Immortally Yours

by Lynsay Sands

  "Victoria gave it to Effie ere she left. She said it would help build me blood to aid in fighting the illness or some such thing," Edith murmured and grimaced. "It was foul. Just the smell o' it was enough to make me heave the first night Effie put it in me drink."

  "Really?" Rory murmured, and the way he looked toward the table now with interest convinced her the vial must be there somewhere.

  "It can no' be the poison," Edith assured them quietly. "Victoria does no' like me much, but she's no' stupid. She'd hardly give Effie poison to give me in front o' others like that."

  "Nay . . . o' course she would no'," Niels murmured, but neither he nor his brothers looked completely convinced by her words. "Here, have more mead."

  Edith hesitated, but then let him feed her more mead. She didn't think for a minute the tonic Victoria had given Effie could have poison in it. Her sister-in-law simply wasn't that stupid. Mind you, she wouldn't put it past the lass to have poisoned them all, just not in something that would lead directly back to her. Victoria might have seemed all sweetness and batting eyelashes when she'd first arrived at Drummond as Brodie's new bride, but once Edith's father and brothers had fallen ill, her ambition had shone through. Victoria wanted to be Lady Drummond with all that entailed, and had been terribly frustrated that the servants were not simply falling in line with her vision while the older brothers still lived. The woman had shown her true colors then, throwing a temper tantrum of epic proportions. Even Brodie had appeared taken aback by her behavior, and he was famous for his temper tantrums.

  In truth, Edith had almost been glad to fall ill herself once her second brother, Hamish, had died. It allowed her to avoid watching the woman claim the position she was so greedy for. Edith was quite certain Victoria wouldn't have taken over graciously or kindly in an effort to secure the hearts of the people now under her charge. She had probably been spiteful and bitter as she'd barked her orders and demanded immediate obeisance. Edith couldn't have borne watching that.

  Actually, she was no more eager to watch it now once her brother and his wife returned. Perhaps a visit with Saidh was in order so that she could sort out what she should do now. Edith was quite certain her days at Drummond were numbered. She had no doubt Victoria would want her out of there as quickly as possible, which probably meant a nunnery for her. If she wanted to avoid that, a visit with Saidh and the other girls where they might put their heads together and think up an alternative future for her was . . . well, really it was the only hope she had. Although, it was a slim one at best.

  Edith swallowed the mead and then asked, "Has there been word as to when Brodie and Victoria will return?"

  Niels shook his head. "Nay. I asked Tormod that very thing this morning, and he said no one has heard from them. He also said he did no' expect to, that Brodie comes and goes as he pleases without troubling himself to let others ken what he's about."

  "Aye," Edith said on a sigh. "Brodie tends to be . . . impulsive. We did no' even ken he'd married until he arrived home with Victoria in tow. It seems he met her at court, fell madly in love and married her within a month."

  "And her parents allowed it?" Niels asked with surprise.

  "That was my first question," Edith admitted wryly.

  "And his answer?" Rory asked at once.

  "He said they were perfectly fine with it," she said, not hiding her doubt that it was true.

  "Ye do no' believe it?" Rory asked with interest.

  "Nay," Edith admitted solemnly. "And neither did me father. He sent a messenger to a friend at court, who immediately wrote him back with the true story as he knew it."

  "Which is?" Niels prompted when she hesitated.

  After a hesitation, Edith admitted, "Apparently, Victoria was contracted to marry another when she met Brodie. My brother wooed her with tales o' his being heir to the laird at Drummond." All three Buchanan men stiffened at this news and she rushed on. "Her parents found out and her father took him aside and told him he knew he was the third son and would never be laird, his daughter was contracted to another, and to leave his daughter alone or else. But I do no' think they troubled to tell Victoria that Brodie had lied, because according to my father's friend, the next thing anyone knew Victoria and Brodie were gone." She grimaced. "It seems the pair fled court fer Drummond and stopped in a pub along the way to exchange consent in front o' witnesses."

  "So they're no' really married?" Alick asked with a frown.

  "Oh, aye, they are," Niels said heavily.

  It was Rory who explained, "According to canon law, all each party need do is give consent to be married. Ye need no' even have witnesses, although it helps if anyone refutes it."

  "Then why is there always the priest prattling on and on?" Alick asked. "And what o' banns and--?"

  "Not strictly necessary," Rory assured him. "Just preferred by most."

  "Well . . ." Alick frowned and seemed at a loss as to why anyone would want such bother.

  There was silence for a minute, and then Niels said, "So he claimed he was to be laird."

  "And now he is," Rory added darkly.

  Edith sighed. She'd just known that was what they would focus on. "Look, I ken it sounds bad, and frankly, me brother is a selfish, unreliable and spoiled lad . . . but Father is the last person Brodie would hurt. He is the one who spoiled him so badly and let him go his own way so much growing up."

  "And ye think he respected him fer that?" Niels asked curiously.

  Edith stared at him blankly. "What?"

  "Do ye think yer brother respected yer father fer spoiling him and letting him get away with so much, as ye put it," Niels asked, "or do ye think he just felt like mayhap his father did no' care enough to be bothered to discipline him and teach him to survive in this world as a man?"

  Edith frowned. She'd often seen her father's indulgence of Brodie as hurtful to her brother, knowing it was doing him no favors, but she'd never considered that Brodie might see it as such too.

  "Yer brother got lucky with Victoria," Niels added quietly. "If he'd tried the like with our sister and we'd caught up to him ere they exchanged consent, we would ha'e beat him near to death."

