Gypsy Heart Page 2

  So what would my aunt think, I mused, if she knew I was meeting this handsome stranger this very morning? As I made my way to feed the hens in the back yard, I knew that I would not adhere to my aunt’s wishes. I scattered the corn from the galvanised bucket, which I held tucked under my arm, feeling suddenly very much alive and carefree. I’d even changed into my oldest pale green cotton gown, the skirts feeling cool around me for it was extremely warm already and not yet nine o’clock. I hummed as I distributed the seed, casting it over the patchy ground, the hens peck-pecking away and suddenly my bucket was empty. Swinging the handle over my arm, I looked out over the sea which shimmered in the early morning light, my mind on the handsome stranger called Kane, knowing that I could hardly wait to see him, see those black eyes which spoke to me even if his mouth did not.

  ***

  A short while later, I was astride Minnie, bareback, my senses acute, as I made my way to the Chapel field. I had heard Aunt Phoebe’s voice calling me.

  ‘Katherine, where are you going dressed like that and no saddle? Katherine!’ she shouted, but I chose to ignore her, for today, I would do as I wanted and not as I was bid. Kane was not there and disappointment surged through me. I could feel the May sun beating down on my forearms and at the neckline of my cool gown. I looked around me and even as I looked, I could see Kane riding towards me, at one with his huge black horse.

  ‘Katherine,’ he greeted me as he pulled his mount to a halt alongside me. There were to be no formalities with Kane and I welcomed it. Minnie trotted sedately alongside Thunder, as I’d learned Kane’s horse was called. I felt the breeze on my skin and in my hair, hair that was as black as Kane’s own. For the first time I felt free, away from stuffy drawing rooms and protocol. Kane and I needed few words between us as we rode in a companionable silence until we reached the clearing behind Treverrick.

  ‘Does the sight before you please you?’ Kane asked as we pulled up our mounts. What lay before us was a circle of four brightly painted caravans, with men and women sat on steps, the men smoking pipes and the women preparing what looked like vegetables, in the open air. A fire had been lit in the midst of it all, the pale plume of blue smoke spiralling gently towards the sky.

  ‘Yes,’ I answered him, ‘it does please me, for I have never seen such a calm scene before in my life.’

  ‘Would you like to meet my Mother?’ Kane asked, his eyes sparkling. I hesitated for a moment before replying.

  ‘Yes, that would be nice,’ I told him. We both reined our horses to a tree, me feeding Minnie a sugar lump and reassuring her as I whispered in her ear. Kane took my arm as if it were the most natural thing to do, and I gave no resistance as he led me over to the most brightly painted wagon where at the top of the steps, each side of the door, red and green scrolls had been painted, each bearing the names ‘Tessa and Jed’. As we got nearer, the woman looked up and smiled. She was beautiful, with coal black hair falling in waves to her waist. Although her teeth were yellowing, it did not detract from the dazzling smile she gave us as she stopped what she was doing and stood up to greet us.

  ‘And who might this be?’ she asked of Kane.

  ‘This, Mother, is Katherine and I shall marry her.’ His words took me completely by surprise and I felt the colour suffuse my cheeks.

  ‘There now, you’ve embarrassed the dear child, Kane,’ she said, taking my arm. ‘You really should think before you speak, Son,’ she admonished him.

  ‘I have thought of nothing else since yesterday,’ was Kane’s reply.

  ‘Take no notice Kate, and come with me.’ As she spoke, Kane’s mother led me up the steps of the wagon and the name by which she called me seemed so right I did not challenge it. The interior of the caravan was smaller than I’d imagined it to be, but furnished to perfection. Two beds, one above the other, occupied the whole back of the wagon where pristine white sheets, edged with the most exquisite crochet work, peeped over the top of woollen blankets. Everything was so clean and the woodwork highly polished. A glass cabinet held a delightful porcelain tea service, the pink cups embellished with pink roses, which caused me to think of the keepsake box and home. What would Aunt Phoebe say? I mused, taking in everything around me. The truth was, I didn’t care. Although I’d been happy all these years in the white house by the sea, I couldn’t help but feel as if I belonged here, and had waited for this moment all my life.

  ‘Do you like what you see, Katherine?’ said Kane from the bottom of the steps, interrupting my thoughts.

