“I have something for ye, laddie,” she said, reverting to the motherly tone he heard every now and then when she was feeling kindly towards him. “Here.”
Ross looked at the object she held in her hand and felt his throat tighten.
“I have nae sons to pass it to, and ye are the son of my heart. My husband gave me this the day we wed, and… I should like for ye to have, to give to yer wife, and then to yer first born.”
He reached out, taking the silver brooch from her hand, tracing the fine craftsmanship. Two interlocking hearts, one smaller, held by a larger heart, linked with a crown atop.
It was the tradition for the groom to give such a gift, a luckenbooth brooch, to his bride. It would then be pinned to the blanket of their firstborn, for luck.
“I know, with the way it came about, that ye’ll not have had time for such things, so I thought—”
Ross hugged her, holding the tiny woman closer and kissing the top of her head. “Tapadh leat, a mhàthair, airson a h-uile càil.”
Mrs Murray gave a startled laugh and Ross smiled at her, repeating the words in English. “Thank you, Mother, for everything.”
“Oh, Ross, ye dinnae need—”
“Aye, and ye didnae need give me a second glance when yer had mouths to feed of ye own and cares enough that would have broken a lesser woman, but ye always did. Ye never once turned me away. If I am the son of yer heart, then ye must allow me the same privilege. We’re family.”
He looked around the table, at Digby, who’d practically fallen into his life, at the brothers he’d known nothing about… at his wife.
“Perhaps we’re not all blood,” he said, turning to look back at her. “But we’re family just the same, and I take care of what’s mine.”
She reached up and patted his cheek, her eyes bright and happy.
“I’m proud of you, mo mhac,” she said, and for the first time in his life, Ross felt perhaps he was worth being proud of. “Now then,” she said, a far more familiar no-nonsense tone to her voice. “Away with ye and give yer bonnie wife the luckenbooth, and may it bring ye joy and prosperity, always.”
“It will,” Ross said, feeling utterly confident. “I dinnae have the slightest doubt of that.”
Coming this winter in the Rogues & Gentlemen Series, don’t miss Sampson’s story in Book 17
Melting Miss Wynter
Rogues & Gentlemen, Book 17
Want more Emma?
If you enjoyed this book, please support this indie author and take a moment to leave a few words in a review. Thank you!
To be kept informed of special offers and free deals (which I do regularly) follow me on https://www.bookbub.com/authors/emma-v-leech
To find out more and to get news and sneak peeks of the first chapter of upcoming works, go to my website and sign up for the newsletter.
http://www.emmavleech.com/
Come and join the fans in my Facebook group for news, info and exciting discussion...
Emma’s Book Club
Or Follow me here......
http://viewauthor.at/EmmaVLeechAmazon
Emma’s Twitter page
About Me!
I started this incredible journey way back in 2010 with The Key to Erebus but didn’t summon the courage to hit publish until October 2012. For anyone who’s done it, you’ll know publishing your first title is a terribly scary thing! I still get butterflies on the morning a new title releases but the terror has subsided at least. Now I just live in dread of the day my daughters are old enough to read them.
The horror! (On both sides I suspect.)
2017 marked the year that I made my first foray into Historical Romance and the world of the Regency Romance, and my word what a year! I was delighted by the response to this series and can’t wait to add more titles. Paranormal Romance readers need not despair however as there is much more to come there too. Writing has become an addiction and as soon as one book is over I’m hugely excited to start the next so you can expect plenty more in the future.
As many of my works reflect I am greatly influenced by the beautiful French countryside in which I live. I’ve been here in the South West for the past twenty years though I was born and raised in England. My three gorgeous girls are all bilingual and the youngest who is only six, is showing signs of following in my footsteps after producing The Lonely Princess all by herself.
I’m told book two is coming soon ...
She’s keeping me on my toes, so I’d better get cracking!
KEEP READING TO DISCOVER MY OTHER BOOKS!
