Gypsy Jewel Read online

  His heart pounding with anticipation, Damien turned to face her again. The rustle of trees in the breeze was all that greeted him. Silent as a cat, she had disappeared.

  Except for the imprint where their bodies had lain together in the soft grass, it was as if she never existed.

  LATER THAT AFTERNON DAMIEN arrived at a clearing surrounded by towering oaks, the site where the gypsies he sought had laid out their summer camp. Clustered wagons kept the smaller domestic animals in place, and here and there horses were scattered all among the trees. He guessed there were about thirty or forty in the band. The large size of the group suited him well, since he would be able to blend in more easily.

  As he drove his wagon into camp, children and dogs came running, making a wild uproar of excitement. The earl was surrounded the moment he stepped down from his wagon, and a surge of curious gypsy hands reached out to him.

  Damien sought for any sign of the lovely blonde from the forest, but these folk were all dark. He was startled when one particularly hard-looking older wench with dyed red hair licked her full lips at him in invitation. None of the men appeared to mind this, so perhaps the woman needed a husband, but Damien quickly sidestepped her wet kiss.

  From amid the ruckus a large Slav finally pushed his way thorough, going directly up to Damien and speaking in romani.

  “Who are you?”

  Not intimidated by the husky growl, Damien introduced himself to the Rom Baro, the leader of the Lowara.

  Built like a tree trunk, with muscle to spare, the middle-aged Jingo would have intimidated a lesser man. But Damien looked past the brute strength to note that the king’s dark eyes held intelligence and kindly curiosity. Their brief exchange proved the earl correct. Jingo was a friendly man, but he was also cautious. Damien respected the request to have his wagon searched, and he presented his careful tale.

  At last the king seemed satisfied, or, Damien thought, perhaps a little weary of all the noise. Jingo ordered the others to disband, and then invited Damien to his tent to talk.

  “You have come far, if you have come from France,” the gypsy king began as he gestured to a comfortable mound of pillows where visitors could recline.

  “Have you been to my country?” Damien asked politely as he sat down and leaned back, crossing his ankles in imitation of Jingo. He knew enough to reflect the king’s habits with his own, lest he arouse suspicion. He also did not refuse the drink that was offered him.

  “I have heard of it,” Jingo replied. “Some who were once Manouches live with our band now. You will meet them later. Perhaps you share the same friends.”

  Damien decided to be direct with this man, whom he wished to deceive as little as possible. “It’s not likely,” he admitted, “for I am not Rom by birth, but only choice.”

  Damien told Jingo a dramatic tale, though one still holding a kernel of truth, about how he had run away from his family and joined the Romany. Since then, he added, he had traveled widely, visiting with different bands, but staying with none for long.

  “I have chosen the wind for my brother,” Damien said, quoting a phrase he remembered one of the gypsies saying in the camp he had visited when he was fifteen.

  Jingo smiled in understanding. How well he knew a young man’s urge to escape and wander the world, and how sometimes, once it was in the blood, a man was called to seek such a life forever. With keen eyes he assessed this gajo stranger, this romani rei, who seemed sincere enough and truly interested in the Lowara people.

  “Which way did you come?” he asked, and listened intently to Damien’s story. Then he said, “I have heard of this war in the north. I had thought to delay our next move until things were settled.”

  “You are wise. The fighting has spread to the mountain passes, and travel is no longer safe,” Damien agreed. Then he gave a whittled version of what he actually knew of the latest troop movements. The two men talked for a time of the foolishness of gaje, fighting over land that should belong to everyone, and warmed to each other in the process.

  Contrary to Damien’s expectations, Jingo’s imposing size was complemented by a merry, gentle nature. And the king found his unexpected visitor informative and amusing after long weeks on the road.

  Considering carefully what Damien had said about the war, the gypsy king confessed, “Even with the war, we must move on soon. For several weeks we have been searching for another band of Rom.”

