When doing research for Lion in the Heather, I forced myself to read all of Sir Walter Scott’s first novel, Waverley, every verbose word of it. Let’s just say it is no Ivanhoe. Known as a poet, but in desperate need of money, he sold out to write popular romantic fiction and chose as his subject the Scottish Highlands just before the defeat of the clans and the attempt to wipe out their culture by the British victors. His tale was all the rage in 1814 and went a long way toward restoring all things Scottish, from kilts to bagpipes.

In my story, Lady Euphemia Longleigh has just completed reading Scott’s book and is besotted by the idea of brave warriors wearing plaids. The past comes to life when she is abducted by a Scottish laird in full regalia and taken across the border to be his bride. Of course, her father, the Duke of Bellevue, is in hot pursuit to keep that from happening. But it turns out that Phemie would rather stay with her laird.