New York Times bestselling author Bertrice Small continues her Border Chronicles with this tale of a woman rescued, a man enraptured, and a love unanticipated by the fates . . .



Duncan Armstrong, laird of Duffdour, had sworn never to wed unless it was to a lass he truly loved. But when he needs a favor from King James, Duncan never expects what he's forced to pay in return: the taking of a bride he neither loves nor desires.



When Highland heiress Ellen MacArther's marriage plans are thwarted by a murder attempt, she has no choice but to beg the king for help. The cost for her urgent plea: to surrender her heritage and become a border lord's bride.



But the price to be paid for two strangers thrown together by fate is higher than imagined. And more dangerous than the passion—and betrayal—that could consume them.



Contains mature themes.