ㅤbiography.ㅤ lord elijah callum mcgregor was born on a cool spring evening on april twenty-seventh, just after nine o'clock to lord aaran mcgregor, the marquess of stenness, and lady elspeth mcgregor, the marchioness, at glenwater hall, their estate in scotland.
during her son's birth, the marchioness experienced complications that very nearly took her life. since his son and heir was born healthy and he feared for his wife's life, the lord and lady vowed that elijah would be their first and only child, who would go on to inherit the estate and his father's title when he was old enough.
though tragedy would once again attempt to rear it's ugly head within the mcgregor estate five years after elijah was born. despite their staunch vow of having only one child, the marchioness would fall pregnant again, but the child would not survive. due to the stress being pregnant caused her because of her first brush with death, she miscarried and elijah's brother was stillborn.
to cope with the grief of losing what would have been their youngest son, they focused their efforts on educating their surviving son with various tutors and preparing him to assume his future role.
despite his intelligence, as he entered his teen years, elijah's interest in preparing to take over his family's lands and title waned. by the time he came of age, he had stopped caring entirely; more interested in bedding as many women as would let him, attending balls, and drinking copious amounts of wine.
before long, the marquess fell ill. despite the best efforts of many physicians, lord mcgregor's condition continues to worsen and now he has been given a short time to live.
worried about the fact that elijah has not been taking his impending duties as future marquess of stenness seriously, lord and lady mcgregor have insisted that he must take a wife before he is allowed to assume the title, hoping that a wife may help him straighten out his behavior. if he does not marry, the title, the estates, and elijah's sizable inheritance will pass to his cousin.
not wanting to lose the inheritance that would allow him to keep the opulent style of life he has become accustomed to, elijah agreed, on the condition that he be allowed to participate in the social season in london rather than at home in scotland. thus, helping him avoid the watchful eyes and pressure of his parents.
shortly after elijah arrived in london, lady whistledown exposed the future marquess' rakish reputation, making his time-sensitive goal of finding a wife that much more challenging. the only questions left are whether elijah can find a wife who will overlook his rakish reputation or if he will find a woman that will cause him to leave his rakish tendencies behind for good?
