Never Seduce a Scot (The Montgomerys and Armstrongs, #1)

by Maya Banks

The winter snows had fled, chased by the warmth of longer days. All was well. King Alexander II could focus on other matters, but for one thing. One very big thing. His two most powerful allies, the two most powerful clans in his kingdom, loathed the very sight of each other. The Montgomerys and the Armstrongs were at war. This was no simple feud. The king had not the time, nor the desire, to lose such valuable supporters to infighting. Now that the winter snows had thawed and the long nights had come to an end, battle would resume. Clansmen would be lost. And so the king devised a plan to force peace between two bitter enemies. Early one morning, before the sun had fully risen over the horizon, he sent two messengers on horseback, each to deliver the royal decree to Laird Armstrong and Laird Montgomery. He only hoped to hell that they didn’t kill each other at the wedding.

But now he was going to be saddled with a woman he knew next to nothing about? It was bad enough she was addled and couldn’t perform as a wife, but she was an Armstrong, which meant no matter if she was the most perfect woman in all of the highlands, Graeme wanted nothing to do with her. When he married, it would be to a lass of his own clan. He’d never marry someone who would bring danger, anger, and dissension to his people. And Eveline Armstrong would certainly do just that.

She’d awakened in her chamber to a world of silence. She hadn’t understood, hadn’t known how to make her ailment known. Her throat was swollen and she suffered a fever for many long days. Even if she’d wanted to speak, the mere effort caused her too much pain and so she’d remained silent, bewildered by the quietness surrounding her. Later, she would be made to understand that she’d lain close to death for over a fortnight. The healer had noted swelling of her head and had worried her fever was such that it had caused damage to her mind. Perhaps in the beginning, Eveline had believed her. Then there were times when Eveline thought that losing her ability to hear was punishment for her fateful decision to rebel against her father. It had taken her a long time to adjust, and she was too shamed to tell her parents the truth. They’d looked at her with such disappointment and such devastation in their eyes, and perhaps she would have found the courage to tell them all and to explain to them that she could no longer hear, but then the McHughs had come to her father, demanding to know of Eveline’s condition. Unable to gain assurance that Eveline was hale and hearty, Ian was quick to break off the betrothal, and who could blame him? Not even her father could find fault with a man who didn’t want a wife whose mental awareness was in question. She hadn’t wanted to admit to having lost her hearing because she’d secretly hoped that it would be miraculously restored. One day she’d awake...

Her husband. He was here to take her away from everything she knew and loved. This was the one place she felt safe and protected. Cherished by her family, indulged by her clan. But hadn’t she once longed for a normal life? A new adventure? To see something outside the walls of her keep? She hadn’t ventured beyond the Armstrong borders in her entire lifetime. There had been a time she’d welcomed her betrothal to Ian McHugh. She’d been flushed with excitement and filled with dreams of a husband, children, her own keep to run. Oh, she’d planned it all. Visits back to her family. They would travel to her husband’s holding for the birth of her first child. There would be much rejoicing and happiness. But that fantasy had quickly evaporated the moment Ian had made known his intentions toward her. Her dreams had been replaced by a nightmare she’d feared never escaping. She hated hiding here, behind her father and mother and even her brothers. Allowing others to think she was less than she was. But what she most hated was having to give up that dream.

“Eveline is … different. She’s not daft. ’Tis God’s truth, I do not fully understand the depth of what has afflicted her. When she was younger, three years past, she took a fall from her horse into a ravine and remained there three days before we were able to find her.” Graeme frowned. “Are you saying she wasn’t born this way? That whatever affliction she has was because of an injury?” “Aye. Well, nay. She wasn’t born this way. There has never been a sweeter child. Intelligent. Sharp witted. Full of life and laughter. She would have made any man a wife he’d fight for. But she was ill for a length of time after her fall. And she was never the same afterward. She doesn’t speak. Hasn’t spoken since she awakened from a deep slumber of over a fortnight.” “ ’Tis all? She doesn’t speak?” Some husbands would be grateful for such a gift. Robina shook her head. “I’m trying to tell you that she won’t make you a fit wife. You can’t treat her as you would another woman. Please, if you have any mercy at all, you’ll treat her kindly and leave her alone. She does not deserve to be punished for what has been wrought by her kin.” Anger was starting to prickle over his flesh and up his nape until his jaw was tight. “I don’t make war against women and the innocent,” he growled. “I won’t repeat myself again.” “By all that is holy, Montgomery, if any harm comes to my daughter when she is in your care, there is no rock you will be able to hide under,” Tavis bit out. “I will come for you with the...