The Highlander's Triumph (25 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

A note on Brandon’s home
. Castle Girnigoe, was not actually built until the late 15
th
century as the seat of the Sinclairs. For the purposes of its location, I pushed the building date up.

A noted on Ion Dubh Castle.
This is a completely fictitious castle. I made it up, choosing a form of blackbird, in Gaelic.

I’ve included in this book, the past Author Notes from the first four books in the series, in case you missed them:

BOOK ONE: The
Highlander’s Reward

No author’s note.

BOOK TWO:
The Highlander’s Conquest

In fiction, an author often takes creative license to bend fact around their story. I did so in this case with the Earldom of Sutherland. The original earldom was given to the Sutherland Clan in 1235, about 62 years before my story takes place. For the purposes of this family saga, it was important to shift this date slightly. Of additional note is that the family seat of the Sutherlands wasn’t officially Dunrobin until the 1400’s, however history shows that a castle stood on the site from the time of the earldom.

Hope you’re enjoying the Stolen Bride series so far! I’ve certainly been enjoying weaving a tale around these fascinating characters.

BOOK THREE:
The Highlander’s Lady

A note on curse words
. As you may have noticed, Myra has a bit of a foul mouth! In deciding that I wanted her to use this type of language I had to do a bit of research. Readers usually think that expletives are more modern, but they are in fact, quite old. Now, some of the words I’ve used aren’t in written documents until the later medieval days, and there is no way to know just how long they were used before recorded. A couple of examples:

~F-word—first written documentation in the 1400’s, so in essence could be much older than that.

~Shite – this is where the word shit comes from. It actually means excrement. Has been around since before 1508 when it was first documented to be used.
Seen as a very taboo word however.

~Zounds – Actually a variation of God’s Wounds.

~Damn – from the late 13
th
century.

~Mo creach – a Gaelic exclamation, meaning Good Heavens.

A note on hidden walls in Foulis
. Foulis stands today with only shadows of its original self still in existence. The motte is still present, and a few stone structures such as arrow slit windows and a stone archway. The majority of the castle as it stands today was rebuilt in the middle of the 18
th
century. The hidden passageways were entirely my own creation—however, you never know.

A note on Murray’s holding Blair.
Not until several hundred years later did clan Murray hold Blair Castle. For the purposes of this story, I used creative license to move up the date, particularly because of location.

A note on the song Myra’s mother used to sing to her
. This is from the Scottish lullaby, Loch Lomond.

BOOK FOUR:
The Highlander’s Warrior Bride

Robert the Bruce (de Brus) did not have an older sister named Julianna—or that we know of. She is a fictional character I made up for the purposes of this family saga. Robert did have many siblings, including an older sister named Christina.

Eilean Donan was not, that I know of, used as a camp for Robert the Bruce in 1297/98. He did seek shelter there several years later. For the purposes of this story and the castle’s mystery and location, I thought it perfect. Additionally, Kinterloch and the issues with Laird Ross are a product of my imagination—although it is known that Ross stirred up a lot of trouble during this time period.

The Saga C
ontinues!

Look for more books in
The Stolen Bride Series
coming soon!

Book Six
– The Highlander’s Sin
–October 15, 2013

He stole her away… But she set him free…

They called him The Priest. Maybe because of his billowing black robes and the steel crucifix that hung around his neck. Or perhaps it was because those who met him were compelled to pray. But Duncan Mackay was anything but a saint. He was a sinner—a paid mercenary. Until he met her, and she made him want to change his ways.

Lady Heather Sutherland, has never been compelled to follow rules. And this time, she’s gone too far. Following in the footsteps of her brothers and cousins, she chooses to join the fight for Scottish freedom—and gets herself abducted by a handsome, rogue warrior, whose touch is sweet sin.

Duncan’s duty was clear—steal Heather away from Dunrobin Castle. What he didn’t expect, was to be charmed by her spirit and rocked by her fiery kiss. Now, he doesn’t want deliver her to those who hired him, instead he wants to keep her all to himself.

**********

There
were
six planned books in The Stolen Bride Series! BUT due to reader demand, I’ve decided to keep the series going! Following Book Six:
The Highlander’s Sin
, will be
The Highlander’s Temptation
– a prequel to the series. That’s right! Lorna and Jamie’s story.

If you haven’t read the other books, they are available at most e-tailers. Check out my website, for information on future releases
www.elizaknight.com
.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eliza Knight is the multi-published, award-winning, Amazon best-selling author of sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain, and enjoys cold winter nights when she can curl up in front of a roaring fire with her own knight in shining armor. Visit Eliza at www.elizaknight.com or her historical blog History Undressed: www.historyundressed.com