The Border Vixen

The fifth installment of Small's popular Border Chronicles (The Border Lord and Lady) offers a rollicking portrait of Scottish lass Margaret "Mad Maggie" Kerr, who in 1532, at 17, is looking for a husband who "will be content to let me do what needs doing." Her grandfather Dugald Kerr puts out a challenge for a man who can "outride, outrun and outfight" Maggie, his only heir to the family fortune, which includes control of a vital passage between Scotland and England that the Kerrs have protected (and collected tolls on) for more than 500 years. Winning Maggie's hand intrigues many men, especially Ewan Hay, who's furious when he fails the test. Enter Edinburgh's handsome Fingal Stewart, dispatched by his cousin, King James V, to claim Maggie and get control of the passage. Not too surprisingly, Fingal not only succeeds with the test but also wins Maggie's heart. Ewan, however, is not ready to relinquish his desires and will stop at nothing to claim the passage and conceive an heir with Maggie. Small's satisfying, heavy-breathing romp reaffirms her standing as a historical romance stalwart. (Oct.)