The Intended (47 page)

They made an impressive pair. She, beautiful
and radiant with the happy knowledge that she already carried their
child. And he, magnificent and glow with the emotions that surged
in his heart.

For they had both received the blessing of
the seer. He had come to them, stepping out of the crowds that had
gathered outside the chapel door. There, after Ambrose and
Elizabeth had placed the hand of their daughter into Malcolm's
loving care, the ancient seer had appeared. He had held in his hand
a golden branch of rosemary, as a symbol of their love and
fidelity.

The silence that fell over the throng had
been stunning. James had come to them and gathered their hands in
his own. A thousand ears had strained to hear when the old man
looked into Jaime’s eyes and told her of the child she carried. The
one who would be heir, and the cupbearer of peace, and the
protector of all the clans of Skye and the Hebrides.

Now, as sunlight played over Jaime’s ebony
hair, Malcolm smiled into the face of his bride. Seeing her blush
at his open display of affection, he reached out and entwined his
fingers in hers. She smiled back at him and turned her eyes to the
priest.

Behind them, the congregation stirred
restlessly in the little chapel, waiting in anticipation for the
exchange of vows. The people of Skye—the MacLeods and
MacDonalds—thrilled with all they had seen and heard outside, were
more than eager to begin celebrating this cornerstone to future
peace between the clans.

Alec Macpherson, former laird of these lands,
guardian of Malcolm’s youth, stood straight and tall, holding on to
his wife Fiona’s hand. And next to them, Ambrose Macpherson
gathered his own tearful Elizabeth to his side. Behind them stood
John Macpherson with Maria, Regent of the Netherlands, while a
legion of Macpherson children crowded around them in various stages
of disarray.

The priest’s voice rose and fell in the
measured cadences of the mixed Latin and Gaelic. From behind the
grate of iron bands to the right of the altar, the sound of women’s
voices—the nuns of the Priory—could be heard responding to the
prayers.

The priest raised up his hands in offering,
and then turned and preceded his acolytes down from the altar.
Malcolm turned and faced his beautiful bride, as she gazed back at
him.

The priest paused for a moment, and the
congregation seemed to hold its breath. The chapel’s silence was
profound, so silent in fact that Malcolm’s eye was drawn upward at
the crackling hiss of a candle on the far wall. The incense was
curling upward in a lazy spiral, and the young laird’s eyes settled
once again on the face of his beloved bride. There was nothing that
would ever tear them apart again, he vowed silently.

The candle on the far wall flickered again,
and Malcolm became aware of a sound at the entrance to the chapel.
Turning his head, he could see the great oak door had swung open,
but he could not see who was entering, only that the folk by the
door were backing away with looks of surprise.

When the young man stepped quietly into the
chapel, his swaggering expression only hinted at his embarrassment.
Alexander Macpherson had almost slept through his stepbrother’s
wedding.

“When is that lad going to grow up?” His
father rumbled under his breath to his wife.

“Not until he finds his match, I should
think,” Fiona whispered, hugging Alec’s arm. “It took
you
at
least that long.”

Alec turned his attention back to the altar
and to the magnificent couple standing hand in hand, exchanging
their vows.

“I love you, Malcolm MacLeod,” Jaime
whispered as he brought her snugly to his heart. “To the day I die,
I will.”

When we set out to write this book, we
already knew so much about Malcolm and Jaime, having introduced
them to our readers as mere children in
Angel of Skye
and
Heart of Gold
. So the challenge in this book lay in the
portrayal of the real 16th-century Howard family, and their
historical and fictional presence in the lives of our hero and
heroine.

For the many purists and history buffs among
our readers, our use of the Howard family is fairly accurate—with
the exception of Edward, our villain, and Mary, the cousin. In
fact, even the H-shaped palace of the Howard family (with its
ivy-covered red brick and its Gothic windows) existed at
Kenninghall in East Anglia until 1650. And although we may have
stretched Catherine Howard’s fondness for companionship, she was
indeed beheaded on charges of adultery. Thomas Culpepper and
Francis Dorand, two of her lovers named in the novel, were also
executed for their indiscretions. Our sincere thanks to Mark E.
Turner of Norfolk, England, for his help with our research
regarding Kenninghall.

And for those of you who have not yet read
Heart of Gold
, our representation of Jaime as Henry VIII’s
illegitimate daughter originated entirely “from whole cloth,” a
happy product of our mischievous minds.

We love to hear from our readers. You can
contact us at:

May McGoldrick

e-mail:
[email protected]

www.JanCoffey.com

Our 16th Century books...

In
The Thistle and the Rose
, Colin
Campbell and Celia Muir are introduced...

And we also introduce Alec Macpherson, who
is the hero of our second book,
Angel of Skye
...

Alec has two brothers, Ambrose and John, who
are the heroes of
Heart of Gold
and
The Beauty of the
Mist
, respectively...

In
Angel of Skye
, we also introduce a
little boy, Malcolm MacLeod, and in
Heart of Gold
we
introduce a little girl, Jaime...

When Malcolm MacLeod and Jaime grow up, they
are the hero and heroine of
The Intended
...

In
Heart of Gold
, we also introduce
Gavin Kerr, who becomes the hero of
Flame.
..

In
Flame
, we introduce a number of
characters who show up in
The Dreamer, The Enchantress,
and
The Firebrand
(the
Highland Treasure Trilogy
),
including John Stewart, the earl of Athol and a number of
villains...

The Highland Treasure Trilogy
is the
story of three sisters...Catherine Percy of
The Dreamer
,
Laura Percy of
The Enchantress
, and Adrianne Percy of
The
Firebrand
...

In
The Enchantress
, we introduce Sir
Wyntoun MacLean, who also appears in
The Firebrand
...

