Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (32 page)

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It was at the same time that Emilian began to hurt the baby.  When no one was looking, he would trip her.  She would cry, her face often covered in dirt.  Amaya would rush to her side, picking her up and cleaning off the dirt.  Emilian would smirk at her before walking away.  At twelve, he was a large boy, tall for his age.  In the beginning, Amaya held her tongue, knowing that Sahara needed to fight her own battles.  But as the abuse began to escalate beyond just childish fighting and the toddler began to have bruises, she had no choice but to bring it to the Rom Baro’s attention.

“I must speak with you,” she said softly.  She was always aware of her precarious position and, until they were actually wed, she did not want to anger him or fall out of favor.

He smiled at her, reaching out to touch her chin.  “My Amaya, you have my ear for your words,” he said. 

“I fear the words are not happy ones,” she started.  “It is Sahara.  Sahara and your son.”

The Rom Baro frowned, taking a deep breath as he responded.  “You must speak of Emilian, yes?”

She nodded.  “He does not take care of Sahara.  He has begun to hurt her, my Rom Baro. She is cut and bruised.  She bleeds.”

“She is a baby.  She is clumsy and falls, Amaya.”

“He trips her and pushes her, often when he knows that I am watching.”  She hesitated.  “I fear he may not be a good husband for her.”

“He is a child,” the Rom Baro snapped.

“He is almost a man,” she corrected. “A man with tendencies to hurt a child.”

“He is my son,” the Rom Baro retorted.  “And you are to be my wife.  You would be wise to remember your place, my bori.”

When he stormed away from her, Amaya knew the conversation was over for the moment.  Perhaps in time she could convince him to change his mind.  But when she turned around, intending to return to the other women, she saw Emilian standing by the side of a wagon, a smile on his face.  He had heard the conversation and his father’s reaction.  He knew that he was protected from discipline.  And, from the way he laughed and walked away, Amaya knew that he intended to test the limits of the protection.

The rich aroma of fresh br
ewed coffee aroused Sahara from
her slumber.  For the first tim
e, she woke up thinking she was
back in her father's saloon.  W
ith a soft, luxurious yawn, she
blinked open her eyes.  The stra
nge wooden walls startled her. 
She wasn't at her father's saloo
n.  Nor was she in the tent she
shared with
Nicolae
.  Outside, someo
ne was playing a bugle.  Quick,
short, then silent.  Across the ro
om, a soldier sat in a straight
back chair, reading a newspaper.  Bolting upright, Sahara gra
bbed
the soft quilt and pulled it pro
tectively around her body.  The
soldier noticed her movement
and set his newspaper down.  It
crinkled loudly in Sahara's ear
s. 

“
Where am I?
”
  Her
voice cut through the air, s
hrill and frightened.  Her eyes
darted over the small room. 
“
Where's my husband?  Where's
Nicolae
?
”

The soldier tried to quiet h
er. 
“
You're at Fort Niobraro. 
Don't you remember, ma'am?
”

Slowly everything came ba
ck to her. The
horse ride to the fort.  The men
in the saloon.
The dying boy. 
Her black eyes,
free from fear, met the
soldier’s
. 
“
How is the boy?
”

The soldier smiled. 
“
Fine
, ma'am.  With all due respect,
you saved his life.
”
 

“
And my baby?
”

The soldier blushed,
unaccustomed
to a woman as brash and
forward as the beautiful gypsy
.  He doubted he would ever see
another woman as brave and beautiful as th
e one seated before him
at that moment.  She was the talk
of the fort.  Some called her a
vision come to life.  Others, a mi
rage.  But the soldier knew she
was as real as he had hoped. 
“
A
ll's well, ma'am.
”
  Quickly, he
changed the subject. 
“
You've slept
for almost two days now. 
Everyone's been frightful worried, ma'am.
”

Her head hurt, the pain pou
nded at her skull.  Rubbing her
temple, Sahara didn't give a
damn whether anyone had worried
about her.  The boy was alive
and her baby
all right
. 
“
If you
don't mind, I would like something
to eat,
”
she said quietly, her
energy quickly fading and her tem
per slowly rising.  If everyone
had been so concerned, why had
n't she
awake
ne
d
to see
Nicolae
seated
there rather than a stranger? 

The soldier jumped to his feet, sal
uting her with a broad
grin.  All week, the soldiers had
heard stories from the gypsies
about this woman.  And then she
had staggered into the saloon,
the gypsy in black, appearin
g like an
apparition
out of the
storm, drenched to the bone but as beautiful
as the stories the
men had told. 
“
Right away, ma'am!
”
 

By the time she emerged fr
om the room into the bright and
sunny courtyard of the fort
, an hour had passed.  Her hair
gleamed so black, it looked blue as it flowed down her back like the darkest of w
aterfalls with a bolt of white entwined.  Her
black shawl hung lazily over on
e shoulder, the end just barely
brushing the dusty ground.  Sahar
a walked to the saloon, pushing
the doors open carefully.  Her ey
es took in the surroundings, so
similar
to her father's tavern.
The dusty piano in the corner,
collecting a few cobwebs off the top
.  The smoky mirrors behind
the bar, reflecting dark and lo
nely images.  Only a couple
of
men
lounged around a table, staring at her. 

