Return to Paradise (Torres Family Saga)

by Shirl Henke

  “He has only taken to one other gadje. ” Rani's voice was filled with awe as she stared at the beautiful woman.

  “Allow me to guess that it was Benjamin. He has always possessed a great affinity to animals. Perhaps tis the healer in him.”

  “He tended Vero once in Italy when some soldiers had shot him.” Rani suddenly realized that she was kneeling in the dirt with her skirts all awry and her hair tangled about her shoulders. What did this elegant lady think of her?

  As if answering the unspoken question in the Gypsy's round golden eyes, Olivia extended her hand to the girl and assisted her in standing up. “I would like to speak with you, Rani Janos. I have never known a Romni before, only an old Rom man who cared for my husband's horses on our country estate. He told me bits about your language and customs.”

  Rani stood in front of Olivia, at a loss for words. The gadji towered over her, tall and willowy, dressed in a gown of deep green brocade embroidered with gold thread. Her reddish brown hair was neatly contained in a snood sewn with seed pearls and she wore the most beautiful emerald necklace the girl had ever seen.

  Olivia turned to Ruth and said in her low musical voice, “Aunt, if you would be so kind, I would enjoy speaking to Rani alone. I believe Cinnamon is safe enough for now.” The cat winked his green eyes balefully from his perch, as if agreeing.

  Ruth, glad to be quit of Vero any time, nodded. “I shall send a servant with some refreshment for you.”

  “Now, come, let us sit on yonder bench and discuss many things.”

  “Things such as Benjamin?” Rani asked guardedly.

  Olivia laughed. “Yes, certainly Benjamin. But first tell me about yourself.”

  Something in the older woman's sparkling blue eyes, so warm and inviting of confidence, led Rani to let down her defenses. Before she knew it she was pouring forth her whole life's history, her aversion to Django and Rasvan and their coarse brutal ways, her adoption by old Agata, even the phuri dai's offer to train her in the magical arts.

  “Yet you chose to give up this chance in order to save Benjamin and come here with him.” Olivia watched the blush stain the girl's dusky cheek. She was certainly a delicate little creature, wild and untutored, yet nothing like the caraque who regularly camped on her husband's estates every spring. “You love Benjamin, do you not, Rani?”

  The soft question, asked so kindly and knowingly, caused Rani's heart to tighten in her chest. “Yes...but I am Romni He cannot love me, only...”

  “Only bed you,” Olivia supplied, noting again the blush. “He took your innocence,” she stated flatly.

  Rani's eyes flashed with amazement. “You are the first Torres ever to assume I had chastity to protect. Even Benjamin thought I was a whore when first he...we...”

  “Yes, that would be my arrogant young cousin's glib male assumption.” She studied the girl's face, noting the delicacy of her features once again with curiosity. “You spoke of your father and brothers. What of your mother, Rani?” A suspicion was beginning to form in her mind.

  “I never knew the lady,” Rani said bitterly, then gasped at her choice of words.

  “She was not Romni, was she?”

  Almost against her will, Rani repeated Agata's hurtful story to this sympathetic listener, concluding in a taut, low voice, “She did not want me—would have had me killed if my father had not claimed me. I can never be a gadji. I was foolish to leave my band and come here.”

  “Perhaps not so foolish...if you truly love Benjamin.” Olivia mulled over an idea. “Tis wildly improbable, yet I know my cousin. He and Miriam Toulon did not suit, in spite of their common love of medicine. He was altogether too patient with her and she with him. For years promised to wed and he never laid a hand on her.”

  “But she was a lady, not a Romni.” Rani hated to hear the name of Benjamin's beloved spoken aloud, yet Olivia's words puzzled her.

  Olivia scoffed. “Yes, such a splendid creature on a pedestal—until Rigo Torres pulled her from it and she most willingly fell into his arms.”

  “Benjamin was grievously hurt by that,” Rani said softly, unwilling to meet Olivia's eyes.

  “I imagine it did rather bruise his ego, but he was the one who waited while Miriam dabbled with her studies and her practice for all those years. She would not follow him to Española. Would you, Rani?”