  "Aye, and probably cut off his ballocks and fiddle to boot," Rory said coldly.

  Edith's eyes widened incredulously at the threat to Brodie's family jewels. "Nay."

  "Aye," Alick assured her with a grin. "We planned to do all that and more to MacDonnell after he sent a message saying he'd ruined our Saidh and planned to marry her." Pursing his lips with displeasure, he added, "I'm still no' sure why we did no' do it."

  "Because MacDonnell's a laird, and he ne'er lied to Saidh," Rory explained dryly.

  "Besides, Saidh was no' contracted to another," Niels added. "She had no better prospects. In fact, MacDonnell was a fine choice to husband."

  "And she loved him," Edith pointed out.

  "Nay," Niels said at once, and when she frowned, assured her, "'Tis true. She lusted after him and liked him at first, but did no' yet love him. She said as much herself right in front o' us."

  "Really?" Edith asked, her voice almost a squeak of surprise.

  "Aye," Rory assured her with amusement. "Though in truth, I think she probably was half in love with him when they married. She definitely loves him now."

  "No' that it matters," Niels added quietly. "Had MacDonnell been a spoiled, lying third son unable to support her and any bairns they might produce, we would ha'e beat him to death rather than let him marry her . . . whether she loved him or no'."

  "What?" Edith gasped, shrinking away from him with surprise.

  Niels frowned at her reaction, but then asked, "Ye said ye do no' think Victoria's parents told her that Brodie had lied. Was it only because she ran off with him?"

  "Nay," she admitted reluctantly.

  "Then why?"

  Edith blew her breath out unhappily, but then admitted, "Because she seemed shocked when they got here and Brodie introduced her to our older brothers."

  "How shocked?
" Niels asked.

  Edith stared at him silently, suddenly suspecting he already knew the answer. If he'd talked to anyone here since their arrival, he probably did, she realized, and wondered just how long the men had been here and what all they knew.

  "She fainted," Edith admitted quietly, recalling the way Victoria had paled and then collapsed. Brodie had tried to brush it away as exhaustion from the trip as he'd scooped her up and carried her above stairs to his chamber, but they all heard the shouting coming from the room some ten minutes later when Victoria had apparently woken up.

  Aware that no one had commented and the three men were watching her solemnly, Edith sighed and asked, "How long ha'e ye been here?"

  "Nearly a week," Rory answered.

  "A week?" she gasped with amazement.

  "Only six days," Niels corrected him.

  "But . . ." She glanced from man to man. "What ha'e ye been doing all that time?"

  "Mostly taking turns guarding ye, hunting up game, making broth, and dribbling it down yer throat while ye were unconscious in hopes ye'd recover enough to wake up," Rory answered gently.

  Edith stared at them, her mind spinning slowly. While Brodie had fled the keep with its threat of illness, these three men, who did not even know her, had been here nearly a week taking care of her?

  "Why?"

  The word slipped out without her conscious intent, and for a moment it just hung there helplessly in the air. Then Niels shifted her slightly so that she was looking at him and said simply, "Because ye needed our help, lass."

  Perhaps she was still exhausted and drained from her illness, or perhaps it was the deaths of her father and brothers that she had not yet had a chance to grieve, but Edith's eyes suddenly glazed over with the sheen of tears. Just as she felt herself beginning to crumble in Niels's arms, the bedroom door suddenly burst open. Edith turned to see another man enter the room, this one as big and brawny as Niels and holding up two dead birds by their feet.

  "I got a nice pair o' pheasants this time, Rory. If ye only use one fer broth, we can maybe get Cook to roast up the other and--" The man stopped and blinked as he noted Edith half-upright in the curve of Niels's arm. "Oh, say, ye're awake! Well, is no' that fine?"

  About the Author

  LYNSAY SANDS is the nationally bestselling author of the Argeneau/Rogue Hunter vampire series, as well as numerous historicals and anthologies.

  She's been writing since grade school and considers herself incredibly lucky to be able to make a career out of it. Her hope is that readers can get away from their everyday stress through her stories, and if there are occasional uncontrollable fits of laughter, that's just a big bonus. Please visit her on the web at www.lynsaysands.net.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  By Lynsay Sands

  Immortally Yours

  Immortal Unchained

  Immortal Nights

  Runaway Vampire

  About a Vampire

  The Immortal Who Loved Me

  Vampire Most Wanted

  One Lucky Vampire

  Immortal Ever After

  The Lady Is a Vamp

  Under a Vampire Moon

  The Reluctant Vampire

  Hungry For You

  Born to Bite

  The Renegade Hunter

  The Immortal Hunter

  The Rogue Hunter

  Vampire, Interrupted

  Vampires Are Forever

  The Accidental Vampire

  Bite Me if You Can

  A Bite to Remember

  A Quick Bite

  Tall, Dark & Hungry

  Single White Vampire

  Love Bites

  Falling for the Highlander

  The Highlander Takes a Bride

  To Marry a Scottish Laird

  An English Bride in Scotland

  The Husband Hunt

  The Heiress

  The Countess

  The Hellion and the Highlander

  Taming the Highland Bride

  Devil of the Highlands

  The Loving Daylights

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Excerpt from Surrender to the Highlander copyright (c) 2018 by Lynsay Sands.

  immortally yours. Copyright (c) 2017 by Lynsay Sands. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

  Digital Edition OCTOBER 2017 ISBN: 978-0-06-246886-4

  Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06246895-6

  Cover design by Nadine Badalaty

  Cover illustration by Tony Mauro

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  HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.

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