by Pamela Clare
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 - Inveraray, Scotland September 14, 1757
Chapter 2 - March 20, 1758 Near Otter Creek New York frontier
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Teaser chapter
Berkley Sensation Books by Pamela Clare
“Riveting, exciting . . . Pamela Clare delivers what readers want.”
—Connie Mason, New York Times bestselling author
“Pamela Clare is a fabulous storyteller whose beautifully written, fast-paced tales will leave you breathless with anticipation. She creates heroes, heroines, and villains with the ease of a master that draw the reader irresistibly into the story, making them part of the pain, the fear . . . and the passion.”
—Leigh Greenwood, USA Today bestselling author
Praise for the MacKinnon’s Rangers Novels
SURRENDER
“Be forewarned that this is not a book you’ll put down lightly. Once you start, you’ll be hard-pressed to do anything else but travel along on this journey filled with action, danger, fantastically vivid historical events and written in almost liquid prose: nonstop and ever-flowing words that blend together in a lifelike portrayal of colonial times and the people who stood up to almost unimaginable hardships, written only as Pamela Clare can write them . . . Surrender is a must-have . . . I can’t recommend this book highly enough.”
—Romance Reader at Heart
“An astonishing story. All you need to do is open the cover and read page one to know you’re being taken on an incredible journey and beginning one of the most exciting books ever written. Surrender is nothing short of genius, a work of art, written by a master storyteller. Pamela Clare pens a story so gut-wrenching, so intense, so deeply moving that you can barely put it down. There are wonderful one-liners that make you laugh along with the most beautiful words of love you’ll ever read. It’s an intense drama with unforgettable characters and a hero and heroine you’ll hold in your heart forever. Surrender to Surrender.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Trust me, you do not want to miss this exciting and HOT start to what promises to be a fabulous new series. I have loved all of Pamela Clare’s novels from the first one and this is one that I hated to see end . . . Great plot and characters as well as some very memorable supporting characters . . . If you love historical romance, be sure to pick this one up soon!”
—Night Owl Romance
“This is fantastic historical romance that uses the backdrop of the French and Indian War to tell a terrific tale of love. The story line is action packed . . . and never slows down until the final exhilarating climax . . . Fans will treasure this keeper and look forward to more MacKinnon thrillers.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Engrossing . . . This is a book to savor.”
—The Romance Reader
“Ms. Clare writes a compelling story that I found difficult to set aside. I was totally submerged in the characters and the story through the very end. I’m anxiously awaiting the next two novels where we will learn more about Iain’s brothers.”
—Once Upon A Romance
“[Surrender] has its fill of adventure . . . The author evokes her setting wonderfully . . . Readers looking for a passionate romance and plenty of adventure will likely enjoy this story.”
—All About Romance
UNTAMED
“Captivating . . . Clare’s detailed attention to the history of alliances forged and battles fought near Fort Ticonderoga adds authenticity, and the characters evolve and change with a realism that readers will love.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Sizzling sensuality, touching emotions, and great historical detail make this a sure winner . . . Magnificent . . . You need only to read the first page to know that you are beginning another historical romantic masterpiece by Pamela Clare, a master storyteller who always delights readers . . . Untamed will leave you breathless and cheering with its attention to historical detail, characters you can almost reach out and touch, a story line that’s deeply riveting, and a love story that will melt your heart as only these MacKinnons, Highland warriors, Scottish brothers, can do . . . You must always keep a Pamela Clare book on your keeper shelf. She is not just a read, she is a reread.”
—Fresh Fiction
“Riveting. Clare cleverly combines history and fiction to bring us a tale full of drama and sensuality, with well-drawn characters and continuous action.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A great tale . . . The story line is action packed but owned by the fleeing lead couple and the historical backdrop that makes this clearly must-reading for Colonial America romance fans.”
