A Great and Terrible Beauty Chapter 18 Summary

  • At the Gypsy camp, the girls creep up and find men drinking around a fire, including Felicity's Ithal. Gemma turns to leave, but breaks a twig, which sets the troupe on high alert.
  • Bravely, Felicity tromps right up to them and Ithal heckles her, taunting her because she insulted him the last time they saw each other.
  • To back her up and not seem scared, Gemma drags Ann out into view as well; they demand to see Mother Elena, who is not there at the moment.
  • Kartik appears to see what's going on and he is shocked to hear Gemma ask to see Mother Elena—the Gypsy men ask if Gemma belongs to Kartik, and he says yes and grabs her hand, but another young boy grabs her too, wanting to take her away with him. 
  • Uh-oh… This is really dangerous, and Gemma is scared of what might happen to her.
  • So she does the first thing that comes to mind to prove she and Kartik are together: she kisses him long and hard, right in front of everyone—and besides being totally ashamed and humiliated, she also really enjoys it. 
  • Outside Mother's tent, Kartik scolds Gemma and warns her never to sneak into the camp again. 
  • He also asks about Pippa, which ticks her off but she tries not to care.