The Dragon Queens (The Mystique Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF

gentleman appears to be a gypsy, my lord,’ Tibbs said with disdain.
    ‘A gypsy?’ The announcement sent my heart soaring into my throat and I looked to my husband in disbelief. ‘Could it be…?’
    The dulcet sound of a violin wafted from the entrance hall through to the dining room. My husband and I both smiled broadly. ‘It is!’ we cried in accord.
    ‘Show the gentleman in,’ Lord Devere decreed. ‘And have another place set at our table.’
    Tibbs seemed rather puzzled by our resolve. ‘Very good, my lord.’
    In France, I had once saved the man at our door from imprisonment, after duelling with the finest swordsman of the duke who held him captive. He had composed the tune now being played in our foyer in honour of my success. It sounded as if the gypsy captain was still able to enchant the heart of any woman with his music—which was what had landed him in the duke’s prison in the first place, having briefly enchanted the Duchess de Guise.
    As my old gypsy friend entered the dining room, I stood and moved to greet him. ‘Cingar Choron.’
    The years of outdoor living had aged my old travelling companion—streaks of grey now tinged his long dark curls, moustache and beard, and his skin was more leathered and tanned—yet he was as handsome as ever. Cingar was still long and lean, but his stride seemed to have lost a little of its bounce. It seemed to me that he had experienced a tragedy recently—which was confirmed when I clearly perceived the deep muddy patch that encompassed the heart centre of his auric body.
    ‘Welcome to our home, captain.’ I embraced him tightly. ‘After twenty years what could possibly have brought you to our door?’
    Cingar’s clan usually travelled through southern France and Italy, although Cingar had also travelled in the East, in search of exotic wares to peddle on the continent. Never had he ventured so far north as to visit us in England, however.
    ‘Chiara sent me,’ the gypsy replied. ‘She said you were embarking on a journey and would require my assistance.’ He looked concerned when my husband appeared confused, and I was stumped as to how to react.
    ‘But what of your wife, Jessenia?’ I asked, hoping to change the subject. ‘And how will your clan manage without their captain?’
    The look on Cingar’s face said it all.
    ‘Jessenia has passed,’ I surmised.
    ‘Last winter,’ was all the explanation he could bring himself to give. ‘As for my people, my son, not much younger than your own boy,’ he motioned to Levi, ‘has taken charge of our band to get a feel for his future responsibilities…leaving me free to serve you once again.’ He bowed.
    I took Cingar by the arm and leapt into the formalities, to prevent my husband enquiring after our gypsy friend’s purpose. ‘Allow me to introduce you to our children,’ I said, and led him around the table to meet them one by one.
    My Lord Devere waited patiently as our children had their say, then proved he was not to be distracted from the matter at hand. ‘Lady Devere and I have no knowledge of an imminent journey,’ he informed Cingar. ‘Do we, darling?’ He turned to me.
    I have always refused to tell my love a barefaced lie, so what choice did I have but to confess…or at least refrain from responding for a moment or two?
    ‘Do we?’ my husband fished, beginning to suspect that I had some explaining to do.
    I raised both brows and forced a smile, which more than adequately answered his query.
    ‘Oh no.’ Cingar looked to me apologetically. ‘Is my arrival a trifle premature?’
    ‘That’s the price you pay for associating with spirits,’ I said, dismissing the inconvenience. ‘With such a scarce awareness of time, they are bound to get it wrong on occasion.’
    ‘It seems we need to talk,’ my husband suggested amicably, motioning towards the door.
    As my Lord Devere excused himself, I looked back to the table to find Levi smiling broadly. He made a small punching motion with