Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (33 page)

Nicolae
's temper receded as Sah
ara's words sunk in. 
“
Perhaps,
S'hara, you are right.  The
Rom Baro
and I have thought little of
the weather.  It is true, yes, win
ter will surprise us soon.
”
  He
reached out, brushing her cheek ge
ntly.  He knew her own fury had
vanished. 
“
We will leave this afte
rnoon.
”
 
Nicolae
stared at Sahara. 
Her dark eyes pleaded with him.  It would be best for t
he entire
kumpania.  He sighed.  She was al
ways right. 
“
I will inform the
Rom Baro
.
”
  Gently, all anger g
one,
Nicolae
touched Sahara's arm. 
When she turned her eyes up to
meet his,
Nicolae
smiled. 
“
We will
return to camp and start packing, yes?
”
  Sahara shivered at his touch.  Was that it?  W
as the
argument over like that?  Speechl
ess, she nodded her head twice,
her eyes never leaving his fa
ce.  She felt
Nicolae
touch her arm
again.  Startled, she blinked
and realized she hadn't stopped
staring at him.  He smiled down at her. 
“
You are coming with us,
yes?
”

A frown wrinkled her forehead. 
“
But of course!
”

He smiled.  Something tw
inkled in his eyes, causing her
heart to flutter.  With a chill
ing shock, she realized for the
first time how dear he trul
y was to her. 
“
Then, S'hara, I
suggest you come with me so we ca
n leave.
”
  He brushed her cheek
with his thumb, unaware of the
turmoil Sahara's discovery was
causing her.  Certainly, had he kn
own, he wouldn't have walked so
calmly out of the saloon.  Nor wo
uld he have ignored her for the
entire ride back to the gypsy encampment.




   




She stared at the boy.  He was brazen, never breaking her gaze.  As always, there was a smirk on his face.  She had caught him throwing rocks at Sahara.  There was blood running down her leg where the sharp edge had cut her flesh.  The little toddler cried, sitting in the dirt, afraid to move away from the boy she knew as brother.

“I saw what you did,” Amaya said. 

He shrugged his shoulders.  “So?”

“I will tell your father.”

Again, the boy shrugged his shoulders.  “He won’t do anything, romni. Not even for you.”

Amaya reached down for Sahara and clutched her tightly to her chest.  “Why do you hate her so?”  When he didn’t answer, she carried the little girl away.  She tried to soothe her tears as she took her down to the stream to wash the cut on her leg before it became infected. 

Emilian watched them, a smile on his face. And he said softly,  “Who said it was her that I hate?”

Sahara felt
Emilian
's eye
s boring into her back.  He was
staring at her.  Again.  Chewing
thoughtfully on her lip, Sahara
ignored him as she had every
day for the past month.  In the
beginning, she had thought her ima
gination was running wild.  But
each day brought more candid re
marks from
Emilian
.  Whenever
Nicolae
was not within earshot,
Emilian
was near, staring and making
suggestive comments to her in
a teasing manner.  Eventually, Sahara had begun to blatantly
igno
re him. 
Nicolae
had questioned her
several times since their dep
arture from Fort Niobrara about
Emilian
's extraordinary interest
in her.  But now, as Sahara sat
silently by
Nicolae
's side, watching
the fires roar in an attempt to
keep the frightened gypsies warm,
she knew she would not be able
to hold her silence much longer. 

Ever since the gypsies ha
d left Fort Niobrara,
Emilian
had
taken it upon himself to reinst
ate himself with the travelling
caravan.  At first, his presen
ce had startled everyone.  But,
since he was mahrimed, no one d
ared to speak to him.  Instead,
they ignored him.  Eventually, a
s the weeks passed, no one even
noticed.  They were too conc
erned about the miles that
lay
between them and the winter encampment.  Sahara had grown used to seeing the
men wear light and open
gypsy blouses, now replaced wit
h drab, thick flannel.  Tugging
gently at
Nicolae
's arm, Sahara reali
zed she wanted to arrive at the
winter camp where the weather w
as warmer so she could shed her
own heavy dresses and underclothing.  Sh
e was tired of wearing
shoes, having grown accustomed to walking
barefoot during the
summer months. 
“
Nicolae
?
”

“
What, S'hara?
”
 
Nicolae
refuse
d to look away from the fires. 
The brillant flames hypnoti
zed him as he thought about the
gypsies.  The weather grew co
lder by the day.  Some of the
children were sick with colds.
Nicolae
feared for the kumpania if
they did not reach the winter camp by the first snow fall. 

With more determination, Sah
ara tugged at his shirt again.  “
Nicolae
!
”

This time, he tore his eyes
away from the dancing flames. 
`Tis the only thing that
dances anymore, he thought with
disappointment.  The town peop
le refused to trek to the gypsy
camp in such cold weather and wit
hout a paying audience, none of
the gypsies wanted entertainment.  Some of the
older women had
gone into town shortly after th
e travelling caravan had camped
for the night, offering to read f
ortunes and a couple of men had
tried to trade horses.  The
latter failed. 
“
Why are you so
impatient for my attentions?
”

Her sense of humor had dwind
led in the past month.  She was
tired of travelling for many days then camping for only one or
two.  She liked
living in the diffe
rent places for a week or two. 
Constant travel was wearing on her
nerves.  It surprised her that
none of the other gypsies wer
e anxious to stop the continual
movement. 
“
I wish to retire for the evening.
”

Nicolae
stood up, reaching dow
n to help her to her feet.  She
was six and a half months pregnan
t now and beginning to feel the
burden inside.  Duda had helped Sahara make
her maternity
clothing, carefully reminding
her that every article she wore
during her pregnancy would have
to be burned afterward.  Sahara
didn't care one way or the o
ther, so she simply nodded, not
putting up a fuss. 

