Gypsy Heart Part 6

'Yes, we have met at Treverrick on many occasions,' Uncle Zac told me, 'and I know that Kane is a good man and will take care of you.'

'And you have no qualms at my status in life?' Kane asked.

'None,' replied my Uncle, and I was happy that the two men in my life knew each other. We walked on and as we walked, my husband and Uncle talked and so did Aggie and I.

'You will not get into any trouble when you go back,' I said to Aggie, stopping for a moment, 'for my Uncle will ensure that all will be well, I promise you.'

'I shall miss you,' Aggie told me.

'And I, you,' I answered honestly, 'and I thank you for all your loyalty.'

'Come Miss, let's be happy, for we will see each other again before too long and I hope all goes well at Gretna.'

Our farewells said, we had to run to catch up with the men folk who had nearly reached the clearing. I could see that the wagon was ready to go, with the horse already harnessed to the vardo.

'I will leave you here, Katherine,' my Uncle told me. 'Kane tells me you are to go to Gretna to marry our way, but I have told him I will give my consent to your marriage here if it will spare you a long journey.'

'Thank you, Uncle,' I said as I put my arms around him.

'We will talk about what is best to do.' Kane's words drifted across to me and I released my dear Uncle.

'If we did marry here, would my Aunt accept this, do you think, Uncle Zac?' I asked him.

'When I return home, I will talk to your Aunt,' he promised me, 'but I can't say what her answer will be, as she is a very stubborn woman, as you well know, Katherine from your recent experience with her.'

'I know, Uncle, that you will do your best.' I said the words knowing they were true.

'In view of the new circ.u.mstances and our need to talk, little one, we will stop here for the night,' Kane suggested, 'and on the morrow, we will come to see you at Northcliffe, Zachariah.'

'I shall welcome you,' agreed Uncle Zac, 'but I can't speak for my wife,' he said, sadly.

'Until tomorrow then, Uncle,' I said kissing him and Aggie, both on the cheek and I watched as they walked towards the cliff path, feeling uncertain about everything except Kane's love for me and mine for him.

Tessa welcomed me and agreed to spend a further night in the clearing, when Kane explained what Uncle Zac was prepared to do.

'You know it will mean marrying in a church,' Kane's Mother told him.

'I do indeed, Mother, but I am prepared to do whatever is possible to make Kate completely happy,' Kane told her.

'I don't know what your father will say, but I am agreeable to anything which makes you both happy,' she said, kissing us both on the cheek. 'Now while Kane unharnesses Monty, we will light a fire, for we shall need to eat later,' Tessa suggested.

So Tessa and I collected wood for a fire which we successfully got going, while Kane unharnessed the horse. I learned, that underneath the wagon was a large cupboard known as the 'pan box', which was like a larder and held the provisions. Tessa and I fetched out some vegetables to prepare for the cauldron and I could see that the larder already held bread, tea and coffee and various items. I found this all very interesting and I knew I had a lot to learn about the Romany way of life, but also knew, instinctively, that I would love it. After we had put the cauldron over the fire and the horse was grazing on the gra.s.s behind the vardo, Tessa suggested we unpack my portmanteau, as it would be in the way later.

'Come,' she said to me and I followed her up the familiar steps into the wagon. Undoing my baggage, I first lifted out the keepsake box, gently unwrapping the white tissue paper.

'That is beautiful!' Tessa exclaimed with incredulity in her voice. 'Where did you get it Kate?' she asked with interest.

'My Aunt and Uncle gave it to me on my birthday,' I told her. 'My Uncle said it belonged to my Mother.'

'May I look at it, please?' asked Tessa. Carefully, I pa.s.sed the precious box to her and she sat on the locker seat, gazing at it. 'May I open the lid?' was her next question.

'Of course you may,' I agreed, for I could see that Tessa was as enraptured as I was, so she opened the lid gently and examined the contents, a lone tear trickling down her cheek.

'I'm sorry,' she said, wiping the tear from her cheek, 'but I love beautiful objects and this is exquisite,' she said, using the same word I had to describe the keepsake box which I was very proud to own. 'Well, let us get your clothes in the chest of drawers,' she said suddenly, handing the box back to me. 'We will store this safely in the chest of drawers also.'

My clothes and the keepsake box put safely away, Kane suggested that we walk to the meadow so we could talk of our future. I agreed with joy in my heart, for I longed to be alone with him. Holding hands, we walked through the small wood where birds sang from the trees and as we stepped into the meadow, the sight of the poppies still swaying in the breeze, brought back to me our b.u.t.terfly dance and our gypsy wedding which was so sacred to me, I didn't really wish for another. As far as I was concerned, that day in the clearing, when we had jumped the broom and made our troth to one another, was the most lovely way of marrying, that I could possibly imagine.

'You are thoughtful, little one,' observed Kane, stopping on the path we walked between the poppies.

'I'm thinking, that if I had my way, our wedding would be the only one we would have,' I confessed to him.

'But we need to please your family, Kate, do we not,' he said sensibly.

