Highland Brides 03 - On Bended Knee Read online

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever, electronically, in print, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of both Oliver Heber Books and Tanya Anne Crosby, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  On Bended Knee by Tanya Anne Crosby

  COPYRIGHT © Tanya Anne Crosby

  Produced with Typesetter

  Cover design by Ravven

  Published by

  Dedication

  To brothers—because I have two of the best.

  Praise for Tanya Anne Crosby

  “Crosby’s characters keep readers engaged…” – Publishers Weekly

  “Tanya Anne Crosby sets out to show us a good time and accomplishes that with humor, a fast paced story and just the right amount of romance.” – The Oakland Press “Romance filled with charm, passion and intrigue …” – Affaire de Coeur

  “Ms. Crosby mixes just the right amount of humor … Fantastic, tantalizing!” – Rendezvous “Tanya Anne Crosby pens a tale that touches your soul and lives forever in your heart.” – Sherrilyn Kenyon #1 NYT Bestselling Author

  Books In This Series

  The MacKinnon’s Bride

  Lyon’s Gift

  On Bended Knee

  Lion Heart

  Highland Song

  Look for Highland Steel early 2014

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Books in this series

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Epilogue

  Lion Heart Preview

  Author’s Note

  Books By Tanya Anne Crosby

  Prologue

  Colin Mac Brodie was surrounded by laughter.

  People were drawn to him—as Seana was—as everyone couldn’t help but be.

  Watching from a safe distance, under the shade of an old elm, Seana sat nibbling on a tart she’d snatched from somebody’s window where it had been laid to cool. She felt guilty, but hunger had driven her to it.

  Just now, the children were all ooohing and awwwing over some new dagger Colin’s da had given him. The boys were envious and the girls all properly impressed while Colin swaggered before them—as only Colin could—beaming as he sheathed the knife, then drew it from his belt.

  Much as Seana would have liked to see it too, she knew better than to join them.

  Sudden jeers and laughter caught her attention and she peered up to see that Lagan MacKinnon was looking in her direction. She froze. Seana didn’t like Lagan. He had cruel eyes that were full of anger and envy. And just now, they were filled with hatred directed at Seana.

  “Thief!” he shouted and threw a pebble in her direction. It skimmed the dirt and smacked the tree behind Seana and her heart beat faster.

  She wasn’t afraid, she told herself.

  “Ugly lame witch!” Lagan persisted.

  Seana willed herself to remain calm.

  They would have their fun and it would pass—as always it did. Lame in one leg as she had been born, Seana was used to the jeers. People seemed afraid of her because of her limp leg, although she didn’t precisely know why.

  She held her breath as Lagan stooped to pick up another stone, for it seemed this was far more cruel than usual. She braced herself as he threw it at her, hitting her in the shoulder this time. She didn’t cry out, but tears pricked at her eyes, and she swallowed the wave of grief that rose to choke her breath away.

  “Colin doesna like ye!” Lagan shouted, “Go away, witch!”

  Seana felt like sinking into the ground. She didn’t respond, didn’t dare.

  They all turned to Colin, teasing him suddenly… about Seana.

  “Marry her, Colin!” Lagan taunted, laughing cruelly as he pushed at his shoulder. “Go on and wed the ugly witch!”

  Colin pushed Lagan back, and cast Seana a harried glance.

  Seana swallowed.

  They were only teasing him, she knew as she had oft seen them do, but she realized Colin must not like it.

  “She stole that tart from your minny!” one of the girls said to Lagan, casting Seana a disgusted glance.

  Lagan’s eyes narrowed upon her. “Thief!” he shouted. “Hobbling wart-faced hag!” He seized Colin’s dagger suddenly, and threw it in Seana’s direction, snickering maliciously. “Go and get it, Colin!”

  The dagger barely missed Seana, landing at her side. She blinked, thinking it might have had her eye out.

  “Damn, Lagan, ye arse!” Colin railed.

  “Go on—get it!” Lagan taunted. But Colin merely stood there, looking at Seana, his expression one of frustration.

  Seana’s heart hammered as she met his gaze and held it… och, but he had the most beautiful blue eyes.

  He was afraid to come and get his dagger, she realized. But there was no hatred in his eyes, only fear.

  Were they afraid that the weakness in her leg was contagious? Seana didn’t understand, but she felt—as she had countless times in her near eleven years—like some vermin to be stamped out.

  Swallowing her own fear, she reached out, taking Colin’s dagger into her hands. Amidst laugher and more jeers she stood, though it took some effort to rise to her feet. She straightened her shoulders, faced them, and then took a fortifying breath and walked toward the throng of kids, keeping her gaze fixed upon Colin for strength.

  “Look, look!” another boy shouted. “The cripple can walk!”

  Seana ignored the laughter and walked straight up to Colin, her cheeks stinging with warmth and her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed. She handed him his knife. His companions all gibed him fiercely, shoving him.

