The Border Chronicles

Series · 6 books · 2006-2011

By Bertrice Small

Books in series

A Dangerous Love

2006

Orphaned by England's War of the Roses, betrayed by her half sister, Elizabeth of York, Adair Radcliffe is taken captive during a border raid and sold into servitude to Conal Bruce, the laird of Cleit. The laird seeks a housekeeper and bedmate —- but instead he finds that beneath the girl's dirty, disheveled appearance is a proud and spirited violet-eyed beauty who refuses to be tamed. It is she who will teach the stubborn Scot that love recognizes neither borders nor rank ...

The Border Lord's Bride

2007

The Border Chronicles, continues with this tale of a woman rescued, a man enraptured, and a love unanticipated by fate.... Duncan Armstrong, laird of Duffdour, has sworn not to wed unless it is to a lass he truly loves. But when he needs a favor from King James, Duncan never expects what he's forced to pay in return: the taking of a bride neither loves nor desires. When Highland heiress Ellen MacArthur's marriage plans are thwarted by a murder attempt, she has no choice but to beg the king for help. The cost for her urgent plea: to surrender her heritage and become a lord's bride. The price to be paid by two strangers thrown together by fate is higher than they can imagine. And more dangerous than the passion—and betrayal—that could consume them.

The Captive Heart

2008

From the New York Times bestselling author, the third passionate romance in the Border Chronicles series. The year is 1461, and the winds of war rage across England, uprooting Alix Givet, the daughter of Queen Margaret's physician, and the rest of Henry VI's court. Alix's plight becomes bleaker still when, out of duty to her queen, and to her ill, widowed father, she's locked into a loveless marriage to a cruel Northumbrian. But when her luck changes, Alix has another chance to flee, this time to save herself. Escaping north over the border into Scotland, she throws herself at the mercy of a dark and brooding laird who might provide the everlasting love of her dreams - if she can warm his cold heart.

The Border Lord and the Lady

2009

From the New York Times bestselling author - the fourth passionate romance in the Border Chronicles series. Lady Cicely Bowen, daughter of the Earl of Leighton, is sent away by her father when her jealous stepmother threatens her safety. Soon the exiled Cicely becomes best friends with Lady Joan Beaufort, the king's cousin - and when Joan is married to King James I of Scotland she chooses Cicely as one of the ladies accompany her north. At the Scot's court Cicely finds herself pursued by two men - elegant Andrew Gordon, the laird of Fairlee, and Ian Douglas, the laird of Glengorm, a rough-spoken border lord. When Ian kidnaps Cicely just as Andrew is about to propose, the royal court is sent into an uproar. The queen is demanding the return of her friend and the Gordons are threatening to set the border on fire. But the border lord is difficult to tame - and the lady's heart is even harder to claim.

The Border Vixen

2010

Dugald Kerr, the laird of Brae Aisir, has lost his male heirs in the raging border wars. He has but one inheritor remaining: a beautiful headstrong graddaughter known as Mad Maggie. There are many eager to wed Maggie, for with her comes the profitable right to exact tolls at a famous safe passage through the border hills, which has been under the protection of the Kerrs for generations. Keenly aware of the covetous interest in his lands, the laird announces that any man who can outrun, outride, and outfight Mad Maggie will win her and her inheritance. His proposition causes more chaos than resolution, for feisty Maggie's reputation precedes her, and the one man to take up the challenge is roundly defeated. But young King James V learns of the laird's problem and dispatches his cousin Fingal Stewart into the borders to wed the heiress without delay so that the valuable pass may be protected. But the laird insists his conditions be met, and the heated contest of wills between Fin and Maggie brings out the fire in them both. But there are those who will stop at nothing to gain control of Maggie's inheritance - even if it means getting rid of Fingal Stewart, and his border vixen.

Bond of Passion

2011

Bertrice Small continues her breathless Border Chronicles as a mysterious nobleman and his bartered new bride untangle a plot of illicit seduction, daring betrayal, and deadly royal intrigue ... Called the handsomest man in the borders, Angus Ferguson, Earl of Duin, lives a quiet life, avoiding the constant political intrigues of his neighbors in order to keep his small clan safe. Now, in exchange for a piece of land he has long coveted, he has taken a wife: Annabella Baird, the plain-faced daughter of the laird of Rath. Reluctant at first to bed the unassuming Annabella, Angus finally accepts his duty as a husband—only to discover that beneath his bride's modest demeanor is a wildcat with a spark waiting to be ignited. When, however, they accept an invitation to the court of Scotland's Queen Mary, they find themselves caught up in royal intrigue. Mary's unfortunate marriage to her cousin Lord Darnley has proven a disaster. Worse, it has driven her into the arms of another man, James Hepburn, the dashing, powerful Earl of Bothwell. When Darnley is murdered in spectacular fashion, and his body barely cold before Mary and Bothwell wed, the queen's adversaries retaliate with a war that divides Scotland and tries the long friendship between the Earl of Duin and James Hepburn—even as it tests the bond of passion between Angus and Annabella in ways they have never expected.

Author

Bertrice Small

Author · 59 books

Bertrice Williams was born on December 9, 1937 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, the daughter of Doris S. and David R. Williams, both broadcasters. She studied at Attended Western College for Women and Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. On October 5, 1963, she married George Sumner Small, a photographer and designer with a History Major at Princeton. They had a son Thomas David. She lived on eastern Long Island for over 30 years. Her greatest passions were her family; Finnegan and Sylvester, the family cats; Nicki, the elderly cockatiel who whistles the NY Mets charge call; her garden; her work, and just life in general. Published since 1947, Bertrice Small was the author of over 50 romance novels. A New York Times bestselling author, she had also appeared on other best-seller lists including Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and the L.A. Times. She was the recipient of numerous awards including Career Achievement for Historical Romance; Best Historical Romance; Outstanding Historical Romance Series; Career Achievement for Historical Fantasy; a Golden Leaf from the New Jersey Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America; an Author of the Year (2006) and Big Apple Award from the New York City Romance Writers chapter of RWA, and several Reviewers Choice awards from Romantic Times. She had a "Silver Pen" from Affair De Coeur, and an Honorable Mention from The West Coast Review of Books. In 2004 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by ROMANTIC TIMES magazine for her contributions to the Historical Romance genre. And in 2008 she was named by ROMANTIC TIMES along with her friends Jennifer Blake, Roberta Gellis and Janelle Taylor, a Pioneer of Romance. Bertrice Small was a member of The Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America, PAN, and PASIC. She was also a member of RWA's Long Island chapter, L.I.R.W., and is its easternmost member on the North Fork of Eastern Long Island.