The bald fact and his unwavering belief in it brought quick tears stinging her eyes. She blinked them away. “As if I have no value unless I’m subservient to the church or a man’s needs,” she said quietly. Yes, this was the life she’d been born into and what she’d watched her mother live every day of her life, but that didn’t mean Elizabeth had to accept it. There must be more to a woman’s existence than that.
Yet, what would she do with herself? What were her own dreams?
She wished for marriage, of course, but not to become a maid-of-all-work for a man or to only bear him children.
What of being cherished and loved for the woman she was instead of what she might give? What of finding companionship and affection and most of all humor? What of finding the freedom to be the woman she could be with a man’s support? What of discovering for herself if the act that was whispered to be a fate worse than death or a duty to be performed was exactly that? Surely not, for why would so many couples marry in order to couple, and why would others seek the thrill of the sin of adultery?
Oh, there were so many questions about life to which she didn’t have answers but staying stuck where she was wouldn’t help with any of them.
“Don’t look to people for your reward, Sister. Your treasure does not lie here on Earth.” It was the typical noncommittal answer a man of William’s type always gave. “Now, I must follow the work mandated to me. The fair is teeming with activity and people just now. Shall we meet back here by teatime?”
With a start Elizabeth glanced about the immediate area. All around them, visitors to the fair laughed and chatted in gay fashion. Delighted screeches from children rang in the air. Savory and sweet scents tickled her nose from food carts. Flashes of brilliant color from the traditional clothing gave life to the meadow grass and the backdrop of the river. Brightly decorated wagons were arranged in a large, wide semi-circle throughout the fairgrounds. Tent-like stalls lay interspersed between them where vendors sold their wares.
“Of course.” Could she find a bit of fun before she needed to depart for India? “I wish you good luck in your conversion attempts.”
“I don’t need luck, sister dear. God is on my side.” But he grinned and headed off toward the hub of activity.
She frowned. Didn’t God look after the best interests of all people, no matter what they had done? In His eyes, weren’t folks equally precious regardless of their heritage and beliefs? What gave William the right to think his way was the only true path?
The magnitude of her thoughts stole her breath. If her brother knew, he’d immediately drag her to the church and demand the elders lay hands on her to banish the demons in her head who sought to poison her mind. Thinking differently didn’t mean there was something wrong with her or that she was evil.
Something must change!
With a sigh, she walked toward the heart of the fair. What to do first that would banish the ennui that suddenly plagued her? As she moved steadily forward, she passed a group of men who nodded. Their clothing styles varied, and two of them wore jackets that fit their shoulders better than the others. A pair of gray eyes—or rather one eye—met hers from one of the men. The black leather eyepatch he wore on the left side gave him the rakish air of a scoundrel. She quelled the urge to smile as a faint tickling sensation invaded her belly. Such a silly reaction to someone she didn’t know. The heat must be playing tricks with her. With quickened steps, she continued toward a wagon on the far side of the fairgrounds. As she drew close, a wooden sign proclaimed, “Fortunes told.”
That’s exactly what I need, and William should be none the wiser.
In short order, she found the owner of the wagon sitting at a small, round table near the rear of the vehicle. The older woman gestured her over and then pointed to a wooden stool across from her location. “I am Vadoma.”
“What a pretty name. I’m Elizabeth.”
“Ah. A proper English name. You wish your fortune told, young lady?” The soft, rasping voice held a faint Romani accent that put Elizabeth in mind of far-flung places she’d only dreamed of. An orange scarf covered her graying black hair. Golden spangles on her orange and yellow gown caught the sun, as did several bangle bracelets on her wrists.
“Yes, please.” She rooted in her reticule for the required pence and offered it to Vadoma as she sat on the stool. “It’s all in fun, right?”
“That depends on what you believe.” The coin vanished into a clever pocket sewn into the front of her gown. Full, bell-shaped sleeves allowed for air flow while Elizabeth felt cooked alive in her pelisse and its tight fit. “Take off your glove and give me your hand.”
“All right.” She did as instructed and then offered her right hand, which Vadoma took between her own.
“You are no stranger to hard work and labor.” It wasn’t a question. “Yet there is a softness to your soul and a yearning in your heart that others cannot banish.”
How could the woman possibly know that? As her heartbeat accelerated, Elizabeth stared in fascination. Vadoma held Elizabeth’s hand in one of hers, palm upward. “What are you searching for?” she asked in a whisper as the fortune teller scoured her palm.
“Your truth. The yearning beyond what’s proper perhaps, eh?” She winked before returning to her work. For a few long moments, Vadoma studied her palm, occasionally tracing the lines with a forefinger. Then, she nodded as if having gotten confirmation from an unseen voice. “Do not put stock in the opinions of others. Your life is your own.”
“What does that mean?” Elizabeth whispered. She raised her to Vadoma’s.
A twinkle appeared in the deep brown depths of the woman’s gaze. “To seek the life you desire, you must change your path and your thinking. Do something you’ve never done to reap the results you’ve only dreamed of.”
“Why must you talk in riddles?”
“That is all I see.” Vadoma dropped Elizabeth’s hand. “But I will tell you the change will start at this fair.”
“How? Is there magic here?” What would William say to that?
“Magic? No, but there are possibilities, and you have come to a fork in the road.” Vadoma waved her fingers. “Go, now, and meet your future.”
Speechless with questions dancing through her head, Elizabeth stood. “Thank you.” With haste, she donned her glove. What had the woman meant by her words, and had she really seen a vision? Not paying attention to where her steps led, she wandered. What was it she truly desired from life?
Barely had she moved away from Vadoma’s wagon when she ran into the hard wall of a man’s chest, her bonnet fell from her head and for one instant, the man’s arms went around her to steady her balance. “Oomph!” She clutched at his elbow. “I’m terribly sorry.” As she looked upward into his face, she sucked in a breath. The same gray eye she’d seen before stared back at her. He was one of the men she’d passed earlier.
“I’m not, for such an accident put a pretty lady into my keeping.” The tenor of his voice was pleasing and sent a shiver down her spine. As he grinned, she couldn’t help but gaze at the most sensual pair of lips she’d ever seen on a man outside of a statue. “Come with me for a moment.”
“Why?” Her head fairly spun from the unexpected contact as well as his heavy-handed use of flattery. No one of her acquaintance, not even Jacob, had done that. Heat blazed in her cheeks, for without the bonnet’s brim, the sun was quite warm, but bemusement got the better of her and she kept pace with the man despite the crowds.
Before she could utter a word, he tugged on her hand and pulled her inside a stall that stood empty of goods or a vendor. She was alone with a strange man who smelled like sandalwood, citrus, and leather. “What are you—”
He cut off her question by taking her into his strong, powerful arms and lowering his lips to hers. At the age of nine and twenty, the day of her birthday to boot, Elizabeth Hayhurst was treated to her first kiss, and she didn’t quite know what to do with herself.
Oh, my stars! It’s both heaven and hell.