I enjoyed the author's vivid descriptions of the cold and rugged Scottish lands, the castles and battlements, and the myriad of interesting historical details that proved Ms. Her arrival quickly takes a turn when she is abducted and set on an unknown journey. She arrives is Scotland under the protection of her guardian, the powerful Earl of Argyll.

She makes a promise on her mother's death to travel to Scotland to meet her father, Robert Lamond, whom she's never known. What a rare gem! This tale originally published in 1954 had everything I like in a book.warring Scottish clans, intrigue, adventure, deceit, secrets, a larger-than-life Laird, the MacHugh, and the courageous Elspeth.Įlspeth is Scottish by birth but is being raised in England as a ward of King James. From the day of her abduction by a band of rough horsemen till the day she fled the thick walls of her guardian’s castle, Elspeth’s fate was irrevocably linked with the Lamonds and with their friend, the MacHugh, whose name reverberates through these pages with the vigor of a clash of arms.' It seemed just another day when Elspeth Lamond rode into the wild and untameable hills and moors of the Highlands on a quiet mission from London, but within a few hours she was a captive riding in the rain toward an unknown destination. In these pages you will meet the corrupt and ambitious Earl of Argyll, Elspeth’s wily guardian, who epitomizes an insatiable greed for power and wealth Kate MacLaughlan, the beautiful and treacherous redhead, whose passion for Alexander MacHugh would stop at nothing for fulfillment Gavin, the grim and mysterious youth with a scar across his cheek Elspeth’s half-sister, Jeanie Lamond, as fair and fresh as a May morning, and of course, the many brave and gallant Scottish rebels, led by the MacDonalds, who harried the Campbells and would not be subdued by England. It was early in the seventeenth century in Scotland, and the men and women who lived, loved and fought then were no less stormy and unpredictable than the violent events which caught them up and determined their fates. He was a man of massive will but gravely courteous demeanor, and he clashed with Elspeth at every encounter, his will pitted against hers, neither of them willing to surrender to an irresistible attraction. Alexander MacHugh was head of one of Scotland’s mightiest clans when the rebellious Highlanders rallied around the MacDonald banner. 'This is the story of Elspeth Lamond and the MacHugh.Įlspeth is a provocative and feminine lass who lived in a turbulent time in Scotland’s history, a period crowded with romance, intrigue, battles and characters that are memorable for their vitality and charm, their lust, strength and willfulness.

Bride of the MacHugh by Jan Cox Speas