Laird of Misrule

Tonight, Dugan planned to make sure the lass venturing out to peek at her future got what she was looking for. One moonlit encounter. That was all it might ever be, and yet, Dugan craved more. At the end of the harvest, Samhain bonfires had been held under the moon for as long as anyone remembered. Were they sinful? Perhaps. But they were fun, and Dugan intended to give himself another chance to see the lass he'd encountered at the well. Tonight though, he'd go so far as becoming the Laird of Misrule. The position came with a very pretty queen consort while the bonfire blazed. Her mother warned her against indulging in impulses. But that didn't stop Braylin from sneaking out to dance around the bonfire on the first night of Samhain. It was a chance to be free, if only for one moment. But fate has other ideas. Dugan is illegitimate, and his stepmother is determined to make sure he will never inherit the Hay lairdship. When the lady hears that Dugan has danced the night away with an English, a Puritan girl, it's the perfect chance to ensure her own son inherits. For if Lady Hay brings the girl to Hay land, Dugan will have to wed her or see his honor tarnished. Contains mature themes.