A Stockingful of Joy

v1.0

December 7, 2006

A gentle woman shows a rugged man the meaning of love in
Jill Barnett's
Victorian New York of gaslit streets and snowy sleigh rides. An unexpected legacy sweeps a governess to a grand estate—where an impoverished nobleman discovers a woman to be treasured in
Mary Jo Putney's
poignant romance.
Justine Dare
brings us the heartwarming tale of a man who seeks shelter on an isolated Wyoming homestead… and discovers an orphan and a beautiful woman who need a miracle as badly as he needs forgiveness and love. In
Susan King's
touching story, a silver brooch seals a pact between a Highland lass and a Scottish laird as they find that the best gift to give is one's heart.

JILL BARNETT
is a
New York Times
bestselling author praised for her "absolutely wonderful and totally endearing" novels
(Romantic Times)
. A fast-rising star of historical romance known for her warmth and humor, she is the recipient of many awards and a starred review in
Publishers Weekly
for
Dreaming
. She lives with her daughter near San Francisco.

MARY JO PUTNEY
is "one of today's great romance authors"
(Romantic Times)
. She is a writer of superb Regency romances as well as critically acclaimed historicals. Her most recent Topaz titles include
River of Fire
and
Shattered Rainbows
. She lives in Baltimore.

JUSTINE DARE,
who also writes as Justine Davis, has been a police officer for over twenty years. Possessed of "a wonderful gift for igniting an explosive passion and melting our hearts"
(Romantic Times)
, she received a spectacular five-star review for her Topaz novel
The Skypirate
. Her current romances include the trilogy
Heart of the Hawk, Wild Hawk
, and
Fire Hawk
. She lives in San Clemente, California.

SUSAN KING
has been hailed as one of the best writers of Scottish historicals in the genre and is frequently compared to Julie Garwood. Virginia Henley calls Susan King's talent "a gift from the gods." The author of five novels including
Lady Miracle
and
The Angel Knight
, she lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

by SUSAN KING

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Christmas Day, 1573 The Highlands

"I am Catriona MacDonald of Kilernan, and I need your help." Her soft Gaelic echoed in the silence. Catriona held her breath, and waited for a response from several men gathered near the hearth in the great hall at Glenran Castle. She lifted her chin slightly, determined to show no fear, though these were Frasers, and enemies of her clan.

No one spoke. Although she stood in the center of a hall filled with men, women, and children, amid the Yuletide scents of pine and juniper, of spices and cakes and roasted meats, she felt utterly alone in that instant. Still, she could not blame the Frasers for staring at her so warily. She had broken the peace of their Christmas by coming to their castle.

As the silence continued, Catriona lifted trembling fingers to the red plaid she wore draped over her frayed green gown, and unfastened the silver brooch that she had owned since infancy. She held it out toward Callum Fraser, the laird of Glenran.

"This brooch marks an honorable pledge, made on Christmas Eve twenty years past, by your father," she said. "I have treasured the snow rose all my life."

"Snow rose?" Callum asked as he accepted the brooch.

She nodded. "I called it that when I was a child, because of the silver setting, and the rose quartz stone."

He examined the piece thoughtfully. "I remember seeing it when I was a child."

"Lachlann Fraser gave it to me on Christmas Eve, when I was but a few days old. He pinned it to my swaddling and told my mother that it marked his pledge of protection for me. He said that if I ever was in need, my mother or I should come to him."

"And you are in need now?" Callum asked.

"I am," she said quietly. "Though I am a MacDonald, and you are Frasers, and our clans have feuded for generations, I must call upon this pledge. I know that Lachlann of Glenran died several years ago, but I hope that his son will honor his promise, in the spirit of the Yuletide season."

Callum watched her somberly, then leaned over to murmur to the man seated beside him; that man had dark hair and brilliantly blue eyes, and seemed older than the others. Callum listened to him carefully.

The other Frasers murmured among themselves, most of them standing with their backs to the yellow light that spilled from the stone fireplace. While Catriona could not see their faces clearly, she saw that they were tall and well made, blond, dark, and redheaded, wearing plaids of deep green and midnight blue, colors favored by the Glenran Frasers.

Another dark-haired man watched her intently from where he stood in a shadowed corner near the hearth. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms over his wrapped plaid, crossing his long, muscular legs, cased in deer-skin boots. His gaze never wavered from her face.

