The other woman did not press to be taken along, for which Isabella was terribly grateful. She had no desire to acquire companions on this trip, and she never worked in sync with another person, let alone another woman. A man like her, perhaps, but she could never quite trust him not to slit her throat in the middle of the night. Regardless, the woman before her had offered and was kind about it, though there seemed to be a glint of relief in her eyes. It was really for the best; Isabella was not taking on an apprentice and she was far too young to even think about it. Old gypsies took on apprentices, or their daughters when they came of age. Isabella had neither great age nor girl child to teach the ways.
Suddenly, Isabella gave a smile at Vesper, suddenly rummaging through her precious saddle bags. She pulled out a well worn deck of cards. It was actually two decks, both tied with red ribbon and then lashed together to keep them from shifting. She pulled the ribbon loose and eased out the smaller deck and held them close. They were her stolen treasure, her mother's prized possession. The cards warmed under her palms as she held them close to her heart. The teller always had to get to know the cards, and the cards had to know her. She slept with the cards nearby, and when she was first getting them used to her aura, she had slept with the cards under her pillow.
Isabella gave a tinkling laugh at the woman's compliment. Well, of course. With a face like hers, she always got the customers. Unfortunately the poor and ugly came with the attractive, wealthy men. The worst crime a potential customer could commit would be to be poor. A worse was to be poor and ugly, all at once. But Vesper had truly been helpful. "Perhaps you'd like a reading in return for the advice? I'm not the sort to do things for free, nor do I happily accept free things." Gifts were a terribly thing. There were always strings attached. At least in her experience.
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