Adam’s Call
The Victorian Highlanders Book 3
Ellie St. Clair
Contents
Author’s Note
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Afterword
Roderick’s Purpose
A sneak peek…
Also by Ellie St. Clair
About the Author
♥ Copyright 2020 by Ellie St Clair - All rights reserved.
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Also By Ellie St. Clair
Standalone
Unmasking a Duke
The Stormswept Stowaway
Christmastide with His Countess
Her Christmas Wish
Happily Ever After
The Duke She Wished For
Someday Her Duke Will Come
Once Upon a Duke’s Dream
He’s a Duke, But I Love Him
Loved by the Viscount
Because the Earl Loved Me
Happily Ever After Box Set Books 1-3
Happily Ever After Box Set Books 4-6
Searching Hearts
Duke of Christmas
Quest of Honor
Clue of Affection
Hearts of Trust
Hope of Romance
Promise of Redemption
Searching Hearts Box Set (Books 1-5)
The Unconventional Ladies
Lady of Mystery
Lady of Fortune
Lady of Providence
Lady of Charade
Blooming Brides
A Duke for Daisy
A Marquess for Marigold
An Earl for Iris
A Viscount for Violet
The Blooming Brides Box Set: Books 1-4
The Bluestocking Scandals
Designs on a Duke
Inventing the Viscount
Discovering the Baron
The Valet Experiment
The Victorian Highlanders
Callum’s Vow
Finlay’s Duty
Adam’s Call
Roderick’s Purpose
Coming Soon
Peggy’s Love
Author’s Note
Adam’s Call was first published as Treasures of the Wind and The Highlander’s Call under the name Audrey Adair. It has been extensively revised, and I hope you enjoy every minute of it!
Prologue
July 10, 1866 ~ Aldourie, Scotland
Adam pumped his seven-year-old legs as fast as he could, his breath coming in short, quick gasps as he struggled up the hill after his brothers and his cousin. Even Roderick, who was younger by two years, was up the hill faster than he. Adam stopped and turned around, seeing his little sister climbing with reckless abandon, and he held out a hand to help her to the top. She swatted his offer away, calling out to him to catch her instead, before cresting the hill and rolling down it in a fit of giggles. Adam shook his head with a smile on his face as he looked out at the beautiful loch below them. Their older brother Callum swore to him that a monster lived in the water, but Adam was convinced it was a lie. There was no such thing as monsters. Callum was just trying to scare him.
Adam took off after them once more, his legs moving so fast he could no longer control them as Roderick called to him from the bottom of the hill, and he barreled into the rest of the children with an “oomph,” as their small black dog ran in circles around them, yapping in excitement.
He laughed with the sheer abandonment of youth and followed the rest of them as they raced back to the castle bailey. He was just beginning to realize how impressive his home was compared to those of his friends from the village, but it was all he had ever known.
When they entered the yard, Adam waved in greeting as their friend Kyla joined them, ducking under the hand of one of his father’s men as they rushed past the animals.
He pulled up short when they reached the fields next to the castle. The crofters were working hard in the rows of potatoes, and he boosted himself up on the fence to watch them work. Even from here, he could see the sweat drip off the men’s brows, and he marveled at how hard they were working, digging in the earth with the sun beating down overhead.
“Hey, Mack!” he shouted to one of the men, who lived not far from them. He had the same last name as them, although Adam wasn’t quite sure why. “What’re ye doing?”
“Workin’, lad,” he called back. “Not like you youngsters.”
“Wanna go to the loch?”
“Not today, Adam,” the man said, putting a hand to his back as he straightened and then wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Not today.”
“Maybe next time,” Adam responded a bit dejectedly, then hopped off the fence and began meandering home on his own at a much more leisurely pace this time. He hoped he would never have to work that hard. It didn’t seem fair how the McDougall men and women labored day in and day out. He resolved that someday he would make life easier for them. He wasn’t sure how, but his father was the chieftain, so he was sure something could be done.
He would just have to figure out a way.
1
1885 – Aldourie, Scotland
Adam McDougall put a hand to his forehead to block the sun as he gazed out over the fields in front of him. A hot, dry wind riffled through his long, thick dark hair, but rather than cool him, it served to push the rivulets of sweat to run faster down his neck.
It had been unusually warm this summer, and he wasn’t quite used to it yet.
As Adam watched the sheep meander toward the shade, he waved a hand to Angus, a crofter who was driving the sheep forward. This hillside outcropping could offer little in support of growing anything, but there was enough grass for the sheep to graze.
Hoof beats thundered on the ground behind him, and he turned. A pair of horses galloped toward him, the midnight black and striking white a majestic pair of opposites, much like their riders.
“Finlay, Kyla,” he greeted his brother and sister-in-law.
“Adam!” said Kyla with a warm smile as she easily dismounted
