Page 110 of Tempted
Ada shrugged. “Their pricks are the center of their universe, whether they be Gypsy or king.”
They passed a Gypsy girl putting her trained dogs through their paces, and Tina thought she looked familiar. She hesitated. In their brilliant red skirts and white peasant blouses, one resembled another. Suddenly she felt eyes boring into her back and whirled about to see a sly, familiar face with slanting eyes and pouting lips glaring at her.
Tina did not recall the girl’s name, but her heart lifted in spite of the look of raw hatred being cast her way She had seen the dark beauty whenever she had visited Heath. Tina walked over to the steps of her caravan. “My name is—”
“I know your name,” Zara snarled. “You are the Kennedy bitch.” The girl deliberately spat on the ground, and Tina’s cheeks flamed. She swallowed her pride. “Is Heath here?” she asked hopefully.
Zara shrugged “He was but he is gone.”
“When will he be back?” asked Tina.
The Gypsy girl looked as if she would like to plunge her knife into the redhead. Tina reached into her pocket and held out a gold coin. Zara eyed it and wet her lips. “He comes, he goes,” she said, reaching greedy fingers for the money.
Tina closed her fingers over the coin. “Why do you hate me?” she demanded.
The silence stretched between them as they glared at each other. Finally Zara shrugged. “I was the Ram’s woman before you.”
Valentina felt a stab of jealousy pierce her heart. It was obvious the sultry Gypsy girl felt a deep passion for the devil-eyed Douglas. Tina decided to take advantage of the girl’s emotions. “Ram has been taken prisoner. I believe he’s been brought to London. I need Heath to find out where he’s imprisoned.” Tina gave Zara the gold coin. “Will you help me?” she asked evenly.
Zara went pale, but she threw out another taunt. “Why should I care?”
Valentina abandoned her pride altogether. “You care. I know because I was his woman, and I care. I would do anything to help him, and so would you.”
“The women who share his bed will always awaken with a smile,” Zara taunted.
Tina shook her head. “There will be no more women. They are going to hang him.”
Zara’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “He was the first man to give me gold … He was the only man I allowed to remove my earrings.”
Tina saw she wore only one, then slowly Zara pulled up her skirt to display the saucy black curls between her legs.
Tina’s eyes widened as she saw the golden hoop that pierced the Gypsy’s mons. The lecherous whoremaster, let them hang him! Tina’s heart constricted so tightly, she thought it would bleed. Then an inner voice asked, What does it matter how many women have gone before? When one loved deeply, it was all or nothing. She knew she would do anything to save him, and she hoped in her heart that Zara felt the same way.
As Tina turned to leave, Zara asked boldly, “Will you help me meet the king?”
Tina thought wildly, I need someone to help me meet the king! She had enough sense, however, to fold her tongue behind her teeth. She nodded her promise to Zara and hoped it was convincing enough.
Ada urged, “They were setting food out under an awning on the lawn. Let’s get something to eat.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not hungry,” Tina replied.
“You must eat something—you don’t want to fall sick again.”
Tina shook her head. “Food would choke me. You must eat something, though. Come on, I could use a drink, perhaps.”
The food tables were laden with the harvest’s bounty. Ada helped herself to a meat pasty and a fruit pie, while Tina took a cup of spiced cider. Laughter and men’s deep voices filled the air as a crowd of courtiers surged toward the food. When the crowd parted to allow the king access to the table, Tina saw that one of the men he spoke with was Lord Howard. She caught only a glimpse, for there were at least thirty men milling about the king. Before she could push into the throng, other men and women too were drawn to the presence of His Majesty like steel filings to a magnet. Tina and Ada were jostled aside without ceremony until it seemed that every person at Greenwich had business with Henry Tudor.
“If we get separated, you follow Howard and tell him I must see him, and I’ll follow the king.” Almost before the words were out of her mouth, the crowd surged toward the park and she could no longer see Ada.
Tina followed the crowd, which grew larger and noisier with every yard it progressed. The king’s destination was the bowling green. A few fortunate courtiers were selected to give him a match, and the rest fell back about the perimeter of the green to cheer him on and watch him win.
Tina drew the eyes and the hands of the men about her. There was a decided dearth of beauties at court. She felt a hand on her bottom and turned angrily to face the man who touched her so intimately.
“By heaven, the front side is even more attractive than the back side,” drawled a fair-haired young man with a long face.
She gave him a ringing slap. “How dare you touch me in public?” she demanded. A sudden hush fell upon the crowd, and Tina realized they had an audience.
“Would you prefer to be private, sweetheart?” he asked with a leer, not in the least deterred by the slap, and the crowd roared with coarse laughter. King Henry looked over to see what amused his courtiers. When he saw the young woman with the flaming hair who had caught his attention at mass that morning, he said to his partner, Lord Howard, “Find out who the little wench is with your son Edmund. I would have intercourse with her,” he punned.
