Fourteen years pass, during which Gillian is raised by her uncle and matures into a brave, beautiful, and kindhearted young woman. Afterwards, Alford consigns Gillian to live with her uncle, Morgan Chapman, at his manor in Northern England. Alford captures the city of Dunhanshire and slays Gillian’s father in front of her eyes. While Christian escapes, Gillian is apprehended and brought back to Alford the Red’s castle. In the commotion, Gillian is separated from her sister, Christian. Gillian’s father tells the children they must keep the box a hidden secret.

When Gillian’s father catches wind of the invasion, he sends his four children, including Gillian, away from the property with the jewelry box in tow.

The box once belonged to King John’s beloved Arianna, whom Gillian’s father killed some time before. A ruthless general named Alford the Red of Lockmiere and his men have infiltrated Gillian’s home with the intent to rob an invaluable golden jewelry box. One evening in Dunhanshire during the thirteenth century, a young girl named Gillian is awoken in the middle of the night by her father. King Richard I rules the throne of England. Narrated in the omniscient third-person perspective, the story begins eight years after the events in The Secret. Ransom follows The Secret and precedes Shadow Music in Garwood’s trilogy. Ransom became a New York Times bestseller that has been called “an enthralling tale” by Romantic Times, as well as “wonderful…provides suspense, passion, and humor” by All About Romance. Along the way, Gillian enlists handsome Scottish warriors Ramsey Sinclair and Brodick Buchanan to help her find love and the courage to fight back and defeat Baron Alford. Years later, when Alford goes in search of a golden jewelry box on behalf of the tyrannical King John, Gillian takes the opportunity to find her missing sister and avenge her father’s death.

Set in London and Scotland in the thirteenth century, the story follows Lady Gillian, a powerless child whose world is upended when the ruthless Baron Alford slays her father and rips her family asunder. Book two in the Highlands’ Lairds trilogy, Ransom is the 1999 historical romance novel written by American author Julie Garwood.

The ransom julie garwood