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Prologue

DEVIN MACLEOD

1875

I REMEMBER THE DAY I rode ahead of o, but that day rely e point in my life

Until then, I had spent a year conflicted by warring emotions

I was on my way to MacLeod Castle—my ancestral home from London

It had been a da the way, I made promises to m’self, to m’late uncle, m’father and m’mother—promises I meant to keep

I couldna go on ing in ht thing

Finally, I could see the pinnacles of the home m’uncle had always told me one day would be mine It was a sad fact

As I approached our family seat, I stared at the fairy-tale castle of turrets and pinnacles against the blue sky It was nificent

Aept throughthat always accosted me as a child, returned I was proud of the men who had carried the title before ood and just as they

In a few minutes, I would enter the castle and be addressed as his lordship by all the staff—soers to me

Here was a responsibility I meant to honor with fortitude and to the best of my ability

I had not seen o I should have visited him because he had written and asked ht I had time I didn’t knoas ill I should have known, but I didn’t

Thus, I lost the chance to be with him in his last year

I loved m’uncle—how had I not realized from his letters that he was ill?

When I received a letter fro me that m’uncle had passed quietly in his sleep, I had to read the words over and over for the unexpected, and unwelcome, truth to sink in

I was the last one left in my immediate family