A Rogue at the Highland Court: An Arranged Marriage Highlander Romance Read online

  A Rogue at the Highland Court

  An Arranged Marriage Highlander Romance

  Celeste Barclay

  A Rogue at the Highland Court Copyright © 2020 by Celeste Barclay. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover designed by Lisa Messegee, The Write Designer

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Celeste Barclay

  Visit my website at www.celestebarclay.com

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing: April 2020

  Celeste Barclay

  ISBN-13

  “I may be a real bad boy

  But baby I’m a really good man.”

  ~Tim McGraw, “Real Bad Boy, Real Good Man”

  Perhaps a rogue can be reformed…

  Happy reading, y'all,

  Celeste

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  Contents

  Preface

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  Thank you for reading A Rogue at the Highland Court

  Chat with the hunky heroes from Celeste Barclay’s steamy romances

  The Highland Ladies

  The Clan Sinclair

  Viking Glory

  Preface

  The Highland Ladies follows the lives and loves of the ladies-in-waiting at King Robert the Bruce’s court. If you are a fan of Highlander romances, then you’ve surely encountered the time period that spans the Wars of Scottish Independence, along with the rise and reign of Robert the Bruce. I have taken creative license in a number of areas, especially the creation of characters such as our hero and heroine, but the events in the early portion of this story are true to history.

  Without giving away too much, our heroine, Allyson Elliot, is a runaway bride from Stirling Castle. Clan Elliot land lies on the border of Scotland and England. It was once part of a larger region known as Northumbria, which stretched through both England and Scotland. Today, that land borders the English county of Northumberland. Cheviot Hills, England, which is just across the border, was the site of more than one battle during the Wars of Scottish Independence, and the land along the border changed hands numerous times. Hermitage Castle is mentioned in the novel and was a medieval keep once in the possession of William de Soulis, but when he was convicted of treason against Robert the Bruce, his land in Liddesdale and Hermitage Castle were given to Robert Bruce, the king’s illegitimate son. The land surrounding the castle was part of the Clan Elliot territory. The ruins of Hermitage Castle still exist and are a tourist site.

  Chillingham Castle has an appropriate name. It was a chilling location where the events that are alluded to in this story truly took place. It is known as “England’s Most Haunted Castle.” Sir Thomas Grey was a vaunted English knight who worked his way through the ranks to become a trusted guardian of a border castle. He was married to Lady Agnes Grey, but not much is known about her. King Edward I visited the keep during his journey to battle William Wallace. The only chamber in the castle to have glass windows was the one in which the king stayed. During a campaign with King Edward, “The Hammer of the Scots,” John Sage was injured and no longer able to serve as a knight. He begged the king to find a position for him, and so he was assigned to Chillingham Castle, where he became the king’s chief torturer. He was notoriously violent and arbitrary. He spared no one, not man, woman, nor child. The events described in this story are as near to history as I could write without being too gruesome. The death of his mistress did occur as described in this book, and the woman’s father, a border reiver, did seek retribution. This is as far as my story goes where Chillingham and its residents are concerned. The border reivers played a vital role in King Edward’s control over that land, so he was unwilling to anger them or risk their allegiance. John Sage was convicted and given back to be hanged. He was not so fortunate; he was dismembered while alive. This castle also still remains a popular tourist site where even the dungeon is open for a tour, and people can spend the night as guests of the hotel.

  Redheugh Castle was the primary stronghold of the Clan Elliot during the reign of King Robert the Bruce. The name comes from the old word for red, ‘rede,’ and heugh which meant ‘bank.’ The tower had a view of the valley that ran alongside the Hermitage Water crossing and was the first of a series of pele towers built along the border. A farmhouse and grounds now stand where the pele tower once did. It still remains in the hands of an Elliot.

  I hope you enjoy A Rogues at the Highland Court and come to love Allyson Elliot and Ewan Gordon as much as I have.

  Happy reading,

  Celeste

  Chapter One

  The crunch of frost echoed in Stirling Castle’s royal gardens as Allyson Elliot trudged along with the other ladies-in-waiting, enduring another one of the queen’s morning strolls through the struggling blossoms. It was mid-March, and spring had arrived for their neighbors to the south, but Mother Nature seemed to have forgotten that Stirling wasn’t truly in the Highlands. Sitting on the border between the Highlands and Lowlands, the weather in Stirling was fickle, playing both sides of the fence. Allyson puffed out a cloud of condensation as the ice crackled beneath her booted feet. She didn’t mind the distance of the morning constitutional, but having been raised in the Lowlands, Allyson was still unaccustomed to the frigid temperatures of the north.

