It always makes me a bit nuts when an author gets the basics wrong – something as simple as the banns being called but they are going to marry in a week – nope. Were there problems with the book – Goodness yes – a number of them. There is definitely never a dull minute in this exciting fast-paced story. Can they escape the wicked Duke of Argyll? They barely manage to escape London, then they trek across the mountains in the Highlands, cross an ocean, confront a villain all while being chased by the English dragoons. Then, things go dreadfully awry and she, John and the children are all in great peril. She certainly didn’t want to marry him – he was just like her father! But – she has no choice – her father has already made all of the arrangements.Įvelyn’s spying garners even more and better information once she is married, but she has begun to respect her new husband and is reluctant to continue. Her mission was coming along nicely until she received a marriage proposal from the Earl of Mar. She’d do her part to support Prince James and help the common people by spying on her father’s dealings and providing the information to the cause.

So, when she was offered the opportunity to make a difference, she gladly took it. She’s learned a lot about him in the last year – and none of it was good. Lady Evelyn Pierrrepont, the oldest daughter of the Duke of Kingston-Upon-Hull, is appalled at her father’s dealings, his smuggling and the way he treats the servants. He’ll never love again, but he’ll honor and respect a new wife. Even though he deeply mourns his wife, he decides to marry an heiress in order to put his estate to rights and pay off his father’s debts. John is almost the same age as his father was when he died and he has vowed that he will not, absolutely WILL NOT, leave the same kind of mess for his sons. Now, he’s recently lost his beloved wife and he has two young sons to raise.

The only reason he was a member of Queen Anne’s council as Secretary of State for Scotland, was because the money he received for the position allowed him to stave off his creditors. John had been working to repair the damage caused by his father, but he couldn’t pay the debt off.

The estate had been mismanaged for years and everything needed repair. John Erskine, Earl of Mar, inherited a pile of debt from his father.

The Highland Guardian by Amy Jarecki