Sahara, immune to their rude gazes, h
eaded for the bar
where she impatiently tapped
a finger on the rail.  Her head
still pounded and she felt weak.
At least, she thought, the boy
survived.  The bartender hurried over.  He wiped the inside of a
glass with a clean, white towel as he asked pol
itely,
“
Yes,
ma'am?
”

“
Just a glass of cool water
, please.
”
  Sahara bestowed him
with a pleasant smile.  She turne
d around, noticing the soldiers
for the first time.  One tipped hi
s hat at her, a lustful sparkle
in one eye as he winked the other.  Sahara l
ifted her chin,
insulted by his audacity.  Sur
ely they knew she was married. 
“
You would be wise to refrain f
rom such compromising displays,
sir.
”
  She emphasized the word `
sir' before turning back to the
bar.  The bartender had placed her glass of water i
n front of
her, witnessing with a smile h
er cool remark to the soldier. 
Sahara raised her eyes in time to
catch his smirk. 
“
Perhaps you
could inform me as to the whereabouts of my husband?
”
  The bartender frowned
at the reference to her marital
status.  The rest of the soldier
s had been heartbroken to learn
Sahara was married, althoug
h most found
Nicolae
quite amiable,
especially when discussing his young wife. 
“
The tall bloke
with
the older gent?
”

Sahara hesitated.  The
Rom Baro
? 
“
That would be them, yes.
”

The bartender nodded twice.
 
“
He's here somewhere, ma'am. 
Hasn't left since you arrive. 
Other night, sent the doctor to
tend that young boy.  Doc alm
ost got his throat slit by them
gypsy women of yours.  But he to
ld them the gypsy girl in black
sent them and they welcomed him
at once.
”
  He shook his head, a
piece of dirty grey hair falling
over his forehead. 
“
He had the
fever, he did.  But the doctor gav
e him some medicine.  Be fine. 
Just as you are, ma'am.
”

The
conversation was abruptly interrupt
ed as someone
called her name. 
“
S'hara!
”
Nicolae
burst through the swinging
doors, his face free from worry.
 
Nicolae
raced to his wife's side,
practically picking her up a
s he hugged her.  He planted an
unusual kiss on her lips, his hands pressed lovingly on he
r
cheeks. 
“
You are feeling much be
tter, yes?  We were worried, my
daring, courageous bori.
”

The change in him was mo
re than noticeable.  It pleased
Sahara to know he had feared fo
r her life.  Feeling especially
unfriendly toward him, she refused
Nicolae
a sm
ile. 
“
If you were so
worried,
Nicolae
, why did you leave my side?
”
 

The eagerness vanished from
Nicolae
's face.  The past two days
and nights, he had paced the floor, never leaving her side a
s he
wrung his hands, blaming himself
for Sahara's sickness.  Had the
men returned to the camp before
the storm, Sahara wouldn't have
been forced to seek help fo
r Lee.  A sharp twinge of anger
stabbed his heart.  She feels bet
ter
all right
, he thought. 
“
What
do you mean, S'hara?
”

The muscles in her jaw tightened. 
“
Where were
you when I
awoke,
Nicolae
?
”

He smashed his clenched fist
against the bar.  The glass of
water fell over, the liquid spil
ling down the side of the bar. 
“
How dare you
!
”

Sahara's eyes enlarged.  Roug
hly, she punched at his chest. 
“
You left me!  Are you so heartless?  So cold-
blooded that your
trading and gambling comes before y
our wife?
”
  He infuriated her. 
Had
Nicolae
been ill, she would have
been there when he awoke.  Even
so, Sahara knew her anger w
as falsely directed.  Just from
looking at
Nicolae
, she knew he hadn
't slept or
eaten
in days.  He
had been worried, yes, but sh
e felt like fighting with him. 
Perhaps, she thought, Lee's
dance
with E Martya might have
been
the first tease of winter's dan
ger. 
“
Are you so uncaring
that you let your kumpania
face
death because of money?
”
 
She started to storm away from him and out of the saloon.

Every muscle in his body twi
tched, controlling the urge to
grab her by the neck.  The thought gave him some satisfaction.  B
ut she was
carrying his child. 
And, deep down, she knew that she spoke some truth.  But he was quick to deny it. 
“
You are crazy, S'hara!
”

She spun around, her skirt
swishing against her legs.  She
took four steps toward him.  Her f
inger waggled in his face. 
“
If
you cared about your people, you'
d get them
out of here
and down to
the warm winter camp
!  They fear
for their lives! 
They fear for food and disease. 
Instead, you
and the
Rom Baro
lead the men of
f to gamble, trade, anything to
make money!  But,
Nicolae
, pretty so
on you won't need money because
your people are going to die fr
om the cold, unless they starve
first!
”

The bartender had tried to n
onchalantly clean up behind the
bar,
unsuccessfully
ignoring the bi
ckering couple.  The men at the
round table tried to finish their
drinks without a smile crossing
their lips.  Among themselves,
they laughed at
Nicolae
for bowing
down to Sahara's words.  Yet, pr
ivately, each one knew had they
been in
Nicolae
's place, they w
ould have done the same thing.