The Highlander's Inconvenient Bride

  “I’ll get some fresh water from the stream and then we...” He paused and stared at her as though deciding whether or not to finish his words.

  “And then?” Sheena prodded.

  “And then we can talk about our betrothal and forthcoming marriage.”

  Her stomach tightened as he turned and walked out. “Better now than later,” she whispered, trying to make herself believe it. From the time he’d found her in Anna’s garden and then during their ride, Robbie had been almost...caring.

  Sheena watched him fill the bucket. Before he turned back, she studied him closely, though there was not much to see other than his tall, muscular figure and the strength in him as he held the heavy bucket out into the strong current. As he stood, she hurried to the cupboard to find cups.

  His steps behind her told her he was there and it was time.

  Time to make him realize she could not marry him.

  Time to gain his help in forcing their parents to see the truth of their betrothal.

  Time to confess her truth?

  Author Note

  Back in 2005 when I was writing the book that would become Taming the Highlander, I had no idea that it would be the first in a series that stretched over nine medieval and two Regency romances! Or that the story about Connor MacLerie, the Beast of the Highlands and quintessential alpha hero, would become my bestselling book and the start of my most popular series. When brainstorming this book and comparing timelines and stories yet untold, I was thrilled to see a possible connection between my MacLeries series and my current A Highland Feuding one.

  Sheena MacLerie, Connor and Jocelyn’s youngest daughter, had yet to meet her match, and when looking for a heroine for Robbie Cameron, the heir to the Cameron Clan, I thought she was the perfect woman for him. That doesn’t mean that their path to love is easy or without challenges—I could never resist making things difficult for my heroes and their heroines. And it doesn’t mean that her powerful father won’t muck things up for the couple as they seek their happy-ever-after!

  I hope you enjoy this “crossover” story between my two Highland series. By the end of it, you’ll decide for yourself whether Connor is a nightmare father-in-law or the best one!

  TERRI BRISBIN

  The Highlander’s

  Inconvenient Bride

  When USA TODAY bestselling author Terri Brisbin is not being a glamorous romance author or in a deadline-writing-binge-o-mania, she’s a wife, mom, grandmom and dental hygienist in the southern New Jersey area. A three-time RWA RITA® Award finalist, Terri has had more than forty-five historical and paranormal romance novels, novellas and short stories published since 1998. You can visit her website, www.terribrisbin.com, to learn more about her.

  Books by Terri Brisbin

  Harlequin Historical

  A Highland Feuding

  Stolen by the Highlander

  The Highlander’s Runaway Bride

  Kidnapped by the Highland Rogue

  Claiming His Highland Bride

  A Healer for the Highlander

  The Highlander’s Inconvenient Bride

  The MacLerie Clan

  Taming the Highlander

  Surrender to the Highlander

  Possessed by the Highlander

  Taming the Highland Rogue

  The Highlander’s Stolen Touch

  At the Highlander’s Mercy

  The Forbidden Highlander

  (HQN “Highlanders” anthology)

  The Highlander’s Dangerous Temptation

  Yield to the Highlander

  Visit the Author Profile page

  at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Author Afterword

  Excerpt from Playing the Duke’s Fiancée by Amanda McCabe

  Prologue

  Lairig Dubh, Scotland, home of the MacLerie Clan, the Year of Our Lord 1367

  Sheena MacLerie stared at the tapestry hanging on the wall and tried to admire her sister’s accomplishment in finishing it herself. But the whistling sound of the belt sweeping towards its target forced her eyes closed with each stroke. She could not help herself.

  As she watched her father punish the boy who’d pushed her into the river, she winced and gasped with each stroke of his belt. The boy receiving the whipping did not make a sound, other than a soft exhalation with each stroke.

  She wanted to cry out to stop it, but she’d brought this about and could not utter a word now. If she had just stayed away from them, none of this would have happened. If she had played with her sister as her mother had asked, Robbie Cameron would not be suffering through this.

  Oh, he had not begun by shoving her off the edge into the water. Nay, that had been the third or fourth time he’d tried to keep her away from his and her brother’s plans.

  First, he’d managed to slip away after sending her on a wayward and non-existent errand for her mother. They’d got away while Sheena had spent a tedious morning inside the dull and gloomy keep, sorting the colours of thread in her mother’s sewing box.

  Then, when she grew better at following them, Robbie had locked her in a cupboard and got away for an entire day without her. Remembering it now, she realised that she’d not been frightened at all and spent the few hours in it asleep, the dark and warm space more a comfort than not.

  But neither of those had been in her father’s view. Sheena had complained to her mother, so at least she was aware of this pattern of his of excluding her. This time though, Connor MacLerie, chieftain of the powerful MacLerie Clan, could not ignore it.

  Tears were streaming down her face now as her father stepped away and nodded to the men holding Robbie’s arms.

