The Recruit Read online

  He shone as brightly as any star. Everything about him flashed and shimmered, from the golden streaks in his dark brown hair, the dangerous gleam in his challenging blue eyes, and the lean hard lines of his pugnaciously handsome face to the white flash of his take-no-prisoners grin. Though the men appealed in different ways, Sir Kenneth Sutherland could rival Gregor MacGregor for the title of most handsome man in Scotland, and she suspected he knew it.

  Sir Kenneth exuded confidence and brash arrogance. He probably thought she would fall at his feet just like all the other young, starry-eyed ladies seemed to be doing. But she was no longer young, and the stars had been wrenched from her eyes a very long time ago.

  Still, she felt an unmistakable thrill shooting through her veins, a spark of excitement that she hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was probably her temper. He seemed to bring out a heretofore unknown streak of combativeness in her.

  It was the way he looked at her. Confident and arrogant, yes, but also provoking. As if he were daring the world to come at him. As if he were always trying to prove something. He didn’t think she could resist him and was daring her to try.

  “Running away again, my lady?” he taunted softly. “This time I might have to come after you.”

  The Recruit is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Ballantine Books eBook Edition

  Copyright © 2012 by Monica McCarty

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  BALLANTINE and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  eISBN: 978-0-345-53599-3

  Cover Design: Lynn Andreozzi

  Cover illustration: Franco Accornero

  www.ballantinebooks.com

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  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  The Highland Guard

  Foreword

  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

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Other Books by This Author

  THE HIGHLAND GUARD

  Tor “Chief” MacLeod: Team Leader and Expert Swordsman

  Erik “Hawk” MacSorley: Seafarer and Swimmer

  Lachlan “Viper” MacRuairi: Stealth, Infiltration, and Extraction

  Arthur “Ranger” Campbell: Scouting and Reconnaissance

  Gregor “Arrow” MacGregor: Marksman and Archer

  Magnus “Saint” MacKay: Survivalist and Weapon Forging

  Eoin “Striker” MacLean: Strategist in “Pirate” Warfare

  Ewen “Hunter” Lamont: Tracker and Hunter of Men

  Robert “Raider” Boyd: Physical Strength and Hand-to-Hand Combat

  Alex “Dragon” Seton: Dirk and Close Combat

  FOREWORD

  The year of our lord thirteen hundred and nine. Three years ago, Robert the Bruce’s bid for the Scottish throne and the torch for Scotland’s independence had been all but extinguished. But against nearly insurmountable odds, with the help of his secret band of elite warriors known as the Highland Guard, Bruce has waged one of the greatest comebacks in history, retaking his kingdom north of the Tay. In March, King Robert holds his first Parliament and enjoys a brief reprieve from battle following a much-needed truce.

  But problems with his barons will not keep England’s King Edward II occupied forever. The truce is pushed back twice, but eventually the call to muster at Berwick-upon-Tweed and march upon the rebel Scots goes out.

  With the English ready to invade and war looming, Bruce’s new kingship will face its first big test, and once again he will rely on the extraordinary skills of his Highland Guard to defeat his enemies—both English and Scot. Bruce’s kingship may have divided a nation, but he hasn’t given up hope of rallying all Scots—even those still loyal to the English—under his banner. But winning their loyalty may prove his biggest challenge yet.

  Prologue

  September 1306

  Ponteland Castle, Northumberland, English Marches

  Dear God, who could it be at this hour?

  Mary’s heart was in her throat as she hurried down the torchlit stairwell, tying the belt of the velvet robe she’d donned over her night-rail. When you were married to one of the most hunted men in Scotland and the man hunting him was the most powerful king in Christendom, being awakened in the middle of the night to the news that someone was at the gate was sure to provoke a certain amount of panic. Panic that proved warranted when Mary entered the Hall, and the person waiting for her turned and tossed back the rain-sodden hood of her dark wool huque.

  Her heartbeat slammed to a halt. Though the woman’s long, golden hair was hidden beneath the ugliest head covering she’d ever seen and her delicate features were streaked with mud, Mary knew her in an instant.

  She stared in horror at the face that so mirrored her own.

  “Janet, what are you doing here? You shouldn’t have come!”

  England was no place for a Scot—man or woman—with ties to Robert Bruce. And Janet, like Mary, had too many to count. Their eldest sister had been Robert’s first wife; their eldest brother had been married to Robert’s sister; their four-year-old nephew, the current Earl of Mar, was being hunted with Robert’s queen, and their niece was Robert’s only heir. King Edward of England would love nothing more than to get his hands on another daughter of Mar.

  Hearing the censure in Mary’s voice, her younger-by-two-minutes twin sister flashed her an unrepentant grin and put her hands on her hips. “Well that’s a fine welcome after I’ve sailed around Scotland and ridden nearly ten miles in nonstop rain on the most disagreeable old nag known to man—”

  “Janet!” she interrupted impatiently. Though her sister might seem oblivious to the danger, Mary knew she was not. Whereas Mary chose to face reality straight on, however, Janet preferred to run right over it and hope it didn’t catch up to her.

  Janet pursed her mouth the way she always did when Mary forced her to slow down. “Why I’ve come to take you home, of course!”

  Take her home. Scotland. Mary’s heart clenched. God, if only it were so simple.

  “Does Walter know you’re here?” She couldn’t believe their brother would have sanctioned such a dangerous journey. Mary’s gaze ran over her sister in the candlelight. “And what in heavens are you wearing?”

  Mary should have known better than to ask two questions, as it gave her sister a chance to ignore the one she didn’t like. Janet smiled again, pulled back her dark wool cloak, and spread the skirt of the coarse brown wool gown wide, preening as if it were the finest silk, which, given her fashion-loving sister’s penc