The violence of the storm had caught them unawares. She’d been on her way to Loch Awe with coach, servants, and outriders. She’d felt completely safe in spite of undertaking this journey to battle a witch. Her brothers’ lives were at stake and she’d stop at nothing to save them.
The road had been a good one through the mountains. Her drivers had not been worried even when the storm’s winds had increased. The outriders, of course, traveled with the coach. They were all safer together.
And then, it was as if the storm had formed a huge hand and swept Margaret’s coach and all the horses and all the men off the road. They’d gone tumbling down a granite slope. Margaret could still hear the screams of the horses, the shouts of the others, the breaking of wood as her coach had fallen apart.
She and her abigail, Smith, had been trapped in the coach. They’d been tossed over and over with the crashing wood until there came a moment when Margaret felt as if she’d been flung into the air.
How long she’d been unconscious, she did not know. When she’d regained her senses, it was to see Smith’s face not far from her own, the maid’s lifeless eyes wide with terror.
Here and there was a moan, or was that the wind through the trees? There was no stirring, no movement of life.
Her coach had been pushed off the road in a manner that defied any explanation devised by men—and Margaret knew it was Fenella.
The witch meant to claim them all.
The curse would live on.
Margaret had done nothing to stop it. She’d been prevented before she could try. She began to cry, silent tears that felt hot against her cold cheeks. She didn’t cry for herself. No, she wept for her brothers’ wives and the sons they would bear who would be marked with the curse.
And she would die here at the base of this mountain, alone.
A purring caught her attention.
Owl, the little cat that had stowed away in her coach. The cat with the funny, deformed ears and large, sad eyes. She’d forgotten about the animal.
The cat nudged her cheek, and then gave it a lick as if to wipe away the tears. Margaret yearned to touch Owl’s soft fur and gather her up, but she could not move. Her arms were broken.
She felt Owl’s breath upon her skin. The cat nestled itself into the space between Margaret’s chin and shoulder. The purring grew louder and Margaret found herself thanking God she would not die alone.
Warmth replaced coldness. The purring vibrated through Margaret’s being as she blissfully slipped from consciousness, her last thought being that she did not want to die . . .
You also won't want to miss
Lyon's Bride,
the first installment in
Cathy Maxwell's
Chattan Curse series.
Available now from Avon Books!
About the Author
CATHY MAXWELL spends hours in front of her computer pondering the question, “Why do people fall in love?” It remains for her the great mystery of life and the secret to happiness. She lives in beautiful Virginia with children, horses, dogs, and cats.
Fans can contact Cathy at www.cathymaxwell.com or PO Box 1135, Powhatan, VA 23139.
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By Cathy Maxwell
The Chattan Curse
The Scottish Witch
Lyon’s Bride
Coming Soon
The Devil’s Heart
The Seduction of Scandal
His Christmas Pleasure
The Marriage Ring
The Earl Claims His Wife
A Seduction at Christmas
In the Highlander’s Bed
Bedding the Heiress
In the Bed of a Duke
The Price of Indiscretion
Temptation of a Proper Governess
The Seduction of an English Lady
Adventures of a Scottish Heiress
The Lady Is Tempted
The Wedding Wager
The Marriage Contract
A Scandalous Marriag
Married in Haste
Because of You
When Dreams Come True
Falling in Love Again
You and No Other
Treasured Vows
All Things Beautiful
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Excerpt from The Devil’s Heart copyright © 2013 by Catherine Maxwell, Inc.
THE SCOTTISH WITCH. Copyright © 2012 by Catherine Maxwell, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition NOVEMBER 2012 ISBN: 9780062070265
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062070234
FIRST EDITION
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