Chapter FIFTY

The four of them walked the horses back to Petru's camp seeing as it was such a short distance away.

Petru eyed Dev appreciatively as they walked. "Nice horse."

"Don't even think about it," EJ advised him.

"What you mean?" Petru looked very wounded.

"I'm not trading Dev, I'm not gambling with him and I'm not giving him as a gift," said EJ firmly, "so forget about it."

Petru gave a sly smile. "Is bad manners, eh, to visit with no gift."

"You can have Tosh, he'll probably let you put a saddle on him after a few drinks."

"Hey!" protested Tosh and then looked contemplative. "What kind of drinks and how many is a few?"

Petru chuckled. "No offence, my friend, but Dev is more appealing proposition."

EJ acquiesced. "Obviously – for one thing Dev can't talk which is a huge improvement on Tosh."

Tosh sucked in an outraged breath. "Nothing but pearls of wisdom drop from my ruby lips, boyo, pearls I tell you!"

EJ gave Petru a long suffering look. "It's been a long trip." He turned to look at Sami. "Hasn't it, sweetheart?"

Sami didn't answer him, lost in her own thoughts after her conversation with the surprisingly insightful Petru.

"Samantha?"

Sami jerked back to reality at the sound of her name being so insistently called. "Oh, sorry, what?"

"You were a million miles away," EJ commented. He looked at her curiously. "What were you thinking?"

"Just, ah, you know, how much further until camp?" Sami hedged.

"Not long," Petru assured her. "Then you meet my wife, Georgetta."

Sami was happy for the distraction of a different topic of conversation. "Do you have children, Petru?"

"Five when we were last here," EJ replied for him.

"Is six now," said Petru proudly.

"Planning on stopping any time soon?" EJ teased him.

Petru grinned. "Is too much fun making them."

Sami blushed as she felt EJ's eyes on her but she pressed on. "Does everyone speak English as well as you do?"

"Not all of us, but most know enough to get by. We all know a mixture of Romanian, English, and of course, our native tongue."

"Everyone is so clever speaking all of these languages, the only other language I can speak is French."

"I wouldn't be so quick to count French, Samantha."

Sami glared at him. "There is nothing wrong with my French!"

EJ's eyes twinkled. "There's not a whole lot right with it either."

"Tosh, tell him my French is amazing," Sami demanded.

"I've never heard you speak French, poppet."

"Tosh!"

Tosh didn't miss a beat, looking EJ directly in the eye. "Poppet's French is outstanding, I've never heard her equal. It's as though the gods themselves have imbued her with a talent for language that supersedes the ability of a mere mortal. To hear her French prose is to touch the gates of Paradise itself."

EJ arched an eyebrow. "You don't speak French."

"That's a good point, but here's an even better one." Tosh glanced quickly at Sami. "In the short time I've known poppet she's stabbed a man, pushed you out of a first story window after setting the place alight and clobbered Petru with a block of wood." Tosh's voice changed to a loud stage whisper. "Call me crazy, but I'm staying on her good side."

"Tosh, I wouldn't do any of those things to you," Sami complained. She paused. "Unless it was called for, of course."

"That was less than comforting," noted Tosh.

"So no horse?" asked Petru sadly.

"Sorry no, but you can have two bottle of vodka instead," EJ offered.

Tosh made an indignant noise. "Hey, you can't give away Anastasia and Galina just like that."

Petru looked confused. "Eh?"

"Tosh has taken to naming his liquor," EJ explained.

Petru chuckled. "I see."

EJ rolled his eyes. "Good, then you can explain it to me."

Tosh squared his shoulders and looked down his nose at EJ. "I'm too complicated for you to understand."

"It's pronounced crazed," EJ corrected him. "You're too crazed for me to understand."

Petru laughed at their bickering. "Nothing changes, eh?"

Sami smiled. "From what I'm told, no."

