The Highland Outlaw

by Heather McCollum

  “Ready?” Grey asked as everyone stood, looking toward the alcove where they hid in shadows.

  Alana straightened the long folds of the green silk mantua around her, a gift from the Worthington sisters, and adjusted the crown of matching mistletoe woven amongst ribbons of red and white in her curls.

  Alana took a deep breath. “With my whole heart,” she said, bringing a smile to Grey’s usually stern face.

  He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Ye are lovely, little sister.”

  She beamed, turning to face front, and they stepped out from the alcove, pausing for Izzy to fix the long, embroidered train behind her. Izzy came around the full gown smiling, touched her heart with her hand, and hurried up front with the other Rose students.

  Alana held Grey’s arm as the musicians started a pretty tune with a slow cadence. She focused completely on Shaw waiting for her, his face even more handsome, reflecting hope and his love for her. The aisle, with everyone standing, watching on either side, seemed so long. Yet the trip down it was over before Alana could even notice the effect that Scarlet had championed. Everyone held a fragrant sprig of evergreen or holly, giving the room the feel of a winter forest with white ribbons and swaths of fabric swooping like snow under the rafters and across the mantel and windows set in the granite blocks. Candles lit and the fire cheery, the room was warm and full of smiles.

  Alana stopped opposite Shaw, meeting his happy gray eyes. The minister leaned toward him. “Who does the bairn belong to?” he asked, confusion pinching his brows.

  Shaw kept his gaze on Alana. “She is our daughter, Rose Sinclair,” he answered.

  The minister clucked his tongue. “Well then, ye should have been saying these vows months ago. Best get on about this.”

  Alana stifled the laugh that threatened, keeping her lips pinched tight. But the happiness shone in her eyes to match the bright joy across Shaw’s entire face.

  “Robert, no. Sit.” Kerrick’s loud whisper rose in pitch as the large dog broke away, pulling the poor man over to the ground before his chair. The beast galloped across to stand next to Alana, the rope hanging from his neck. She laughed. “And this is our other child, Robert.” She made the sitting signal with her hand, and Robert’s back end plopped down on the floor right next to her as if he had decided to take the role of witness from Kirstin. Alana’s hand rested on the curly hair on his head.

  The minister frowned, but with one look at the dog, he knew that it would cause more trouble to try to move the beast than it was worth. The minister lowered his arm, and all the people joined Robert in sitting about the crowded great hall of Finlarig.

  The elderly clergy cleared his throat. “Who stands with this woman as her family today?”

  Grey came to the outside of Alana, reaching around Robert who happily looked up at them, his tongue rolling out. “I do,” Grey said.

  There was a rustling of petticoats. “We do, too.”

  Alana glanced behind her to see the Highland Roses standing up from their seats all along the aisle, broad smiles on their faces. Kirstin, Martha, Izzy, Cici, and even Lucy stood. They moved closer to form a line, their hands clasped.

  “We do, too,” Evelyn, Grey’s wife and headmistress of the Highland Roses School, said, standing with her daughter over her shoulder. Her sister, Scarlet, stood, too, as well as the other Rose students and instructors: Cat, Fiona, Jacqueline, Mouse, Michaela, Francis, and Molly. Each one of them smiling in support.

  “I did not mean all of her family,” the minister said. “Just the…” he indicated Grey, “the closest family.” He threw his hand out to the room in exasperation. “Because most of ye are Campbells.”

  Kirstin met Alana’s gaze. “But we are the Highland Roses, even closer than blood. We all stand up for ye and your happiness.”

  Alana felt tears of joy break from her eyes as she smiled back before looking to Shaw. Grey placed her hand in Shaw’s palm. She stepped around Robert to stand directly before her mountainous Highland warrior.

  “Very well,” the minister said, shaking his head, and proceeded to collect the oaths, said before all of her family and God.

  As Alana turned toward Shaw, holding both of his hands, they stared into each other’s eyes, repeating their vows to love, cherish, and be faithful always.

  He pulled her closer, his arms sliding around her back. “Buin mo chridhe dhuit,” he said as he looked down into her face.

  She reached up to touch his cheek with one hand. “My heart belongs to you, too. I love you, Shaw.”

  He leaned down with promises of a lifetime in his eyes. “I love ye, Alana.” The words warmed her, but it was the pure joy in his gaze and smile that caught her breath. He lowered his face, and she lost herself in the heat of his kiss. The room around them erupted in cheers. She had never before felt so loved, by the man of her heart and by her very huge and loud family.