—Midwest Book Review
“This story had me from the first page. Pamela Clare is a master storyteller who writes stories steeped in historical settings that are so vivid you feel you are walking alongside the main characters as you view the story through their eyes. This one has it all. It is a story of honor, deception, loyalty, passion, duty, forgiveness, faith, and, above all, love. The main characters are strong and beautifully matched. They complete [each] other so perfectly . . . The love scenes are just to die for, and this story brought tears to my eyes more than once, as well. I highly recommend this stirring and wonderful series to anyone who loves a good love story.”
—Night Owl Romance
“Surrounded by the lush backdrop of the historical wild frontier, Untamed is the extraordinary story of how Morgan and Amalie find a once-in-a-lifetime love. The pages are filled with danger, excitement, and suspense. Compelling characters, a seemingly impossible conflict, and one of the most magnificent men I’ve ever read about make Untamed unforgettable . . . Every moment they share is incredibly sensual and erotic. I fell in love with Morgan. Amalie is perfect in every way for him. Untamed is the ultimate angst-filled romance . . . Untamed is perfect.”
—Joyfully Reviewed
“Both hero and heroine are strong, deep characters whose romance feels believable . . . This is a good read.”
—Curled Up With a Good Book
“A powerful story about two people who discover love despite war and betrayal . . . I felt truly invested in the characters in Untamed and found the time period captivating. Morgan has now taken the lead as my favorite hero of the year.”
—All About Romance
Berkley Sensation Books by Pamela Clare
EXTREME EXPOSURE
HARD EVIDENCE
UNLAWFUL CONTACT
NAKED EDGE
BREAKING POINT
SURRENDER
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
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A Berkley Sensation Book / published by arrangement with the author
PRINTING HISTORY
A Leisure Book mass-market edition / November 2008
Berkley Sensation mass-market paperback edition / December 2011
Copyright © 2006 by Pamela Clare.
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With love for my sons, Alec and Benjamin.
You will always be the best and
most important thing I have ever done.
Acknowledgments
With special thanks to Catrìona Mary Mac Kirnan for giving Iain and his brothers their Scottish Gaelic voice, Gary Zaboly for his meticulous drawings and research, Eileen Hannay for answering ten thousand questions and sharing the magic of Rogers Island with me, and Timothy Todish for his work on Robert Rogers’s journals. This series would not be the same without you.
I’d like to thank Natasha Kern for her tireless support and Cindy Hwang, my editor, for giving me the chance to revisit this series and breathe new life into its pages. I truly couldn’t bear to leave these characters behind, and because of you, I don’t have to. Additional thanks go to Leis Pederson for her kindness and help through the years.
I’d also like to offer heartfelt and lasting thanks to you, my readers, who’ve clamored to see the MacKinnon’s Rangers series continue. Your enthusiasm for Iain, Morgan, Connor, and the men—yes, even Lord William—means so very much to me.
Personal thanks to: Michelle White, Mary White, Sue Zimmerman, Kristi Ross, Libby Murphy, Ronlyn Howe, Jennifer Johnson, Suzanne Warren, Sara Megibow, and the wild women of RBL Romantica and Rebel Writers Refuge.
Thanks most of all to Robert Rogers and his Rangers, men who did the impossible back when doing the impossible was harder than it is today. They suffered unimaginable hardship on behalf of a people who have largely forgotten them.
To learn more about Robert Rogers and Rogers’ Rangers, visit the Rogers Island Visitors Center at www.rogersisland.org, or visit Rogers Island (Ranger Island) in Fort Edward, New York, a forgotten historical treasure.
PROLOGUE
July 28, 1755 Albany on the Hudson River The Colony of New York
If Lord William Wentworth needed proof that he had come to the outermost edge of civilization, he need only look out his window. In the dusty street below, a man who looked as if he’d never bathed rutted with an even filthier whore, pounding into her from behind with the mindfulness of an animal. A dog relieved itself in the dirt a few feet away. Two painted Indians strode by, seemed not to notice the tupping pair.
William supposed he ought to find the display below revolting. Instead, he felt mild amusement. He’d been in the colonies for four months now, and thus far the inhabitants had not ceased to provide diversion—nor the vastness and beauty of the land to stir his blood.