They rounded a curve in the road and suddenly there was a large clearing in front of them. Brightly coloured wagons were set up all over the place with several fires dotted around the place. Women in colourful, flowing skirts and head scarves moved around the place preparing the evening meals with children of various ages either at their heels or playing games with one another. The men were tending the fires or talking in groups, in all, the troupe numbered at least forty people. Sami's eyes went wide at the exotic sight. She'd read so many stories about gypsies, mainly cautionary tales, of course, and to be actually walking into their camp was a strange experience for her.

A woman with long black hair, tied back in a thick braid and wearing a bright red scarf approached them, addressing Petru. "You have returned from looking for fruit at long last, husband." She smiled, her tanned skin crinkling at the corners of her almost black eyes as she looked EJ and Tosh up and down with a cheeky smile. "But I see you only bring us back two bad apples, eh?"

Petru's eyes twinkled in response. "Indeed, it was a bad day for fruit picking, wife."

EJ gave a warm smile, taking their teasing in his stride. "Hello, Georgetta, you're looking at beautiful as ever I see. What you see in an ugly lug like Petru I'll never know."

Georgetta's dark eyes took in her husband, a sultry look in their depths. "My Petru knows how to satisfy me," she purred. Petru returned her look with equal ardour, the two sharing a secret smile.

Sami marvelled at the way the two were looking at each other. She'd never seen such open passion on the faces of a couple before. Her whole life she'd been taught to hide such things away and to even be ashamed of such emotions. Her Da had never valued any kind of emotion and Sami had been forced to quell her own, with little success. To see this couple being so free with theirs was something new for Sami. She glanced over at EJ who was watching her reaction intently and felt a nervous excitement curl in the pit of her stomach at his attention.

Georgetta managed to take her eyes off her husband to give Sami a curious look. "Cine este acest copil (who is this child)?"

Petru grinned. "The engleză ţigani has taken a wife, Samantha."

Georgetta's eyes went wide with surprise as she looked between EJ and Sami. Her face lit up as she regarded sami, instantly drawing her into a warm hug. "Mishto avilan (welcome), little one!" she exclaimed, "we are pleased to have you here."

Sami resisted for a moment, not used to these displays of affection but there was something so welcoming and comforting in the woman's embrace that she quickly succumbed. Sami had never known the embrace of a mother and as she felt the other woman draw her into a welcoming hug she closed her eyes and for a moment let herself imagine what it'd be like.

Sami drew back and gave a nervous smile. "Thank you, Georgetta. You're all very kind for taking us in, especially after-". Sami stopped abruptly, not really wanting to tell this woman with the warm, inviting manner she'd hit her husband with a block of wood.

Georgetta tilted her head and looked at her curiously. "After?"

Petru chuckled and shot a string of rapid Romani at her, obviously explaining what had happened. Sami held her breath, waiting for how the other woman would react but Georgetta threw back her head and laughed outrageously at the story her husband was telling her.

Around her laughter Georgetta tapped Sami's nose playfully. "So this little cuckoo has a sting in her tail, no?"

"I'm really, really sorry," said Sami earnestly, "it was an accident."

"Pfft," Georgetta waved a dismissive hand at Sami's apology. "Petru enjoys surprises."

Petru gave a philosophical shrug. "I have to, Georgetta often chases me with fry pan." He rubbed his forehead. "I still have dent from where I was not ready for her last surprise."

"You deserved it," said Georgetta unapologetically. A wicked look came to her eyes. "Besides, I like my men nimble." She winked at Sami. "Yours will be trouble too, I give you one of my fry pans, it makes for a good marriage, no?"

EJ blanched. "Steady on, old girl." He shook his head and looked worried. "Samantha is deadly enough unarmed, my days are well and truly numbered if you start handing out weapons to her."

"Speaking of frying pans," said Tosh, a hopeful expression on his face, "there was some talk of a party?"

Petru once again spoke rapidly to his wife and she looked curiously between EJ and Sami. Sami glanced up and saw EJ wasn't keeping up with their conversation when they spoke in their own dialect so fast, a lost expression on his face.

