Territory of New Mexico – 1881

On a surprise visit to her sister, Lydia Randolph, heir to an English title of Duchess of Wiltshire, comes upon some banditos. A couple has been wounded in the execution of a robbery, one is already dead. As a nurse, she recognizes one of the men as someone she treated in the town jail for a gun wound. Antonio, who insists she call him Miguel, is tall and handsome, richly dressed, extremely courteous and protects her from the other outlaws’ brutal intentions. When Miguel tries to leave with her, his cousin, the head of the bandits, insists she accompany them because her nursing skills are needed. As the days go by, she finds Miguel a compelling person, one with whom she falls in love even as she hates him for robbing and killing people.

Don Miguel Estrada bears an uncanny resemblance to the bandit Antonio Garcia. This likeness keeps causing him trouble. First, a bounty-hungry kid in Santa Fe shot him after seeing a wanted poster, and then he wound up in jail until he could confirm his identity. The only good thing about that incident was meeting the muy bonita senorita who stitched up his arm. Now he discovers her amid a gang of Mexican bandits. The only way to rescue her is to pretend to be Antonio. Keeping her safe leads to frustration on many levels.

The drama in HONORABLE INTENTIONS derives from Miguel’s misidentification and his assumption of Antonio’s identity, and from Lydia's trying to overcome her misconceptions about him without knowing who Miguel really is. The pair are in a dangerous situation, especially when they are forced to go to the bandits safe haven, a poor village Mexican criminals have taken over. While the confusion caused by the Miguel-Antonio switch is dangerous, humor laces the deadly situation. Lydia deals with the problem of whether to trust what her heart tells her about Miguel or believe what she knows about the outlaw Antonio. It is captivating reading.

A New Mexican native, author Donna MacQuigg paints a very realistic setting, both historically and with the New Mexican location for her characters’ journey. The story is a trip worth taking. HONORABLE INTENTIONS is a sequel to THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER, and characters and situations from the previous story crop up, but not enough to distract the new reader.

Robin Lee