Page 33 (1/2)

Prologue

Scotland, 1100

The deathwatch was over

Alec Kincaid's wo laid to rest The weather was foul, as foul as the expressions on the faces of those few clan e

It was unholy ground Helena Louise Kincaid was being placed in, for the new bride of the hty chieftain had taken her own life and was therefore doo place outside the true Christian cemetery The church wouldn't all ow a body with a sure round A black soul was like a bad apple, the church leaders supposed, and the thought of one rotten soul staining the pure ones was too grave a possibility to ignore

Hard rain spit down on the clansmen The body, wrapped in the Kincaid red, black, and heather-colored plaid, was dripping wet and aardly weighty when settled inside the fresh pine box Alec Kincaid saw to the task alone, all owing no other to touch his dead wife

The old priest, Father Murdock, stood a respectable distance away from the others He didn't look at all comfort able with the lack of proper ceremony There weren't any prayers to cover death by suicide

And what solace could he possibly offer the mourners when one and all knew Helena was already on her way to hel ? The church had decreed her sorry fate Eternity by fire was the only penalty for suicide

It hasn't been easy for me I stand beside the priest, my expression as solemn as those of the other clan h not for Helena's benefit No, I give the Lord my thanks because the chore is finally finished

Helena took the longest tiony and suspense I had to endure, and all the while praying she wouldn't open her eyes or speak the da truth

Kincaid's bride putti inside, of course I stopped the tor the breath out of her by holding the Kincaid plaid over her face It didn't takeat all, and Helena, in her weakened state, didn't put up much of a fuss

God, it was a satisfyingfound out made th down my spine at the same time

I got aithI cannot say a word, of course, and I dare not let aze

I turn my attention to Alec Kincaid now Helena's husband stands by the gaping hole in the ground His hands are fisted at his sides and his head is bowed I wonder if he's angry or saddened by his bride's sinful death It's difficult to knohat's going on inside his mind, for he always keeps his emotions carefully masked

It doesn't et over her death, given the passage of tie hihtful place

The priest suddenly coughs, a racking, aching sound that turns h he wants to weep I stare at hiins to shake his head I nohat he's thinking The thought is there, on his face, for everyone to see

The Kincaid woman has shamed them all

God help h

Chapter One

England, 1102

They said he kil ed his first wife

Papa saidIt was a most unfortunate rehters, and Baron Jamison realized his blunder as soon as the words were out of hisout his unkind comment

Three of his four daughters had already taken to heart the foul gossip about Alec Kincaid They didn't much care for their father's view on the atrocity, either The baron's twins, Agnes and Alice, wept loudly and, as was their particularly irritating habit, in unison as well , while their usual y sweet-te table in the great hall , where their confused father sat slu ale In between the twins' noisy choruses of outrage, his gentle little Mary interjected one sinful tattle after another she'd heard about the Highland warrior ould be arriving at their home in a paltry week's time

Mary, deliberately or nay, was stirring the twins into a full lather of snorting and screeching It was enough to try the patience of the devil himself

Papa tried to give the Scotsman his full defense Since he'd never actuallybut ill , unrepeatable rumors about the man's black character, he was therefore forced to make up all his favorable remarks

And all for naught

Aye, it asted effort on his part, for his daughters weren't paying the least attention to what he was saying That shouldn't have surprised hiels never listened to his opinions

The baron was terribly inept at soothing his daughters when they were in a state, a fact that hadn't particularly bothered hiain the upper hand He didn't want to look the fool in front of his uninvited guests, be they Scots or nay, and fool he'd certainly be called if his daughters continued to ignore his instructions

After downing a third gulp of ale, the baron suumption He slaetter, then announced that all this talk about the Scots a murderer was nonsense

When that stateot the better of hiossip turned true, thenof the foul deed It had probably just started out as a proper thrashing, he speculated, and as things had a way of doing, the beating had gotten a wee bit out of hand

That explanation ained him an attentive audience, too, but the incredulous looks on his daughters' faces weren't the result he'd hoped to accoels stared at hi off the tip of his nose They thought him daft, he suddenly realized The baron's weak temper exploded full measure then, and he bel owed that the sorry woman had probably sassed her lord back once too often

It was a lesson that his disrespectful daughters would do well to take to heart

The baron had only hters He knew he'd failed in the extreain The sound made his head ache He cupped his hands over his ears to block out the grating noise, then closed his eyes against the hot glare Mary was giving him The baron actually slu the floor His head was bent, his guone, and in desperation, he turned to his faithful servant, Herhter

The gray-haired servant looked relieved by the order, nodding several ti The baron could have sworn on the Holy Cross that he heard the servant iven

A scant ten minutes elapsed before the baron's namesake walked into the htened in his chair After giving Herlare to let hio of his scowl And when he turned to watch his youngest, he let out a long sigh of relief

His Jae

Baron Ja now, then admitted to himself that it just wasn't possible to stay sour when his Jamie was near

She was such a bewitching sight, so pleasing to look upon, in fact, that a et all his worries