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Cocooned in warm down, Catriona smiled Just what her title ht her a witch-she'd even used the fiction to scare aould be suitors Both church and state had little love of witches, but the vale's isolation kept her safe, there were feho knew of her existence, and none to question her authority or the doctrine fro

All the inhabitants of the vale knehat she hat her position entailed With roots buried generations deep in the fertile soil, her tenants, all those who lived and worked in the vale, viewed "their lady" as the local representative of The Lady herself, older than tiuardian of their past and their future They all, each in his oay, paid ho confidence, relied on her earthly representative to watch over them and the vale

To guard, to protect, to nurture, nourish, and heal-those were The Lady's tenets, the only directives Catriona followed and to which she'd unstintingly devoted her life As had her randmother before her She lived life simply in accordance with The Lady's dictates, which was usually an easy task

Except in one arena

Her gaze shifted to the parchment left unfolded on her dresser A Perth solicitor had written to inforuardian, Seamus McEnery, and to bid her attend McEnery House for the reading of the will McEnery House stood on a bleak hillside in The Trossachs, north and west of Perth; in her mind's eye Catriona could see it clearly-it was the one place outside the vale in which she'd spent more than a day

When, six years ago, her parents had died, Seauardian A cold hard man, he had insisted she take up residence at McEnery House, so he could better find a suitor for her hand-a id fist clas, she'd been forced to obey; she'd left the vale and gone north to meet Seamus

To do battle with Seaht to remain the lady of the vale, to reside at Casphairn Manor and care for her people Three weeks of turmoil and drama later, she'd returned to the vale; Sea And, Catriona was quite certain, he had never again taken The Lady's name in vain

Now Seaone His eldest son, Jamie, would succeed him Catriona knew Jamie, like all Seamus's children he was mildhow best to respond to the solicitor's request, she d been esting that, after the as read and Jauardian, Jah she foresaw no difficulty in handling Jath The vale was her honed supreme Yet…

She focused again on the parchment, after an instant, the outline blurred-once more the vision swam before her mind's eye For a fullpatriarchal nose, deterularity and hardness His broas concealed by a lock of black hair; those piercing blue eyes were deep set beneath arched black blows and fraht, unco line, told her little-indeed that was her suhts, his emotions From chance observers

She wasn't a chance observer Presentiment-nay, certainty-of future contact couard, behind his reserved facade and tentatively opened her senses

Hunger-hot, ravenous-a prowling, aniers of heat; its tug was even more physical Beyond it, in the deeper shadows, lay…restlessness A soul-deep sense of drifting, rudderless, upon life's sea