Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands

“No,” behind them.
    When Valerie raised her eyebrows and glanced over her shoulder at the man following them, Leigh drew her attention back by admitting, “We didn’t know what an ultrasound would do so didn’t want to risk it, but I’m sure it’s a girl.”
    “I’ve never heard that ultrasounds are bad for babies,” Valerie said with surprise as they reached a set of stairs.
    “Oh, I’m sure they aren’t for mort—”
    “Leigh.” The warning growl came from Anders and stopped the woman abruptly.
    She blinked once or twice, then forced a smile and said, “Oh dear, I forgot. The men insist I hold onto the rail when I go down the stairs,” as if that was what the growling of her name had been about. She then made a show of grabbing the rail and started down the stairs saying, “I’m sure ultrasounds are fine, but you know how modern technology is. They say one thing is good or bad for you one minute, and then change their tune the next. Butter was bad and we should all eat margarine and then it turned out margarine was bad and we should use olive-oil-based spread and so on. And then there’s that drug that was supposed to be fine and then got pulled off the market because pregnant mothers were miscarrying or having mutant babies or whatever. It’s just better to be safe than sorry.”
    Valerie followed the woman, amusement curving her lips. Leigh had babbled that all out in one go and without taking a breath. Amazing, she thought.
    In the next moment, her attention was diverted by her surroundings. The bedroom she’d woken up in had been nice, and the hallway had just been a hallway, but halfway down the stairs she noted that dead ahead of her was a two story wall of windows around a set of double doors. Beyond the glass was a huge yard with trees, ponds, pagodas, and gardens. It was gorgeous, and a far cry from the dark, dank basement she’d spent ten days in.
    “It is beautiful, isn’t it?” Leigh said, pausing two steps below her to look outside herself. “I’ll never tire of this view.”
    “I don’t imagine you will,” Valerie said softly, noting that beyond the manicured lawn was what appeared to be a forest of trees. “Is this the back of the house?”
    “No, the front,” Leigh said. “The road is beyond those trees and the driveway is just out of sight to the right there.” She gestured with her hand and then explained, “What looks like a forest is only about twenty or thirty feet deep. The true forest is behind the house. It goes for miles there.” She continued down the stairs, adding, “There are trees lining the sides of the yard too, so you don’t have to worry about the neighbors seeing you in my nightgown.”
    Valerie glanced down at herself, suddenly aware that she’d been sitting around in the thin cotton for the last half hour or so with two complete strangers. She should have been uncomfortable. She hadn’t been. Although, now Valerie glanced self-consciously back at Anders and felt herself flush when she saw the way his eyes were skating over her figure in the thin material.
    Turning abruptly forward, she hurried after Leigh, who was already stepping off the last step and turning right. Valerie had reached the bottom step herself when a doorbell suddenly chimed out, seeming to echo through the house. She stared at the large double doors before her, able to see a young man in black leather through the glass windows of the door.
    Anders slipped past her with the tray. He set it down on a table beside the stairs, and then moved to unlock and open the door to the tall, smiling man carrying a suitcase and overnight bag that looked remarkably like hers.
    “Justin!” Leigh returned to stand at the foot of the stairs beside her. “Are those Valerie’s clothes?”
    “Yes ma’am,” he said cheerfully, stepping into the house and smiling at Valerie. His eyes traveled appreciatively over her in the nightgown as he set down the cases. “Everything from skivvies to