  Robbie straightened his garments before turning around and bowing to her father. As clan chief and Robbie’s foster father, it was her father’s right and duty to see to the discipline of those he fostered. She just did not remember seeing him do this to another in his care. Twinges of an unwelcome feeling grew within her.

  Guilt.

  ‘You do not mistreat a lass, Robbie. Even...’ he paused and looked over to meet her own gaze ‘...when you think it might be warranted. Do you understand?’

  ‘Aye, my lord,’ Robbie whispered.

  ‘I canna hear you, lad. Speak up and look at me.’

  This time, he did raise his head and meet her father’s gaze. Nodding, Robbie spoke up. ‘Aye, my lord. I understand.’

  ‘She is still but a child and can be annoying. But a man must have a care.’

  Robbie’s gaze now flitted over to hers for a scant moment before speaking. And in that single moment she saw such hatred that she gasped again. ‘Aye, my lord.’

  Robbie waited until her father dismissed him with a curt tilt of his head and he walked out. If his first step or two were a bit shaky, it was to be expected. But he held his head high as he left the solar, where the man known as the Beast of the Highlands had gathered his closest kith and kin to see to this matter. Sheena wanted to follow Robbie and beg his forgiveness, but her father’s next words held her in her place.

  ‘Sheena MacLerie, you are not blameless in this misbehaviour. You have been told to leave the lads to their tasks before.’

  That inkling of guilt disappeared as tremors of fear and the grip of shame held her so tightly she could not draw breath. When her father used that tone of voice, nothing good would come of it. She nodded quickly and looked away from his harsh amber gaze.

  ‘Jocelyn, see to the lass.’ Her mother rose from her chair and walked to the door, waiting for Sheena to follow her.

  ‘Come with me, Sheena.’

  If her father’s tone scared her, her mother’s broke her heart, for it was filled with disappointment. And she hated those moments when she knew she’d disappointed her parents.

  Her mother climbed the stairs to the floor where the family’s bedchambers were and led Sheena to a small one that was unused. Opening the door, she motioned for Sheena to go in.

  ‘You will remain here until I call for you, Sheena. You might want to spend some of this time praying for forgiveness for your own part in what just happened to a lad who is here as a foster brother to you and Aidan and Lilidh. One who has just been shamed before those of importance to him and for no reason other than your own wilfulness.’

  Sheena cried aloud now, unable to keep in her guilt and shame. Because she wanted his attention. Because he would not give it. Because...

  ‘Mother, I—’


  ‘Nay, Sheena. Speak not to me now or I will say things I will regret. Go in now. You will get no supper this night, so do not ask for it.’

  Sheena could not make her feet move.

  ‘Go. In. Now.’

  She ran, throwing herself on the small pallet in the corner of the chamber and sobbing as she heard the door slam closed and locked. When her tears ran dry and her stomach hurt from sobbing so hard, Sheena sat up and pushed her now messy hair out of her face. Using the edge of her sleeve, even knowing she should not, Sheena wiped the remains of her tears from her cheeks and chin.

  Sitting in silence, she thought on her mother’s words, but more, she thought about the look of hatred in Robbie’s eyes. That fiery glance told her he would never have anything to do with her again. He would probably not have a word to say, nice or cross, for the rest of her life.

  And the worst of it was that she truly liked Robbie. Most of the time, when she was not pestering him, he was nice. Tall and growing taller, serious about learning from her father and always courteous and respectful of her mother, he would become the warrior his clan expected of him. While she would just continue as the unwanted child she was.

  The sun, shining in through the lone window in this chamber, taunted her. She’d finished her tasks earlier and should be out playing with her friends. Sheena climbed up on the pallet and onto the storage cupboard and peered out of that window.

  Below in the yard, life went on without her. Her father’s warriors trained. Her father’s servants carried out their chores and duties. Her father’s orders being followed every moment of the day. And she had no doubt that her father had, with her mother’s consent and approval, determined her punishment too.

  Just when she would have turned away, she saw Robbie.

  He stood alone in the shadows next to the stable. Though one or another called out to him or waved, he did not wave back. She could feel his pain as he shifted from foot to foot. For a moment he leaned back against the rough stone wall behind him, but then he stiffened and moved away.

  And she gasped as he did it, knowing the pain was caused by the whipping she’d brought about. She must come up with a way to make this better. To beg his pardon and to make him not hate her.

  Three days later, she was allowed to leave the chamber. Sheena was permitted to eat supper with the family and, as she glanced around the hall, she noticed that Robbie was not present. She was stubborn like her father and so she waited and watched for her opportunity to speak to him. It took her two more days to finally find him and, even then, he would not meet her gaze. The door to the stables opened and Robbie entered. Sheena was seeing to her favourite horse when he walked slowly past her without uttering a word.

