t want her crying, no matter that they were happy tears. God, but her
smiles pleased him greatly. He stepped to her, picked up her hand again, and
brought it to his lips. Slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, he pressed his
kiss to her knuckles. A blush raged across her face as the breeze lifted her
unbound hair on the wind.
“’Twas my pleasure, lass.”
She cleared her throat but did not speak. He let go of
her hand. Turning to the cart, he began unhitching King, who shook out his mane
with relief as he was walked out from between the cart posts.
Teàrlach looked around. Fingal had been attentive to
stable King on his first visit. The yard was quiet. The outbuildings were shut
and barred. Now that he was noticing, it was nearly abandoned, except for the
sounds of bird calls and the occasional fly zooming near his ear.
“Where are Master Fingal and Greta?” he asked, turning to
look at her.
“They left this morn,” she replied, her eyes taking an
inventory of the pile of goods.
“When will they return?”
“Oh, they’ll be back on Sunday eve, sire,” she replied,
now looking back at him.
His brow furrowed. “They left ye unprotected?”
It wasn’t as if they were much protection to begin with,
but there was a sense of security in numbers.
“They have a daughter who was crippled in childbirth.
They go to Kilbirnie at the sennight’s end to help with her care. But I’m quite
fine here. Naybody bothers me.”
“I’m displeased to hear this, lass. How often has this
been happening?”
She dropped her gaze to her hands at his censure. He
kicked himself. He hadn’t meant to chastise.
“About a month, my l—sire.”
Now he really kicked himself. He had flustered her and
made her nervous.
“I meant nay to scold you, Maddie. Does Laird Moreville
know you’re left unattended each sennight?” A daft question, he realized. He
was coming to realize that Moreville didn’t care about her; he only cared about
her money.
“I…I didn’t want to burden him with requests for another
servant,” she stammered, taking a deep breath and considering. “But I had nay
the heart to refuse Fingal and Greta their leave. ’Tis their daughter. I’ll
make sure to mention it to Laird Moreville when he visits again.”
“When last did he visit?” Teàrlach pressed, and wasn’t
surprised with her reply.
“He normally sends a guardsman or his steward. In sooth,
I have nay seen him since my arrival here. But I make do nicely, sire.” She
offered a smile, though it was premeditated and distant.
Moreville wasn’t taking care of her. He wasn’t abusing
her, certainly, but he was neglecting her. And why on earth was he pushing for
a betrothal between his son and her? She offered no political clout now that
her father was imprisoned. A substantial dowry didn’t seem to be enough for a
man to sentence his first and only son to a loveless, political marriage.
He dropped King’s bridle and left the horse standing in
the yard. Taking the few steps between him and Madeline, he closed the gap once
more, taking up her hand again.
“Lass,” he started. “I’m nay disappointed in you. I’m
disappointed that you’re nay better cared for. Speak freely to me. Always.”
She nodded, her face reddening again, and she clearly
wanted to change the subject. “Your tunic,” she remarked, playing off her
discomfort and taking hold of his sleeve in her fingers. “The sleeves are too
short. I apologize. Please allow me to let the hem out. ’Twill only be a short
while. If you wish to refresh yourself before your drive back to Glengarnock, I
can mend it.”
He looked at her hands, one still held between his
callused fingers, the other fiddling with his sleeve. He let go, took a step
back, and kept his gaze on her eyes as they fluttered up to him. He lifted the
strap across his shoulder securing his claymore to his back, and with one hand,
reached out and laid the heavy steel across the harness posts. Then he pushed
up both sleeves to reveal a strap of leather around each wrist, both of which
contained a dagger a piece. He laid both daggers upon the cart, too. His eyes
still on hers, he untied the lacing at his neck.
Her face was raging with blush, blush he realized he
enjoyed seeing, and his memory of that night a sennight ago, as he stood
bare-chested and watched her, knowing she was appreciating his form, spiraled
through his mind. The little jumps of arousal a few days ago, as Gertrude had
all but propositioned him, were nothing compared to the surging of heavy blood
now flowing to his cock at the mere thought of Madeline finding him attractive.
Untucking the tunic, he let it billow out, reached over his head to his back,
and dragged it up.
