The king sat in Camlochlin Castle’s Great Hall sipping a lethal concoction of what the MacGregors had affectionately called “the best poison in the Highlands.” He had to admit, the brew was exceptional, if not a bit scorching on the way down. After burying the dead, they drank to a good fight and to the king’s fallen—thirteen soldiers that a young man called Finn promised to honor in a song later.

James’s daughter was not among those at the table. She was off somewhere instead in the company of the chief’s wife and his sister. According to Finn, Maggie MacGregor loved Davina as her own daughter, and if the king tried to fetch her before the celebration ended, Katie MacGregor would give him a tongue-lashing he would not soon forget, king or not.

As James listened to the men’s laughter around him, he thought of days long past, when he fought in Spain and France, beside men who had become his brothers.

That same camaraderie and respect existed here. These men knew that whatever came, they would fight together to protect their home. Not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Such loyalty was difficult to find in England, and James couldn’t blame Davina for not wanting to leave. After seeing the MacGregors fight, he knew that Colin had been truthful when he said there was no safer place on earth for Davina than at Camlochlin. How could he take her away from this and bring her to a place where every smile was false and any hand could be working against him? How wise was it for him, being on the throne for so short a time, to expose his most precious secret to the world? But he wanted to know her, to hear of her life and learn what made her laugh or cry. He wanted to finally take her home, but there was more for his daughter here than just security and trust.

There was him. James looked across the heavy table at Robert MacGregor staring into his cup like he’d just lost both legs in the battle. He had no doubts that the man loved Davina, or that he would kill or die for her. He knew it was more than his other two daughters’ husbands would do for their wives, and no less than he would have done for Anne Hyde. His Anne, his beloved. What would she have to say about all this? They’d given up Davina to protect her, to ensure a Catholic monarchy in the future. But did it have to be Davina? She had not been raised to be a queen. It was clear to see in her eyes that she lacked the ruthless desire to rule, unlike his second-eldest daughter. His wife Mary was young and eager in his bed. If she gave him an heir…

“M’ lord, ye and yer men are welcomed to stay in Camlochlin fer as long as ye like.”

James turned to Callum MacGregor and smiled. “As much as I would enjoy that, I’m afraid I must return to England with haste. We left without a word and I shudder to think what my sons-in-law are scheming in my absence.”

Callum nodded and settled his mournful gaze on his son.

“You taught your sons to fight well, MacGregor. Their skill surpasses that of some of my captains. There is a question I would put to you, but first, one I would ask Robert.”

Callum nodded and looked at his son together with the king.

“Back there,” James said, motioning his chin northward, “when my men were about to bring me here and you stopped them, did you not realize that if I was shot and killed, she would have been free? No one knows she is here save for us—and Gilles, who is no longer a threat. Why did you protect me?”

For a moment, Robert simply looked at him as if he genuinely did not know how to answer the question. James hoped he would confess his fealty to his king. The question he wanted to ask Callum next depended on it.

“I simply did what is in my nature to do.”

The lad’s first instinct was to protect. The king could not fault such a reply, though it was not the one he’d hoped for. Nevertheless, he downed his brew, giving himself an extra moment or two to decide how best to propose his next question, then turned to the chief. He didn’t need permission to draft anyone into his army, but he wanted to keep the MacGregors on his side. Any king would be foolish not to.

“I have grown quite fond of Colin. He is courageous, boldly honest, and quite deadly with a sword. He already knows much about the politics of the land and despises the Covenanters as much as I do. Robert, I do not yet know, but his skill on the field today impressed me. I would like to bring your sons back to England with me and enlist them in my army. Colin is your youngest, I know, but with—”

“I’ve nae interest in England,” Rob cut him off without hesitation. “My place is here and I’ll no’ leave it.”

“But son,” the king implored. “You and Davina can—”

“—spend each day wonderin’ which hand conceals the next dagger planned fer her back?” Rob finished for him. “Is that the life ye want fer her? Hell, she deserves more than that. I can give it to her, but no’ in yer courts. Even I canna’ guard her from hundreds of unknown enemies.”

James sat back in his chair, unable to argue the truth. He was barely on the throne a month and his enemies had already tried to kill him. How long would Davina last if the next attempt succeeded? “She is my child,” he said in a low voice.

“And she is likely carryin’ mine.”

Every Highlander around the table seemed to groan at the same time. The chief looked about to be seriously ill. Stunned by both Robert’s courage and his arrogance to blurt out such a thing, the king began to rise to his feet. “Do you understand what I can do to you for this?”

“Aye, I do,” Robert answered, holding up his palm to stop his father from speaking in his defense. “But what kind of faither would I be no’ to do everything I can to protect my bairn? How different am I from ye?”

The king fell back into his chair and closed his eyes. Every choice he’d ever made involving Davina came rushing back to his mind. He’d done all to protect her, even at the cost of his brother, the king’s, objection.

