Consuming Fire
Three years after the Massacre of Glencoe, Maggie Robertson enters a nunnery. While she wishes to serve God, she also flees the man who attempted to sully her reputation in order to force her into marriage. Adam Campbell must deliver Maggie to her father or forfeit his cousin’s life in payment for causing her brother’s death. The more Adam comes to know Maggie, the more he regrets his task. Once he reunites her with her unloving father, conniving sister, and vengeful suitor, Adam promises to come if she needs him.
The trials Maggie and Adam face provide an interesting tale of romance and loyalty intertwined with the realization that not all things they wish for turn out as they hope. What detracts is that romance and history take a back seat to the religious aspects of the story, at times to the point of being preachy. While many Robertsons may have been Catholics, none would have practiced their faith as openly as Maggie does during this time in Scottish history. It’s unlikely that Adam is Catholic, since to be so at this time would preclude him from achieving the status he holds within his clan and with King William. If Maggie and Adam are of two faiths, why is there no conflict in this regard between them? Why does the priest willingly wed two people of different faiths without blinking an eye?
