The Heart of a Duke (56 page)

She gathered the burners from a crate sitting
on the ground and slipped outside. Closing her eyes briefly, she
savored the smell of burning wood and savory meat roasting on the
spits at the edge of the camp. Another gift from the duke. Her clan
would eat well this evening.

Several others were bustling about
the green field, preparing for the
gorgios
. Her friend Irina called out
a greeting as she passed with one of her father’s famous dancing
dogs cradled in her arms.

“
Papa is on a tear this
afternoon,” she announced as she ruffled the pooch’s white fur.
“Queenie’s tutu has been misplaced, or I would stay to chat. I
suspect Goliath ate it, but I’ve been ordered to keep
searching.”

Nadya chuckled. “Good luck. I would help look,
but I haven’t finished with my duties.”

“
I will come by later tonight
then.” Irina’s colorful skirts swirled around her ankles as she
picked up her pace.

Nadya’s gaze strayed toward Luca’s stage. It
was empty except for the rack of swords and unlit torches. She
scanned the surrounding area, eager for a glimpse of him, but her
search came to a quick halt.

Five young women were strolling down the
spillway, a few of them arm-in-arm, and all of them laughing
together. Nadya’s heart fluttered at the sight of them. Recognition
flooded her, and the day she had tricked them into buying her
worthless pendant came back in clear detail.

Shame seared her body, and she turned,
prepared to duck into the tent. Nadya’s jealousy had almost rotted
her insides a few years ago. She had been suspicious and petty and
someone she never wished to be again.

“
Ahoy, there. One moment, miss.”
The voice rang with familiarity. Not the merry, feminine sound of
it, but the confidence threaded through the speaker’s words. It was
Lady Eleanore, or rather the Duchess of Langley.

Nadya took a deep breath to brace for the
confrontation, then turned to face the young women. Each one smiled
brightly as they strolled toward her. Their unhurried pace made
Nadya shift her weight from foot to foot. Two servants dressed in
the duke’s livery held their position behind the group, mostly
unobtrusive but large enough to discourage anyone from bothering
the ladies.

As they reached her, Nadya wondered if she
should curtsey to the duchess, then discarded the idea as inane.
She wasn’t a peasant beneath the woman, nor was she certain she
recalled how to perform a curtsey. Instead she crossed her arms to
hide the fact she was shaking.

A small woman stepped forward. “Nadya Pankova.
I can barely believe Langley found you after so many years have
passed.”

It had been six years. “How do you know my
name?”

“
My husband told me, and how glad
I was to finally put a name to a face.”

“
I am sure I don’t know your
husband, Madame.”

The woman’s smile grew. “Please, call me
Charlotte. You may not remember me.” She gestured to her friends.
“Or any of us, but we have never forgotten you. May we go inside? I
have something for you.”

The urge to flee rose up in Nadya, but she
pushed it back down. She couldn’t be imprisoned for selling a piece
of jewelry for far more than it was worth. Although fairness was
not always employed when it came to gypsies.

She nodded sharply before slipping
inside the tent.
Bunic
ă
looked up as she entered and said,
“They have come.”

Nadya’s step faltered. Had her grandmother
known about the women?

“
Show them inside, Nadya. I did
not raise you for rudeness.”

She did as her grandmother
commanded and stood uncertainly to the side of the tent while the
young women approached the low table. While Nadya had been
outside,
Bunic
ă
had filled the glass bowl with
water.

The friends fussed over the young woman with
glasses, urging her to be careful as they helped her sit on a
pillow. Her gown stretched across her swollen bump as she wiggled
to a comfortable position. “Thank you, but I am with child, not an
invalid.”

The one with hair like
sunshine,
Vallie
—her name was unusual enough to stick in Nadya’s mind—plunked
beside her. “Now, now, Aldora. We promised your Michael we would
take good care of you.”

“
But I thought I might have a
break from his hovering for a bit. Instead, you have stepped into
his boots.” Despite her chiding tone, Aldora smoothed a hand over
her belly and smiled a secret, pleasurable smile that only a woman
well loved could produce.

“
I’m certain Alex will be just as
annoying once I am expecting.” Vallie gave a small frown before
arranging her skirts around her. Nadya recognized her move for what
is was, a distraction. She wandered toward the table without taking
her gaze from the young woman’s face. Discouragement hung over
Vallie, threatening to dim her light. But just as clear to Nadya
was a silver glimmer surrounding the woman.

Nadya blinked. She must be
imagining the aura of pregnancy her grandmother spoke of
often.
Bunic
ă
often recognized a new life
forming in the womb before the woman knew she was going to be a
mother, but Nadya had never seen it. She swung her head
toward
Bunic
ă
and met her knowing
smile.

“Come,
chav
. It is time.” She held out her
hand, gold rings glittering on her fingers.

Nadya answered her call and sat at the head of
the table. Today she would accept her birthright, the gift of
intuitiveness. The other women joined Aldora and Vallie on the
pillows.

“
Do you wish to have your fortunes
told?” Nadya asked.

Charlotte shook her head and laughed. “No, I
have brought you something.” As she opened her reticule, Nadya
studied her. She was different somehow. Older, taller, more mature
to be sure, but there was something more. An air of importance
emanated from her, and she held herself proudly. Yet, there was
still sweetness to her. She pulled a silk handkerchief from her
reticule with the Langley coat of arms embroidered at the corner
and placed it on the table.

“
You won the duke’s heart,” Nadya
murmured.

Charlotte’s smile grew. “And he won mine. The
pendant has worked its magic.” She swept a hand toward her friends.
“We all found love while wearing the necklace, and now it must be
returned so others may benefit from it.”

Nadya’s jaw dropped. “You
all
married
dukes?”