Behind him, Lieutenant Cooke, the young officer assigned to him, struggled to excuse Braddock’s recent devastating defeat. “The general had no experience fighting in such dense forest against so ruthless a foe, my lord. He expected the French and their allies to fight with honor, not shoot from the shadows like brigands.”
“Did he not have Indian scouts and provincials of his own to advise him?” William spoke without turning from the window, his gaze fixed on the coarse activity below. The man had come and was tucking himself back into his breeches.
“Aye, my lord.” Lieutenant Cooke fell into an uncomfortable silence.
They had come to the unpleasant truth of it.
“Why did Braddock fail?”
The whore smoothed her tattered skirts, then turned to the man and held out a grimy hand for her fee.
“Please, my lord, the general is but weeks in the grave. It hardly seems polite—”
“I did not call you here to eulogize General Braddock but to analyze his defeat. If you wish to advance in rank and one day lead men into battle, you must learn from the strategic errors of others. Is that understood, Lieutenant?”
“Aye, my lord.”
“Tell me, then. Why did Braddock fail?”
“He chose not to heed the advice of his provincials, and he offended his Indian fighters, many of whom abandoned him.”
The man in the street, having eased the ache in his groin, apparently didn’t wish to pay. He struck the whore across the face, knocking her to the ground.
“In sum, the general failed to recognize his own limitations.” It was a mistake William was determined not to make. “Braddock was an arrogant fool who paid for his hubris with his life—and the lives of his men.”
“Y-yes, my lord.”
The whore struggled to her feet, a sagging breast threatening to fall free of her low bodice. She leapt for the man, teeth and claws bared.
“What must be done if His Majesty is to prevail in the struggle for this continent, Lieutenant?”
The man struck the whore again, and a knife appeared in his hand.
“W-we must learn to fight as the heathen fight, my lord.”
“Or take into His Majesty’s service those who do.” William was so caught up in the tasteless little drama below that he scarce heard himself speak.
The man’s arm cut an arc through the air. The whore jumped back, stepped on her hems, fell backward with a shriek.
William was about to shout through the open window to interrupt imminent bloodshed, when a tall man—a trapper or frontiersman by the look of him—appeared out of nowhere. In the time it took William to blink, the trapper had subdued the man, dropped him to the ground, and ripped the knife from his grasp.
William had never seen any man move that quickly. Was the trapper part Indian perhaps? His dark hair hung well past his shoulders. His skin was brown from the sun, and Indian designs decorated his forearms, but he was dressed like a European in leather breeches and a simple shirt of homespun. Well over six feet, he carried a bundle of furs and what appeared to be a broadsword on his back. Around its handle was bound a str
ip of plaid.
An exiled Highlander.
In one hand, he held a rifle. A knife rested in its sheath at his left hip, a pistol at his right. A powder horn hung from his left shoulder, and around his waist was a leather pouch for flints and shot.
William watched as the Highlander—who had been joined by two other men so like him in dress and appearance they could only be his brothers—sorted out the dispute and forced the man to pay.
Enraged, the man tossed a coin into the dirt.
The whore grabbed it, bit it, then fled.
Lieutenant Cooke appeared at William’s side. “Is ought amiss, my lord? I’ll have those miscreants driven beyond the palisade, if you wish.”
William shook his head, smiled at the look of disgust on Cooke’s youthful face. “Are you familiar with the Ranger Corps, Lieutenant?”
“Most certainly, my lord. The ranging companies served His Majesty well during Governor Shirley’s War. Just the other day, General Johnson spoke of the need to outfit more such companies for this conflict.”
In the street below, the Highlander helped the man he’d bested to his feet, handed him back his knife. But outraged, the man lunged as if to plant his blade in the Highlander’s heart. The Highlander neatly sidestepped the blow, a grin on his face, then kicked the man’s legs out from under him, sending him sprawling.
“I’m in agreement with Johnson and have been charged with raising a company of Rangers to serve under my command at Fort Edward. If I am to succeed, it is men like those I must persuade to join me.”