  Now their eyes met. “Yes, but he would only take me…” Her voice faded.

  “As a mistress? We shall see about that. I think you have the potential to become lady enough to suit my cousin, even satisfy Aunt Ruth. She really is a dear, gentle soul, you know, only terrified witless by Vero, here.” She patted the wolf, who nuzzled her hand.

  “I cannot give him up,” Rani stated flatly.

  Olivia laughed. “Vero or Benjamin?” Then, seeing Rani's distraught expression, she immediately sobered. “You do not have to chose, child. From all the tales my uncle Aaron and aunt Magdalena have told us about the New World, I am certain there will be a place for Vero. But you will have to make a few adjustments.”

  “Such as?” Rani eyed her with curiosity now.

  “Such as eating with utensils and learning proper manners for social occasions. You must…er…moderate your vocabulary. My aunt has indicated you have a most colorful way of expressing your displeasure.”

  Rani shrugged. “Already I have learned to bathe. After suffering that naught else can be very difficult.”

  “Good. First we will begin by outfitting you with suitable clothing. You must dress like a lady and learn to move and walk with the encumbrance of such tortuous devices as farthingales and long trains for formal occasions.”

  “I have already grown used to shoes,” Rani ventured.

  “That is an excellent beginning. I shall take you to my dressmaker this afternoon and she can measure you. You are such a tiny thing, she will love you. Then we will begin lessons in deportment. Oh, I suppose you cannot read?”

  “Only Rom signs.”

  “My cousin is a terrible snob about reading and writing, although many noblewomen of the highest rank cannot even sign their names. Come, let us begin with some simple lessons. If you are half as quick as I think you to be, you shall dazzle Benjamin!”

  Rani and Olivia agreed that until the girl was ready to make her debut as a lady, she would use her simple peasant clothes and apply herself to her lessons during the day while Benjamin was busy with his practice. At first he wondered at the contented way she greeted him each evening, no longer complaining about being confined or bored. Neither did Ruth and Isaac come to him with tales of her horrendous escapades. Miraculously he had not caught her stealing for weeks! And even Vero behaved. Well, Cinnamon might dispute that, but the sly old feline and the clever wolf seemed to have arrived at a truce of sorts.

  Benjamin noticed the improvement in Rani's table manners and attributed it to Olivia, whom he knew had adopted the girl. His elder cousin, herself an orphan rescued by Isaac from the clutches of her father's ruthless family in Spain, was prone to take in every stray that wandered to their doorstep. She had a menagerie of animals and put every street urchin she could find to work in her indulgent husband's vineyards, stables or household.

  Returning slightly early one afternoon, he encountered Olivia leaving in her litter as he dismounted from Avarroes. Cocking one golden eyebrow jauntily, he took her hand and said, “I have scarce seen you since you returned to the city, Cousin. Has Rani been entertaining you?”

  “She is a positive delight, Benjamin.”

  “I do not doubt she has proved the challenge of your lifetime,” he said drily.

  “Yes, she is that and more, but so bright, so quick to learn...er, once she is so motivated,” Olivia evaded gracefully.

  Benjamin snorted. “You should have been the one motivating her to make an acquaintance with soap and water the first time. Now that was a Promethean challenge.” They shared a laugh, but then Benjamin's expression sobered.

  “I know not what to do with her, Olivia.
Our uncle chides me about marriage and duty. Yet I owe a duty to Rani, too.”

  “And you desire her.” Olivia's expression was smug as she watched him color in embarrassment.

  “I can scarce wed an illiterate Gypsy wench.” Benjamin looked distinctly miserable, but Olivia took no pity on him. “You can bed her easily enough and I warrant you were the first, too.”

  “Olivia, this is not a suitable subject for us to discuss.”

  “Do not play the prig with me, Cousin. Tis not in your nature. As to Rani's suitability for this grand family, I think she would do well enough, but I shall leave that for you to discover for yourself.” With that enigmatic remark, she bid him a good day and climbed into her litter.

  Benjamin entered the courtyard, still puzzled and more than a bit disturbed. What were those two scheming females about?

