She gave the sprig of rue one last thoughtful rub, then got to her feet. Through the sunlit groves she wandered, picking handfuls of leaves from various plants that grew wild in the forest – creeping thyme, meadowsweet, lemon balm, and then, with a glad leap of her heart, a bunch of dried angelica flowers. Tea made with angelica comforted the heart, blood and spirits, her grandmother had told her, and indeed Emilia thought they could all do with some comfort now.
‘Can we light a fire?’ she said to the duke. ‘There are so many charcoal-burners in the forest already, no one will notice one more bit of smoke.’
The Duke of Ormonde looked dubious, but there were indeed many columns of smoke rising up from the forest and shore. ‘Are you cold, sweetling?’ he asked.
‘A little,’ Emilia replied, and indeed her bare feet were numb from the dew, and it was too early for the sun to have yet taken the bite from the air. ‘But I thought I’d make us some gypsy tea. It’ll help warm us and cheer us.’
‘We could all do with some of that,’ Father Plummer said.
‘I’d rather have a cup of ale, but since Gypsy Joe neglected to give us any, I guess gypsy tea is better than nothing,’ Lord Harry said with a grin.
‘What’s in it?’ Tom asked suspiciously.
‘A little of this, a little of that,’ Emilia said with a grin, and showed him the herbs she carried. ‘It’ll be delicious,’ she promised him. ‘And better than cold water from the stream.’
‘Very well then,’ the duke said. ‘Nat, light us a fire, would you?’
Soon a cheery blaze was dancing away under the tree, and Emilia boiled up some water then tossed the herbs into the pot. When the water had turned a rich, fragrant brown, she carefully scooped out the leaves and twigs and flung them away. They had no mugs, so she deftly made cups from bark that she cut from the tree, much to the amazement of the others.
‘Really, a very useful little girl,’ Lord Harry said.
‘I can make a torch from the bark too,’ Emilia said proudly, pouring the tea into the bark cups.
Everyone sniffed the tea cautiously, then sipped very suspiciously, but almost immediately their expression cleared and they drank thirstily.
With a cup in both hands, Emilia went and sat down next to Luka, who glanced at her moodily then, seeing the steaming tea, rolled over and sat up. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and gave his face a surreptitious scrub, then took the cup and drank. Emilia drank too, pushing her cold feet into Rollo’s thick fur to warm them. The big dog thumped his tail in response, but did not open his eyes.
‘Better?’ Emilia asked after a while.
Luka nodded and shrugged, draining the cup to its dregs, then tossing it into the undergrowth. Bark cups did not last very long.
Emilia reached out to pick a leaf out of his hair. He was looking as grubby and disreputable as ever after a night slogging through the forest.
‘We’ll go on east, shall we, looking for the Wells family?’ she said.
‘Aye. Joe said they were smugglers, didn’t he? They could be really useful! They’d have men, and ponies, and weapons, and be used to all sorts of skullduggery.’ Luka’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm.
Emilia gave a quick smile of relief. She had not liked seeing her cousin so still and quiet and miserable.
‘Maybe they’ll have the next charm,’ Emilia said. ‘It’s some kind of shell, Baba said, a cat’s eye shell.’
Luka grunted in response, rummaging in the bag for some food to share with Zizi and Rollo.
A cat’s eye shell, Emilia thought dreamily, sipping the last of her gypsy tea. Whatever could that be?
The Facts behind the Fiction
Rue has long been considered one of the foremost protective herbs, especially against black magic and the evil eye. In southern Europe, faith in the protective qualities of rue is so great that a special charm, the Cimaruta or ‘Sprig of Rue’, is worn as a pendant or lucky charm. It is sometimes called ‘the witch’s amulet’, for it was apparently worn by hereditary witches as an emblem of their power. An old Cimaruta can be seen in the Museum of Bologna.
The New Forest has long been considered the haunt of gypsies and witches, including the famous white witch, Sybil Leek, who lived in Burley in the 1950s and claimed to have gained her knowledge and powers from a long line of witches in her family.
Witches in Wiltshire in the seventeenth century were not so lucky. An old woman called Anne Bodenham, who wore a live toad in a green bag about her neck, was condemned and hanged as a witch in Salisbury in 1653. Before she was killed, Anne had the presence of mind to drink a beer, spit on a priest, and wish a pox on her executioner.
A contemporary account of her says ‘she would often tell those that had converse with her of lucky and unlucky days, which she would have them observe in their employments; she was likewise addicted much to gossiping (as the vulgar call it) to tell strange unheard-of tales and stories of transactions, and things that have been, and might be done, by cunning and wise people; she was one that would undertake to cure almost any diseases, which she did for the most part by charms and spells, but sometimes used physical ingredients, to cover her abominable practices’.
There is no evidence that she was a gypsy, but the wearing of a toad in a bag about the neck is indeed a gypsy charm. Toads are key animals in Rom folklore, and many tales are told about them, including one that a tame toad may assist a fortune-teller in her craft.
One final note about the Rom depicted in this book – the Wood family is one of the largest in the UK and has many branches all over the country. One of the most famous branches, though, live in Wales and are said to be descended from one Abram Wood, called the King of the Gypsies, who introduced the fiddle to Wales.
Gypsy Tea
a handful of herbs picked from the hedgerow* boiling water
Put herbs in a pot and pour in boiling water. Leave brew for 3–4 minutes, then pour out tea into cup. Add honey if desired.
*purple sage, thyme, peppermint, elderflower, chamomile, hyssop and horehound are all good for coughs and colds. Use singly or together in groups.
*chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm and dill are good for stomach upsets
*stinging nettles is a cleansing tonic, and helps ease rheumatism
*lemon verbena, peppermint or bergamot are all good for early morning teas as they are uplifting and stimulating
*chamomile, valerian and elderflower tea are good bedtime drinks
*angelica, rosemary, lemon balm and St John’s Wort are all good for anxiety and depression
Gypsy Stew
750g chopped boneless meat
2 tbsp plain flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
30g butter
1 large onion
125g bacon
2 cups beef stock
2 peeled and sliced carrots
2 large potatoes (or 4 small potatoes) – peeled and chopped
180g button mushrooms
fresh green peas or beans
dried thyme or marjoram
Toss meat in seasoned flour. Heat oil and butter in a deep, heavy frying pan till foaming subsides. Add meat in batches, browning on all sides, then remove from pan with slotted spoon. Sauté onion and bacon quickly, then return meat to pan with beef stock, carrots and potatoes and seasonings, and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for one hour. Add beans or peas, and simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes. Add more flour if needed to thicken sauce. Can be served with rice or mashed potatoes if desired, though the gypsies would eat from a bowl with a spoon.
Kate Forsyth, The Herb of Grace
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