Dialogue
Highlight:
She cared not that they sat in plain daylight of others, at a
fair…Oh, dear God! Her eyes flew open and she wrenched away, throwing her hand
over her mouth. Teàrlach lurched forward at the abrupt severance, his eyes
dazed but open now, too, looking at her in confusion. He stayed frozen,
shocked, and then hurt dawned on his brow. He sat up, turning away. Running his
hands over his face to rub at his brow and cheeks, he muttered a curse, then
turned back to her, though wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“I’m sorry, my lady,” he said, his voice gruff. “I thought my
advance was welcome. I should never have crossed that line. It shall ne’er
happen again.”
“Indeed that would be terribly sad,” she whispered.
He kept his eyes averted, then picked mindlessly at the
grasses around him, propping his arm across his knees.
“What would be?” he questioned, picking grass with pops of his
wrist.
“If that never happened again,” she breathed, and he furrowed
his brow, looking back at her.
“I do nay understand.”
“I realized we did, eh, this, in front of so many people and
in sooth, became embarrassed,” she replied. “But I would nay say it was
unpleasant.”
“Nay ‘unpleasant?’” he repeated, as if trying to decipher
whether or not that was good or bad. “Ale that has sat tapped for a sennight
isn’t unpleasant, lass, but I wouldn’t say it’s delicious either.”
“Nay unpleasant in the least.” She giggled, before catching
herself.
He absorbed her remark, then a slow smile crept onto his face.
“Look around, lass,” he said, gesturing. The other couples upon the hill were
also locked at the lips, one man having laid his lover beneath him as they
stretched out upon the ground. “’Tis May Day. I can assure ye, off in the copse
yonder, there are many a man and woman doing far more than us.”
A scandalized blush crept up her face. “Is that why you kissed
me?” she whispered. “To attempt for yourself what those others are doing?”
He caressed her face but didn’t vie for another kiss. “You
mean, do I try to seduce you because it’s May Day?”
She gazed at him, awaiting his answer.
“Maddie, I kiss you because I fancy you.”
She crinkled her brow. “You do?”
He chuckled. “So sweet and innocent…”he whispered. “Aye, and I
do nay want ye to marry another.”
Is he as smitten with me as I am with him? Madeline sat
wide-eyed. It was more honest of an answer than she had expected, but it was
what she felt. And now she knew that Teàrlach felt the same way.
“Nor do I,” she replied. Though it still didn’t change the
course of events to come.
He exhaled and took up her hand, bringing it to his mouth to
kiss. He inhaled as if smelling fine perfume. “And do ye favor me?”
She looked away, knowing embarrassment stained her cheeks
perpetually red, but her fingers tightened upon his. “I believe I do,
Teàrlach.”
He brought her hand to his mouth once more, watching her,
thumbing her knuckles and kissing where he had rubbed. Then he exhaled and
flopped down onto his back, gazing up at the cloudless sky.
“Ah, lass. What are we to do?” he remarked.
She looked down at him, sitting as she was, and worked her
fingers together nervously. The king had blessed a union to John. Her warden
had arranged the betrothal. There would be no defying both men in charge. No
one had asked her if this marriage would please her, but men weren’t always in
the habit of consulting the woman whose life they were about to tip on its
head. This was business, and she, a commodity. And for the first time in her
life, she acknowledged the anger it made her feel. The anger had always been
there, but her father had always been there, too, and she had learned to
suppress it.
Not now.
Harold Crawford languished in prison for conspiring to oust
King William the Rough. She cared not if Teàrlach had no title and came from a
rambunctious household of Highland brothers. Harold Crawford was no longer here
to lord over her and keep her cowering in his shadow. She wanted Teàrlach and
couldn’t have him, and the idea made her outraged at the men who made decisions
about her as if buying and selling a head of sheep. The idea of marrying
Teàrlach, being spirited up to the Highlands, held more appeal.
An awakening occurred within her, an awakening that throbbed
to life in her heart and left an aching trail down to her belly, warming her,
forcing a curiosity upon her that couldn’t be ignored. What would it be like to
lie with this man? She wanted to know. She sensed it would be a glorious union
that John would never be able to outdo. Such a scandalous thought, and yet, the
images of what she and Teàrlach could do seemed to come innately to mind, as if
a primal knowledge. Having watched male animals mount females, she knew it was
similar with people. And somewhere deep down, she knew it would feel
spectacular with Teàrlach. Butterflies fluttered through her stomach just
thinking about it, seeing him sprawled on his back before her now, staring
hopelessly up at the sky.