  * * * *

  “Next week Uncle Isaac is giving a feast with musicians and dancing, to celebrate the arrival of a great fleet of trading ships laden with rare goods from the Levant. I think twill be an excellent opportunity for you to make your first social appearance. Your gowns are ready and you have learned etiquette most felicitously.”

  Rani felt her stomach flutter with nervousness as the two women sat in the library of Olivia's big city house, which had been converted to a schoolroom of sorts. She could now write her name credibly and had mastered the rudiments of the alphabet. “Will Judah Toulon be present at this celebration?”

  “I imagine so, yes. He is my uncle's business partner in this and many other trading ventures. You need not fear Miriam's father any more than you need worry about her as a rival.”

  Rani looked dubious. “She is an ocean away, but her sire is here. I do not like him nor that skinny man who always tags at his heels.”

  “Richard DuBay? Yes, he is an unpleasant fellow. Uncle Isaac detests him and only tolerates him because of his friend Judah.”

  “Both Toulon and DuBay have the Evil Eye,” Rani said with a shudder.

  “Surely you are not still holding on to those old superstitions. Judah is a gruff, unbending old man and DuBay is a fortune hunter, but they are quite harmless.”

  “I have offended Judah Toulon grievously. If he sees me at the feast I know he will raise a protest.” Rani explained the incident with the shrimp-shell amulet to Olivia. By the time she had finished, her mentor was doubled over with laughter.

  “I must say the idea of that pompous old man having shellfish tangled in his beard delights me utterly. Even the most holy and mighty should be brought low on occasion.”

  A small grin wavered on Rani's lips. “He was fearfully angry and screaming at me and Vero. I imagine it took at least a score of rabbis to purify him after that!”

  Olivia wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. “No doubt it did. I am glad you have learned about our laws and no longer bring unclean things into the house. That makes it far easier for the family to accept you.”

  “I have loved learning the Law of Moses.” A conspiratorial look came over her small, heart-shaped face as she whispered, “After seeing the ugly staffs of my uncircumcised brothers and other little boys in our band, I much prefer Benjamin's. I would willingly convert for that reason alone.”

  Olivia nearly choked with laughter. After subsiding, she said, “Having never seen an uncircumcised male member, but for my newborn son's, I could not say how they look when larger, but I do not think it will be necessary for you to convert. Benjamin has ever been eager to return to Española and if he does, twill be safer for you to be Christian than Jewish—providing you do not make mention of all those baptisms.”

  Thinking of Benjamin's horror when Rani had confessed her sacramental overindulgence, Olivia again burst into laughter.

  Willing herself to forget her aversion to Judah Toulon and jealousy of his daughter, Rani joined her.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rani stood before the mirror in Olivia's apartments while the maid fussed with her hair. A cluster of ebony curls was piled high atop her head and fastened with golden combs inlaid with rubies. The rest of her hair lay artfully arranged about her shoulders, carefully entwined with silk ribbons and more rubies that winked like flames through her midnight tresses.

  “The rubies do set off your hair and that gown,” Olivia said as the maid stood back, looking to her mistress for approval of her handiwork.

  Rani placed her hand at her throat and nervously fingered the delicate necklace of gold filigree and rubies. “These are far too valuable. I should not be wearing them.”

  “Do not be foolish. They flatter your black hair more than my auburn. I never wear them. They were part of a tiresomely enormous treasure trove of jewelry bequeathed me by my husband's great aunt. Anyway, the rubies also set off the gown.”

  Rani's eyes glowed as she turned this way and that before the mirror. Could the apparition in deep ruby red samite truly be Rani Janos? She ran one delicate hand across the gold-stitched stomacher, then experimentally raised her arm, letting the gold silk tissue billow out from the slashes cut in the rich samite sleeves. “Tis the most beautiful gown I have ever seen.”

  “I warrant Benjamin will approve,” Olivia said as Rani walked gracefully around the room, carrying the edge of her long, gold-embroidered red samite train.

  “Am I moving the way I practiced? I fear I shall trip on the gown and disgrace myself.”