Other Works by Emma V. Leech
(For those of you who have read The French Fae Legend series, please remember that chronologically The Heart of Arima precedes The Dark Prince)
Rogues & Gentlemen
The Rogue
The Earl’s Temptation
Scandal’s Daughter
The Devil May Care
Nearly Ruining Mr. Russell
One Wicked Winter
To Tame a Savage Heart
Persuading Patience
The Last Man in London
Flaming June
Charity and the Devil
A Slight Indiscretion
The Corinthian Duke
The Blackest of Hearts
Duke and Duplicity
The Scent of Scandal (July 12, 2019)
Melting Miss Wynter (coming soon)
The Regency Romance Mysteries
Dying for a Duke
A Dog in a Doublet
The Rum and the Fox
Girls Who Dare
To Dare a Duke
To Steal A Kiss (May 3, 2019)
To Break the Rules (June 7, 2019)
To Follow Her Heart (August 9, 2019)
To Wager with Love (coming soon)
The French Vampire Legend
The Key to Erebus
The Heart of Arima
The Fires of Tartarus
The Boxset (The Key to Erebus, The Heart of Arima)
The Son of Darkness (TBA)
The French Fae Legend
The Dark Prince
The Dark Heart
The Dark Deceit
The Darkest Night
Short Stories: A Dark Collection.
Stand Alone
The Book Lover (a paranormal novella)
Audio Books!
Don’t have time to read but still need your romance fix? The wait is over…
By popular demand, get your favourite Emma V Leech Regency Romance books on audio at Audible as performed by the incomparable Philip Battley and Gerard Marzilli. Several titles available and more added each month!
Click the links to choose your favourite and start listening now.
Rogues & Gentlemen
The Rogue
The Earl’s Tempation
Scandal's Daughter
The Devil May Care
Nearly Ruining Mr Russell
One Wicked Winter
To Tame a Savage Heart
Persuading Patience
The Last Man in London (coming soon)
Flaming June
Girls Who Dare
To Dare a Duke (coming soon)
The Regency Romance Mysteries
Dying for a Duke
Girls Who Dare– The exciting new series from Emma V Leech, the multi-award-winning, Amazon Top 10 romance writer behind the Rogues & Gentlemen series.
Inside every wallflower is the beating heart of a lioness, a passionate individual willing to risk all for their dream, if only they can find the courage to begin. When these overlooked girls make a pact to change their lives, anything can happen.
Ten girls – Ten dares in a hat. Who will dare to risk it all?
To Dare a Duke
Girls Who Dare Book 1
Dreams of true love and happy ever afters
Dreams of love are all well and good, but all Prunella Chuffington-Smythe wants is to publish her novel. Marriage at the price of her independence is something
she will not consider. Having tasted success writing under a false name in The Lady’s Weekly Review, her alter ego is attaining notoriety and fame and Prue rather likes it.
A Duty that must be endured
Robert Adolphus, The Duke of Bedwin, is in no hurry to marry, he’s done it once and repeating that disaster is the last thing he desires. Yet, an heir is a necessary evil for a duke and one he cannot shirk. A dark reputation precedes him though, his first wife may have died young, but the scandals the beautiful, vivacious and spiteful creature supplied the ton have not. A wife must be found. A wife who is neither beautiful or vivacious but sweet and dull, and certain to stay out of trouble.
Dared to do something drastic
The sudden interest of a certain dastardly duke is as bewildering as it is unwelcome. She’ll not throw her ambitions aside to marry a scoundrel just as her plans for self-sufficiency and freedom are coming to fruition. Surely showing the man she’s not actually the meek little wallflower he is looking for should be enough to put paid to his intentions? When Prue is dared by her friends to do something drastic, it seems the perfect opportunity to kill two birds.
However, Prue cannot help being intrigued by the rogue who has inspired so many of her romances. Ordinarily, he plays the part of handsome rake, set on destroying her plucky heroine. But is he really the villain of the piece this time, or could he be the hero?
Finding out will be dangerous, but it just might inspire her greatest story yet.
To Dare a Duke
Interested in a Regency Romance with a twist?
