Maximus: A Medieval Scottish Romance (The Immortal Highland Centurions Book 1)
Page 25
“And he’s increased the Guard, I see,” Maximus said, raising an eyebrow.
“Thirty new men,” Cassian confirmed. “Even with the Wallace’s force here, he’s not taking any chances.”
The three men fell silent then, letting the sigh of the wind eddy around them atop the wall. Below, the clang of metal from the forge echoed against the stone. Galbraith had wisely kept his mouth shut ever since Wallace decided to let the mystery of his brother’s disappearance go. However, Maximus had seen Blair a handful of times since—the man had a glare to curdle milk.
All of a sudden, a shout from below intruded. “Captain! There’s a man at the gates. He brings word!”
Cassian pushed himself off the wall and strode past Maximus and Draco, heading toward the stairs that led down to the lower ward.
His friends followed him. There was an urgency in the guard’s voice that alerted Maximus’s instincts. Something of note had happened.
They approached the main gates, where a courier stood next to a lathered courser. Clad in dusty leathers, his broad face flushed, the messenger watched Cassian approach.
“Captain Gaius,” the man gasped, still out of breath from the ride. “I have news for the laird … and it’s not good I’m afraid.”
“What is it?” Cassian greeted him. “You can tell me first.”
“The English have attacked. They have taken most of the Lowlands. And as I speak, Stirling is under siege.”
Behind them, Maximus heard the gathering crowd of guards and warriors start to mutter amongst themselves. Curses and oaths rang against the walls. They all knew that the English had been raiding north of the border, but no one thought they’d be so bold as to launch another full-scale assault—not this soon, at least.
Cassian ignored them. “Will Stirling hold?”
The man’s throat bobbed. “I doubt it … Edward’s forces far outnumber ours … the castle is likely to fall, if it hasn’t already.”
This news caused a chill to filter across the bailey. The angry mutters of the men behind them quietened to an ominous rumble.
“Come.” Cassian beckoned to the man. “De Keith and Wallace need to hear about this. I’ll take you to them.”
Maximus watched the two men walk off; they clove a path through the crowd to the steps leading into the keep. Once they’d disappeared, he turned to Draco. As often, his friend’s expression was impossible to read.
“Well … things are changing,” Maximus said in Latin. “Maybe that bodes well for us.”
Draco nodded, his mouth compressing. “Not for Scotland though,” he reminded him.
Maximus frowned. Draco was right. The people of this land had repelled a number of invaders over the years, including the might of the Roman Empire. King Edward of England wanted dominion over Scotland, and it appeared he wasn’t going to give up easily. Bloody years lay ahead for all of them.
But this time, Maximus would be fighting on the side of the Scots, and he was proud to do so.
Turning, he spied a woman emerge from the guard tower behind them. As always, the sight of his wife warmed his soul. Heather stood on the top step, brow furrowed as she watched the milling crowd. Maximus left Draco with a nod and made his way up to her.
“Edward has attacked,” he greeted her without preamble. “Stirling is under siege.”
Her throat bobbed, even as her grey-green eyes hardened. “So soon?”
Maximus nodded. Stepping close, he gazed down at her. “Honestly, Dunnottar is the safest place to be in Scotland right now.”
“But the English have taken this fortress before,” she reminded him, “and don’t forget Irvine and his ‘Battle Hammer’.”
There was little chance of that.
“And yet we have the Wallace,” he said after a pause. “A host of loyal men follow him, me among them.”
Heather held his gaze, her jaw firming. “The English hate Wallace, ye know? If Edward Longshanks discovers his greatest foe is here, he’ll pull down this fort, stone by stone.”
Maximus smiled, his fingers catching her by the chin. “And we’ll be ready for him.”
She stared back at him, her lips parting. “Ye are the bravest man I’ve ever met, Maximus Cato,” she murmured. “Does anything scare ye?”
“Not much,” he admitted sincerely, “not anymore.” He hesitated then, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw. “Just the thought of living on without you, carissima.”
Get Book #2 of The Immortal Highland Centurions
CASSIAN is now available!
A warrior who vows never to love again. The shy maid who adores him from afar. An adventure that will bind them. Unrequited love and friends to lovers in Medieval Scotland—with a touch of fantasy.
Cassian Gaius is over one thousand years old, and cursed. After watching his lover grow old and die, he vows to remain alone until the curse is broken. But three hundred years later, his acquaintance with a lady’s maid blossoms into something beyond his control.
Aila De Keith has been in love with Cassian ever since he took up the role as Captain of the Dunnottar Guard. Unfortunately, the enigmatic warrior remains polite yet distant with her.
But when Cassian and Aila accompany their laird and his wife on a mission to occupied Stirling, their relationship changes. The man they serve makes dangerous enemies, and Cassian and Aila are thrown into an adventure that risks revealing both their secrets: his immortality and her love for him.
Book #2 in The Immortal Highland Centurion series, CASSIAN is a tale of friendship, loyalty—and the courage to love.
Buy your copy of CASSIAN today—it’s also available in KU!