  ‘Of course she does, don’t you, Kate?’ said Kane’s mother. I don’t know what I’d expected from a gypsy encampment, but it certainly wasn’t like the picture I’d built up in my mind. Tessa, if indeed she was called Tessa, was dressed simply in a black poplin skirt with a white blouse open at the neck, which revealed her tanned skin. A black belt, interwoven with red and yellow flowers, encircled her tiny waist. So simple, yet so lovely, was my thought, as she led me back down the steps.

  ‘Here’s a knife,’ she said, handing me the small black handled tool, ‘you can help me peel these potatoes for supper, Kate,’ and as she spoke, I did as I was bid, sitting alongside her on the bottom step of the wagon. As I looked around, I could see that each caravan had high wheels with the main body of each wagon perched on top, but each one was as beautifully painted and carved as the other. As I looked, a man tossed a large piece of wood on the fire, sending the smoke even higher and the sparks flying around it.

  ‘Where do you draw your water from?’ I asked Kane’s mother.

  ‘From the stream over there,’ she told me, eyeing me with amusement and pointing to a small stream, which ran alongside the clearing. The potatoes done, Tessa picked up the bowl we’d placed them in and tucking it under her arm, beckoned me to follow her. She led me to the caravan behind her own, where I could see a large cauldron pot sitting on the ground by the steps. It was already nearly filled with a variety of food. The young woman who sat on the steps, acknowledged me with a smile and my thought was that she had to be Kane’s sister, for the resemblance between Tessa and this young woman was uncanny.

  ‘This is my daughter, Maddy,’ said Tessa, as if reading my thoughts and as she spoke, she laid the bowl of potatoes on the ground by the cauldron.

  ‘Hello, Maddy,’ I acknowledged the pretty girl. ‘My name is Kate.’

  ‘And our Kane has a wish to marry her,’ added Tessa, who threw back her head and laughed.

  ‘Why do you laugh so?’ I asked her, quite put out by her merriment.

  ‘Because Kane has never wanted to marry anyone,’ explained Maddy, ‘isn’t that right, Mother?’

  ‘It certainly is, but then, he’s never before spoken of it either,’ said Tessa seriously.

  ‘And would you marry my brother?’ asked Maddy. The question had me at a disadvantage, for I had only met Kane yesterday, but I trembled at his nearness and felt I had known him a lifetime already.

  ‘I cannot answer that,’ I said quietly, ‘not for the moment at least.’ The conversation was abruptly cut short, when a young man, who was obviously Maddy’s husband, arrived with a pail of water.

  ‘Is it ready?’ he asked, nodding in my direction.

  ‘We have yet to cut up the potatoes,’ Tessa said, ‘and please say hello to Kate.’

  ‘Welcome,’ said the young man, who I was later to learn was named Isaac. The three of us, Tessa, Maddy and I, set to cutting up the potatoes and mixing them with the other ingredients in the large pot and when we’d done, Isaac poured the contents of his bucket over the food and lifting the cauldron by its handle carried it to the fire, where the men folk set up a pole with a branch to hang the cauldron on where it was left to cook.

  ‘Will you join us for supper?’ asked Tessa.

  ‘Thank you for asking me but I shall have to return home or Aunt Phoebe will worry as to where I am, if I am not there for lunch. On the morrow, I can visit again, if that is alright?’ I asked.

  ‘Don’t leave it too long for we
shall be moving on in a few days,’ replied Kane’s mother and my heart sank at her words, for I had not even thought of them leaving, which they would do for sure, for they were travellers.

  ‘I shall return tomorrow,’ I promised.

  ‘Will you indeed?’ a voice said behind me, and I turned to see Kane watching the scene before him, a scene I already felt part of. His coal black eyes were sparkling and he held one strong hand out to me which I took willingly.

  ‘I have to go home,’ I told him as I felt his hand gently squeeze my smaller one.

  Farewells were said and before I knew it, I was astride Minnie once more as Kane accompanied me to the Chapel field where we both pulled our mounts to a halt.

  ‘I can ride with you to your home,’ Kane offered.

  ‘It would be better to say farewell here,’ I told him, thinking of Aunt Phoebe’s words only a few hours ago, so we said goodbye and as I watched Kane and Thunder disappear in the distance, my heart ached but for what? Kane or the life in the encampment, or both.

