“Aye,” he grumbled. “No survivors.”
Veronica nodded, satisfied. “When we do go,I want you to wear your pants—uh, braies?—either under your kilt orinstead of it. Plus your leather battle shirt, whatever that’scalled. Plus leather on your arms and maybe even your head.” At hisraised eyebrows she debriefed him on the conversation she’d hadwith Victor about the contaminated flesh. “Anyway, we need toassume any Campbell who’s turned is contaminated even after death.It’s best to be covered head to toe and bring a change ofclothes.”
Lachlan blew out a breath. “I pray to thesaints ‘tis not like that. How would we contain the virus ifburning the flesh doesna work?”
She hadn’t considered that. The thought madeher shudder. “Remind me to ask Victor later.” She squinted as shefurther reflected on her husband’s question. “If burning the fleshdoesn’t work though, wouldn’t everyone who came into contact withit be sick? Or at least me?” She frowned. “I think Victor ismissing something. There must have been—I don’t know—anothervariable involved.” At his furrowed brow she said, “Never mind.It’s something we’ll have to talk to Victor about. I’ll let himbore you to death with an explanation on variables rather than doit myself.”
Lachlan sighed. “I ken you will be puttingme through yet another of the mon’s speeches?”
Veronica grinned. “He’s your brother nowtoo. Twice over in fact.”
His demeanor radically shifted as his eyesgrew heavy-lidded. “Last eve was wondrous,” he told her in a softgrowl, changing the subject to one of his liking. “’Twould be aboon do we repeat it this eve.”
“Oh really?” she jested. “How much of a boonwould it be?”
“Name your price.”
She shook her head. “I was only teasing. Idon’t want or need anything to repeat last night with you. In fact,I demand it.”
His eyebrow quirked. “You demand it, wife?”he purred.
“Oh yeah. I demand we do it a lot.”
And that’s just what they did. Three timesto be exact.
*****
‘Twas a full fortnight since Victor andCatriona’s wedding and still his brother-within-the-law had notsought out Lachlan aboot returning to the Campbells. Whilst hekenned the couple was newly married, so too were he and Veronica.‘Twas no excuse. Not when the stakes were so high. Leaving his wifealone to practice her Kalari exercises in their bedchamber, hestrolled o’er to Victor and Catriona’s bedchamber next door. Herapped on the wooden thing and waited for an answer.
At last Catriona opened the door. “Brother,”she said in way of greeting.
“Sister.” Lachlan grunted. “’Tis Victor Icame to see.”
“He’s working on his, uh, maxine.”
“’Tis a vaccine,” he sniffed with an air ofauthority on the matter. “Vaccine.” He shooed her from the doorway.“And I needs must see him.”
Catriona, dressed this day in a red bliautwith matching ribbons woven into her ebony hair, moved out of hisway and gestured for him to enter. Lachlan did so and immediatelyespied Victor. The mon was sitting at his bureau, his shirt off andbraies on. He glanced up, saw Lachlan, and pushed his spectacles upthe bridge of his nose. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“I dinna ken. ‘Tis what I came to ask youaboot.”
“I’m working as fast as I can with theresources at my disposal.”
Lachlan brought his brother-within-the-lawup to speed regarding Veronica’s suspicion aboot variables. Afterlearning what a variable was, he asked Victor for his thoughts onthe matter. “Leastways, I dinna ken if I should worry aboot my ownclan getting sick.”
“No,” Victor drawled, visibly thinking.“Someone would have shown symptoms within a few days of my sister’sarrival.” He frowned. “But she makes an excellent point. There hasto be something novel about the infected flesh that was on her whenshe arrived here.”
“And that ‘twould be…?”
“I don’t know. Not yet.” A thought must havestruck him. “The only things that were different about thatparticular infected flesh on her when she got here was, number one,we burnt it down using pig fat and wool which the Campbells thenindirectly drank and, number two, it was, well, everywhere.” AtLachlan’s raised brow he clarified, “It was the only time I eversaw Veronica use a grenade to kill a pack of eaters.”
“Grenade?”
“The circle she threw at them that exploded.It blew them to pieces.”
“So?”
“So maybe the explosion released too much ofthe virus because of all the contaminated organs it tore apart.That seems the less likely of the two explanations, though.” Hesighed. “Perhaps I should take a break from working on the vaccineand travel to the Campbells to observe any changes that might begoing on. Watching them will give me more clues.”
