Marti Talbott's Highlander Series, Book 1

It was fortunate then, when a message arrived from an English Baron by the name of Stoneham, who offered his daughter in exchange for influence over another laird. Kevin quickly agreed.

Kevin's mother was one of only a few English women to live among the MacGreagor clan. Her greatest gift was to teach some of them her native language, and it had come in handy for Kevin on more than one occasion. Communication with his wife, at least, was not going to be a problem. Yet, he was not looking forward to being married to a woman he had never seen.

*

"I will not agree!" Anna braced herself. She knew what was coming and wasn't at all surprised when her father slapped her face.

Her home was a large English manor. It was a forbidding place with no gardens, little color in the courtyard and even less inside the many rooms. A stone wall surrounded the entire estate, the gates were almost always closed, and Anna was rarely allowed to go out. Her father was a wealthy man who found favor in the eyes of the king, and more often than not, there were guards everywhere.

The day Anna feared most was finally here. Her father and two of his guards had her cornered in her small bedchamber with no avenue of escape. He was determined to send her away, and she would be of no use to anyone if he did.

Baron Stoneham was a big man with foul smelling breath, who nearly always yelled. "You will agree! You are to go to his keep, agree to marry him and wait. Do you understand?"

It was a waste, she knew, but she stood her ground anyway. "I will not agree."

The baron's punishment was not what she expected. The two guards grabbed her arms and held her still while her father closed his fist and started to strike. Then he thought better of it. Slowly, he pulled his dagger and began to cut handfuls of her hair off. She was appalled and watched as her lovely locks fell to the wooden floor, but Anna didn't cry. Years of experience taught her that crying would make him think he'd won. No, she would never let him see her cry.

"Do not fret, Anna. He will find you distasteful, but he has accepted you and he will not go back on his word. Highlanders are wild beasts and if he is as big as his father is, he is a brute of a man, who would rather kill you than look at you. All he asks is that you willingly agree to the marriage and I have assured him you will." When Stoneham finished with her hair, he stood back and surveyed the damage. Satisfied, his words took on a sarcastic tone. "Let me see, perhaps a scar across your face would further his despair. Yes…yes, an ugly scar would be sweet revenge indeed."