Book excerpt: Set against the dramatic backdrop of1785 Scotland, Elaine Coffman deliversher most breathtaking novel ever.In this unforgettable romance,a marriage that starts offto defy fate,just might endin love… Lady Meleri Weatherby is desperate to escape the unthinkable: marriageto a man she does not love, a man she knows to be unspeakably cruel.In a bold move, she breaks off her betrothal to Lord Philip and flees herhome in Northumberland, vowing to marry the first man she meets,never considering the consequences of such a show of independence. Robert Douglas has been dealt an equally dark hand by fate: the proudScot must take an English bride or lose his ancestral home and noblename. It seems an impossible situation, until destiny puts him in the pathof a strong-minded English lass with a will to survive that equals his own. Marriage is an ideal salvation for both. Meleri will be safe from hervengeful fiancé in Beloyn Castle with the Douglas clan, and Robert will beable to keep all he holds dear. But neither has bargained on a heartlessman who will go to any lengths to seek revenge, the tenacity of astubborn ghost and the most powerful force of all: love.