Table Of ContentTONIGHT 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?"