  The hallway was cool as I headed for the kitchen, unaware of time and wondering if I had missed lunch. As I opened the kitchen door, I could see my Aunt and Uncle were seated at the table, with Aggie hovering by the kitchen range. Aunt Phoebe stood up when she saw me.

  ‘Where have you been, young woman? Lunch is already late for we have waited for you, in vain it would seem,’ my Aunt berated me.

  ‘I apologise for being late,’ I said meekly, taking my seat at the table.

  ‘I’ve never known you so wilful,’ observed Aunt Phoebe as she continued, ‘and I thank you not to ignore me in future when I call to you. Your Uncle and I pray it is a solitary incident, don’t we Zac?’ she said, turning to look from me to my poor Uncle. ‘Please speak Zachariah.’

  ‘Let it be a solitary incident, Katherine,’ he pleaded, taking my hand and squeezing it, causing me to think of Kane.

  ‘There,’ said Aunt Phoebe, seating herself. ‘Now let us eat our lunch. Serve the soup, please Aggie, for thank the Lord, we are all here now.’ Aggie ladled the soup in the bowls and as she served mine, I could see her looking at me with sympathy in her eyes and I knew that in Aggie, I would have an ally.

  The day lingered unbearably. My only thoughts were of Kane and his family, wondering if they were yet partaking of the meal I’d helped to prepare. I retired to bed early, pleading a headache, whereas all I really wanted was to be alone with my thoughts. As I entered my room and lit the lamp on my bedside table, I spotted the keepsake box and decided to look through the contents. As I lifted it down, I could barely believe it was only yesterday my dear aunt and uncle had presented it to me. The glazed roses and rosebuds lay perfectly on the lid, looking as if they were ready to pluck. Where the light from the lamp fell, it looked as if they had been washed with raindrops. Gently, I laid the box on the table by the lamp and sitting on the bed, I inspected it more closely. It was a deep box and yet the interior had not seemed to be such. The intricate gilding carried on from the top of the beautiful box down each side of the lid and the base, all in the same theme of lace scattered with the tiny fragile looking pink porcelain hearts. The four oval shaped motifs on each side were edged with fancy gilding and each held a painted picture of a different flower. I looked at each in turn. The first was a red rose in full bloom and as I turned the box around, I could see pink dog roses, red daisies and blue forget-me-nots. All were beautifully crafted with vivid colours.

  As I opened the lid it swung back resting on perfect brass hinges. I took the pearls and placed them gently on the table, then lifted out each item in turn. The first thing I held in my hand was the lovely slim gold needle case. Removing the top, I could see it held three sewing needles of various sizes. Putting the lid back on, I placed the case on my bed and took out the next three items in turn, which indeed, matched perfectly. There was a hair comb made of silver, decorated with tiny pink beads. The pillbox and tiny hand mirror were of silver also, with the same ornamentation. I placed each item in turn on the bed. A silver thimble was the next object I held in my hand and slipping it on my finger, realised with some amazement, it was a perfect fit. The last thing to lay in the exquisite keepsake box was a length of pink satin ribbon. I lifted it out and ran it through my fingers, to and fro, wondering all the while who this box had belonged to before me and reaching the conclusion that whoever it was, she was a lover of sewing, the pink ribbon a length not needed and so saved for another occasion.

  Returning each item to lay once more on the pink satin, I then held the box with the lid open, still marvelling at its beauty. Closing the lid, I returned it to stand once more on my dressing table saying out loud, ‘who did you belong to?’, my thought being that I probably would never know.

  I was thirsty, so I made my way back down the stairs just as the Grandfather clock in the hall was chiming the hour of ten o’clock. Opening the kitchen door, I could see Aggie sitting on a chair by the fire, which burned in the black leaded range. All was still and quiet, a gas lamp burning on one wall, casting a soothing light.

  ‘It’s unusual to see you so late, Miss Katherine,’ observed Aggie.

  ‘It’s a drink I’m seeking,’ I told her and as I spoke, the woman got to her feet and poured me a glass of lemonade.

  ‘If I may say so, Miss, I felt sorry for you earlier on today,’ said Aggie. ‘It must be frustrating for you to be so restricted each hour of the day.’