“
Heaven’s no!” Lady Eleanore’s
eyes shone with amusement. “There are not enough unmarried dukes of
a proper age to go around, not that I would wish for one when I
have Jacob.”

The confident young girl who had been engaged
to a duke hadn’t married him after all. Not even Nadya’s
grandmother could have made such a prediction.

“
My husband will be appointed to
the King’s Court any day, I just know it.” Lady Eleanore’s chin
lifted, displaying the pride she’d shown as a young girl, but it
was for the man she loved. “Jacob has worked hard for his dream,
and he deserves success.”

Vallie patted Lady Eleanore’s hand
resting on the table between them. “Elle has worked hard too. She
has charmed the Prince and the
ton
at large. Why, I can barely finish my greeting
before the young mavens of the political circle are elbowing me
aside to beg her advice on everything from throwing the perfect
house party to which guests should sit together at dinner
parties.”

“
You are exaggerating.” Lady
Eleanore rolled her eyes. “And I always have time for you. For all
of you.”

Vallie smiled. “I know, but I am still proud
of you, and as your sister by marriage, I may boast of your
accomplishments as often as I like.”

“
Anything I have managed pales in
comparison to Alison’s achievements.”

Nadya’s gaze landed on the quiet one called
Alison, and her face flushed.

“
Jonathan and I are simply having
fun,” she murmured.

“
Yes, and creating magnificent
inventions,” Charlotte piped up. “My sister and brother-in-law are
producing glasses that make everything bigger.”

Alison’s brow knit. “Items do not
actually increase in mass, Char. It is impossible to alter their
properties with mere spectacles. The adjustable magnification
properties of the glasses make them
appear
larger.”

Charlotte continued, not the least bit
derailed by her older sister’s correction. “And she and Mr. Foster
are involved in a project that is highly secretive. I had no idea
what they are up to behind closed doors, but I am certain it is
brilliant.”

Alison’s blush deepened to a ruby red, and she
coughed into her fist. Oh, there were definitely things going on
behind closed doors, and not necessarily all of those things were
new inventions.

Aldora pushed her spectacles up on
her nose and peered at the duchess. “Well,
my
glasses tell me Charlotte is
increasing.”

The young women gasped, and then gaped at the
duchess.

“
She looks the same to me,” Alison
said.

Charlotte laughed. “You are not the only one
with secrets, dear sister. I fear I will not be able to hide my
state forever.”

“
Truly?” When Charlotte nodded,
Alison squealed and gathered her in a hug. “Why didn’t you tell
me?” She held her sister at arm’s length. “You told Aldora
first?”

“
No, I recognized the signs,”
Aldora said. “Charlotte turned green when the footman served her
eggs this morning. I had the same aversion since the beginning of
my pregnancy.”

“
Oh, heavens. The mere mention of
eggs—” Charlotte’s hand covered her mouth and she paled. The moment
passed quickly, however, and she smiled. “All better
now.”

The other women congratulated her and
exchanged hugs, although Vallie’s lacked a bit of the excitement
her friends shared. Nadya touched Vallie’s arm to gain her
attention. “Soon,” she whispered.

“
How do you know?” Vallie
whispered back.

Nadya exaggerated her Romany accent and
flashed an enigmatic grin. “Magic, dear one. Magic.”

The young woman’s eyes lit, and
the gray cloud casting a shadow over her nearly perfect life
vanished. Vallie was a believer, perhaps the only one in the group,
aside from
Bunic
ă
.
And now
Nadya, too.

Charlotte returned her attention to the
handkerchief, unwrapping the bundle and holding up Nadya’s necklace
by the chain. It was worn and tarnished, but it filled her heart to
overflowing.

“This pendant shall lead to the
heart of a duke,” Charlotte repeated as she placed it in Nadya’s
palm. “Or to be more exact, the man of
your
heart. Be prepared.”

The women giggled like the girls they were
when Nadya first met them. She encouraged them each to tell of
their experiences with the necklace. As they shared their tales,
she marveled at each of their wondrous love stories.

When it was time for the women to leave, Nadya
hated to see them go. She followed them to the entrance and watched
as they walked away, laughing and teasing with one another. Their
happiness was contagious and left a smile on her lips. A crowd had
formed while they had been inside the tent. It swallowed the young
ladies, and they disappeared from sight.

Nadya rubbed her thumb over the
gold heart locket before releasing the clasp on the chain and
putting it around her neck. The weight of it was comforting against
her skin.
This pendant shall lead to the
heart of a duke.

She chuckled at the ridiculous prophecy she
had made up so long ago. It was doubly ridiculous considering she
would never come within ten miles of a peer of the realm under
normal circumstances.

Applause drew her attention to Luca’s stage,
and she forgot about the necklace. A group of men and women had
gathered in front of Luca’s stage, waiting for his show to begin.
Pasha, Luca’s assistant, was strutting across the stage, his red
silk shirt and scarf fluttering in the breeze.

Luca would be next on stage. A small thrill
passed through her as she anticipated her first glimpse of him that
day.

Pasha stopped at center stage; his chest
puffed up. “Ladies and gentlemen.” His deep voice rang out over
their heads, commanding their attention. “Never in the history of
man has there been an act more daring. More thrilling. More death
defying.” He drew out the last two words, setting the crowd on
edge. “With swords sharp enough to slice a hair in two and fire so
hot the Devil himself is envious, this next act is not for the
faint of heart. Ladies, keep your smelling salts close at
hand.”

Pasha wiggled his eyebrows, and a round of
chuckles travelled the circle. His serious mien returned at once,
and he waved his arm with flourish toward the side of the stage.
Nadya rolled her eyes, wondering at what new title Luca’s cousin
would bestow on him this time. Fire-breather? Gypsy Dragon? Steel
eater? They were all so silly.