  Colin snatched it from her.

  “Where did ye get the tart?” someone taunted. “Did ye steal it from Lagan’s minny like Edith said?”

  Seana tried to ignore them.

  “Colin and Seana kissing in a tree!” they began to sing.

  “Go away!” Colin shouted at her suddenly, clearly buckling under the pressure. “I dinna like it when you follow us, do ye hear! I dinna like you, Seana!”

  Seana flinched at his cruelty, but her feet would not budge. She kept her gaze affixed to his, though she didn’t know why. Her heart felt as though it were breaking.

  “Go away!” he shouted again when the din grew louder. He gave her that look—that look she couldn’t bear to see—so filled with loathing and revulsion.

  This time Seana turned and fled.

  “And dinna come back stupid thief!” he shouted at her back.

  Seana tried to run faster, but her
bad leg would not allow it. Tears coursed down her cheeks. All at once rocks began to fly at her back, but she didn’t dare turn to see who had cast them. One hit her in the back of the head, and she cried out, more in fear than in pain. Stunned, she did turn to look then, and met Colin Mac Brodie’s gaze. He was standing there with a strange expression upon his face.

  Why? she asked silently.

  How could ye do it?

  She had only dared to love him—as did everybody else.

  His companions all laughed at her, shouting names, but he just stood there, looking at her, and in that instant, Seana believed she hated him.

  She turned and fled again, running until she could run no longer… running until she heard her name on the wind.

  “Seana!”

  She turned to see that Broc Ceannfhionn had followed her. Seana stumbled to the ground, tripping over her bad leg. Frustrated, she sat and wept… and Broc came hesitantly and sat beside her.

  Broc Ceannfhionn was older than she was, older than Colin as well, though she didn’t think by much.

  “He didna mean it,” Broc defended his friend. He was not the least out of breath like Seana was. “’Twas Lagan’s fault to be sure.”

  Seana didn’t care. She began to sob in earnest.

  “Och,” he exclaimed, and reached out awkwardly to hug her. “Dinna pay Colin any heed, Seana. He isna so bad.” He wiped away her tears. “Dinna cry,” he begged her.

  For Broc, Seana tried not to cry, but if she lived a thousand years, she didn’t think she could ever forget that look upon Colin Mac Brodie’s face… the sound of his laughter. If Broc were to look at her that way, too, she thought she would die.

  She peered up at the awkward giant and he smiled down at her. Seana wiped her face with her sleeve.

  “Ye know how it is when you’re with friends,” he tried to explain, giving her a sympathetic look. “He didna mean any of it, Seana.”

  Seana shook her head. “I have no friends.”

  “Aye, ye do,” Broc countered. “Ye have me.”

  Before today, the two of them had rarely spoken.

  Seana blinked, and he nodded at her, as though to assure her it was true.

  “You will be my friend?”

  He nodded again, more resolutely. “And if ye should need me, only call,” he said. “Dinna suffer their taunts any longer. Come and tell me, Seana, and I’ll give them a bloody nose for their efforts!”

  Seana smiled. “Truly?”

  He nodded. “Truly.”

  He was the only one who had ever dared call himself her friend. “You will not regret it, Broc Ceannfhionn! I swear that one day I will find a way to repay you!” She threw her arms around him, daring to hug him with gratitude.

  “Och, Seana, ye dinna have to repay me!” He pried her away, chucking her beneath the chin. “That bonny smile is thanks enough.” He winked at her.

  Her heart quickened and her cheeks heated, but she smiled shyly up at him. And in that instant, Seana truly thought she loved him. Someday, she swore to herself… it didn’t matter that he said she did not have to… someday… she didn’t know when or how, but she was going to find a way to show him Broc Ceannfhionn how much this meant to her.

  Someday…

  Chapter 1

  Colin Mac Brodie was the biggest rogue in all of Scotia.

  He was also the key to Seana’s greatest desire; Broc Ceannfhionn.

  Since they’d been wee ones together, Seana had loved Broc, had dreamed of someday becoming his wife. She wanted to take care of him, as he had done for her so oft.

  She would never forget the day she’d first spoken to him, the same day Colin Mac Brodie had broken her heart.

  But Seana wouldn’t fool herself.

  Broc had merely felt sorry for her that day. How could he not have? She’d been a lame child, scarce able to walk. Since then, the years had been kind to her. With much determination, and the help of her da, she’d strengthened her leg and now the limp was barely noticeable. She’d had nothing to offer Broc until now, and had begun to fear the day might never come that she might. But now she was strong and able and ready to be the wife she knew he needed and deserved. Broc was a kind and good man, and Seana thought she might be able to make him a good home. She only needed a bit of help to convince him.

  Why was she such a bloody coward?

  Colin couldn’t hurt her anymore.

