A Dangerous Love by Brenda Joyce Read Free Book Online Page B

bubbling with enthusiasm and happiness. He did not want to disappoint her. He hoped her good nature was always with her. It crossed his mind that he wished to show her Woodland at some point in time, before the kumpa’nia went north again. There was so much he could offer her now—except she preferred the Roma way.
    He could see her in his gadjo home, in a gadji’ s dress, and he stiffened because that was completely wrong. He faced Stevan. “Jaelle and I have all night—and many nights to talk to one another.” He sent her a smile. “Maybe I can find you your husband, jel’enedra. ”
    She made a face. “Thank you, but no. I will hunt on my own—and choose on my own.”
    â€œSo independent!” he teased. “And is it a manhunt?”
    She gave him a look that was far too arch; she was no naive, virginal, pampered English rose. “When he comes, I will hunt him.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek and darted off.
    Emilian stared after her.
    â€œDo not worry,” Stevan said. “She is far more innocent than she appears. She is playing the woman, that is all. I sometimes think of her as being fifteen.”
    â€œShe isn’t fifteen,” he said tersely. Romany mores and ethics were entirely different from gadjo ones. It would be unusual if Jaelle was entirely innocent when it came to passion. “She should be married,” he said abruptly. He did not wish for her to be used and tossed aside like their mother.
    Stevan laughed. “Spoken like a true brother—a full-blood brother!”
    Emilian didn’t smile. He waited.
    Stevan’s smile faded. “Walk with me.”
    He did, with a terrible sense of dread. The night had settled with a thousand stars over them. The trees sighed as they walked by. “She’s not here.”
    â€œNo, she is not.”
    â€œIs she dead?”
    Stevan paused, placing both of his hands on his shoulders. “Raiza is dead. I am sorry.”
    He wasn’t a boy of twelve and he had no right to tears, but they filled his eyes. His mother was dead. Raiza was dead—and he hadn’t been there with her. She was dead—and he’d last seen her eight long years ago. “Damn it,” he cursed. “What happened?”
    â€œWhat always happens, in the end, to the Romany?” Stevan asked simply.
    â€œShe was telling fortunes at a fair in Edinburgh. A lady was very displeased with her fortune, and when she came back, she did so with her nobleman. She accused Raiza of deceit and demanded the shilling back. Raiza refused. A crowd had gathered, and soon everyone was shouting at Raiza, accusing her of cheating, of begging, of stealing their coin. By the time I learned of this and had gone to her stall, the mob was stoning her. Raiza was hiding behind her table, using it like a shield, otherwise, she would have died then.”
    His world went still. He saw his mother, cowering behind a flimsy wood table, the kind used to play cards.
    â€œI ran through the crowd and they began to stone me. I grabbed Raiza—she was hurt, Emilian, and bleeding from her head. I tried to protect her with my body and we started to run away. She tripped so hard I lost hold of her. I almost caught her—instead, she fell. She hit her head. She never woke up.”
    He wanted to nod, but he couldn’t move. He saw her lying on a cobbled street, her eyes wide and sightless, her head bleeding.
    Stevan embraced him. “She was a good woman and she loved you greatly. She was so proud of you! It was unjust, but God gave us cunning to make up for the gadjo ways. One day, the gadjo will pay. They always pay. We always make them pay. Fools.” He spit suddenly. “I am glad you used budjo to cheat the gadjos and make yourself rich!” He spit again, for emphasis.
    Emilian realized he was crying. He hadn’t cried since that long-ago night when he’d first been torn from his Romany