Pretender at the Gate - Historical Fiction by S J Garland

http://www.amazon.com/Pretender-Gate-Markinch-Series-Volume/dp/0473294370

Pretender at the Gate follows the adventures of English military officer Captain Esmond Clyde-Dalton as he seeks out Jacobite conspirators through the streets of Edinburgh in 1708. The kidnapping of the woman he loves and the death of old friends from Markinch makes his task infinitely harder.

Francis Stuart, the Pretender, has a French Armanda waiting to make the crossing to Scotland in order to regain the throne his daughters stole from him. Constant fighting in the Low Countries has exhausted the English army. If Francis is able to land in Scotland and rally Scottish sentiment to him, he will easily be able to march south into England.

Esmond’s old mentor and English spymaster Colonel Manner's has a plan. He needs Esmond to find a document signed by the Jacobite supporters, which lists the men, and arms they are willing to provide Francis. With the document Colonel Masters will be able to hunt down the conspirators before Francis leaves France, giving him a chance to keep the fragile Act of Union in place.

With his loyalty divided, Esmond must come to terms with the horrors of his past and the betrayal of his present to do what he knows is right.