The Chief Read online

  MacRuairi moved to help her down, but the lady—in this case a countess—gave him a contemptuous look and hopped down without taking his hand. The dark look on his face chilled Christina’s blood. Sweeping regally past the menacing Highlander, the countess rushed toward the king, coming to kneel before him. The hood of her cloak slipped back, revealing long white-blond hair, a paradox of softness compared to the steely determination on her strong features. She was young, Christina realized, perhaps only a handful of years older than herself, with bold features more striking than beautiful.

  “Your grace,” she said, her voice husky and proud. “I came as soon as I could. I hope I am not too late?”

  Bruce gave her such a warm smile that Christina wondered whether there was truth to the rumors of a prior liaison between them. “Nay, Bella, not too late. Never too late. Not when you have risked so much to come here.”

  Bruce was not alone in his awe of the young countess’s bravery. Lady Isabella MacDuff had defied both a husband and a king to be there. For she was not just the sister to the Earl of Fife, but also the wife of the Earl of Buchan, John Comyn—the Red Comyn’s cousin and a loyal supporter of King Edward. If Edward got the chance, Christina did not doubt he would make her pay for this day.

  For the second time in as many days, she watched as Robert Bruce was crowned King of Scotland, but this time the circlet of gold was placed on his head by Lady Isabella. “Beannachd De Righ Alban,” the countess said when she was done. God bless the King of Scotland.

  The rebel countess was whisked away afterward to join Bruce’s wife and sisters at the palace. Isabella MacDuff had made her choice by riding to Bruce and could not return to her husband or the young daughter she’d left behind. Unconsciously, Christina put her hand on her stomach, unable to imagine that kind of sacrifice. She’d had her suspicions confirmed only a few days ago, but already felt a deep attachment to the child she was carrying.

  At last, it was time for the ceremony she’d been waiting for.

  One by one, the warriors of Bruce’s elite Highland Guard stepped forward. Even in the daylight they were a fearsome sight. If she hadn’t come to know them all in the past two months, Christina would have thought them unreal—a figment of myth or fantasy. All in black, their identities masked by their darkened nasal helms, the secret warriors were called out by their code names to kneel below Bruce’s great sword. MacSorley was dubbed “Hawk,” MacRuairi “Viper,” MacKay “Saint,” Boyd “Raider,” Lamont “Hunter,” MacLe an “Striker,” MacGregor “Arrow,” Seton “Dragon,” and Gordon “Templar.”

  The last warrior to be called out was the one she’d been waiting for. The men had refused to tell her the name they’d decided on for her husband.

  “Chief,” Bruce called out.

  Her chest squeezed, moved by the great honor the men had bestowed on her husband. They might have come from different clans, but Tor had bound them together into a new one: MacLeomhann. Son of the Lion. A clan based not on kinship, but on a common purpose: freedom, and, as the new lion rampant tattoo on her husband’s arm signified, the restoration of Scotland’s crown to a Scot.

  She could see her husband’s eyes bright beneath the steel of his helm and knew the name had affected him, too.

  Heart in her throat, Christina watched as her husband moved forward to kneel before his king. Never had she been more proud of him. She knew the danger, but what he and these men were about to embark on would change history. Keeping his involvement secret would be difficult, but they were fortunate that he had a twin brother to help cover for him when he was away.

  Away. They would both sacrifice for this war.

  But when Tor bowed his head, and the blade of Bruce’s sword touched his shoulder, Christina knew that she’d found something far better than the knight of her dreams. She’d found the Highlander of her heart and a love that would last a lifetime.

  The ten warriors formed a circle around their king. Swords raised above his head, they cried out, “Airson an Leomhann!” For the Lion. A cry that would come to strike fear in men’s hearts.

  Operation Lion Rampant had begun.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Most of the main characters in the novel are loosely based on actual historical figures. “Tor” was the first chief and progenitor of Clan MacLeod (and great grandfather six times over of Rory MacLeod from Highlander Untamed). In the early fourteenth century, however, the clans as we think of them today were in their infancy. Even the term “Highlander” is probably anachronistic—the Oxford English Dictionary’s first “highlandman” citation is c.1425—but both fiction (Nigel Tranter) and nonfiction (G.W.S. Barrow) authors use the term for the period. I assume they found, like I did, that there really isn’t a good alternative. Besides, what fun is it to read a Scottish romance without a “Highlander”?

  The two branches of Clan MacLeod, the MacLeods of Harris and MacLeods of Lewis, are known as “Siol Thormoid” and “Siol Thorcuil,” respectively—literally the seed of Tormod and seed of Torquil. New work on MacLeod genealogy contravenes the previously accepted genealogy of Tormod and Torquil as brothers, instead suggesting Torquil might have been his grandson (the son of Murdoch). Seven hundred years after the fact, it is impossible to ascertain the genealogy for certain. I decided to use the traditional version, both for simplicity and because it’s the one still used by the current Chief of MacLeod on the Dunvegan website. Similarly, Tor’s patrilineage in Chapter One from the King of Norway and the King of Man is also greatly simplified and disputed.

  Most genealogists agree that Tor was married twice and that his second wife was Christina Fraser, the sister of Alexander (a close cohort of Bruce, who later marries his sister Mary) and Simon, the first Lord Lovat. Christina’s father was a prisoner in England for a time, but unlike in the story his family accompanied him. Presumably, Christina and her brothers would have spent some time at the English court.

  Tor’s marriage alliances are a perfect illustration of the shift that is taking place in the Western Isles during the period, from independent sea kingdom to Scottish fiefdom. His first marriage is with an important family on the western seaboard, his second with the daughter of a Scottish noble.

  The raid on Skye by the Earl of Ross actually occurred a couple of decades earlier than I suggested, in 1262. It was as brutal as I described, including the killing of children. The death of Tor’s parents during the raid, however, is fiction.

  According to some traditions, Torquil MacLeod received his lands in Lewis by killing all the male members of the Nicolson clan (by drowning them in the Minch) and then marrying the heiress daughter. I thought that was perhaps a little harsh for most readers’ taste and decided to put a more romantic spin on the story.

  The politics surrounding the First War of Scottish Independence are, to put it mildly, extremely complicated. For those interested in delving deeper into the period, I highly recommend G.W.S. Barrow’s Robert Bruce (Edinburgh University Press, 2005). For an entertaining historical fiction account, Nigel Tranter’s The Bruce Trilogy (Hodder Headline, 1985) is a classic.

  The relationship between Bruce and Wallace was much more complex than I’ve made it. They both wanted the English out of Scotland, but Wallace wanted the Balliol family restored to the crown while Bruce wanted the crown for himself. As suggested by Tor’s criticism of him in Chapter One, Bruce did flip-flop back and forth between the “patriot” side and the English. Bruce’s actions can usually be explained by looking at whom the Balliols/Comyns supported—usually you’ll find him on the other side.

  I glossed over what is probably the low point of Bruce’s life: the murder of his rival Red Comyn before the altar at the Greyfriars church. The accounts of events leading up to the murder are greatly disputed. One of the “romantic” versions (now discredited) is of a pact with Comyn and intercepted messengers carrying evidence of Bruce’s treason to Edward. I decided to use the story, as it fit in nicely with my learned heroine, but also because I had the same problem as