The Laird's Bride — Anne Gracie

A Novella

A hot-headed vow to marry the first woman he sees, a meeting in a muddy bog, a hasty marriage between strangers, and a bride who demands to be courted -- after the wedding.

In order to take his place as laird before his trustee uncle bankrupts the clan buying fripperies, Cameron Fraser vows to marry the first woman he meets -- and he always keeps his vows. So even though the first woman he meets seems totally unsuitable, he marries her anyway.

In the gamble of her life, shepherdess Jeannie McLeay agrees to marry this grim-faced, handsome stranger. She comes to her marriage with nothing but dreams and a heart full of hope. But there's more to Jeannie than meets the eye, and Cameron soon learns that the young woman he married so impulsively is no pushover.

Confident as he might be about women, Cameron still has a lot to learn. With a marriage made for purely financial reasons, can these two very different strangers ever find love?

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The first third of this story was published as a short story in the Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance. It's now three times as long, and, I hope, a lot more satisfying.