Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (35 page)

She shook her head. 
She hadn’t meant that but she saw the immediate anger and distrust in Nicolae’s reaction.
The tears streamed down her cheeks as
she
clutched at his arms. 
“
You m
ustn't!  He hasn't harmed me at
all!  I should've kept
quiet
.  I spoke before I thought,
`tis all.
”

Nicolae
eyed her. 
“
Have you welcomed his actions?
”

Sahara choked as she an
swered him. 
“
Lord no!  But you
mustn't hurt him.
”

Hating himself for wron
gfully accusing her,
Nicolae
pulled
Sahara tight against his chest,
stroking her hair as he thought
aloud. 
“
By Beng, the lord of al
l that is evil, I will tear the
heart out of his throat.  How dark
was it that I could not see my
own bori's pain?  And here I
stand accusing her.
”
 
Nicolae
held
Sahara at arms length. 
“
I curse
him with E Martya.  I will set
right what I almost set wrong.
”
He planted a quick kiss on her
forehead before dashing off into the night. 

It took her a moment to cl
ear her head. 
Nicolae
knew and was
going to kill
Emilian
.  Damn him, she thoug
ht as she turned around,
praying quickly to O Del for guid
ance.  But the answer that came
sent her racing into the darkness
toward the wagons, holding back
her tears of anger at
Nicolae
. 
Her boots clicked up the wooden
stairs of the
Rom Baro
's wagon.  Throwin
g the door open without
knocking, Sahara stared into the
dark cell.  The thick scent of
sickness hit her, almost making
her gag.  She turned her head,
catching a breath of fr
esh air.  The room was suddenly
illuminated by the soft glow of an oil lantern.  S
ahara
recognized Duda's hunched figure.  Quickly, Sahara sought the
Rom Baro
.  His thin, frail body was
covered by many blankets as he
laid on some pillows.  In th
e light, Sahara realized with a
growing apprehension that he was dying. 
“
My God...
”
  Her voice
trailed off.  She hadn't seen the
Rom Baro
recently but she never
really noticed his presence e
xcept when the children crowded
around him.  Sahara met Duda's startled eyes. 
“
How long?
”

Duda shook her head. 
“
E Martya
lingers near.
”
 

Sahara approached the
Rom Baro
and knelt by his side. 
Reaching out, she touched his fore
head.  It was burning and wet. 
“
Rom Baro
?
”
  His eyes were shut t
ight and Sahara doubted he knew
she was there.  Sahara rested her
hand on her enlarged stomach. 
She wondered if the
Rom Baro
's
illness would hurt her unborn. 
Lifting her eyes to meet Duda'
s, Sahara sighed. 
“
I am sorry,
Duda.  But I must not stay.  The
re is the unborn to think of.
”
 
Duda nodded her head once in co
mplete understanding.  Sahara's
unborn would one day lead the ku
mpania.  Her responsibility was
to the child and not the
Rom Baro
. 
“
Besides, I must stop
Nicolae
. 
He's lost his mind and I fear for his brother’s life.
”
  At once reme
mbering her reasons for seeking
the
Rom Baro
out, Sahara hurried out of the wagon. 

The angry voices from the edge o
f the camp told Sahara where
she could find the two men. 
She walked as fast as she could
toward them.  Both men turn
ed around at her sudden but not
unexpected appearance. 
Nicolae
's f
ace was
twisted in
such rage,
Sahara almost backed away.  Never had she wi
tnessed him as angry. 
She reached out to touch his arm. 
“
Nicolae
, please.
”
  Beads of sweat dotted his fo
rehead. 
Aggravated
, he brushed
them off. 
“
Leave, S'hara.  This is a matter between men.
”

Emilian
caught Sahara's ey
e.  His face, though paler than
usual, seemed emotionless. 
“
He is right, S'hara.
”