  Well—she peered at him out of the corner of her eyes, her gaze acknowledging the strong lean lines of his body—he could hurt her, but not even Colin Mac Brodie was so cruel a man to hit a woman. Aside from that, there wasn’t much to be afraid of, still, she hesitated approaching him.

  “Milksop,” she muttered to herself. “You’re worse than a bloody Sassenach!” And she frowned in wholehearted disapproval at the feet that stood planted so firmly to the ground.

  She had come to this wedding not to celebrate, for while these were not her enemies, neither were they her friends. Nay, she came to speak with Colin Mac Brodie—though it galled her that she should need his help. But she was not so proud that she was willing to lose the man she loved. Everyone was getting married, it seemed—the MacKinnon, Meghan Brodie, and soon enough Alison MacLean. It was only a matter of time before Broc would wed, as well. Now was the time to act—before she lost him forever. So what was she waiting for?

  Seana frowned as she contemplated the answer to that question.

  Her gaze wandered to the happy bride and lingered wistfully. Meghan had been the envy of every woman in Scotia, with her beautiful copper hair and her perfect face. If aught at all, the Brodie women had been cursed with loveliness, Seana thought, not madness.

  Meghan was everything Seana was not, but somehow Seana could never envy her. Colin’s sister was beautiful, aye, but she’d lived as lonely a life as Seana had.

  Of course, Seana had her da, but Seana’s da had never been her strength. Rather, Seana had been his.

  Speaking of which… She turned her face up to the sky to gauge the hour. It was growing late and her da was like to be hungry by now. For most of the guests, the gaiety was only just beginning, but if Seana didn’t make her way home soon, her da would be asleep for the night and without supper. Nor did she relish the thought of making her way through the woodlands once night had deepened the shadows of the forest to black. She was not afraid, of course, but it would simply be too dark to keep to the path.

  Just go talk to him, she bade herself. He cant’ hurt you.

  Still she hesitated.

  Meghan’s wedding celebration had been a grand one. Her brothers had denied her nothing, despite that the nuptials had come about so suddenly. The festivity began early in the day and would continue until the wee hours of the morn, until the men were drunk enough to kiss the ground and their women were forced to drag them home by their feet.

  Seana would have loved to have brought her da, but her da would no longer leave their home, so Seana was forced to come alone, and to bring home her tales.

  Belonging to neither the MacKinnon nor the Brodie clan, and having lived practically alone most of her life, Seana had few friends, and fewer yet who were so close to Broc as Colin Mac Brodie. In fact, she doubted anybody knew Broc better than Colin did—though Colin was certainly his own best friend. Still… who better to teach her how to win the man she loved than the man who knew him best?

  Aside from that… neither did anyone know better what attracted a man to a woman than did Colin Brodie—rogue that he was!

  Nay, there was no way around it; she needed help, and Colin was the only one she thought could provide it. She had already tried all her wiles with Broc; nothing seemed to work. Broc remained blissfully unaware of her interest, if not of her presence. He was such a sweet clod of a man, and the thought of him, as always, brought a gentle smile to her lips.

  She shook her head in disgust as she considered her options… short of asking him outright to wed with her, she had tried all she knew to do.

  Col
in Mac Brodie was her last resort.

  Together she and her father had for years made the uisge beatha for trade with the neighboring clans, but they wouldn’t need to trade any longer if she were to wed with Broc. She was weary of working all alone, and her da was no longer in any condition to help. He was ill and needed a new home, one that wasn’t made of piled stones.

  Time to swallow your pride, Seana!

  Her gaze returned to Colin, and she thought it likely he did not even remember her. She had been careful to stay out of his way all these years.

  There was nothing to be afraid of, she told herself—except that she remembered. The memory of his cruelty would be imprinted upon her heart forever.

  Night was falling.

  Beginning to feel a growing sense of urgency, Seana searched out Broc to no avail. As tall as he was, she had been able to keep him within sight most of the day, but he had vanished for the moment, and was nowhere near his friend’s side. He and Colin were apart for now… but no telling how much longer…

  Seana straightened, swung her hands behind her back, locking them together and started in his direction, but then stopped.

  Colin was no better than she, she assured herself—though he most certainly must think otherwise. Her gaze returned to Colin Mac Brodie and her brow lifted. The years had been overly kind to him, she thought bitterly. He scarce needed those teeth to be quite so blinding white nor that hair the color of gold at twilight!

  How many hearts had he broken without even the least concern for them?

  One too many, Seana thought with no small measure of disgust.

  Hers had been one of them, but, of course, she had been young and stupid!

  Even as she stood there watching, two young lasses sauntered past Colin, giggling to each other and casting him flirtatious glances. Seana rolled her eyes and thought for sure she didn’t have the stomach to watch.

  For those women Colin decided to favor with one of his smiles there was never the least chance for escape. Seana would like to have crawled into his bed one night whilst he slept and yanked out a few of those gleaming white teeth—for the good of all womankind!