  “I still can’t believe he married her.” Allyson caught the waspish voice of Cairstine Grant as her attention returned to the young women around her. Allyson realized Cairstine spoke of Maude Sutherland without hearing the former lady-in-waiting’s name. Maude had been a shy lass from the northern Highlands, and several of the other ladies-in-waiting–Cairstine Grant included–had teased her without mercy. It had come as a shock when Kieran MacLeod arrived at court and immediately took an interest in Maude, who the other ladies considered overweight and plain. He’d been one of the most eligible lairds, and more than one nose was out of join
t when he chose a woman so many believed was beneath him.

  Allyson struggled to smother her giggle as she considered just how Maude was beneath Kieran these days. Allyson arrived at court four years ago as an impressionable girl overwhelmed by the attention her fair hair and robin-egg blue eyes garnered. She soon realized she enjoyed the attention after being the youngest of her parents’ six children. A few batted eyelashes and a coy smile earned her the appreciation of the young courtiers who flocked to court hoping to gain attention and favor from King Robert the Bruce. While Allyson wasn’t as daring as some of her peers, she had stolen a few kisses from these men, hoping to find one who would make her his wife and take her away from both the royal court and her family. Her attempts hadn’t garnered a husband, but it had resulted in a reputation as a flirt.

  “Allyson. Allyson, are you listening to me?” Cairren Kennedy nudged her, and Allyson turned a blank stare at her friend before remembering that they’d been speaking about the upcoming festivities for the spring equinox. The court would celebrate the return of the sun and the forthcoming warm weather.

  “I don’t know that there will be much to celebrate if this cold weather persists. It’s more like winter’s beginning rather than spring. I’d be happy to never see snow again,” Allyson grumbled.

  “Not bluidy likely living in Scotland,” Cairren muttered the oath. Another Lowlander, Cairren had been at court since the previous spring and was still adjusting to the harsher climate. “I’m more likely to freeze my toes than freckle. It’s just an excuse to feast in the hopes of forgetting the miserable weather. Why else would the queen allow pagan celebrations?”

  “She allows them because she knows no matter how Catholic we Scots are, we will always cling to tradition. It’s not like we run about caterwauling to the old gods. We light some bonfires and drink too much whisky and ale. I don’t mind encouraging spring to arrive, and I don’t mind how warm a belly of whisky will make me feel. Especially since I agree that my toes are about to chip off.” As if to convince herself that they wouldn’t, Allyson wiggled her toes as they paused for Queen Elizabeth to speak to a gardener. Allyson supposed the queen was requesting the flowers that would decorate the Great Hall and instructing the man on how to care for the blooms, lest this late frost damage them. “I’m looking forward to the feast since we’ll have the tedium of Lent within a week.”

  “I wouldn’t let the queen hear you say Lent is tedious. I swear it’s her favorite time of year. More hours to spend in prayer.” Cairren pretended to rub her knee with a surreptitious look around. “I dread the time spent on my knees.”

  “Aye, but some ladies are already well versed in that,” Allyson snickered.

  “Shh! You’ll have us be among those, and not with any pleasure. I have no desire to be trapped on the prie-dieu in the queen’s solar in front of the others.” Cairren failed to hide her smirk despite her censoring words.

  “Very well. But you’re just as aware as I am that I speak the truth,” Allyson murmured, allowing the subject of the other ladies-in-waiting’s less-than-ladylike behavior to drop. Neither Allyson nor Cairren should have been privy to such knowledge, but living among courtiers for more than a day gave the young women an education they never would have received at home. Allyson had mourned her loss of innocent ignorance when she first arrived, but she soon learned that women wielded power by choosing with whom they shared their favors. Allyson hadn’t gone beyond a brief kiss here and there, but she wasn’t averse to more sinful behavior if ever a situation where her wellbeing at court counted on it.

  “Are you pleased that the Gordon twins returned in time for the feast. Which do you think is the better looking?” Cairren redirected their conversation to a safer topic. It was expected that they would gossip about eligible men.

  “Can you even tell them apart? They’re mirror images of one another.”

  “Nay. Not really. But both are handsome as the devil, and just as tempting.”

  “Then it’s a good thing Lent is around the corner. I’ll be sure to withstand that test.” Allyson rolled her eyes.