Did he have any idea the tumult in her mind right now?
“Teàrlach?” she asked, her voice trembling. She took his hand in hers. His head
rolled toward her. His eyes furrowed. He glanced down at their fingers, now
interlacing with each other.
He looked at her quizzically. “What is it, lass?”
And how she loved hearing him call her “lass,” or “Maddie,” sweet
names just for her.
“What’s it like?” She hesitated, then cast her eyes down while
her face raged with heat. “Lying with a man?”
Review:
Madeline Crawford has been controlled by men
her entire life. First her awful father who even had a reputation to back it
up, then her guardian while she waited for he King to decide her fate. Always
men and she never had a say. Instead she behaves in the way she is expected to,
but she is fast tiring of having her life dictated to her, especially after she
learns of her betrothal. Things get even more confusing when Tearlach shows up
as the new trainer for her guardian. He had been her father’s head guard and
had always been kind to Maddie, but kept a watchful distance so as not to incur
her father’s wrath. He’d do nothing to risk her safety and when he discovers
her current state of neglect, she sees a lot more of him as he takes on the
role of protector and provider. Their love is undeniable, but to gainsay the
King with her marriage looming over their heads is a risk she isn’t prepared to
take.
Tearlach MacGregor has always wanted Maddie,
but knew she could never be his. When fate throws them together again, he knows
to tread carefully because despite their raging attraction, he is still a man
of honor. He uncovers a plot regarding Maddie’s betrothal and pleads with her
to protest to the King, but she refuses, so he does his best to save her from
the heart-wrenching fate, knowing she can never be his. But that pesky fate has
a way of intervening even when stubbornness tries to dictate vital life
decisions.
Good grief! At some point I am going to start
sounding like a broken record, but I have absolutely loved the new authors and
historical romances I have come across lately. This novel was absolutely charming!
My interest was caught from the start and it never wavered. You had a bit of
everything within this story – the brooding hero intent on bearing his cross,
the meek yet feisty female lead who ultimately turns savage in the face of losing
everything she ever desired, the plotting evil guardian dictating far too much of
her life, servants who adore the Lady, different family dynamics that come in
to play later on, a fated and heart-melting love that seems almost hopeless,
and I could go on! I never set the book down from the time I started it until
the time I finished it. You can’t help but adore both Maddie and Tearlach and
wish the best for them together as a couple. At one point you darn near lose
hope. One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that the main characters
didn’t try to deny their love. They acknowledged it – denied it in other ways –
but made it a real thing between them and gave it life. Generally in romance
the characters are refuting what they already know, or rationalizing it with
lust, but that was not an issue here. It was actually quite refreshing. When it
comes down to it, they each have to decide how far they would go to make a
future a real possibility. Maddie has to make several decisions that lead her
far outside of her comfort zone and Tearlach has to pull his head out of his
rear end. He might be a mighty warrior, but his freshly wounded heart takes a
bit to transition from tucked tail to man of action.
Initially, there isn’t much of a supporting
cast, but as the story develops, more are added, which brings a new depth in.
If you didn’t already love Tearlach and Maddie, the added bonus of family dynamic
would have reeled you in the rest of the way. And now I want to read more about
those MacGregor brothers. While there was a lot of back and forth between
Maddie and Tearlach as to whether to be together or fight her betrothal, it
also allowed for growth of each character – both conquering feats neither
thought possible (Maddie more so than Tearlach). Ultimately, the book could
have been wrapped up a bit earlier, but given the times and expectations of
people, I understand the direction of the story. And what fun is an HEA that
you don’t have to work for, anyway? 😊 I believe that those who enjoy HR with a Scottish
twist that eventually comes around to an HEA will be more than pleased with
this sweet romance. The highland brogue and Tearlach’s selfless acts of kindness
for Maddie make it all the more endearing. I will be seeking out further books
in the Ladies of Scotland series in the future for my reading pleasure.
Kindle version provided by Entangled/NetGalley in
exchange for an honest review.
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