In Need of a Duke (The Heart of a Duke 0.5)(2)

“I see a V,” Nadya said, slowly in her thick Romany accent. She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers over her temples.

Aldora peeked from the corner of her eye at her friends, wondering if they intended to part with their coins on a gypsy’s tricks. Her own hands tightened reflexively about her reticule, as the contents within had come to be all the more important in light of her family’s financial circumstances.

“It’s becoming clearer. I see a second letter, an A.”

“She is guessing,” Alison grumbled.

Aldora rather agreed.

Nadya’s eyes opened. “It’s Vallie. Your name is Vallie.”

Valera’s response was lost to the loud humming in her ears. Surely the gypsy’s act was all for show. Surely…but what if it is not, Aldora, a voice needled?

What if the gypsy possesses knowledge of what awaits you in the future?

Did she really want to know?

Her back straightened. As the eldest of her siblings, she did not have the right to bury her head from the truth of Father’s gaming, or the creditors calling. She had an obligation to confront her future with courage and strength. After all, she was fifteen.

Nadya waved her hand over a spot at the old gypsy’s feet. “Come, come,” she urged.

The girls hastened over to take their seats.

Aldora paused a moment. She pushed her spectacles up on her nose and hurried over as well.

Her friends handed their coins to the old woman. Aldora hesitated, and then registered the six sets of eyes trained on her. Heat climbed up her neck and she dropped her attention to her reticule. She fished around inside for several coins, and pulled them out.

“Come on, then,” Eleanor urged.

Aldora dropped the coins into the gypsy’s waiting hands. The woman stuffed them inside a purse, pulled the cord tight, and then tucked it into her lap.

Then Aldora waited.

The gypsy took several deep breaths. She grasped the sides of a nearby bowl and peered into the smooth water.

“I see a duke,” she said. “I see the heart of a duke for those of you bold enough to believe, and brave enough to embrace it.”

That would certainly be convenient considering Aldora’s circumstances.

The old gypsy directed her focus on Eleanor.

Aldora sat there wanting the old woman to turn to her, wanting her to share some optimistic view of her future, but in a specific way.

Alas, the gypsy spoke quickly, and curtly to Eleanor, and then the magic of the moment was ended.

Aldora stood on a sigh, and followed her friends from the tent. She cast a longing glance backwards as she thought of the coins she’d lost this afternoon.

They started down the fairway as one and reached the spillway. “Wait! Lady Eleanor, wait!”

Aldora and her friends turned back.

The young gypsy, Nadya unclasped a necklace about her neck, and hurried after them. Reaching them, she held out the pendant. “There is more. My grandmother forgot to tell you about your necklace.”

Aldora’s eyes widened. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is,” Lady Eleanor said. “But it isn’t my necklace.”

Nadya’s brows lifted. “Aye, but it could be yours.” She looked at each girl gathered around her. “Or yours, or yours, or yours, or even yours, Charlotte.”

Unable to resist the lure, Aldora leaned closer to better examine the pendant. Nadya lowered her voice as if to share some great secret. “Whoever wears this necklace shall win the heart of a duke.”

Aldora chewed at her lip. Weren’t all duke’s wealthy? She would greatly welcome a powerfully wealthy…

Lady Eleanor burst out laughing and her friends joined in, pulling Aldora from her musings. “I guess it is my necklace,” Eleanor said. “My betrothed is a duke.”

Nadya snatched her hand back when Eleanor reached for the pendant. Anger flared in the woman’s dark eyes.

“Aren’t you going to give me the necklace?” Lady Eleanor asked.

Nadya’s jaw clamped tight. “Seven shillings.”

Aldora considered the precious coins she’d already parted with. She could ill-afford to lose any more shillings this day.

Lady Eleanor bit her bottom lip. “I only have two left. Please tell your grandmother thank you, but I cannot afford the necklace.”

“But Elle, you must have it,” Valera said. “You can have my left over shillings.” She dug into her reticule and pulled out a coin.

Valera looked to her, and Aldora fumbled with her reticule as well. “Er, you may have mine, too.” Did her friends note her obvious regret?

“And mine.” Charlotte thrust her coin toward Lady Eleanor.

Next, Alison handed over her shilling, bringing the total to seven.

Lady Eleanor smiled at her friends. “I will purchase the necklace, but it will belong to all of us. When I no longer need it, I’ll pass it along.”

Valera nodded. “Yes, everyone should have a chance to wear it.”

They made a pact, swearing their loyalty to each other. Eleanor passed the pendant around to each friend.

When Valera placed the golden bauble in Aldora’s hand, she froze. She turned it over and studied this trinket that promised each of them the heart of a duke.

Aldora didn’t necessarily need the heart of a duke. She just needed any duke.