  Damien knew that was unusual for gypsies. “You are having a reunion or a wedding?”

  Jingo sighed and shook his wiry dark head. “No, nothing so pleasant. There has been great conflict in our tribe recently. The Lowara are torn between two of their own.” He saw Damien looked curious but unwilling to pry, and it gave him greater respect for the man. “Something bad happened. One of our young men was attacked in the woods.”

  “Was he hurt?”

  Jingo shook his head again. “More pride than flesh was hurt that day. You see, the one who attacked him was a young woman. She claimed he was forcing himself upon her.”

  Looking puzzled, Damien ventured, “I don’t understand. You said they were both of your tribe?”

  “Yes. There were three other witnesses who claim the girl invited him, but others believe the boy lies. It is not a simple thing to find someone who does not know either one of them. The tribe is divided by their stories.”

  “So you are looking for another band from which to draw an impartial judge,” Damien said. “It seems the wisest course.”

  “But we have wandered for over two weeks, and the war has driven most Rom off,” Jingo explained. “So my people grow frustrated with the delay in justice. Half think the girl should be banished, but there are young men who beg to have her hand in marriage just to save her from a terrible fate.”

  “She must be quite a woman,” Damien said, envisioning the brassy, full-blown wench who had been making eyes at him earlier.

  Jingo said soberly, “She is like no other here. I admit I do not know what will happen to her. The mood of the camp changes each day. Lately the rumors have been leaning toward the boy’s tale.”

  “Why tell this to me?” Damien asked.

  Jingo shrugged. “You see my plight. A decision must be made swiftly before someone is hurt. We need an outsider,” and his dark eyes bored into Damien’s directly, “to settle their differences as soon as possible.”

  Naturally hesitant to get involved, Damien tried to demur, but Jingo proved most insistent.

  “I ask only this one thing of you. Nobody knows you here. My people have not seen a romani rei before, but your kind are met with respect among Rom, and I myself will be responsible for your decision. Please, will you not help me to settle this matter and ease the hearts of my people?”

  Though his conscience warned against it, Damien considered it long enough to be swayed. He finally accepted Jingo’s request, saying, “Does this mean I can stay with the Lowara?”

  Privately he was thinking that nothing would be easier. First he would make an impartial ruling on the incident in the woods, then cozy into the camp as one of the gypsies himself. It would open a back door into Czar Nicholas’s homeland. And, if he could find the lovely young nymph who had haunted him at the stream, then so much the better.

  “You are welcome to stay as long as you wish to,” Jingo said, and once reassured of the newcomer’s assistance, he was friendlier. Damien let out a deep breath of relief as he realized he had secured the necessary cover for entering the Russian front.

  “THERE’S THE GAJO,” APRIL told Tzigane. She was careful, though, not to let her obvious interest show as she gestured out the back of the fortune teller’s wagon toward the figures of Jingo and Damien walking through the gypsy camp.

  “He’s not a gajo, he’s a romani rei,” Tzigane corrected her daughter. Letting the flap fall closed again, the seer returned to her sewing and bit the length of string dangling from her needle and tied it off.

  Holding up the beautiful skirt she had just finish
ed, of bright emerald green muslin with a satin-like sheen, Tzigane nodded with satisfaction. By the light of the lamp she worked by, the skirt danced with tiny reflections of gold along the elaborately embroidered, layered flounces.

  Across from her April returned to stabbing ineffectually at her own material, pushing the needle hastily through the cotton of the white ruffled blouse on which she was working. She tried to wrench her thoughts from Damien, but couldn’t. To deny her own curiosity, April said firmly, “He’s not one of us.”

  “Not of our blood, but of our beliefs,” Tzigane answered. “There are those who understand our ways who were not born Rom. This man is one of those. I could tell at once.”

  “You are not suspicious of him?” April asked curiously. Tzigane rarely trusted anyone at first sight, and she was frankly amazed.