  ‘It is indeed, Aggie,’ I agreed with her.

  ‘Where were you, Miss, if you don’t mind me asking? I’ve never known you late before,’ she said, taking her seat once more by the fire.

  ‘If I tell you Aggie, please don’t breathe a word to anyone,’ and I took an impulsive decision to trust this young woman, for at least I would have someone to talk to.

  ‘I promise, Miss, on my life, I do,’ she vowed, and I chose to believe her.

  ‘I was at the gypsy encampment,’ I divulged, whether rightly or wrongly, I had yet to find out. Aggie didn’t speak for a few minutes and I waited with bated breath for a response.

  ‘If that’s what pleases you, Miss, who am I to say anything against it?’ the girl said. ‘But remember, they’ll be gone before you know it and without warning.’

  As I lay in my comfortable, familiar bed that night, tossing and turning, I thought of Aggie’s words and felt they were a caution. Then I thought of Kane and knew I would throw caution to the wind and wished with all my heart I was lying between those white sheets with the deep crocheted edge in Tessa’s caravan.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning, still dressed in my purple gown with a white apron, my hair loose and tumbling down my back, I was collecting the eggs in a wicker basket when Aunt Phoebe called me.

  ‘Katherine, please come indoors for we have a visitor.’ Her voice was shrill and full of excitement and left me wondering who the illustrious visitor could be.

  ‘I’ll finish gathering the eggs first,’ I shouted back to her and uttered an oath for I wished to be on my way to see Kane’s family.

  ‘You’ll come now, please child,’ Aunt Phoebe instructed and the tone of her voice would broach no argument so I did as I was bid. Going through the kitchen door I laid my basket on the table.

  ‘They be in the dining room, Miss Katherine,’ Aggie told me, so I walked along the hallway and could indeed hear voices as I approached the door, which was slightly ajar. The strange voice was a masculine one and my heart skipped a beat in case it was Kane, but the thought soon vanished, as I knew without doubt my Aunt would not entertain him in the dining room or the kitchen for that matter. As I entered the room, the sunlight obscured my vision momentarily and as my eyes adjusted, I could see it was Nicholas Trevartha sitting on the settle by the fireplace and my heart sank.

  ‘Good morning Miss Johnson,’ the visitor said rising from his seat and indicating that I should take his place, which I ignored.

  ‘Hello, Mr Trevartha,’ was all I said, for I did not wish to encourage thi
s young man. He was handsome, right enough, but did not have the masculine charm of Kane in fact I felt nothing at all at the sight of him and in truth, wished him gone.

  ‘I’ll arrange for coffee to be brought in for us,’ Aunt Phoebe suddenly said. ‘Pull up a chair, Zachariah,’ she instructed my Uncle, who immediately sat on one of the dark wood, high backed dining chairs and I realised that thankfully, my dear Uncle was going to be my chaperone. There was an awkward silence as my Aunt left the room and I decided to sit on the settle, as I felt conspicuous hovering near the doorway. I realised, that this was not a good move when having seated myself Nicholas sat beside me.

  ‘What brings you here, Sir?’ I asked of him, looking him straight in the eye and all I could think of was escaping to make my way to the gypsy encampment.

  ‘I’ve come to ask if you would do me the honour of walking out with me,’ Nicholas explained, just as my Aunt came back into the room, with Aggie close at her heels, carrying a large tray laden with a coffee pot and cups and saucers.

  ‘Now, isn’t that nice of the young man?’ Aunt Phoebe cajoled me as she sat on another dining chair. ‘That will be all, thank you Aggie, you may leave us,’ my Aunt told an intrigued Aggie, who I could see was loathe to go. ‘Well answer the young man,’ urged Aunt Phoebe and I knew I had to be honest.

  ‘I am flattered by your request, Mr Trevartha, but at this moment, I will have to say no,’ I commenced and noticed that my Aunt looked aghast at my reply, the silver coffee pot in mid-air as she berated me.

  ‘Katherine, how could you be so rude? I really despair of you these past couple of days. I feel sure if Nicholas had asked you a few days ago, you would have agreed to his charming request.’ As she spoke, I knew that my Aunt’s words were true.