'I guess we do,' I said, quite downcast at the thought, for all I wished was to be a proper wife to my gentle husband.

'I wish to lie with you at night and not walk with you in my dreams,' Kane said, turning me to him, 'and if it means peace of mind for me as much as you, then I'm prepared to wed your way.'

'You are so understanding, Kane, it is no wonder I love you so,' I told him.

'Then what are we to do, little one. Is it Scotland or here?' he said, giving me the choice to make.

'I think here,' I said, making a sudden decision, 'for although we have the banns to call for three weeks, it will be quicker than travelling to Scotland and my Aunt may condescend to join us and see us united with her own eyes and hopefully accept it without any further question.'

'Then that is what we shall do,' he told me, bending to kiss my lips, just as a b.u.t.terfly flew around us. I knew it was a good omen and I had hopefully made the right decision.

That night, as I lay next to Tessa on the top bed in the wagon, listening to an owl hooting somewhere in the woods, with Kane asleep in his tent, I mulled over as to what else could thwart Kane and I in our quest for happiness, but I was at least, lying at last between the lovely white sheets with the crocheted edging, in a vardo.

Chapter 8.

I awoke next morning to the sound of birds singing from the trees and I recognised the blackbird's song in particular, sweet and pure and a joy to listen to. Tessa no longer lay beside me and the curtains were still pulled to, to prevent the morning light seeping into the wagon. I lay for a while, listening to the blackbirds song, hardly believing that I had at last spent a night in the vardo. Negotiating myself from the top bed, I looked at the bottom one and could see what Tessa had meant yesterday. It was not as long as the one I had slept in and was indeed only suitable for a child or children and I mused as to whether Kane had slept in it as a child. Dressing myself in a turquoise coloured cotton skirt and white short sleeved blouse, I opened the door of the vardo and made my way down the steps. Kane and Tessa were sat in the clearing eating bread and b.u.t.ter, Kane getting to his feet when he saw me.

'Good morning, Kate,' he greeted me coming across and kissing my cheek. 'Did you sleep well?'

'I haven't slept so well since I met you,' I replied laughing, as I looked at his handsome face.

'I will get you a towel,' called Tessa, 'for you will need to freshen up.' I washed in the stream, taking note of the cool water running on its way across small boulders. What an idyllic scene I thought, as I dried myself with the towel Tessa had supplied me with. I felt so happy and free I could have danced on the spot, but refrained from doing so as Kane called me over to take some breakfast with them. Tessa indicated for me to sit by her on the gra.s.s as she handed me a plate and I set to eating the bread and b.u.t.ter, realising I felt quite hungry. As I sipped the steaming hot coffee that Kane had poured me from a receptacle, which hung over the fire, Tessa spoke to me.

'Tell me about your family, Kate,' she said.

'There is little to tell,' I told her.

'Well tell me what has happened to you in these past twenty years,' she persisted.

'I never knew my mother,' I began, 'nor know who she was or where she came from, in fact, we've never spoken of her until this past week.'

'So you have no idea who she was?' Kane asked.

'None.' I told him. 'All I know is that Uncle Zac and Aunt Phoebe raised me from a babe in arms to the young woman you see before you now.'

'And have you been happy, Kate?' asked Tessa.

'Yes I have, although the past year I have felt restless and wished for some excitement and purpose in my life,' I said.

'And now you have found it,' said Kane laughing.

'I have indeed and it is all I could have wished for,' I told him truthfully. Our eyes locked together for some seconds.

'Are your Aunt and Uncle your true kin?' began Tessa. 'That is to say, are you related to them through your Mother or indeed your Father?'

'My Father,' I replied quietly. 'I have never given any thought to my Father,' and as I spoke the words, I realised it was true. I had never once, until this moment, questioned as to who my Father may be, or indeed thought of him.

'So do you think you are related to the couple who you call Aunt and Uncle?' Tessa said.

'Do you know Tessa, I have no idea at all,' I told her, turning to look at this lovely woman who I felt I had known all my life, as she laid a gentle hand on my arm.

'And have you always lived at Northcliffe?' Kane asked.

'For as far back as I can remember, yes,' I replied, 'except for the time I spent at the Academy for Young Ladies in Truro.'

'Why were you there?' Tessa began, 'although I can imagine.'

'The truthful answer is, my Aunt wished me to marry well and was always hoping I would marry one of the Trevartha family,' I said, as much to myself as to Tessa and Kane.

'So you have thwarted her plans,' observed my husband.

'I have indeed,' I laughed as I spoke. 'Thankfully, you walked my way and I no longer have a dread of etiquette and grand dinner parties and living at Treverrick, a place I dislike immensely.'

'You are here now and that is all I could wish for,' Kane told me intently. 'Now let us drink more coffee and then we must make our way to see your Uncle and Aunt if that is possible.'

'I dread the thought of it,' I told him honestly, thinking of Aunt Phoebe's hostility to me only yesterday. 'I very much doubt that my Aunt will see either of us,' I warned him.

'You will have me by your side, so have no fear, little one,' Kane rea.s.sured me, as he helped me to my feet.