  “But in the meantime, we have the equinox and Shrove Tuesday to indulge.”

  Allyson tsked. “The only things I intend to indulge in are honey cakes and lamb stew. I shall miss meat when all I have to look forward to are potatoes and turnips.”

  “I can think of a few women who will miss both meat and taters,” Cairren chuckled.

  “You’re worse than I am.” Allyson didn’t say any more as the group arrived at the castle doors. The queen swept in ahead of them and gave a glance that told the ladies to hurry to her salon after returning their outerwear to their chambers. Allyson and Cairren wound their way through the twisting passageways until they reached the one where the matrons and widows lived. They halted and stared as the Gordon twins emerged from Lady Bevan’s chamber, both tucking their leines into their breeks. There was no way for Allyson and Cairren to misunderstand the situation. The twins turned towards them and offered remorseless grins. They strolled toward the shocked pair.

  “We seem to have found two little chickadees separated from their mother hen,” one of the Gordons purred. Allyson wasn’t certain, but she decided that the one speaking was Ewan, who had small scar that sliced the left side of his upper lip. His twin had no such scar, to Allyson’s knowledge.

  “Such a shame they should encounter two foxes in their henhouse.” The other brother, who she assumed was Eoin, offered a smile that could only be described as wolfish.

  “Aye, and the farmer lops off the heads of the foxes he catches. A couple clucks in the right ear ends the foxes’ hunt.” Allyson bristled. She’d met the twins several times during her time at court, and even enjoyed dancing with the accomplished set of brothers. But their reputations preceded them, and their arrogance rankled. This time it wasn’t their reputations that spoke to their roguish behavior but the behavior itself. “I hadn’t realized roosters liked to share their spent hen.”

  “She is most definitely spent.” A dark eyebrow twitched as the man she believed was Ewan smirked.

  “She would be after brooding so often.” Allyson grew tired of speaking in euphemisms and analogies. “Excuse us. We have somewhere we’d rather be.”

  “Testy chickadee,” the same brother spoke again.

  “Bored,” Allyson used her practiced smile, but there was no missing the derisiveness in her voice.

  “We’ve entertained you plenty of times.” Eoin matched his twin’s twitching eyebrow.

  “Perhaps on the dance floor. But then again, you are interchangeable.” Allyson chirped. Cairren elbowed her as she gasped for at least the third time. “One is as good as the other to waste away the time.”

  The brothers’ matching glares made Allyson laugh. She elbowed Cairren back, but this was in jest. She shook her head before composing herself enough to speak.

  “Does that expression come naturally, or did you practice to ensure you match in everything you do? And you want me to believe you’re not interchangeable.” Allyson linked her arm through Cairren’s, and the women attempted to step around the brothers. However, the closer one snagged Allyson’s arm and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

  “Lass, you wouldn’t last five minutes if we took turns with you.” Allyson froze as she turned an icy gaze upon Ewan, who still held her arm.

  “Are you threatening me? Because that isn’t an offer I will ever want.”

  “What? No.” The man jerked back and shook his head. Realization of what his words would mean to an innocent dawned upon him. He softened his hold on her arm but didn’t release her. Instead, he bent forward again. “Lass, my apologies. That wasn’t what I intended. I took our banter too far. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Allyson’s pinched expression relaxed at the sincerity in his voice, which caused a shiver to run along her spine. She nodded once, and this time he released her arm when she pulled it away.

  “Which one are you?” She murmured.

&n
bsp; “Ewan, my lady.” The sun streaked head bowed in a courtly presentation that would have earned the giant Highlander laughs if he were home. That meant the other man now standing in silence was Eoin, as she’d guessed.

  “Good day.” Allyson didn’t wait to drag Cairren along as they rushed to their chamber and then to the queen’s solar, all the while Cairren lamented the consequences of their tardiness. Neither could admit they’d stopped to speak to the notorious twins.

  Chapter Two

  Allyson felt restless for the duration of the day as the scene in the passageway replayed in her mind. It wasn’t that different from the countless conversations she’d had with courtiers attempting to corrupt and seduce her. However, something unsettled her about this exchange. She suspected it stemmed from the surprise of such innuendos being tossed about after she and Cairren caught the brothers leaving a woman’s chambers, and how that very event led to the exchange. She’d studied the men while they stood nearer and tried to find anything that would identify the difference between the two. She hadn’t lied when she said they were interchangeable; at least, that was how she’d viewed them before that day.