Dying for a Duke
The Regency Romance Mysteries Book 1
Straight-laced, imperious and morally rigid, Benedict Rutland - the darkly handsome Earl of Rothay - gained his title too young. Responsible for a large family of younger siblings that his frivolous parents have brought to bankruptcy, his youth was spent clawing back the family fortunes.
Now a man in his prime and financially secure he is betrothed to a strict, sensible and cool-headed woman who will never upset the balance of his life or disturb his emotions ...
But then Miss Skeffington-Fox arrives.
Brought up solely by her rake of a step-father, Benedict is scandalised by everything about the dashing Miss.
But as family members in line for the dukedom begin to die at an alarming rate, all fingers point at Benedict, and Miss Skeffington-Fox may be the only one who can save him.
FREE to read on Amazon Kindle Unlimited.. Dying for a Duke
Lose yourself in Emma’s paranormal world with The French Vampire Legend series.
The Key to Erebus
The French Vampire Legend Book 1
The truth can kill you.
Taken away as a small child, from a life where vampires, the Fae, and other mythical creatures are real and treacherous, the beautiful young witch, Jéhenne Corbeaux is totally unprepared when she returns to rural France to live with her eccentric Grandmother.
Thrown headlong into a world she knows nothing about she seeks to learn the truth about herself, uncovering secrets more shocking than anything she could ever have imagined and finding that she is by no means powerless to protect the ones she loves.
Despite her Gran’s dire warnings, she is inexorably drawn to the dark and terrifying figure of Corvus, an ancient vampire and master of the vast Albinus family.
Jéhenne is about to find her answers and discover that, not only is Corvus far more dangerous than she could ever imagine, but that he holds much more than the key to her heart …
FREE to read on Kindle Unlimited The Key to Erebus
Check out Emma’s exciting fantasy series with hailed by Kirkus Reviews as “An enchanting fantasy with a likable heroine, romantic intrigue, and clever narrative flourishes.”
The Dark Prince
The French Fae Legend Book 1
Two Fae Princes
One Human Woman
And a world ready to tear them all apart
Laen Braed is Prince of the Dark fae, with a temper and reputation to match his black eyes, and a heart that despises the human race. When he is sent back through the forbidden gates between realms to retrieve an ancient fae artifact, he returns home with far more than he bargained for.
Corin Albrecht, the most powerful Elven Prince ever born. His golden eyes are rumoured to be a gift from the gods, and destiny is calling him. With a love for the human world that runs deep, his friendship with Laen is being torn apart by his prejudices.
Océane DeBeauvoir is an artist and bookbinder who has always relied on her lively imagination to get her through an unhappy and uneventful life. A jewelled dagger put on display at a nearby museum hits the headlines with speculation of another race, the Fae. But the discovery also inspires Océane to create an extraordinary piece of art that cannot be confined to the pages of a book.
With two powerful men vying for her attention and their friendship stretched to the breaking point, the only question that remains...who is truly The Dark Prince.
The man of your dreams is coming...or is it your nightmares he visits? Find out in Book One of The French Fae Legend.
Free to read on Kindle Unlimited
The Dark Prince
Acknowledgements
Thanks, of course, to my wonderful editor Kezia Cole.
To Victoria Cooper for all your hard work, amazing artwork and above all your unending patience!!! Thank you so much. You are amazing!
To my BFF, PA, personal cheerleader and bringer of chocolate, Varsi Appel, for moral support, confidence boosting and for reading my work more times than I have. I love you loads!
With many thanks to Alison Wilson, native Highlander, for her help with accent, language and information on the landscape of Scotland. Please note that Tor Castle really exists. It was once the site of an Iron Age fort and according to tradition belonged to Banquo who features in Macbeth. It became the principle residence of the Clan Chattan but was abandoned after the 1745 rebellion and allowed to fall into ruin. All characters and history in this story are completely fictional, however, as is the village of Torkeldy which never existed.
As always, a huge thank you to all of Emma’s Book Club members! You guys are the best!
I’m always so happy to hear from you so do email or message me :)
[email protected]
To my husband Pat and my family ... For always being proud of me.
The Scent of Scandal (Rogues and Gentlemen Book 16) Page 24