“I will go.”

James opened his eyes and looked, along with everyone else, at Colin.

“Nae,” the chief answered quickly. “Yer place is here with yer kin.”

“Faither, I dinna’ want to spend my life fighting the MacPhersons over cattle. Rob is to be chief someday. There is naught here fer me. I want to fight fer something I believe in.”

“I will need a man with his intelligence and skill to protect my son,” the king interjected, “should I be fortunate enough to have one in the future.”

“So ye believe in England’s causes now?” Colin’s father asked his son skeptically.

“I believe in him.” Colin shifted his gaze to the king. A hint of a smile hovered about his lips and then his expression hardened. “I will go, yer Majesty. But I ask ye to spare my brother in return.”

James spread his cool gaze over Colin and then onto his eldest brother. “Ask something else of me. I have already decided to forgive my daughter’s champion. As for her future, I will let her decide.”

Surprisingly, James noted the sickened look on Rob’s face. Did he doubt Davina would choose him? Why would he when it was so clear that she loved him? “Bring her to me, will you, Robert? I trust your mother and your aunt will not take offense to giving her over to you.”

Robert rose from his chair and gave the stairs and what lay beyond a determined scowl, much like the one he wore on the battlefield. Watching him leave the hall, the king knew that whatever life his daughter chose, Robert MacGregor would not give her up without a fight.

“Colin,” his father said, dragging the king’s thoughts back to the table. “Are ye certain aboot this?” His concern for his youngest still marred his brow.

“Aye, faither. Someone’s got to keep the Protestants at bay, and better me than Mairi.”

His father didn’t laugh. In fact, James noticed that he’d gone even paler than before.

“Is your daughter as loyal to Scotland as your sons, then?” the king asked.

“Worse.”

James chuckled, but he envied the mighty chief for his fine family. It wasn’t until he saw Rob leading his beautiful daughter down the stairs that he felt God’s favor in his life as well. He loved his daughters, Mary and Anne, but they had grown hard from their lives at this court and that, and from their arranged marriages to men they did not love. Everything about Davina was delicate and graceful, like a pale swan gliding toward him. Her gait lacked the air of self-righteousness that her sisters possessed. The tilt of Davina’s chin was wrought with inner strength, not conceit. Watching her, he thought of his first wife. Anne had never cared about becoming queen. Being his was enough and she’d filled his halls and his days with her laughter. She would want the same life for her firstborn.

When they reached him, Davina’s defiant gaze followed James as he rose to his feet, but she said nothing and clung to her husband’s hand.

James folded his hands together behind his back to keep himself from dragging her into them and rejoicing that she lived. “You wed without my knowledge or consent, daughter.”

“You were not here to give it,” she replied evenly.

“No, I wasn’t. An unforgivable error I intend to remedy.”

He almost smiled when her eyes softened on him. All hope was not lost. “Clearly you were not forced into becoming his wife.”

Her mouth relaxed into an unbidden smile when she looked up at the man at her side. “I was ecstatic.”

“Then I am prepared,” James announced, pulling their attention off each other and back to him, “to allow you to remain here with him if you choose to.”

“If I choose…?” Her voice trailed off as her large eyes opened wider and filled with tears. “I choose to remain here with him.”

James smiled, finally able to grant his daughter something she wished. He had no idea that he had just become her bright star in the sky. “Then accept the first of many gifts I will be giving you, and take my blessing.”

The men around him cheered and someone even pounded him on the back, but King James saw no one, heard no one save the girl before him, and then she was in his arms and he finally felt forgiven.

“You and I have much to learn about each other, daughter,” he whispered close to her ear. “I will be visiting often.”

“I would like that, Father. Very much.”

Rob pulled his tunic over his head and climbed into bed. The candlelight brushed his face in broad strokes of light and dark. Beneath the sexy stray curl falling over his forehead, his eyes glittered with the hunger consuming him. Davina reached out her arms to gather him to her sooner.

“When was the day you knew you loved me?” she asked as his mouth fell gently on hers. “I want to thank God for it every day and night.”

“’Twas the verra first day I met ye,” Rob told her, biting her lip. “Ye had just lost everything, and I wanted to give it all back to ye.”

“You succeeded and gave me even more.” She curled her lips and closed her eyes at the feel of him hot and thick against her entrance.

“I never doubted I would.” He entered her with a smile as intoxicating as every other inch of him.

“Do you fail at nothing then?”

“I’m a MacGregor,” he groaned against her chin, sending a wave of pleasure through her body. “There’s verra little we dinna’ do right.”

“Is that so?” She lifted a provocative brow at him and rolled him over on his back. Straddling him, she gazed down at his broad chest and his flat, fit belly and smiled rather wickedly as she buried him deep inside her. “Lucky for you then. I’m a MacGregor now, too.”

“Aye, and ye’re mine.”

She was his, and it was more than enough to keep his halls forever filled with her laughter.