In
The Firebrand
, we also introduce
Gillie the Fairie-Borne, who may just have a story of his own one
day...

Colin Campbell and Celia (from The Thistle
and the Rose) also make a 'cameo' appearance in The
Firebrand...

Alec Macpherson and Fiona (from Angel of
Skye) have three sons. The youngest, Colin Macpherson, is the hero
of
Tess and the Highlander
(a young adult novel published by
HarperCollins in November 2002)...

Our 18th Century Books

In The Promise, Samuel Wakefield, the earl
of Stanmore, and Rebecca Neville/Ford are the hero and
heroine...

In that book we also introduce Stanmore's
friend, Sir Nicholas Spencer, who becomes the hero of The Rebel,
which is set in Ireland...

Stanmore and Rebecca also appear in The
Rebel...

In The Promise, we also introduce Rebecca's
friend, Millicent Wentworth, who becomes the heroine of Borrowed
Dreams...

Borrowed Dreams is the start of a new
trilogy about three Scottish brothers, starting with Lyon
Pennington, earl of Aytoun. We also meet a new cast of characters
who show up in the trilogy. Violet, from The Promise, plays a big
role in this book, too. She will show up again in the third book in
the trilogy, Dreams of Destiny.

In Captured Dreams, we see Lyon and
Millicent and the entire household of Baronsford in Scotland, along
with wonderful heroes and villains that David Pennington meets in
colonial Boston.

In Dreams of Destiny, the mystery of Emma's
death is solved...

Ghost of the Thames…a Dickensian novel.

Visit us at www.JanCoffey.com and on May
McGoldrick, facebook page for discount offers of our other
ebooks.

About the Author

Nikoo & Jim McGoldrick have spent their
lives gathering material for their novels. Nikoo, a mechanical
engineer, and Jim, who has a Ph.D. in sixteenth-century British
literature, wrote their first May McGoldrick novel in 1994. Since
then, they have taken their readers from the Highlands of Scotland
to the mountains of Kurdistan in bestselling, award-winning
historical romance and contemporary suspense novels under the names
May McGoldrick, Nicole Cody, and Jan Coffey.

You can contact us at
[email protected]

Please like May McGoldrick author page on
facebook to receive the latest updates.

Complete Book List as of 2012

Writing As May McGoldrick:

Made In Heaven

Ghost of the Thames

Scottish Dream Trilogy

Dreams Of Destiny

Captured Dreams

Borrowed Dreams

The Rebel

Tess and The Highlander (A YA Novel)

The Promise

Highland Treasure Trilogy

The Firebrand

The Enchantress

The Dreamer

Flame

The Intended

Macpherson Trilogy

Beauty Of The Mist

Heart Of Gold

Angel Of Skye

Thistle and The Rose

Writing As Nicole Cody & May
McGoldrick:

Love and Mayhem (reissued as Arsenic and Old
Armor)

Writing As Jan Coffey:

Aquarian (A YA Novel)

Blind Eye

The Puppet Master

The Deadliest Strain

The Project

Silent Waters

Five in a Row

Tropical Kiss (A YA Novel)

Fourth Victim

Triple Threat

Twice Burned

Trust Me Once

Here's an excerpt from May McGoldrick’s the
next book

by

May McGoldrick

The charred shutter, high in the ruined
tower, suddenly banged open as the afternoon breeze moved around to
the west, and the golden rays of sunlight tumbled into the scorched
chamber.

Huddled in the corner on a pile of straw, a
startled figure pulled her ragged cloak more tightly around her.
Even though it was late spring, she found it more and more
difficult to shake off the chill that had crept into her bones.
Perhaps it was because she so rarely saw the sun, she thought. For
she was now a creature of the night, a mere shadow.

She shivered slightly, acknowledging the
gnawing pangs of hunger in her belly. She shook her head, trying to
dispel the feeling. There would be no food until tonight, when the
steward and the servants that had remained since the fire all
slept. Then she would partake of her nightly haunt. Then she would
search the kitchens for some scrap that might sustain her.

Those remaining in the castle thought her a
ghost. What fools they would think themselves if they only knew how
human her needs were.

The wood plank continued to bang against the
blackened sill, and she glared at it. This was her rest time, she
silently scolded the troublesome shutter. Like the bats and the
owls, Joanna thought. For it was only under cover of darkness that
she could move about freely in this burned out prison she had once
called home.

Pulling herself to her feet, the ragged
creature moved silently across the floor. As she neared the
offending shutter, she was suddenly aware of the sound of horses in
the distance. Shouts came from the courtyard below, and as she
listened, the yard below seemed to explode in a frenzy of
activity.

Taking hold of the shutter with her swathed
hands, Joanna eased it shut without peering below.

The doomed man, she thought. The cursed laird
had arrived.

*

The pawing hooves of the tired horses against
the soft ground raised a gray cloud that swirled about the riders’
heads. Gavin Kerr lifted his eyes from the approaching grooms and
stared at the huge iron cross fastened to the rough stone wall
above the archway of the great oak entry doors. From the blood-red
rust stains on the stone beneath the cross, the new laird judged
that it must have hung there for ages. Tearing his eyes away, Gavin
glanced around at the buildings facing the open courtyard.

The castle itself was far larger than he’d
expected. Stretching out in angles of sharp stone, the series of
huge structures wrapped around the courtyard like a hand ready to
close. Far above, small slits of windows pierced the walls of the
main building as well as the north wing. The south wing’s upper
windows were larger. A newer addition, he thought. Gavin let his
eyes travel slowly over what he could see. There was no sign of the
fire that had claimed the life of the previous laird, his family,
and their servants. The winter sleet and rains had scoured the
stone of any trace of smoke, no doubt.

He caught the movement from corner of his
eye--the slow closing of a shutter in the tower at the top of the
south wing.