Tonight and Always PDF
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TONIGHT AND ALWAYS By Linda Lael Miller Contents Prologue CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 14 CHAPTER 15 CHAPTER 16 CHAPTER 17 CHAPTER 18 CHAPTER 19 Epilogue Praise for the enthralling vampire romances of Linda Lael Miller Forever and the Night The spectacular New York Times bestseller. The book that lured readers into Linda Lael Miller's spellbinding world of vampires and mortals, lovers and legends… "A terrific read. Exotic, lush, sensual and exciting… I loved it." —Jayne Ann Krentz "Bravo! What a tale. I was hooked from page one." —Jill Marie Landis, bestselling author of Day Dreamer "Sizzling, sexy, and absolutely scrumptious. It's the vampire romance to end all vampire romances. It's the fabulous Linda Lael Miller at her scintillating best." —Romantic Times "A sensuously luscious, supernatural romance… thrilling… chilling… an immortal classic." —Affaire de Coeur "Aiden and Neely are a very special pair. Readers will root for them through every suspenseful twist and moving love scene right to the bittersweet ending." —Gothic Journal "Triumphant!" —Kliatt For All Eternity The passionate story of Maeve Tremayne—a beautiful vampire who haunts the battlefields of Gettysburg like an angel of death… and who dares to lose her soul to a mortal soldier. "The reigning queen of supernatural romance… Ms. Miller has brilliantly written a haunting love story." —Affaire de Coeur "Highly recommended." —Booklist "Absolutely fascinating… intriguing… the mesmerizing Valerian steals the show once again." —Romantic Times "Linda Lael Miller's fabulous time-travelling vampires are back… the exciting plot and fast pacing will keep readers enthralled to the very last page and eager for the next installment." —The Talisman "This page-turner will keep you on the edge of your seat… a fast-paced, mysterious tale woven by a master storyteller." —The Time Machine "Ms. Miller takes the reader into the world of the damned [and] carries the reader on a river of emotions that are hot and sensuous." —Heartland Critiques Time Without End Once every century, Valerian's lost love, the enchanting Brenna, returns in human form. But this time, as the new millennium draws near, Valerian vows never to lose her again… "Her best work to date. A keeper to treasure, remember, and savor." —Affaire de Coeur "Heart-wrenching scenes… engrossing historical characters and period atmosphere." —Publishers Weekly "Mesmerizing… Ms. Miller comes up trumps in this intricate tale featuring the sexy, arrogant vampire destined to become an all-time favorite with romance readers of every persuasion. Long live Valerian!" —Romantic Times "Ms. Miller takes us from past to present with ease, giving the reader a look at how it all started and leaves us hoping for more… Valerian and Daisy are powered with such intensity that the sparks between them leap at the reader." —Rendezvous Berkley Books by Linda Lael Miller FOREVER AND THE NIGHT FOR ALL ETERNITY TIME WITHOUT END TONIGHT AND ALWAYS LINDA LAEL MILLER Tonight and Always BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK TONIGHT AND ALWAYS TONIGHT AND ALWAYS A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author PRINTING HISTORY Berkley edition / November 1996 All rights reserved. Copyright © 1996 by Linda Lael Miller. Book design by Peggy Reichelt. For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016. The Putnam Berkley World Wide Web site address is http://www.berkley.com/berkley ISBN: 0-425-15541-2 BERKLEY® Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016. BERKLEY and the "B" design are trademarks belonging to Berkley Publishing Corporation. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR JUDITH STERN PALAIS, THE CONSUMMATE PRO AND A LOYAL FRIEND, WITH LOVE, APPRECIATION, AND GREAT ADMIRATION. THANK YOU. For love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears: What is it else? a madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet. Romeo and Juliet Prologue ^ » LONDON WINTER, 1872 The new governess leaned down from what seemed to the child a great height, smiling her brash American smile. The woman was pretty enough, with her auburn hair and shining green eyes, and smart, too, or Mummy wouldn't have engaged her in the first place. Still, a stranger was a stranger. "Kristina Tremayne Holbrook, is it?" Miss Phillips inquired in a nonobjectionable tone of voice. "Such a big name for so small a girl." Kristina came out of the voluminous folds of her nanny's skirts to correct an apparent misconception on the part of the newcomer. "I am not so very little," she said. "I'm five—six next April—and I can already read and count to a hundred. You may be on your way now—we won't be needing you because I shall learn all I need to know from Mama and Papa and Valerian." Mrs. Eldridge, the plump nurse with whom Kristina spent the majority of her time, laid a fond and encouraging hand atop her charge's head. "Hush now, child," she scolded benignly. Then, to the governess she confided, "You mustn't mind our Kristina. She's too bright by half, she is, and sometimes it makes her a mite saucy, but she's good through and through." She paused to emit a heartfelt sigh. "Now, come right in and settle yourself next to the drawing room fire, Miss Phillips, and welcome to you. It's a blustery day out, isn't it, and I daresay a nice cup of tea would go well with you just now." "Thank you, Mrs. Eldridge," Miss Phillips said, removing her dowdy bonnet and cloak, both of which were dappled with snow, and handing them off to Delia, the handsome downstairs maid, whose duty it was to greet and announce guests and look after their belongings while they were being entertained. Delia collected Miss Phillips's battered carpet satchel—it was dripping on the Persian rug—and bore that away as well. Kristina lagged behind as Mrs. Eldridge and Miss Phillips hurried into the drawing room, arms linked, whispering to each other. She lingered just inside the double doors, half hidden behind the marble pedestal that supported a bust of Socrates, while Miss Phillips was made comfortable beside the coal fire. When Mrs. Eldridge went out to arrange for tea to be served, Miss Phillips put her small feet in their scuffed black boots on the chrome rail edging the hearth, and sighed contentedly. "I do like to toast my toes on a winter's day," she said cheerfully. "Don't you, Kristina?" Kristina had believed herself invisible, dwarfed as she was by Socrates and his pillar, and was both disgruntled and pleased that her new teacher had taken notice of her. Mama and Papa were loving and attentive, but they were never about during the daylight hours, and both of them were very busy—Papa worked in his laboratory below-stairs, and Mama was the queen of something, though Kristina didn't know exactly what. "Yes," she said tentatively, drawn to the young woman with bright hair and shabby clothes and a gentle voice. "Won't you join me by the fire? I feel a little lonely, sitting here all by myself." Kristina understood loneliness well, though she was but five. It was a mysterious ache in one small corner of her heart, and always with her, even when Mama or Papa or Valerian or Mrs. Eldridge was nearby. Most of the time she felt as though she were lost from someone she did not yet know, and must find that person to be truly happy. Given her age and size, and the fact that she was not allowed to go farther than the wall at the rear of the garden by herself, the objective seemed very daunting indeed. She stepped nearer to the hearth, leaning on the arm of Papa's wing-back chair. Miss Phillips sat smiling in the matching seat, which was Mama's. The approach was concession enough, for the moment—Kristina did not speak. Miss Phillips smoothed her skirts, which were clean but frayed at the hem and mended in at least two places. "I do not think you are really so shy as you pretend to be," she said. "Are you afraid of me, Kristina?" "No," Kristina said in a sturdy voice. "Not now. I was for a few moments, though." "Why?"
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