  “You handle the train beautifully. I was right about the farthingale though. You are too tiny to wear one. Twould have swallowed you up. The slimmer line of the skirt with the train is much more dramatic. You look deliciously dainty.”

  Rani made a moue, then bit her lip worriedly. “If only I dance daintily in all this finery.”

  Olivia chuckled. “Be grateful such gala occasions as this do not occur often. After this evening, you will not be called upon to perform in such arduous attire for a good while.”

  “If I survive this evening. What will your aunt and uncle say when you bring me to the feast?”

  “Only concern yourself with what Benjamin will say. Leave Ruth and Isaac to me.”

  * * * *

  Benjamin stood in the great hall, a goblet of wine in his hand to fortify himself for a long and doubtless boring evening. Already he could smell roasting beef and lamb, the salty aroma of tunny and salmon, as well as the sweet tang of stewed apricots and other spiced fruits. The meal would include at least five courses, each accompanied by wines. Musicians played lutes and recorders. There would be dancing before and after the great feast. Fleetingly he wondered what it would feel like to dance with Rani, then laughed at the idea of her going through the intricate and formal steps of a pavane.

  He could still see her whirling sensuously to the wild rhythms of tambourines and drums. I would rather spend the evening with her than among my peers. He thought of all the eligible daughters who would be paraded for his inspection. With each passing day he drew closer to the conclusion that he should take Rani and return to Española. There would be time enough once he had established a practice in Santo Domingo to settle on a wife. The spoiled ladies of Provence wanted none of a life in the Spanish New World.

  He knew it was but a means of postponing the inevitable, yet he was homesick. The pain of Miriam and Rigo had lessened more quickly than he had imagined it could, leaving him to wonder if she had not spoken truly. Had she been destined to be his friend, not his lover? Perhaps his brother had unwittingly saved them both from a grievous mistake.

  “You are deep in thought, Benjamin. Come, enjoy the evening of celebration. I have several beautiful young ladies who long for an introduction,” Isaac said wryly.

  Benjamin groaned inwardly but put on his best face for his uncle. The hall was rapidly filling with guests, richly arrayed in silks and velvets of all hues, dripping with lavish jewelry. Servants carrying silver pitchers of wine wended skillfully through the crowd, dispensing libations freely.

  Judah Toulon stood across the room, but Benjamin felt no desire to speak with him
. The old man considered his daughter dead and allowed no mention of her. He pitied the stubborn fool, denying his own grandson. Odd, knowing that Miriam and Rigo have a son almost seems to please me. He dismissed the confusing thought as Isaac introduced him to the pretty young daughter of a council member.

  Just as he took her hand for a cursory salute, his cousin Olivia and her husband Noah were announced, along with another. Benjamin stood in gape-jawed amazement as a smug Olivia Fontaine led her charge into the crowded hall. Rani was a vision, glistening and glittering in gold tissue and red samite. He watched as she curtsied, smiled and exchanged greetings with the Fontaines' friends.

  “By heaven, what has that woman wrought? This house will come crashing down on us stone by stone before this night is done!” Isaac's formidable scowl fastened on Olivia, then moved between her and the crimson beauty of Rani Janos, unbelievingly.

  “Twould appear she has wrought some minor miracle,” Benjamin replied in amazement.

  “Will she loose the wolf during the banquet or merely let him devour a musician or servant for amusement, think you?”

  “I shall ask her the whereabouts of Vero, Uncle. Pray, excuse me.”

  Isaac's hand clutched Benjamin's sleeve quickly and a warning look flashed in his fierce blue eyes. “Do not be further bewitched by the wench, Benjamin. She is caraque beneath all that finery.”

  “I am most intimately acquainted with what lies beneath that finery, Uncle,” Benjamin said with a coolness he did not feel. He walked slowly toward the cluster of admirers surrounding Rani, feeling a wholly irrational urge to flatten the slavering pups.

  Before he could reach her, Rani was whisked into the dance by one young swain. Smug as Cinnamon, Olivia strolled up to Benjamin. “Do you like my handiwork?”