I suffered a severe
riding accident in December and my father and stepmother died three weeks
afterward. The circumstances were suspicious. My stepbrother had been trying to
court me. Naturally, I rebuffed his efforts. Though ‘tis not illegal for
stepsiblings to marry, I’d simply no romantic interest in him. He was attracted
to Papa’s wealth a great deal more than me. He tried to abduct me twice. The
second time, some of my staff and guards were injured and killed. It was then I
knew I had to flee Boston.
This question is for
Yvette, as well. We’ve noticed you seem to have a penchant for naming your pets
after Greek or Roman God’s. All their names begin with the letter A as well.
Why?
I was quite a romantic as
a young child, and so adored reading about Roman and Greek mythology.
Aphrodite, my mare—she died as a result of my riding accident—was a gift to me
on my twelfth birthday. My spaniels, Apollo and Artemis, I found huddled and abandoned
in a shopkeeper’s doorway as tiny pups. They were so pathetic, I simply had to
name them something noble. I had a pet dove when I was quite young. Her name
was Aurora.
Ewan, with the duel
titles of Laird of Craiglocky and Viscount Sethwick, why did you also take on
the role of an agent in the Diplomatic Corps?
I have a dear friend who
is the Secretary of War. Prinny ordered him to assemble an elite group of men with
specialized skills for covert operations and missions. When my friend asked me
to be a part of the troupe, I couldn’t refuse him. Besides, England wasn’t
faring all that well in the early wars against Napoleon’s French Empire. And
we’d a spy in our midst at the War Office. My specialty is ousting spies.
Ewan, you have a rather
large number of relatives that reside at Craiglocky Keep. Can you tell us about
them?
I do indeed. My mother
married my father’s best friend, Hugh Ferguson. He is also the steward of
Craiglocky. They had four children together. I have three younger sisters, Adaira,
Isobel, and Seonaid, and a younger brother, Dugall. Hugh’s sister and
brother-in-law drowned when their ship sank nearly five-and-ten years ago.
Their two children, Aubry and Callum, came to live with us. Callum married a
year ago and his bride, Lilias, and their new-born daughter also reside at the
keep. Finally, my paternal uncle, Duncan, his wife Kita, and my two gargantuan
cousins, Gregor and Alasdair, live there too.
This question is for
both of you. When did you first know you loved the other?
Ewan?
Yvette captivated me from
our very first dance at her cousin’s wedding reception. But it was when she
toppled into my lap in the carriage the day I rescued her from the docks that I
knew I felt something powerful for her.
Yvette?
I think I first started
to love Ewan when he talked of his family. He obviously adored them. He risked
his life, more than once, to keep me safe and that stirred something in me. I
didn’t admit, even to myself, I loved him until I was abducted and thought I
was going to die.
