Highland Scandal by Julia London
First line: ”From his vantage point in the middle of a brambly thicket - which Jack noted gloomily, had torn his best buckskins - he could see the road through the branches.”
Jack Haines is running from the Prince of Wales. Accused of adultery with the Princess, worthy of high treason. The Prince’s men are hot on his trail in Scotland. Suddenly, he is confronted by four men and taken prisoner.
Only it’s not the Prince’s men. Lucky. It’s Carson Beal, Laird Lachlan. His choices? Handed over to the Prince’s men, or handfasted (literally bound by wrist, at least through the ceremony) to Lizzie Beal, the Laird’s niece. For one year and one day.
Lizzie, of course, is furious. Her first act of rebellion is slipping through a window, somewhat high, and dropping to the ground, almost giving Jack a heart attack. Of course, she is caught and brought back.
While Lizzie is a very beautiful woman, her older sister even more so. Only, she is crippled and cannot walk.
Highland Scandal is a most entertaining story. Definitely worth your time. Suspense, trickery and humor guide your adventure along.
For: Readers who want to see how a man and a woman might get a handfasting annulled. Or not. - Kathy Wheeler