The orange glow from the fir
es reflected on her face as she
smiled pleasantly at
Nicolae
. 
“
I'll go myself.  Might do me some
good to be alone for a while.  Be
sides, you obviously don't want
to leave.
”
 

“
If that is what you want.
”
 

Sahara placed her hand on his cheek.  The gentleness of h
er
smile touched his heart.  Carryi
ng his child was no easy task. 
Every so often, the baby shi
fted, especially when they were
travelling.  The older women tol
d her that meant the baby would
arrive early.  Sahara had gree
ted that news with enthusiasm. 
When
Nicolae
had lifted the mahrime
off of her, Sahara had promised
herself that she would try to please him.  He had jeopardized
everything for her and she wa
s aware of it.  So, if only for
Nicolae
's benefit, Sahara calmed her temper and endured the hard travel with
out so
much as one complaint.

Nicolae
kissed the inside of her hand. 
“
I will not be long.
”

Sahara waited until
Nicolae
was s
eated again before heading into
the darkness toward the tent she
shared with
Nicolae
.  The camp was
quieter than usual.  Only the crackle of
the fire burning and an
occasional
cough from one of
the men relaxing by the flame's
warmth shattered the silence.  Mo
st of the children were already
asleep while their mothers packed
what little they had taken out
of the wagons to prepare the evening me
al.  Shivering in the
cold, Sahara pulled the flap back to her tent.  Quickly, she lit
the lantern then bent over t
he trunk to pick up a blanket. 
Wrapping it around herself, she
rested her hand on her enlarged
stomach.  It was a son.  She knew it was.  A
son to carry on the
family legacy and make
Nicolae
proud.

“
You are feeling ill?
”

Sahara wheeled arou
nd, halfway startled by
Emilian
's
unexpected appearance.  Facing h
im, she sputtered,
“
You are out
of place!
”
  Quickly, she regained her composure and straighten
ed
her back as she held her chin h
igh. 
Nicolae
had been patient with
Emilian
's intrusion into the kumpani
a but certainly an intrusion on
his wife he
would never accept. 
“
You must
leave.
”

Quite unexpectedly,
Emilian
g
rabbed Sahara, pulling her into
his arms.  His breath warmed her
neck as he whispered,
“
Is that
what you really want?
”

A blush rose to her cheeks at the insinuation in his question.  How could he actuall
y think she would want to sleep
with him?  Leave
Nicolae
for him?  
Even though she hated admitting
it, her heart belonged to
Nicolae
.  C
almly, she tried to pry herself
ou
t of his arms. 
“
Please control yourself!
”
  When she managed to
escape
his grasp, she straightened her skirt and shook her head. 
“
You are mistaken if you believe yourself in-love or that I
could
ever love you.  I love
Nicolae
and no man will ever change that.
”

Emilian
ran his fingers thro
ugh his dark hair, ruffling his
loose curls.  His eyes looked
lost and blank. 
“
Does he care,
S'hara?
”
 

Sahara shut her
eyes, almost wishing
Nicolae
would
return.  The more she put
Emilian
off, the more he chased her and the bolder he got. 
“
You will
leave my tent at once!
”

He laid a finger gently on he
r lips. 
“
One day I will return
to receive your open arms.
”

“
Never!
”
  Sahara practically spat the word out of her
mouth. 
The thought of
lying
in
Emilian
's a
rms sent horrifying chills down
her spine.  Although a handsome m
an, he
appealed
to her no more
than any other man.  She only had eyes for
Nicolae
. 

And he held her
heart so
delicately
in his hands. 
“
Emilian
, if your
behavior
continues, I will be most e
ager to tell my husband of your
advances!
”
 
Emilian
's response was
a smile as he backed out of her
tent.

Lying under the blanket
s on the soft feather mattress,
Sahara wondered how much longer she could put up with
Emilian
.  Certainly the rest of the kumpani
a noticed the special attention
their unwanted guest gave to
Nicolae
's
wife.  Sahara was uncertain as
to
Emilian
's change in beha
vior.  In the beginning, he was
satisfied with being distant fri
ends.  Now, it seemed to Sahara
that the closer they got to
the winter encampment, the more
desperate he became. 

An hour after she had fallen a
sleep, a bottle broke outside. 
Sahara rolled over, tossing her
arm across the empty mattress. 
Her eyes opened, frightened to find
Nicolae
not there
.  Sitting up,
Sahara rubbed her eyes as she li
stened.  Was someone fighting? 
She could barely hear
Nicolae
's vo
ice over the loud babbling of a
man, obviously speaking throu
gh rakiya.  Frightened for
Nicolae
,
Sahara hurried out of bed and tossed on a skirt and bl
ouse. 
Grabbing her shawl, she threw i
t around her shoulders and left
the tent. 

The voices were near the dyin
g embers of the furthest fire. 
Quietly, Sahara snuck thro
ugh the shadows toward the dark
figures.  Hiding behind a wagon, Sahara looked around
the corner
at the men.  As she had suspected,
one was very obviously
Nicolae
and
another his father.  But the othe
r two men didn't sound gypsy to
her.  The orange glow from the
fire reflected off a short, fat
man.  A gadjo, she thought.  The men had lowered th
eir voices,
making it difficult for Sahara
to hear what was said.  The two
empty bottles by the strange men
's feet suggested they had been
drinking at the camp for a while.  Satisfied that
Nicolae
was not in
danger, Sahara quietly backed into the shadows and r
eturned to
their tent, waiting impatiently for
Nicolae
to return.