LESSONS IN LOVING A LAIRD – Michelle Marcos
The Knaves of Scotland , Book 2 of 3
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN: 978-0312-38179-0
March 2012
Historical Romance

Scotland, 1811

Twelve years ago, Highlander John MacAslan refused to call up his men and join in a battle within the clan. In revenge, the losing side attacked MacAslan and his wife and family. His eight-year-old twin daughters and youngest son were branded and taken away. The daughters, Shona and Willow , were separated from their little brother and enslaved. Shona was—and still is—a fighter, and it wasn't long before she managed to escape with Willow . They ran and ran until they reached southern Scotland near the border. The local parish placed them with kindly tenant farmers on the Ballencrieff estate.

Shona and Willow have only three months and a few days until they reach twenty-one and freedom from their indenture. Sweet, blond, and lovely Willow and feisty black-haired Shona could not be more different in temperament, but both are eager to go back to the highlands to search for their brother Camran. But fate intervenes when the old laird dies and his nephew from England arrives to take over.

Conall MacEwan was born in Scotland but spent most of his years in England . Unaccustomed to country life, he relies too heavily on the estate's factor in his attempt to bring the estate back from the mess his uncle left it. Before long, he tangles with the spitfire dairy maid on one of his farms. He's about to remove the tenant farmers when Shona bargains for them. She and Willow end up extending their indenture to work for Conall, Shona in the dairy and Willow as nursemaid for Conall's motherless two-year-old son.

Now, Conall is not an evil man, and he soon realizes his errors and comes to rely more and more on Shona in the ways of dealing with tenants and improving an estate. She's an intelligent and spirited lass, and didn't she spend her life working on a farm?

It will be a conflict-strewn path to a happily-ever-after in LESSONS IN LOVING A LAIRD. A couple of enemies, old and new, alongside the difference in stations between our hero and heroine will need to be overcome if anything is to become of their attraction. Enjoy the sparks flying between Shona and Conall in this highly enjoyable romance. The riveting plot and varied characters are equally well crafted.

Who will star in the next book of the Knaves of Scotland series? Perhaps it will be baby brother Camran. And what will happen to Willow ? If you have read the first book, SECRETS TO SEDUCING A SCOT, you will already know something Shona and Willow do not. In any case, don't miss this excellent early nineteenth-century Scottish romance and its trilogy companions.

Jane Bowers