'May I help you with anything?' I asked Tessa.

'No indeed not. You two young people go and arrange your marriage, for the sooner the better,' Tessa told me.

'I just have to feed Monty,' Kane said.

'May I go on ahead across Monks Cove, please,' I asked him.

'You love it there, don't you,' my husband observed.

'It is the tranquillity I love and the sound of the waves lapping on the beach,' I told him.

'You go on ahead,' he told me. 'And don't look so worried.'

'I thought you may think that I didn't wish to walk with you,' I explained.

'Never have such a notion, for I know you wish to be with me, as much as I wish to be with you,' Kane a.s.sured me.

So I walked happily to Monks Cove on my own and once on the beach, throwing pebbles in the water, I set to thinking of all that had happened in recent days. Had I really been wilful and gone against all that my Aunt wished for me and I realised that the answer to this question was 'yes'. My dear Uncle understood as I expected he would, but my Aunt was hard hearted and as we had discussed this morning, Aunt Phoebe had plans for me which I had indeed thwarted, but my love and loyalty for Kane, mattered to me more than anything else and at least I was trying to appease my Aunt's anger by marrying as she would wish, in a church, but my wedding to Kane and our b.u.t.terfly dance in the meadow were the two most beautiful things that had happened to me in my life so far.

Kane made me jump by placing his hands gently on my shoulders and turning to face him, he held me closely in his arms, kissing my hair which I realised, I had not tied back. Alarmed at this thought, I withdrew from Kane's embrace.

'What is the matter?' he said with worry in his voice.

'My hair,' I uttered, 'I haven't tied it back.'

'And nor should you,' he told me gently, 'for it is part of your beauty.'

'But my Aunt will be aghast that I am wandering around the bay with loose hair for all to see,' I explained.

'It will be fine,' Kane a.s.sured me, but as we walked towards Northcliffe, my thought was that Kane had never before been on the receiving end of my Aunt's wrath. The first thing I noticed as we approached the cottage, was that Minnie was gone and I pacified myself at the thought that she was being well cared for at Treverrick. Approaching the front door, I felt myself trembling, recalling Aunt Phoebe's words of only yesterday 'never darken our door again' but my Uncle had agreed to us coming and after all, it was his home as much as it was my Aunt's. Kane lifted the heavy bra.s.s knocker, the sound of which would now be reverberating through the hallway and up the stairs. It suddenly seemed a lifetime since I had left here yesterday. The door opened slightly and I could see it was my Aunt who peered out at us.

'Aunt Phoebe, we have come to see you and Uncle Zac,' I said meekly as my Aunt opened the door a little wider.

'I told you yesterday, never to darken our door with your presence again,' she said harshly and I turned to look at Kane.

'Did Zachariah tell you of our plan to marry in the church here?' Kane said politely.

'He did,' my Aunt answered, 'but I still do not hold with it and if my husband is to be foolish enough to give his consent, then so be it, but do not expect me to go along with it and that is all I have to say to you. Good day,' and she went to close the door, but thankfully, at that moment, my Uncle appeared behind her.

'No, Phoebe,' he said forcefully, taking hold of the door and pulling it open wider.

'How could you, Zachariah?' she bemoaned. 'After us being married all these years and this is how you treat me. I wonder what Katherine would think if she only knew the truth.'

'What does Aunt Phoebe mean by that?' I asked, quite perplexed.

'It is nothing child,' my Uncle a.s.sured me. 'Now leave this to me,' he said, stepping out of the front door and closing it behind him.

'What did my Aunt mean, Uncle?' I asked him again.

'It is nothing, Katherine, just a notion she has. Now let's forget it and go to the church to see Parson Greenaway,' he suggested, in his normal kindly manner and I realised, I had never before known my Uncle to speak so to Aunt Phoebe.

'Do you think your wife, will in due course, accept my marriage to Katherine?' Kane asked Uncle Zac, as we walked across the cliffs in the opposite direction from Treverrick and to the lovely little church, which had been built overlooking the sea and a small beach covered with golden sand.

'She will, you have my word on that,' my Uncle told Kane and then we walked in silence, I with my arm through Kane's, my black hair lifting gently each time the warm breeze blew through it and Kane now and then looking down at me, with understanding mirrored in his lovely eyes. As we walked down the lane, which led to the church, I stopped and so did my husband and Uncle for it was truly a glorious sight to behold, the small grey stone church with its squat tower and a backdrop of sea and sand. As we stood looking at the scene before us, I could hear the waves crashing lightly to the sh.o.r.e and see the seagulls circling above.

'What a delightful place,' Kane acknowledged, 'and as lovely a place as I could wish to marry you, Kate.'

'It is indeed,' agreed Uncle Zac. 'Now let us hope the Parson is here,' and at my Uncle's words, we made our way along the narrow path, which led to the main church door. Uncle Zac opened the door and stood to one side for Kane and I to enter. As we stepped onto the flagstone floor and Uncle Zac closed the door behind him, it took some minutes for our eyes to adjust to the darkness, in comparison to the sunlit day outside.