Marian Fletcher Blackley, Duchess of Endsmere, is on the run from the English Crown for killing her abusive husband . . . no matter that it was self-defense. She has only one safe place to go—the MacKinlay clan in Scotland, where her sister is the laird's wife.



War Chief Cameron MacKinlay has vowed never to marry after witnessing his widowed mother's grief. He has his lands and his clan, and that's enough for a good life. When one day a sprite of a lass comes running out of the forest with hounds nipping at her heels and an English bounty hunter not far behind, he feels compelled to save her by claiming the disheveled duchess is his wife. But he certainly didn't intend to marry her for real!



And now he'll do anything to protect her . . .



Contains mature themes.