The Rock

Praise for MONICA McCARTY and her
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling Highland Guard series!

“Against a richly historical and violent backdrop, McCarty deftly weaves a surprisingly moving love story that demands a skillful writer’s touch. Her exquisite prose makes this a book readers will treasure.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“The characters leap off the pages and into your heart. With a stunning plot that has enough twists and turns in all the right places, McCarty has created yet another captivating story that is sure to please!”

—
Fresh Fiction

“Passion and politics abound in this exceptionally well-researched romance that skillfully interweaves fiction with history and sheds new light on a particularly fascinating and violent time.”

—
Library Journal

“Readers who deplore ‘wallpaper historicals’ will appreciate not only the romance but McCarty’s efforts to go beyond the superficialities of historical Scotland.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Spectacularly entertaining. . . . McCarty is a master of blending fact and fiction.”

—
Romance Junkies

“One of those amazing books that captures your attention right from the get-go. . . . McCarty has written a tale fit for a king.”

—
Coffee Time Romance

“Thoroughly enjoyable. . . . Cleverly interwoven plot twists . . . kept me on my toes!”

—
The Romance Reviews

For Jami.

Rain, sleet, or snow? The postal service has nothing on you! Thank you for being the first reader of every one of my books—even when life doesn’t make it easy. You are the best.

T
OR
“C
HIEF
” M
AC
L
EOD:
Team Leader and Expert Swordsman

E
RIK
“H
AWK
” M
AC
S
ORLEY:
Seafarer and Swimmer

L
ACHLAN
“V
IPER
” M
AC
R
UAIRI:
Stealth, Infiltration, and Extraction

A
RTHUR
“R
ANGER
” C
AMPBELL:
Scouting and Reconnaissance

G
REGOR
“A
RROW
” M
AC
G
REGOR:
Marksman and Archer

M
AGNUS
“S
AINT
” M
AC
K
AY:
Survivalist and Weapon Forging

K
ENNETH
“I
CE
” S
UTHERLAND:
Explosives and Versatility

E
OIN
“S
TRIKER
” M
AC
L
EAN:
Strategist in “Pirate” Warfare

E
WEN
“H
UNTER
” L
AMONT:
Tracker and Hunter of Men

R
OBERT
“R
AIDER
” B
OYD:
Physical Strength and Hand-to-Hand Combat

ALSO:
H
ELEN
“A
NGEL
” M
ACKAY
(N
ÉE
S
UTHERLAND
):
Healer

S
INCE
1306,
WHEN
he first made his bid for the throne against a seemingly undefeatable foe, Robert the Bruce has been preparing for the decisive battle with England that will either legitimize his kingship and cement his place on Scotland’s throne, or strip the crown from his head and bring back English overlordship to Scotland.

By the late fall of 1313, King Robert is secure enough on the throne to force the enemy’s hand. He issues a proclamation that he will disinherit any Scottish nobles still loyal to the English who do not submit to him in a year’s time. Edward II of England cannot ignore the threat. He issues his own proclamation in December 1313 for a call to muster at Berwick-upon-Tweed in June 1314 to march on Scotland.

The English are coming, and Bruce intends to be ready for them. In the crucial early months of 1314, the king wages a preemptive war by continuing the raids in England to fund the costly war, and taking back the remaining Scottish castles still in English hands. The taking back of two of these castles, Roxburgh and Edinburgh, leads to feats of military skill that will become legend, ensuring the hero status of Bruce’s two famous lieutenants, James Douglas and Thomas Randolph.

But they will not do it alone. The elite warriors of the Highland Guard and a man of much more humble birth will prove instrumental in the final push toward the most important battle yet to come.

Douglas Castle, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, June 1, 1296

T
HOMAS
M
AC
G
OWAN
—W
EE
T
HOM
as everyone in the village called him (his father being Big Thom)—looked at the top of the tower and forgot to breathe. He nearly stumbled, too, which would have been a disaster, as his da had entrusted him with the very important task of carrying the laird’s sword. Considering the hours his father had spent sharpening the blade until it could “slice a hair in two,” and polishing it until “he could see every speck of soot on his wee laddie’s face,” had he dropped it in the mud, his bum would have stung for a week!

He wouldn’t have minded too much though. Big Thom was the best blacksmith for miles around, and Thommy (it was what his mother called him—a lad of nearly nine sure as the Devil shouldn’t be called “wee”) took fierce pride in his father’s work. Big Thom MacGowan wasn’t just an
ordinary
village smith, he was Lord William “the Hardy” Douglas’s
personal
smith and armorer.

But as Thommy stared up at the tower ramparts, he could almost excuse his near mishap. For what had caused his breath to stop and his limbs to forget their purpose was a glimpse of something extraordinary. A rare, exquisite beauty of the like the little boy who had spent most of his days surrounded by the fire and soot of his father’s forge had never imagined. It was as if he were seeing a brilliant jewel for the first time when all he’d known were lumps of ore. He didn’t need to know who it was to know that he was seeing something special. The way the light caught her white-blond hair blowing in the breeze, the snowy perfection of her tiny face, the shimmering gold gown. It dazzled the eyes.
She
dazzled the eyes.