Although her heart thumped, Catriona looked at him boldly. He inclined his head in acknowledgment; Catriona soon lowered her eyes, her cheeks heated.

She waited, ignoring the sting of her chilled fingers and toes as they warmed after hours of riding in the cold. She ignored, too, the rumbling of her empty stomach, roused by the scents of the Frasers' Christmas feast. She stood straight and held her head high, feeling the weight of her black hair as it spilled down her back, and curling her toes inside her worn leather boots. Her knees shook, her heart pounded, but on the outside, she remained quiet and still.

Finally the laird leaned forward, his strong, handsome face lined with a frown. "My father told us the story of a Christmas Eve when the widow of Iain MacDonald of Kilernan saved his life."

Catriona nodded. "My mother took Lachlann Fraser in during a blizzard. He had been hunting and stopped at Kilernan, unable to make it back to Glenran because of the storm. My mother was still in childbed, and could have directed her men not to admit him," she continued. "He was a Fraser, and she had been recently widowed by the hand of a Fraser. But she honored the custom of Highland hospitality, which is offered to any visitor, friend or foe. Lachlann gave me the brooch and the pledge in return."

"My father was deeply touched by your mother's generosity," Callum said. "I recall that he mentioned a babe, whom he promised to protect. But the MacDonald widow never contacted him again." He glanced at the other men. "My father would expect his kinsmen to honor this vow." A few of them nodded agreement. Callum turned to her. "What is it you need?"

Catriona sighed in relief, and gathered boldness in her next breath. "My uncle, Hugh MacDonald, holds Kilernan Castle. I am the Maid of Kilernan, my father's only heir. My uncle will not acknowledge my claim unless I wed the man he has chosen for me." She paused. "I want you to take the castle from Hugh MacDonald."

Callum stared at her. His kinsmen stared at her, too. From across the room, she sensed the gazes of the women as well.

The laird cleared his throat. "Take it?"

"Take it," she said, "and give it into my keeping. I have loyal kinsmen living at Kilernan who will help me hold it."

"Let them take it for you," a red-haired Fraser said.

"My kinsmen are afraid to go against my uncle, although they disapprove of his actions."

"Hugh MacDonald is a drunken fool," the redheaded Fraser said. "Surely when he sobers, he will honor your claim."

"He refuses to do that unless I wed Parian MacDonald, my third cousin." She drew a breath. "The Glenran Frasers are well known for fearlessness and clever raiding. You can take the castle and give it into my keeping."

"We will not take Kilernan by force," Callum said. "Surely you are aware of our signed pledge to end the feud with Clan Donald." He handed the brooch back to her. Catriona pinned it to her plaid. "Let us help you some other way," Callum said.

"Lachlann Fraser promised whatever I needed," she said.

"Lachlann did not promise to kill MacDonalds for you," someone said in a precise, deep tone; she noticed that the dark-haired man standing in the shadows spoke. His frowning gaze pierced hers.

"Kenneth is right." The man beside Callum leaned forward. "The Frasers signed a bond years ago that forbids them to fight MacDonalds. Your clansmen signed the same pledge, though they have not kept it. The Frasers honor it."

"Are you not a Glenran Fraser?" she asked the man.

"I am Duncan Macrae of Dulsie, kin by marriage to the Frasers. And I am a lawyer for the Privy Council. What is the dispute with your uncle? There may be another way to solve it."

She shook her head. "My uncle took over Kilernan when I was a babe. My mother never wed again, and died a few years ago. Now my uncle insists that I marry Parian. I fear that I will lose Kilernan if I agree."

"Hugh is within his rights as your guardian to choose a husband for you," Macrae said. "But I will look into your legal position when I go to Edinburgh in the spring, if you like."

"By then I will be wed, unless you help me," she said.

"This is no affair for Frasers," Callum said. "Go home, girl, and listen to your uncle."

"I cannot. I fled Kilernan a few months past, to stay in a shieling hut in the hills above Loch Garry. Parian and my uncle want me to return to Kilernan, but I have refused, until the castle has been promised into my keeping."

"Take your troubles to your clan chief," Kenneth Fraser said. "We cannot solve this for you." Catriona glanced toward the shadows again. His deep voice had a soothing quality, despite his harsh words.

"I sent word to the MacDonald," she said. "He refused to take Kilernan from Hugh, and promised to send a silver spoon to my firstborn."