Defiantly, she lifted her
chin. 
“
Why should I listen to
you?  You caused this trouble f
or yourself.  Have I not warned
you?  And now, I am trying to sa
ve you.  You are an
ungrateful
man
,
Emilian
.
”
  Without thinking, she
spat on the ground by his feet,
swishing her skirt
around
her ankles as she turned around
and faced
Nicolae
.  His eyes, though d
ark and full of anger, softened
as he met her gaze.  Sahara stared
deep into his eyes. 
“
And you! 
You speak of killing another man
while your father lay dying not
even two hundred paces away? 
What kind of son are you?  That
man, your father and
our
leader, will
not live more than a week.  You
should be by his side, comforting
him.  Lord help your soul if I
should ever lie ill and you
are
off fi
ghting with another.  I'd haunt
your very soul until you gasped your last breath!
”

Nicolae
opened his mouth but noth
ing came out.  He tore his eyes
away from hers and stared at the
ground. 
“
I will go at once.
”
 
Before he turned to leave,
Nicolae
gl
anced at
Emilian
. 
“
You, I have
not finished with.
”
  And he left.

Sahara faced
Emilian
, her hand
s on her hips.  Something about
her bronzed face and angry jet bla
ck eyes almost brought tears to
his eyes.  Her beauty was almost
frightening.  But he knew what
was to follow this confrontatio
n.  Sahara took a deep breath,
unaware of the sorrow
Emilian
fel
t. 
“
You ought to be ashamed of
yourself!  Taking advantage of
your people, your brother, and
myself.  May O Del curse your soul
if you ever pain a woman again
like you have pained me.  You are
lucky I care enough about life
to have stopped my husband.  Wh
en he left me, he wanted to rip
your heart out.
”

Emilian
cleared his thro
at.  He was well aware of
Nicolae
's
purpose that evening.  The words spoken between the two men
had
not been pleasant. 
“
If I had not
done the same to him
first!
”
 
But he knew the battle was lost. 
“
You were mine first, S'hara!
”

“
And now I am his!
”

“
From the moment I saw yo
u, I fell in love with you.  Is
that a crime, S'hara?
”
 
Emilian
took a step forward, too aware that
Sahara tensed as he did. 
“
I neve
r deceived you.  I never
lied to you.  I
would have taken you back to your gadjo world and...
”

Sahara shook her head. 
“
B
ut I am not gadjo,
Emilian
!
”
  She
glared up at him. 
“
This is where I belong.  I was nev
er happy
before
and now, hard as I fought it, I am home at last!
”

His brow wrinkled as if confused. 
“
You are mine.
”

“
Say no more.  It's too mu
ch.
”
  Sahara turned her back on him,
chewing on her knuckle.
My Lord, she thought, this man
believes what he is saying!  She
heard
Emilian
take a step forward
but she held her hand up. 
“
No!  I
won't have it.  You will leave
in the morn and go to Springfield
.  You will forget me and honor
your
eternal
mahrime.  Never will you try to find this kumpania and never, ever wi
ll you
breathe
my name from your
lips.
”

Emilian
's face fell. 
“
You break my heart.
”

Straightening her sho
ulders, Sahara pressed her lips
together tightly. 
“
I have my husb
and, my child, and my people to
think of.
”
  Shutting her eyes, Sahara took a
deep breath.  She
hated having to speak so harshly
to
Emilian
.  Yet, she knew if his
behavior continued, the two brothe
rs would end up fighting to the
death.  Had not
Nicolae
been so conce
rned about getting the kumpania
south it would certainly already have hap
pened. 
“
Good bye,
Emilian
,
”
she said, hoping her voice
sounded as cold as her words. 
She walked away, heading for the
Rom Baro
's wagon, never looking
back a
t
the man she left in the shadows.




   




Amaya
did not know where she was going, only that she had to save her daughter. 
She had to also save herself.   The boy’s touch had triggered something in both of them: fear in Amaya and lust in Emilian.  Yet, she knew that he was no longer a boy.  He was a man.  In gypsy culture, he would have been taking a wife soon…if he had not been promised to Sahara.  As his peers took their wives, Emilian would continue to grow impatient and dangerous.  It was a chance that Amaya could not take with either her daughter or herself. 

Amaya knew that he had been right.  If she traveled as far away as she could and
settle
d
into a non-traveling life
, she could live t
o see her daughter escape the fate of marriage to Emilian. 
On the other hand,
Amaya knew that every day would bring her daughter closer to death if they stayed. 
He would never wait for Sahara to turn into a woman before he took her or killed her.  That much was clear.