  “I have seen him in the cards,” her mother replied vaguely, but said nothing more. Instead Tzigane smiled in secret pleasure as she finished hemming the green skirt with its swirling gold embroidery. She had coaxed April to work on the blouse under the pretense of making it for another woman in the band.

  Restless tonight, April proved an impatient pupil. She knew why, though she did not wish to admit it to Tzigane or even herself. She was thinking of Damien, of the way his blue eyes caressed her, as his hands obviously longed to. And she felt the strangest, bittersweet sensations pulling their souls together, while she fought to keep their bodies apart.

  Tzigane could tell something was troubling the girl. She assumed it was because of the trial to come, where April’s fate as well as Nicky’s would be decided. If Jingo did not find someone to resolve the conflict soon, there would be grave trouble. Her motherly heart bled for the beautiful child-woman who was bent over the blouse now, tears of frustration in her eyes.

  “The rei will distract the others for awhile,” Tzigane said, “and I saw he carried a violin. Now that everyone’s attentions are occupied, you will perhaps be able to do more.”

  “Can I ride Prince Adar?” April asked, her voice raw with longing and an inner pain reflecting deep in her eyes as she looked over at her mother.

  Tzigane hesitated. She knew how vehemently the others had insisted that April be forbidden access to the stallion. “We will ask Jingo,” she said, not daring to give the girl any shred of hope for fear of disappointment.

  Then, to break the gloomy silence, Tzigane decided to surprise April. Instead of saving the skirt for a special occasion, she reasoned it would mean more right now.

  “April,” she said innocently, “I think you are the closest to Choomia’s size. Would you try on the skirt now and let me make the final fit?”

  April set aside her own project gladly and slipped out of her own skirt. After Tzigane helped her put on the new one, she stood still and let the other woman adjust the folds and gathers.

  “It seems just right,” Tzigane said, pleased with her work, which was a perfect color for April’s eyes and hair. “Put on the blouse too so we can see the whole outfit.”

  April exchanged blouses and let her mother fuss again with the ruffled neckline. The blouse was made to be worn off the shoulders, and April did not protest as Tzigane tugged each side down a few inches, revealing her bare shoulders.

  Tzigane pursed her lips in consideration. “It needs something more. Will you get me my box?”

  Puzzled, April did as her mother asked. She brought Tzigane the carved wooden jewelry case that had been passed down in Bal's Romany family for several generations.

  Pawing carefully through the stash of jewelry, Tzigane selected a matched set of gold coin earrings, a necklace and a thick gold arm band. She persuaded April to put them on and stepped back for a look. She smiled and nodded at the picture she saw.

  Her April was a golden beauty, her blonde hair curling about her hips and her stance still proud and resolved. For all her misery the girl would not buckle, and she more than deserved the gifts Tzigane gave her now.

  “These things are yours now,” she said as she closed her box and put it away. “Bal gave them to me, and I want you to have them. Wear them with pride and remember you are always a Lowara woman, no matter what any of the others say.”

  Stunned, April fingered the rich fabric and looked at Tzigane. She was too moved to speak, and when her mother urged her outside, she could not protest strongly enough to make any difference.

  “Go,” Tzigane said abruptly. “For once you will go out and enjoy yourself by the fires. The others are too busy with the stranger to take much note of you. You may find a moment of peace in which to gather your thoughts.”

  Giving the generous woman a grateful hug, April blinked back the threat of tears. Then, taking a deep breath, she slipped from the tent and melted into the shadows of the night.

  AS DAMIEN FEARED, IT was not long before the gypsies called upon him to demonstrate his musical prowess. As a people they loved music, and most were gifted with dancing or instrumental skills. They would be suspicious if he could not match them song for song, and so he gave in at last and went to fetch his violin. Fortunately, in his youth Damien had taken fourteen years of music lessons at his mother’s strict insistence. After all, Marcelle had said, only the bourgeoise had money without talent.

