“You have a Gajo priest in residence, then, to give his blessing?”

His hand dropped from her. Frustration filled his eyes. “You are saying you would marry me?”

“I am saying I want you, too, Lord Englishman, but without the priest’s words, I can’t have you. It does not get more simple than that.”

“Simple?” he all but snorted. “You must know that is impossible, that people from my social stature only marry within their class.”

“Yes, I know very well how nobles are governed by the opinions of their peers, which does not leave them free to do as they please. A shame you aren’t a common man, Lord Englishman. They have more freedom than you.”

“And how free are you, to do as you want?” he shot back in a frustrated tone. “Or did you not just tell me that you want me?”

“I can’t deny that. Yet I am restricted by my own morals, rather than the opinions of others. If you must know, my own people would be scandalized if I were to marry you. Ironically, you would not be an acceptable mate for me, for you are not one of us. Would I let that influence me? No. Only one’s heart should matter in these things. Yet mine will not let me go to a man who will not be mine to keep. I do not hold myself that cheaply.”

“Then we have nothing further to say.” He stood up and tossed a few coins into her lap. “For your insight,” he said with a measure of derision. “Too bad you couldn’t ‘see’ a way for us to be together.”

“But I did,” she replied sadly. “Too bad you don’t want me enough to keep me.”

Chapter 15

TOO BAD YOU DON’T WANT ME ENOUGH TO KEEP ME.

Oddly enough, Christopher did want her that much. He realized it about noon the next day, when she simply would not get out of his mind. He couldn’t get any work done for thinking of her. He rudely ignored his friends as well. They’d had a very good time last evening, a good time that included getting from the other Gypsy wenches what he’d been denied himself. Not that he begrudged them that. It was just driving him crazy, that he hadn’t been as lucky.

He started drinking in the early afternoon, in an effort to dull his disappointment. It didn’t really help. What it did do was make it much easier for him to decide to make the Gypsy his mistress. Surely that would satisfy her “mine to keep” morals, wouldn’t it?

It was just barely dark when he rode to the Gypsy camp again. He didn’t bring David or Walter with him this time, didn’t even tell them where he was going, since he had every intention of bringing the Gypsy home with him, yet he didn’t want his friends to know how completely she had bewitched him, to the point of wanting to set her up in London where she would always be available to him.