Pride of the Clan (29 page)

Margaret lay in the bed propped up with pillows. She looked tired, and her hair had seen better days, but she was smiling. And holding a bundle. His heart did a peculiar flip inside his chest.
 

“Come and meet yer son,” she murmured in the sultriest voice he’d ever heard.

Feeling like the king of the world, he puffed out his chest and strode towards the bed. His manhood responded typically when his eyes fell on Margaret’s bare breast.

Crivvens. Can ye no control yerself, man.

“He’s nay got the hang o’ this yet,” she murmured as a tiny hand pushed away the nipple.

Rheade was tempted to offer to demonstrate, but thought better of it, and in any case his voice didn’t seem to be working.

“Rheade Donnachaidh Starkey Robertson, I’d like to introduce ye to yer eldest son,” she teased. “I recall we settled on Blair Duncan Ogilvie Robertson.”

Rheade sat on the edge of the bed and touched his son’s tiny fingers. It came to him what had to be done. “Aye,” he rasped, “and we’ll add Uilleam.”

She looked at him curiously, but he became alarmed at a wee scratch on his son’s arm. “Has he been cut?” he asked.

She grinned. “Aye, ’twas necessary.”

“Why?”

“To make sure we can tell him apart from the braw laddie Glenna has in her arms behind ye.”

He frowned. “What?”

“Turn round and I’ll introduce ye to yer second son, Craig Donal Ogilvie Robertson.”

“Twins?” he rasped as the smiling Glenna placed the babe in his arms.

“That’s usually what we call bairns born within minutes of each other,” Margaret quipped.

Rheade gazed at the red-faced scrap of humanity he cradled. “And we’ll add Daibhidh to yer long list of monikers,” he declared.

“Why are we including these names?” his wife asked.

In this moment of perfect happiness he’d no intention of telling her the dire news. He swore a silent oath to raise these boys to be good Scots, the pride of their clan and country. Men of honor. And when they were old enough he’d tell them about the lads for whom they were named and what men were capable of when greed and hatred ruled them.

“I’ll explain later,” he said, tickling his grinning son’s dimpled chin. “Meanwhile have I told ye how much I love ye?”

“Many a time,” she yawned. “But I never tire of hearing it.”

“Ye seem to be taking this in stride,” he said. “Did ye suspect twins?”

“Aye,” she whispered. “Braden forewarned me.”

ABOUT ANNA

Thank you for reading
Pride of the Clan.
 

Intrigued by Braden? His story,
Highland Tides,
is available now.
 

If you’d like to leave a review where you purchased the book, and/or on Goodreads, I would appreciate it. Reviews contribute greatly to an author’s success.

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website
and my Facebook page,
Anna Markland Novels
.

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, or sign up for my
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.

I was born in England, but I’ve lived most of my life in Canada. I was an elementary school teacher for 25 years, a job I loved.

After that I worked with my husband in the management of his businesses. He’s a born entrepreneur who likes to boast he’s never had a job!
 

My final “career” was as Director of Administration of a global disaster relief organization.

I then embarked on writing a romance, essentially for my own satisfaction. I chose the medieval period because it’s my favorite to read.

I have a keen interest in genealogy. This hobby has had a tremendous influence on my stories. My medieval romances are tales of family honor, ancestry, and roots. As an amateur genealogist, I cherished a dream of tracing my own English roots back to the Norman Conquest—most likely impossible since I am not descended from nobility! So I made up a family and many of my stories follow its members through successive generations.

I want readers to feel happy that the heroes and heroines have found their soul mates and that the power of love has overcome every obstacle. For me, novels are an experience of another world or time. I lose myself in the characters’ lives, always knowing they will triumph in the end and find love. One of the things I enjoy most about writing historical romance is the in-depth research necessary to provide readers with an authentic medieval experience. I love ferreting out bits of historical trivia I never knew! I based the plot of my first novel,
Conquering Passion
, on a bizarre incident that actually happened to a Norman noblewoman.

I hope you come to know and love my cast of characters as much as I do.

MORE ANNA MARKLAND

If you prefer to read sagas in chronological order, here’s a handy list.

Conquering Passion—Ram and Mabelle, Rhodri and Rhonwen

If Love Dares Enough—Hugh and Devona, Antoine and Sybilla

Defiant Passion-Rhodri and Rhonwen

A Man of Value—Caedmon and Agneta

Dark Irish Knight—Ronan and Rhoni

Haunted Knights—Adam and Rosamunda, Denis and Paulina

Passion in the Blood—Robert and Dorianne, Baudoin and Carys

Dark and Bright—Rhys and Annalise

The Winds of the Heavens—Rhun and Glain, Rhydderch and Isolda

Dance of Love—Izzy and Farah

Carried Away—Blythe and Dieter

Sweet Taste of Love—Aidan and Nolana

Wild Viking Princess—Ragna and Reider

Hearts and Crowns—Gallien and Peridotte

Fatal Truths—Alex and Elayne

Sinful Passions—Bronson and Grace; Rodrick and Swan

New series featuring the stories of the Viking ancestors of my Norman families

The Rover Bold—Bryk and Cathryn

The Rover Defiant—Torstein and Sonja

The Rover Betrayed—Magnus and Judith

If you like stories with medieval breeds of dogs, you’ll enjoy If Love Dares Enough, Carried Away, Fatal Truths, and Wild Viking Princess. If you have a soft spot for cats, read Passion in the Blood and Haunted Knights.