  Want a FREE book from The Campbells series?! You can read The Savage Highlander absolutely FREE when you sign up for my newsletter. Click HERE.

  Thank you for joining the Highland Roses on their adventures in The Campbells series! As much as I’ve enjoyed exploring Scotland and England of the late 1600’s with the Campbells, Shaw Sinclair, and his posse, have made me fall in love with the Sinclair Clan of Northern Scotland. So, follow me back a century to the late 1500’s when the mighty Sinclair Clan held Girnigoe Castle and herds of horses in my next series, Sons of Sinclair. Look for Highland Conquest in Mass Market Paperback everywhere books are sold April, 2020.

  Meanwhile, dive into my completed Highland Isles series and follow the chiefs of the western isles off of Scotland in the mid 1500’s. Meet Tor and Ava in Book #1: The Beast of Aros Castle — A Scottish chief swearing off marriage, an English woman masquerading as a titled lady, a sadistic nobleman determined to reclaim her, and King Henry’s army closing a noose around Aros Castle.

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  A Bit of History

  The Sinclair clan was established in Scotland in 1057 when Sir William St. Clair of Rosin near Edinburgh married Isabella, daughter and heiress of Malise, Earl of Caithness. The castle of Girnigoe, situated on the east coast of northern Scotland, was built around 1480 by William Sinclair, the Second Earl of Caithness as a tower house defensive structure. Another part to the castle was built in 1606 and connected to the original tower by a drawbridge over a ravine.

  George Sinclair, the Sixth Earl of Caithness, had accumulated a huge debt with the Campbells of Glenorchy. To pay the debt, the Campbells claimed the earldom and lands from George Sinclair. He died in 1676. In 1679 the castle was besieged and captured by George Sinclair of Keiss, who claimed the earldom from the Campbells. The ensuing battle over the earldom and lands was at Altimarlach, where the Sinclairs were “slaughtered in such numbers that the Campbells reportedly could cross the river without getting their feet wet.”

  In 1681, the Privy Council of Scotland settled the feud by giving the Sinclairs back the earldom, while the Campbells were made Earls of Breadalbane (where Finlarig Castle sits). Girnigoe was so damaged by Sinclairs, who had been making it uninhabitable for the Campbells in 1680, that it was never reused.

  After being owned by several families through the centuries, it was sold back to the Sinclairs in 1950 and now sits in a historical trust. Today the castle ruins are open to visitors, although the cliffs and structure can be dangerous. I plan to visit it in 2020!

  In my next historical romance series, Sons of Sinclair, we will journey to Girnigoe Castle back in the late sixteenth century when clashes with the other northern Highland clans were part of the rich history of these brawny Highlanders.

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank you goes out to all of you wonderful readers! Your support of historical romance and the authors, who work for months to create these adventures, is as rich and valuable as gold. I love receiving messages and notes from you. Writing can be a solitary pursuit but knowing that you are
rooting for another book to read makes the hours typing worth it. Slàinte!

  Also…

  At the end of each of my books, I ask that you, my awesome readers, please remind yourselves of the whispered symptoms of ovarian cancer. I am now a seven-year survivor, one of the lucky ones. Please don’t rely on luck. If you experience any of these symptoms consistently for three weeks or more, go see your GYN.

  ·Bloating

  ·Eating less and feeling full faster

  ·Abdominal pain

  ·Trouble with your bladder

  Other symptoms may include: indigestion, back pain, pain with intercourse, constipation, fatigue, and menstrual irregularities.

  About the Author

  Heather McCollum is an award-winning historical romance writer. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood of Golden Heart finalists. She has over twenty romance novels published and is a 2015 Readers’ Crown Winner and Amazon Best Seller.

  The ancient magic and lush beauty of Great Britain entrances Ms. McCollum’s heart and imagination every time she visits. The country’s history and landscape have been a backdrop for her writing ever since her first journey across the pond.

  When she is not creating vibrant characters and magical adventures on the page, she is roaring her own battle cry in the war against ovarian cancer. Ms. McCollum slew the cancer beast and resides with her very own Highland hero, a rescued golden retriever, and three kids in the wilds of suburbia on the mid-Atlantic coast. For more information about Ms. McCollum, please visit www.HeatherMcCollum.com.

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  Don’t miss The Campbells series…

  The Scottish Rogue

  The Savage Highlander

  The Wicked Viscount

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  Highland Heart

  Captured Heart

  Tangled Hearts

  Untamed Hearts

  Crimson Heart

  The Beast of Aros Castle

  The Rogue of Islay Isle

  The Wolf of Kisimul Castle

  The Devil of Dunakin Castle

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