Meet the Characters of Highlander’s Hope by Gerri Brousseau

Questions for Yvette:

1.  Tell us, how did you and Ewan meet?  Were you attracted to him from the beginning?

I actually met Ewan for the very first time at my cousin’s wedding, though, truth to tell, I didn’t remember him. Then, the day I arrived in London, he rescued me from two men chasing me on the docks. I still didn’t remember him but I recognized his eyes. They’re a very unusual color…turquoise.

He introduced himself, and I know he expected me to remember him, but I didn’t. After all, it had been two years and we’d only met the one time.

I did think him such a handsome man, and I was most grateful for his assistance, but I was sure our paths would never cross again. That left me feeling quite disappointed.

2. You said you were being chases on London’s docks. Can you tell your readers why you were being chased?

Well, yes, as to that, I have a most despicable stepbrother, Edgar, who was determined to get his hands on my inheritance. The lout actually thought I’d marry him. Can you imagine? One of the men chasing me was a hireling of my stepbrother’s.  The other was an associate of Ewan’s who had been appointed to safeguard me, though I knew it not at the time.

3.  What’s something unexpected you discovered about Ewan? Was this a pleasant surprise or not?

Ewan adores his family. He has three younger sisters and a younger brother. He’s very close to his mother and stepfather. His extended family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins live at Craiglocky, Ewan’s Keep.

I’ve never seen a man more fiercely loyal to his family or kin. When his kin and kith arrived to accompany us to Craiglocky, I realized what a deeply sensitive man he was. Up to that point, I’d thought him somewhat of an arrogant bully.

I dared to begin to trust him when I saw how important his family was to him.

4. When did you know you loved Ewan?

Well, I was attracted to him, almost from the beginning. After all, his is so very dashing and charming.  I think I began to love him when he risked his life to see me safely to Craiglocky. I didn’t recognize it as love. I was still so afraid to trust, and he hadn’t told me he loved me. I needed to hear him say it, and know it was a sincere declaration, before I dared voice it myself.

When I was kidnapped and thought I was going to die, I knew I loved him and so regretted not ever having told him I did. The moment he rescued me, I threw my arms around him and told him that I loved him.

Questions for Ewan:

1.  Ewan, you were smitten with Yvette almost from the moment you met her. Was it really love at first sight for you?

Not love, I don’t think, but most definitely a very strong, almost preordained, attraction. There was something captivating about Yvette, something that haunted me. I worried that I’d become obsessed, she was so often in my thoughts. It wasn’t long though after we were brought together again, that I was forced to admit she stirred a fierce protectiveness in me. The thought of her being another’s was unbearable. Those intense emotions compelled me to admit I loved her.

2.  Can you share with your readers something quirky or unusual about Yvette?

She talks in her sleep and has a habit of naming all her animals after Greek or Roman gods. Her mare was named Aphrodite and her dogs are Apollo and Artemis.

She also wears spectacles when she reads. She kept that hidden from me for some time.

Would you believe she’s a dab hand at pistols and blades?

What else? Oh, she can’t tolerate spirits. They make her ill.

3. Yvette was quite angry when she discovered she was married to you even though no ceremony had been performed. Why did you do it? Didn’t you risk losing her?

The threat to Yvette a Munlocky’s was very real. That establishment caters to the most vile sort of riffraff. But a summer storm forced us to seek shelter there. Yvette was ill; she couldn’t travel on. If I hadn’t declared Yvette to be my wife, she would have been ravished, and likely my kin and I killed trying to protect her.

I loved her then, did what I must to keep her safe. I knew the risk. . . she might come to hate me, but at that moment, keeping her safe was the most important thing.

4.  Can you tell us what went through your mind when you realized Yvette had been abducted?

I’ve never felt such a potent mixture of rage and terror as I did when Yvette was taken.

We’d only just begun our lives together, and I’d confessed my love for her. She was beginning to trust me again. And then she was ripped from the safety of Craiglocky by traitorous assassins.

Yvette’s no simpering miss, though. She used a blade on one of her abductors which saved her life.

What does the future hold for the two of you now?

Ewan:

I’ll be a father in a few months, something I am eagerly looking forward too.  I’ve resigned my position with the War Office and will take my seat in the House of Lords, though I plan on spending most of my time here at Craiglocky with my son.

Yvette:

Or daughter.

The orphanage and school have both been built, but there’s no hospital or even a physician within fifty miles. That’s my next project…after the babe comes along.

And now, let’s learn a little bit about the author who created these lively characters, Collette Cameron.

In February 2011, Collette decided to sit down and write a Regency suspense romance. She wrote Highlander’s Hope, the first book in her Blue Rose Trilogy. She has a BS in Liberal Studies and a Master’s in Teaching. She’s been married for 30 years, has 3 amazing adult children, and 5 dachshunds. Her puppy, Ayva, sits on her lap while she writes. Ayva also nibbles at and lies on the keyboard. Collette loves a good joke, the beach, trivia, birds, shabby chic, and Cadbury Chocolate. She just finished The Viscount’s Vow, the second book in the series.  It releases from Soul Mate Publishing next year. You’ll always find dogs, birds, quirky—sometimes naughty—humor, and a dash of inspiration in her novels.