Caledonia Chronicles

Book I Pride of the Clan—Rheade and Margaret

Book II Highland Tides—Braden and Charlotte
 

Novellas

Maknab’s Revenge—Ingram and Ruby

Forged in the Fire—Matthew and Brigandine (2016)

Looking for historical fiction centered on a certain region?

English History—all books

Norman French History—all books

Crusades—A Man of Value

Welsh History—Conquering Passion, Defiant Passion, Dark and Bright, The Winds of the Heavens

Scottish History—Conquering Passion, A Man of Value, Sweet Taste of Love, Caledonia Chronicles Series

European History (Holy Roman Empire)—Carried Away

Danish History—Wild Viking Princess

Spanish History—Dance of Love

Ireland—Dark Irish Knight

If you like to read about historical characters:

William the Conqueror—Conquering Passion, If Love Dares Enough, Defiant Passion

William Rufus—A Man of Value

Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy—Passion in the Blood

Henry I of England—Passion in the Blood, Sweet Taste of Love, Haunted Knights, Hearts and Crowns

Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor—Carried Away

Vikings—Wild Viking Princess, The Rover Bold, The Rover Defiant, The Rover Betrayed

Kings of Aragon (Spain)—Dance of Love

The Anarchy (England) (Stephen vs. Maud)—Hearts and Crowns, Fatal Truths, Sinful Passions

James I of Scotland—Pride of the Clan

Jacobites and Mary, Queen of Scots—Highland Tides

FACT OR FICTION

Was King James I assassinated in 1437?

YES. James Stewart was assassinated by Walter and Robert Stewart, and Robert Graham, supported by approximately 30 co-conspirators. Queen Joan (Beaufort) was badly injured in the attack. The details of the floorboards, the drain, the tennis balls, and the breaking of Catherine Douglas’s arm are true. Also factual are the descriptions of the torture and executions of the perpetrators which I toned down considerably. The punishments were horrific even by medieval standards. However, there was more widespread support for the removal of the King than might be inferred from my story. James had made enemies among the Scottish nobility in his determination to establish royal authority, alienating many who had originally supported his ransom from the English court.

Were the regicides captured by the Robertsons?

YES. However, at that time the clan was known as Clan Donnachaidh, the sons of Duncan (Duncanson). Robert Riabhach (the Grizzled) was the name of the chieftain who pursued and captured the assassins. The clan was renamed Robertson in his honor. I tinkered with the names and family circumstances of the clan, mainly in order to avoid too many
Roberts
!

Was Robert Graham hiding at Loch Bhac? (pronounced
Vac
).

YES, according to most sources. The words spoken by Graham to Rheade are attributed to him by historical accounts. “Ye will see the day ye shall pray for my soul, for the great good I have done to this realm of Scotland, that I hae slain and delivered ye of so cruel a tyrant.”

Was Robert Stewart betrothed to Margaret Ogilvie?

YES, but there is no information about a marriage, and it’s doubtful the historical Ogilvie (Ogilvy) woman was from Argyll.

Did King James compose an acclaimed medieval love poem?

YES.

Were William and David Douglas lured to their deaths by means of an invitation to dine with King James II?

YES.
 

Does Blair Castle exist?

YES. You can see it on the cover of my book. However, Dunalastair is lost. Hydro electric flooding in the 1950’s drowned many historic ruins.

What about Corryvreckan?

The third largest maelstrom in the world is located in the relatively narrow Strait of Corryvreckan. Extreme tidal currents surge into whirlpools swirling round and round due in part to its location between two islands off the west coast of Scotland and the pyramidal rock on the sea floor. 30 foot waves swell from a depth of 100 fathoms and the reverberation of nature’s fury is heard from as far as ten miles away. Bewitching and bizarre legends were told by Celtic people about the ominous vortex of churning water that at times appears more green than blue. Corryvreckan was once classified as unsafe for voyage, then “very violent and dangerous,” but writer George Orwell journeyed across the water just the same. Orwell was shipwrecked for a short time.

Scottish producers tossed a mannequin with a life jacket into the Corryvreckan or “Brecan’s Cauldron” during a documentary called “Lethal Seas.” The life-size dummy disappeared into the dangerous vortex. When the mannequin was later found far away, there was evidence of it being scraped along the bottom and 262 feet showed on the depth meter. The Discovery Channel picked up the film and aired it as “Sea Twister.”