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FROM THE AUTHOR
Well … where to begin.
MAXIMUS was the book of my heart. I enjoy writing all my stories, yet I’ve never loved writing one as much as I did this novel. I actually started typing slower … just to prolong it!
Maximus and Heather stole my soul. I don’t usually start stories with a ‘one-night stand’, but it felt right for these two passionate characters. The adventure that follows had me awake at night thinking about how I was going to get them out of the trouble I’d written them into! On The Road Romance is so much fun to write!
I loved being able to blend two eras with a little bit of fantasy. Those of you who’ve read a few of my books know that I have a passion for the Dark Ages, and after writing about three sexy centurions, I definitely have a hankering to set some novels in Roman Britain … so watch this space.
There’s quite a bit of historical background that went into this novel (read my historical notes below for details on it), and it was great fun to weave some real events and characters into the plot. But for me, the story is everything, and I hope Maximus and Heather’s HEA left you as breathless as it did me.
Get ready for Cassian’s story, coming in a month’s time!
Follow me on Facebook to keep updated on my upcoming books. Or you can join my mailing list (not only do you get updates, exclusive stories, and a chance to join my ARC list, but you also receive a free e-book with the Maximus Origin Stories).
Jayne x
HISTORICAL NOTES
These notes are quite long—but if you like to know where my ideas come from, you should find them really interesting!
This tale hinges around the legend of the Ninth legion—an army of around five thousand men who marched into the wilds of Caledonia in around 118 AD and were never seen again.
The Ninth legion was also called ‘the Hispana’, or Spanish legion. The commanders would have all been Roman (hence Maximus coming from Ostia near Rome), but most of the legion was made up of soldiers from Hispania (Spain). Hence why my next two heroes come from there: Cassian comes from the north of Spain, and Draco is a Spanish Moor from the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
There are many stories and theories about what may have happened to all
those men. The most likely (posed by the author Rosemary Sutcliffe in her amazing book, The Eagle of the Ninth) is that the soldiers were slowly picked off by Pictish war bands on their way north and then ambushed when their numbers dwindled. The book has been made into the movie The Eagle, which is good (although the storyline has been altered a little!). The movie Centurion is also about the fate of a group of Roman centurions from the Ninth who survive a massacre and try to return to their garrison in the south. Both movies are worth watching if the legend fascinates you, as it does me.
Of course, my story where our three survivors are cursed by a Pictish bandruí, is pure fantasy … but who knows …
Halley’s Comet is a prominent feature in the whole series. Back in the Dark Ages and Medieval period it didn’t go by that name (as it was named after the scientist who ‘discovered’ it in 1758). Instead, there are references to it being called ‘the fire-tailed star’. Maximus calls it ‘the Broom-star’, which was actually a name that Chinese astronomers attached to the comet. Halley’s Comet appears in our skies every 75-76 years, and in ancient times it was often heralded as an ill omen. The comet actually appeared in the night-sky in the months preceding the Norman invasion of England, something which the English blamed for their defeat. The Bayeux tapestry even shows the comet! The year that Maximus and Heather meet, 1301, was a year in which the comet was sighted.
Dunnottar (pronounced Doonotter) does mean ‘fort on the shelving slope’ in Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear. The castle is a mighty stronghold perched upon cliffs on the north-eastern coast of Scotland. As I mention in my story, the castle was taken by the English in the final years of the 13th Century and then liberated by William Wallace and his men. When the English garrison realized they were doomed, they locked themselves inside the chapel, hoping to find sanctuary there. However, Wallace showed them no mercy and burned the lot of them to death inside it.
William Wallace, of course, is the famous Scottish freedom fighter. He has a small role in MAXIMUS, but as you might have guessed will be appearing in the next two books as well. History records him as a huge, giant of a man with thick dark hair and beard. He was also reputed to have a terrible temper. Not a man to mess with!
The year 1301, when our story starts in earnest, is also in the midst of the First Scottish Wars of Independence (although the conflict wasn’t called that at the time). This was a politically complex time, and as such, I have deliberately simplified aspects of it. When MAXIMUS begins, the English have started raiding again after a period of uneasy peace. Later that year, Edward ‘Longshanks’ of England resumes his campaign in earnest—as we discover in the Epilogue. The laird of Dunnottar, Robert De Keith was an English prisoner, as I describe, and he did have a wife named Elizabeth. However, his brother David, is fictitious, as is Lady Gavina.
Apparently, the De Keith and the Irvine clans did feud over the years, although Shaw Irvine and his ‘Battle Hammer’ are pure fiction.
When Maximus and Heather arrive in Stirling, I mention The Battle of Stirling Bridge. This occurred in September 1297, when the forces of William Wallace and Andrew Moray defeated the English there. I also mention the church of the Holy Rude. The kirk does exist, although (to my knowledge) there is no temple of Mithras underneath it!
