Chapter 24
Vano didn’t even acknowledge their presence when they rode into view—unless you could count his muttering as he stalked off and disappeared into a nearby wagon. He shut the curtain with a finality that caused Cosette to sigh in relief. It would be much easier to complete their mission if that distrusting glare was out of sight.
As they dismounted, Motshan tied up the horses while Danior addressed the assembled group. There were about twenty-five, all in varying ages, seated on logs around a modest fire in the center. They had dark skin and wore some sort of adornment, either in their ears, around their neck, or on their arms. Most of the women wore bright-colored dresses and scarves that covered their hair. Many had tiny bells sewn into the fabric that caused them to tinkle when they moved. The children were the same. The men wore bright sashes around their waists, but the rest of their attire was more subdued, browns, and darker shades the most popular.
If Cosette hadn’t been so anxious to find the tablet, she would have allowed a moment of fascination for these people. For years they had been feared, their way of life sneered at and demeaned, but as they greeted Cosette and Charlotte, she realized that they were much more friendly and demure than they were portrayed. When she compared them to the wealthy and high-standing men of the Order, they were practically saints.
“I dinna see any black stallion, so they might have already bartered it,” Charlotte whispered to Cosette, as they sat together. “But they likely still have th’ satchel. Ye keep them distracted an’ I’ll go look fer it.”
Cosette nodded. She wasn’t sure how she might manage to do that, but she would surely think of something.
Charlotte stood, chatting and smiling among the assembled, but Cosette noticed that she was slowly making her way to the periphery of the group. Minutes later, she glanced up to find that she had vanished into the darkness. She sent up a silent prayer that the task ahead wouldn’t be too arduous. Cosette didn’t wish to abuse the hospitality of these people any more than she needed to. She felt a sick sense of betrayal as it was.
Danior sat down beside Cosette. “I’ve sent my brother back to check on your carriage. He’ll stay there to wait for your coachman and keep an eye on your trunks.”
“You’re too kind,” Cosette murmured. She reached into her reticule and pulled out a gold sovereign, pressing the coin into his palm.
“Payment isn’t necessary.”
He tried to give it back to her, but she shook her head. “Please. Take it.”Perhaps it will help to ease my conscious for deceiving you, she added silently.
He tucked it into the sash at his waist with a wink. “I could never deny a pretty lady.”
Cosette offered a demure smile. Danior was too charming by half. With that boyish grin and that devilish gold hoop in his ear glinting in the firelight, she bet that he’d broken several hearts in the course of his lifetime.
He glanced around. “Where did your equally delightful ladies’ maid run off to?”
Cosette shrugged. “I think she went to try and find a private place to . . . occupy.”
“Ah.” Understanding dawned on his handsome, dark face. “She should have such luck. The men of the camp are like hawks when it comes to protecting our fair ladies. We have scouts monitoring the woods for danger at all times.”
Cosette tried not to let her anxiety show at that news. Instead, she asked, “So tell me, what—”
“Thief!” The loud snarl split the air with a fiery rage.
Vano appeared around the side of his wagon with Charlotte in his firm grasp. But it was what she was clutching against her chest that had Cosette holding her breath.
The tablet.
Danior rolled his eyes at Cosette as he stood and addressed Vano. “Come now, brother, there is surely a reasonable—”
“Yes, there is,” the other gypsy hissed. “You brought two serpents dressed as sheep into our midst.” He shoved Charlotte to her knees. “This one was in my wagon just now, rummaging around. She made the mistake of thinking that I had left.” He withdrew a sharp knife from the back of his trousers and set the shining metal blade underneath Charlotte’s chin, causing her to suck in a breath. There were no theatrics shining in those green eyes now. It was pure fear. “I should spill your blood, traitor! You have dishonored our trust.”
Cosette walked forward. “Please.” She held out her hands. “I admit it, we lied to you. And I apologize for invading your camp like we have, but you have to believe that we meant no harm to your people. We only needed the tablet.”
Vano looked up at her with a sharp, narrowed glare. He didn’t lower the knife. “The last time someone came into this camp,englez,” he said with quiet, but lethal intent. “Mybunicawas murdered. You don’t think I should just end it now before it begins, before I have to see someone else I care about die?”
Cosette knew she would have to tread very carefully here. She reached up and removed the pin from her bonnet. “I understand your suffering. You think we are the enemy, but we’re not that dissimilar.” She removed her bonnet and tossed it aside. She started on the pins holding up her mass of hair while she talked. “I was left on the steps of an orphanage in Paris when I was an infant. For years I was criticized for being different from the other children. You see I suffered from these strange blackouts. Everyone thought I was a witch. But unlike you I had no family.”
As she removed the last pin, letting her dark hair fall free about her shoulders, Vano sneered, “Do you think I shall forgive your actions because of such a story? Your heritage holds no water here.”
Cosette went on with her story, as if he hadn’t even spoken. She started to remove her gown. “After I left the orphanage, I came to England, hoping for a better life. Does that not show how we are alike? My path took me to a desolate workhouse where I remained for seven years. I worked as a seamstress in my spare time, making fine dresses for ladies of quality.” She tossed aside the elegant silk, and began to untie her panniers. “It was not the life I had envisioned for myself, but I thought I had no other choice, that I wasn’t . . . good enough.”
She finally stood before Vano and the rest of the camp clad only in her shift, stays and petticoat. “What you don’t know is that I was wrong. Even if my parentage may always be in question, or I didn’t come from a notable family, the point is that we can all rise from our unwelcome circumstances to become something more worthy. I stand here before you without any adornments, free of pretense to speak honestly, freely, and say that the only way I can hope to achieve my future happiness is that tablet. Without it, I can’t free this curse that has been brought upon me.” She swallowed over the sudden lump in her throat. “I know that you are not heartless, Vano. I know that you loved your grandmother. I also know that you are hurting, but so am I. Shall you condemn me to a life spent in the shadows in spite of your grief? Or will you let us have the tablet and set me free?”
The entire camp seemed to hold their breath as they waited for Vano’s reply. After an indeterminate time, he removed the knife from Charlotte. He gave a curse and ran an irritable hand through his dark hair. “You are as manipulative as my Vadoma. It is only to honor her memory that I allow this.” His dark eyes were piercing in their intensity as he glared at her. “Traitors are not viewed highly in our camp. Do not return.”
Charlotte scrambled to her feet, and ran to Cosette. “Damn me,” she muttered. “That man is more frightenin’ than th’ barkeep at Th’ Lion’s Share.”