  ‘Robbie,’ she whispered, ‘I would speak to you.’ When he took another step, she moved to the wooden gate at the end of the stall. ‘I beg you to hear my words.’

  ‘I must see to my duties,’ he said without turning to her. ‘Leave me be.’

  ‘Robbie, I did not mean for you to be punished.’

  At first, he did not reply. But he turned to face her.

  ‘I just asked you to leave me be. And, like before, you could not. Now, word will be sent to my father and my uncle of my transgression and punishment, Sheena, and I will be called home. I will pay another price to them.’ He wiped his hand across his eyes and shook his head. ‘A disgrace. A failure.’

  The slump of his shoulders as he turned away broke her heart. And the words pierced her, for she understood being a failure in her father’s eyes.

  ‘But it was my fault, Robbie. Not yers.’

  ‘It matters not now, Sheena. For your father took action to punish me and my uncle and father will consider me guilty just on that.’

  She watched him walk through the stables and said nothing else. For what else could she say?

  Over the next few years while he lived with them, Sheena convinced herself that disliking him would make it easier for her to keep her distance. So she made the dislike a habit and soon she’d convinced even herself that she believed it. She turned her devotion to horses and conquered her old fear of the huge beasts. In a short time the experienced stablemaster was praising her skills of handling, care and riding horses to her father.

  As they grew older, the space between her and Robbie grew greater and greater until she never wanted anything to do with him and had little chance to. Sheena avoided him during the times when they were both at gatherings and sat as far away as she could when at table. By the time Robbie was called home to visit some years later, she could not have changed how she felt about him if she’d wanted to. Not that she wanted to. And for his part Robbie continued to meet her gaze any time he happened upon her with the expression of one smelling something rancid and disgusting.

  When the day came for him to return to Achnacarry, their feelings towards each other had not changed. But instead of him leaving Lairig Dubh and their days of loathing ceasing, a surprise was announced.

  At an appropriate time, to be decided by their parents, she would marry Robbie. Truth be told, Sheena had never expected to have any part in the decision about whom she married. As the daughter of a mighty chieftain, her value lay in the connections her marriage would make and the alliances forged or strengthened by it. With a deep sadness in her heart, this action by her parents just reinforced her comprehension of their total disregard for her.

  The only part of it that saved her from true despair was knowing she would never be called to serve as her mother did. With her weaknesses and lack of abilities to oversee a clan and a keep and village, Sheena would not have to since Robbie was the nephew to the chieftain and would never rise to the high seat of power. Even with all that was between them, Sheena resigned herself to the fact that she would do her duty and accept her place as the wife of a man who did not love her.

  Then word came from Achnacarry that Robbie’s father had claimed the high seat of the Cameron Clan and her marriage would see her as the wife of the heir of his clan. Terrified by such a prospect, she prayed nightly for an escape from such a life and from the shame of her secrets when they would inevitably be exposed. She prayed that Robbie’s father would want a higher connection for his son and heir. She prayed...and prayed.

  The Good Lord Above had listened to someone else’s prayers for, in far too little time, Sheena MacLerie found herself officially betrothed to Robbie Cameron. Two years after her sister Lilidh married, Sheena received word summoning her to Robbie’s home in preparation for their marriage.

  Aye, the Almighty’s attentions were elsewhere when Sheena MacLerie truly needed them.

  Chapter One

  Achnacarry, Scotland, home of the Cameron Clan,

  the Year of Our Lord 1377

  ‘The MacLerie and I wish this marriage to be accomplished soon.’

  Words Robbie Cameron had dreaded hearing, even if they were not unexpected, echoed in his head. He’d avoided even thinking on the betrothal since the day it had been made, without his approval or knowledge. The MacLerie had told him of it one day, during the time Robbie had lived at Lairig Dubh as Connor’s foster son. The day when he was called home by the order of his chieftain, his uncle, to attend the man’s third wedding, or was it his fourth? Though it had not been official at that time, but by the time his father had replaced his uncle it had been made so. He had been in his minority so he’d not even attended the ceremony that would have been held.

  ‘Must it?’ he asked.

  His mother’s quick inhalation drew his attention. Since he’d never once spoken of the arrangement, his parents most likely thought he favoured it. And nothing could be further from his true feelings.

  ‘Do you have some concern over it?’ Robert Cameron, chieftain of the Cameron Clan, asked quietly. His father rarely raised his voice and Robbie knew that if he grew any quieter hell was about to rain down on earth. A shiver ran down his spine at the soft tone of his voice now. ‘Son?’

  He had many concerns about the betrothal and the suitability of the two of them to marry. Since the incident that had brought him shame and a whipping all those years ago, Robbie had avoided her—he did not speak or even look at her if he did not have to. The last woman on earth he wanted to marry was, indeed, his betrothed, Sheena MacLerie.