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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great story, really likable hero and heroine you can respect, Mar 3 2003
Ana Seymour has left behind Elizabethan Ireland and the Riordan clan of her last four books and moved to 1885 Scotland. Fiona MacLennan, widowed four months, is dreading the arrival of the new laird of Castle Glen. The new laird should be her stepson, 14 year old Robby, but a 150 year old will has stipulated that after 5 generations the title will go to the next direct heir of Fergus Campbell. Duncan Campbell has never set foot in Scotland. He's a wealthy and successful New York businessman whose estranged, now dead father never got the auld sod out of his blood. He's not sure what to expect or even why he's come but he suspects it has something to do with the fact that nothing Duncan achieved was ever good enough in his father's eyes. Now the son is making the triumphant return the father never did.Fiona expects a loud, obnoxious, poorly dressed and ill-mannered clod to step off the train but to her surprise, he's tall, dark and handsome, well dressed and polite. Robby takes an instant liking to the observant, confident newcomer, but Fiona is determined to dislike him. She's found what she thinks is a way to overturn the courts' decision and return Castle Glen to it's rightful heir, Robby, but until she hears from the lawyers she just has to make the best of things. As the two take each other's measure, each begins to grudgingly like the other. Duncan is impressed with Fiona's loyalty to Robby and her handling of the estate in Alasdair's declining year. Fiona sees immediately that this man is very, very smart, enjoys a challenge and makes every effort to fit into this new world so different from the drawing rooms of New York Society (his determination to learn to ride a horse is adorable and funny). Eventually, he wins over Robby, the household staff and even the reluctant Fiona. But when he starts to modernize and look for ways to make the estate profitable again, he runs afoul of many in Glencolly, not least Fiona. Can he make them see that the only way to save Castle Glen is to bring it (albeit slowly) into the Industrial Age? And what if the courts determine that Robby is, in fact the rightful laird, can Duncan just walk away - and does Fiona really want him to? I loved this story. The romance between Duncan and Fiona was sweet and believable. The relationship between Duncan and Robby was everything Duncan had wished he'd had with his own father. And Fiona's realization that her beloved late husband was really more father figure and a bit of a coward when it came to facing unpleasant problems (the opposite of the bold, take-charge Duncan) was bittersweet. Then there's the ghost of Jaime MacLennan lurking about causing mischief - or is he making things right? And is he real or some Highland madness? A highly recommended read!
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