Страница 73 из 73
“Well . . .” Sister Eustice glanced desperately around, everywhere but at the young woman who had been her student in the stables since being a small child—young Rosamunde had latched onto Eustice’s voluminous skirts and trailed after her the moment she had gained her feet and been able to walk. The nun had taught her everything she knew, and the look on Eustice’s face conveyed her misery at their separation.
“Aye,” Adela murmured unhappily, her own watery gaze on the floor. She had been taken with Rosamunde from her birth. The baby’s red curls and sweet smile had melted her heart as nothing else ever had. Contrary to tradition, she herself had overseen the girl’s lessons in the schoolroom. She had spent hour after hour feeding the child’s expanding mind, encouraging patience, and curbing the temper that seemed always to come with redheads. The rewards for her effort had been great. Rosamunde was everything she had ever wanted in a daughter. With a grimace of pain, the abbess rose to her feet.
“Every bird must leave the nest one day,” she said practically. She moved to the door, only to pause and glance back uncertainly. “I never thought you would leave us, Rosamunde. I was not warned.” Adela sighed unhappily. “Thinking you would not need the knowledge, there was much I neglected to teach you about marriage and the marital bed.”
“The marital bed?” Rosamunde frowned worriedly as she noted the sudden stain of embarrassment on the older woman’s cheeks.
The abbess stared at her, at a loss for a moment, then turned abruptly away. “Sister Eustice shall enlighten you,” she said abruptly. She started to slip out of the room, then paused to add, “But quickly, sister. The king is most impatient to have this business done.”
The door closed, leaving Eustice staring at it in stupefaction.
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
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
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 Always copyright © 2000 by Lynsay Sands.
ABOUT A VAMPIRE. Copyright © 2015 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 e-books.
EPub Edition OCTOBER 2015 ISBN: 9780062316035
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062316028
FIRST EDITION
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com