I got the idea for the temple from a church in Rome, Italy. The Catholic church of San Clemente al Laterano (near the Colosseum) stands atop a 2nd Century mithraeum, a temple to the ancient Roman god Mithras. I visited the church and temple many years ago (I lived in Rome for a decade in my twenties), but can still remember descending to the dark, damp, cave-like vault, and seeing the altar where a relief depicts Mithras slaying a bull. In the pre-Christian era of the Roman Empire, Mithras was a very popular god worshipped mainly by soldiers.
This idea was so cool, I’ve been dying to use it in a story for years!
Of course, as with all my novels, I bend and shape historical fact to suit the story I’m telling. As much as I love research and incorporating fascinating details, they can never overshadow the love story.
CHARACTER GLOSSARY
The three immortal centurions:
Maximus—from Ostia, Italia
Cassian—from Brigantium, Hispania
Draco—from Valentia, Hispania
William Wallace—Scottish freedom fighter
The De Keiths
Robert De Keith (former laird of Dunnottar, currently imprisoned by the English)
Elizabeth De Keith (Robert’s wife)
Robbie De Keith (Robert and Elizabeth’s young son)
David De Keith (Robert’s younger brother—current laird of Dunnottar Castle)
Gavina De Keith (David’s wife, née Ivine)
Donnan De Keith (Steward of Dunnottar)
Iona De Keith (Donnan’s wife)
Heather De Keith (Donnan and Iona’s eldest daughter)
Aila De Keith (Heather’s younger sister)
The Irvines
Shaw Irvine (laird of Drum Castle—brother to Gavina De Keith)
The Galbraiths
Logan Galbraith (laird of Culcreuch Castle)
Lena Galbraith (Logan’s wife)
Cory Galbraith (Logan and Lena’s son—the eldest of four sons: Rory, Aran, and Duglas)
Iain Galbraith (cousin to Cory, former blacksmith of Fintry)
Blair Galbraith (Iain’s younger brother, smith at Dunnottar)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks so much to my wonderful readers. Your emails and social media messages mean the world to me—it’s such a thrill to know that my stories touch you.
I’d also like to thank the wonderful Otago/Southland Chapter of RWNZ (Romance Writers of New Zealand). You’re such a supportive and encouraging group of writers. Among the group, special thanks goes to Laura H, for her suggestion that Halley’s Comet would be a cool inclusion in this book. You were so right, Laura!
And a huge thank you to my husband, Tim, who works as hard as I do on these books! You’re amazing, Timbo.
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Your free short stories are waiting!
MORE WORKS BY JAYNE CASTEL
HISTORICAL ROMANCE SET IN DARK AGES BRITAIN
THE KINGDOM OF THE EAST ANGLES
Book #1: Dark Under the Cover of Night
Book #2: Nightfall till Daybreak
Book #3: The Deepening Night
The Kingdom of the East Angles: The Complete Series
THE KINGDOM OF MERCIA
Book #1: The Breaking Dawn
Book #2: Darkest before Dawn
Book #3: Dawn of Wolves
The Kingdom of Mercia: The Complete Series
THE KINGDOM OF NORTHUMBRIA
Book #1: The Whispering Wind
Book #2: Wind Song
Book #3: Lord of the North Wind
The Kingdom of Northumbria: The Complete Series
HISTORICAL ROMANCE SET IN DARK AGES SCOTLAND
THE WARRIOR BROTHERS OF SKYE
Book #1: Blood Feud
Book #2: Barbarian Slave
Book #3: Battle Eagle
The Warrior Brothers of Skye: The Complete Series
THE PICT WARS
Book #1: Warrior’s Heart
Book #2: Warrior’s Secret
Book #3: Warrior’s Wrath
HISTORICAL ROMANCE SET IN MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND
THE BRIDES OF SKYE
Book #1: The Beast’s Bride
Book #2: The Outlaw’s Bride
Book #3: The Rogue’s Bride
The Brides of Skye: The Complete Series
THE SISTERS OF KILBRIDE
Book #1: Unforgotten
Book #2: Awoken
Book #3: Fallen
Book #4: Claimed (Bonus novella)
THE IMMORTAL HIGHLAND CENTURIONS
Book #1: Maximus
Book #2: Cassian
Book #3: Draco (available on preorder, release date December 3, 2020)
EPIC FANTASY ROMANCE
LIGHT AND DARKNESS
Book #1: Ruled by Shadows
Book #2: The Lost Swallow
Book #3: Path of the Dark
Light and Darkness: The Complete Series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning author Jayne Castel writes epic Historical and Fantasy Romance. Her vibrant characters, richly researched historical settings and action-packed adventure romance transport readers to forgotten times and imaginary worlds.
Jayne is the author of the Amazon bestselling BRIDES OF SKYE series—a Medieval Scottish Romance trilogy about three strong-willed sisters and the men who love them. An exciting spin-off series set in the same story-world, THE SISTERS OF KILBRIDE, is now available as well. In love with all things Scottish, Jayne also writes romances set in Dark Ages Scotland ... sexy Pict warriors anyone?
When she's not writing, Jayne is reading (and re-reading) her favorite authors, cooking Italian feasts, and taking her dog, Juno, for walks. She lives in New Zealand's beautiful South Island.