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Imagine my surprise, then, when I read The Devil’s Possession and discovered a woman could become laird of her clan in the Scottish Highlands during the reign of King James. Who knew? Actually, I still don’t know. I wondered a lot, however. If I didn’t trust that the author already researched it, I’d look it up. The heroine in line to become chieftain of her clan is an important plot point and the feasibility and reality of this niggled at me no small amount. But, as I said, I trusted the author checked this out long before she began the book, so I went along with it. Just like I totally buy that pelisse thing, even though I haven’t a clue what a pelisse looks like. Or why it was so necessary to Regency ladies dashing off to Hyde Park.

Faith Maitland is a parentless young woman, tapped by her clan to become laird upon the death of her uncle, Elliot, the current chieftain. She’s an honorable woman, readying herself to lead her people whenever Elliot passes on. It’s expected she’ll marry at some point, and she does have someone in mind as a definite maybe, but everything changes when she is sexually assaulted by a stranger in the forest. This is back story, so we don’t actually witness her attack. When the story opens, Faith is two months pregnant, and her lack of a husband, fiancé, or other man to take responsibility weighs heavy on her mind. Maybe she can become a female laird, but not with a bastard child.

When Faith confesses to Elliot she’s pregnant, he demands to know who is the father. Because she’s ashamed of what happened in the forest, because she knows it will wound her uncle, not to mention her clansmen will seek justice, possibly leading them to harm, she can’t tell the truth. But she has to give some explanation, and she hits on the perfect solution – pretend she had a tryst and name a man who’s been executed in the very recent past. Dead men tell no tales, and all that. Draven Cameron fits the bill nicely. Only problem is, he hasn’t yet been executed when she and Elliot ride over to the Cameron stronghold to demand satisfaction.

Bummer for Faith. She’s in it now, and of course she doesn’t wish for Draven’s death, but drat and so on that he’s not dead like he was supposed to be. What started out looking like a train wreck has become an actual train wreck. Her lie will affect someone else – namely, Draven, who’s also very unhappy about the turn of events, but not so much because a stranger he’s never laid eyes on claims he’s the da of her wee unborn bairn. No, her future husband is angry because he didn’t want to be saved. He was convinced he deserved to die, that the world would be a much better place without him in it. He’s been told by his clan for so many years that he’s the spawn of Satan, he believes it. Adding to his conviction is the power he holds within, something he was born with, but never completely understood. He can heal people, animals, and himself. He can also catch things on fire when he’s angry. Very handy when the tinderbox gets wet, but devilishly problematic otherwise. (You can hate me for that. I understand.)

Harold Cameron won’t be winning Father of the Year. He pretty much lost out on Husband of the Year after he burned his wife at the stake for witchery. Now he’s got it in for their son, Draven the Devil, who’s accused of burning down a cottage with a pregnant woman inside. The Cameron clan tends to dislike and fear Draven anyway, because he’s mute, a sure sign a person was the devil’s own back in the day, but after he caused a woman’s death by setting her cottage on fire – without a torch – there’s the devil to pay. The clan wants him dead, and Harold puts on a good show of giving them what they want. In reality, he has no intention of allowing his son to die. Harold plots against the king, and Draven, with his fire starting powers and healing abilities, will be the secret weapon to ensure his royal ambition to become King Harold. He’s more than a little irritated when Faith and Elliot show up, demanding Draven marry Faith and legitimize the unborn baby. He’s furious, and as he watches them cart Draven away, he begins to plan how to get his secret weapon back.

What follows is a slow, steady progression of building trust between Faith and Draven. He proves, over and over, he couldn’t possibly be the issue of Satan, and Faith proves, over and over, she’s kind and good and will become a sterling laird. Sure she misses some council meetings and we’re told she’s falling down on the job, but it’s evident by her acts of generosity and compassion, she’s perfect in every way. Her only apparent fault is her lack of motherly love and anticipation about the upcoming birth of her baby – although entirely understandable and thus not at all a fault. She champions Draven to her own people, who know he has special powers and fear him, much as his own clan did, but her props for her husband don’t endear her to the Maitland clan. Her future as laird is shaky. Even Uncle Elliot begins to question her adequacy for the role.

Throughout the story, Faith’s fateful forest encounter with a stranger is a significant stumbling block to her happiness and matrimonial harmony. There’s a Big Misunderstanding. There’s fear. And there’s not a terrible lot of sexual tension. In some respects, Waters’ debut is more of a cerebral story, not quite sweet in tone, but leaning toward highly emotional, rather than physical. The book is uneven at times, given to clunky phrases and overwrought expressions that tended to draw me away from the story, followed by flowing scenes that were captivating.

Draven is a three dimensional character, one I rooted for until the very end. Faith, however, was drawn too carefully, made too perfect for me to connect to her. Granted, she lied, but this is attributed to her wish not to upset or hurt her uncle by letting him know the truth to things, as well as the very real possibility of an all out war if her clan goes off to seek justice. So she keeps quiet about it, and takes on the guilt for what happened. There are emotions following sexual assault I can’t claim to know, but I’m fairly certain anger should be among them. Faith never gets good and mad, and that struck a false note to me. Her growth revolves around getting over what happened to her and making amends to Draven for sucking him into her deceit. In the end, she’s as she was before the attack, albeit pregnant and with a husband. In other words, she’s back to perfect.

Conversely, Draven comes into his own and makes a one-eighty in his life. In what to me is the essence of a great romance, a human being becomes the better part of himself through the power of love and faith. Ms. Waters writes one helluva hero.

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