In The Highlander's Bed-Cathy Maxwell

In The Highlander's Bed
Cathy Maxwell
Avon, Feb 2008, $6.99
ISBN: 9780061122101

In 1808 Highland laird Gordon Lachlan knows the significance of the legendary Sword of the MacKenna and what it means to his clan. To regain the vaunted weapon from the Duke of Colster, he plans to kidnap the Duke’s sister by marriage Constance Cameron, who attends Madame Lavaliere’s Academy for Young Women to erase some of barbaric American taint. Gordon assumes that Constance’s family by marriage will trade the sword for her.

Gordon is taken aback that Constance seems unafraid of him and in some ways he feels like her captive especially when she makes it clear that he is a buffoon who has wrecked havoc to return to America. As she keeps trying to escape, an exasperated Gordon finally decides enough, but cannot stop himself from kissing the spirited colonialist. They fall in love while he tries to stay focused and she ponders how to make his plan work.

This is a fun captivity romance in which the audience will agree with the hero as to who is the prisoner and who is jailer. The story line combines humor, especially when Constance acts like a termagant and rips off Gordon’s skin, with a poignant belief that people got to be free. This is an enjoyable regency romance.

Harriet Klausner