  Damien shrugged aside the last of his worries and rejoined the others. He knew he had a good ear for music, and he thought he would be able to bluff his way through most of the unfamiliar songs.

  The entire camp gathered around the largest fire built in the circle of wagons, and dark eyes shone with excitement. Even the older folk, initially distrustful of the stranger, had finally been swayed by Damien’s fascinating tales of countries far afield. They all circled round to provide a clapping, cheering audience for his music, and the moment he launched into the first song, they were keeping time with tambourines as well.

  April heard the music from a distance, poised on the edge of the woods away from the busy camp. Her keen ears immediately registered the glorious solo as something out of the ordinary, and as if drawn by an invisible cord, she found herself walking back toward the orange glow of the bonfires.

  There she hovered in the shadows and tried to peer through the milling bodies for a glimpse of Damien. The music struck a chord somewhere deep in her breast, though it was a song she had never heard before. It reminded her of cool, smooth-flowing water, the melting tones hypnotizing her as the bow was drawn with unequalled skill.

  Stepping cautiously between two tethered horses, April leaned out for a better look. Her eyes widened at the sight of Damien standing in the midst of the circle, gently coaxing magic from the violin. As he slowly revolved, mesmerizing the crowd, the firelight danced off his features and reflected back an image that instantly reached out to her.

  Her heart pounding for a reason she did not yet accept, April closely studied every inch of the gajo‘s face. His black hair was now tied back with a blue kerchief that one of the women had coyly tossed at him earlier. He was different from the Romany men. Though also dark, he towered above the others, his height drawing attention to his lean, muscular body.

  Dressed in canvas-colored trousers tied loosely about his waist, Damien’s white peasant shirt was unbuttoned just far enough to reveal the thatch of black, silky chest hair. He easily caught the eye of all the young women, including April. But she was angry at herself for being intrigued by a gajo, an outsider.

  Damien continued to play his violin like a lover, his long fingers caressing the neck of the instrument as they slid smoothly on the strings. His notes rang clear and lovely over those of the others who had joined in, and April ached in silent appreciation of his gift, enfolding him with her gaze. The music made her more and more restless as he moved from rippling tones to increasingly bolder crescendoes, pausing on trembling high notes that sent shivers down her spine.

  Then she realized with a start that he was staring directly at her. He had come around to her side of the circle, and either the flash of her jewelry or the sense of her watching him had d
rawn his eye. Though the smile never wavered from his lips as he led the revelry, and his bare right foot still stamped perfect time, his blue eyes halted and burned through her like a white-hot flame.

  Caught in the spell, April met his bold gaze with her own. It was as if his entire being challenged her to do something, both by his confident stance and the way his blue eyes beckoned her forth.

  Taking a deep swallow, April came into the circle. Several girls watching, Marya among them, hissed angrily and stopped clapping. But the rest of the camp could feel the charged air, and the thread of excitement drawing the gypsy girl to the musician was felt and encouraged with a frenzied burst of clapping.

  Damien could not look away from the beautiful nymph who had materialized again from the woods. She was like a brilliant jewel set against the dark velvet backdrop of the night. When she tossed her head and took a proud stance in the circle before him, her long hair rippled like molten gold and caused him to falter.

  For all her bare feet and unfashionably tanned skin, she was aristocratic, like a princess of wild but royal heritage. The uptilt of her chin and the flashing emerald-green eyes took him back to the day he had first encountered her, a little spitfire with a courage that had won his admiration.

  April knew not what madness possessed her that moment, but she raised her arms and started swaying, her hips moving gently to the beat of the tambourines. Something in the night, the air, or the quivering music that flowed like silk, compelled her to dance, whirling slowly and then faster as the tempo increased.

  Several of the other men took up their guitars to accompany Damien, and the women hummed in a low, sensual key that thrummed through the night. The flames leaped in perfect time to April’s movements, and before long she found herself putting her heart and soul into the dance.