Eric Murray was the youngest of his brothers, determined to gain his rightful inheritance after thirteen years of bitter dispute with his father’s family. Starting out alone to confront his tight-fisted kinsmen, he encountered a beauty set upon by thieves. When she begged for Eric’s protection for herself and her infant nephew, Eric promised to deliver them to safety. Bethia Drummond’s only hope for escaping the ruthless kin who planned to kill her and her orphaned nephew, and claim their inheritance, was Eric Murray. Then Bethia learned that Eric, too, was seeking land and coin from his own people—her family’s closest allies. How could she love a man she might one day be forced to stand against? And yet she could not ignore what her troubled heart knew—that this proud knight had more than inspired her deepest passions . . . he had become her very destiny . . .