Georgetta nodded, a twinkle in her eyes. "But we cannot have a wedding feast without a kununimòs. "

"A what?" asked Sami in concern.

"Wedding ceremony," EJ translated for her.

"Oh but-"

Tosh grabbed her elbow and hissed in Sami's hear. "What's one more fake wedding between friends, poppet? I want my party and you owe me for keeping quiet about you know who!"

EJ frowned. "What are you saying, Tosh? Don't harass Samantha."

Sami glanced at Tosh and put a smile on her face. "Ah, no, it's alright, I don't mind."

"Don't mind about what?" asked EJ slowly.

"I always wanted to go to a gypsy wedding," said Sami brightly, the smile frozen on her lips, "so it may as well be mine."

EJ's face registered surprise. "You want to get married again?"

Sami fidgeted with Róisín's reins. "Well, we're not gypsies so I guess it'll count as much as our first one, right?" She gave him a pointed look. "And if that is what the tradition is here then it'd be rude not to respect that."

Tosh threw his arm around Sami's shoulder and hugged her to him in delight. "Excellent points, poppet, I don't think any of us could argue with those points so let's not even try and move on to getting this show on the road, hm?"

EJ looked a little taken aback, his eyes not leaving Sami as she struggled not to look at him. Fortunately Sami was spared from any more direct questioning from EJ as Georgetta grabbed her hand.

"Come, little bride, we must make you ready." The older woman tugged on Sami's hand, drawing her away from the men.

Sami looked back over her shoulder at Róisín. "But my horse-"

"Will be taken care of," Georgetta promised her.

Sami could see Petru already collecting her mare's reins.

Petru waved them off. "Go, go, we will prepare the feast and the ceremony. All will be ready when you return, Samantha."

"Yes, but-" Sami didn't get to say anything more as she was promptly bundled off to a caravan on the other side of the camp.

Georgetta had been calling out to other women in her native tongue and suddenly a group of women descended on the caravan Sami was led to. Two women joined Sami and Georgetta in the caravan, a young woman who looked to be around Sami's age and a much older one with grey hair and a generous middle. Georgetta indicated the other women. "This Valerica and Afina, they help dress you."

"Oh but I don't need-" Once again Sami was cut off as the woman ignored her and immediately began to undress her. Before she knew what was happening Sami was standing naked in the middle of the caravan. She covered her breasts with her hands as the women clucked and talked excitedly over her clothing, examining each piece carefully and felt a little overcome. Afina, the older woman approached her with a bowl of water and a cloth and preceded to give Sami a sponge bath. Sami didn't know what else to do other than just stand there and accept this intimate service, a polite smile on her lips.

The water smelt fragrant, as though flowers had been crushed into it and it was actually nice to smell of something other than horses and dirt for a change. Afina towelled her dry roughly, making Sami's flesh tingle at the treatment. Next they were slipping a flowing white blouse over her head and pulling up a cream skirt with many layers. Both items of clothing had intricate embroidery over it, making the simple outfit a work of art. Just as quickly as Afina and Valercia had appeared, they bustled off again, their work done.

"Is my wedding dress," said Georgetta proudly when she saw Sami admiring the stitching. "My Mama and I made it together."

Sami made a distressed sound, suddenly feeling guilty. "Georgetta, I can't wear this, this is too special. Please, I'll just put my dress back on."

"No, no," she tutted, "that wouldn't be right."

"But I don't deserve to wear this," said Sami, her lips quivering tremulously.

"Why not, child?" Georgetta gave her a kind smile which was Sami's undoing.

Sami felt her eyes fill with tears as she was overwhelmed by all that had happened to her in such a short amount of time. "Because I've made a terrible mess of everything. I've ruined things just like I always do."

Georgetta put her arms around Sami and drew her into a warm hug and Sami just hugged her back, dissolving into much needed tears.