The Untamable Rogue

by Cathy McAllister

  *

  When I got out of the forest it was already twilight. I went passed a few fields so I must surely find a village nearby. The path was now leading uphill and I really had to gather my last bit of strength to even keep on walking. My feet were wounded and painful blisters were now torturing me with every step. My hair was hanging in my face, tangled. When the path finally led downhill again I spotted the village. It was now almost dark, and candle light and chimney fires were burning in the houses. It was such a lovely sight that I stood still for a moment to take in the peaceful image. Painfully I became conscious of the fact that I no longer had a home, no peaceful place to which I could return. My childhood home was in the hands of my guardian who may have designs upon my life, and the comfortable bed in Grandmother Aneta’s waggon – I would probably never set eyes on that again, either.

  In a meadow at the edge of the village was a huge barn full of sweet-smelling hay. I made the hay into a bed, but before I lay down I wanted to find something to eat. I crept up to one of the yards and helped myself quietly from the well. From a dairy room I stole a little cheese that was not quite matured, but it gave off such a delicious aroma that I became quite giddy with hunger. I quickly moved away with my booty and hurried back to the barn. The cheese tasted heavenly and, with relish, I licked clean my fingers which were sticky from the cheese. At least the huge hunger had now subsided – now I just wanted to sleep.

  Chapter 25

  Ivo was lying on his bed, dozing. He had emptied three bottles of wine but he still could not sleep and certainly could not forget. Little Liz was haunting his mind and his heart felt heavy at the thought of taking Jelonka as his wife in three days. He had always discounted marriage and children for himself and now it was to be precisely the little snake that robbed him of his freedom. He cursed himself for getting her pregnant. He had counted on her word that she was protected with a potion from Grandmother Aneta. Either the potion had not worked or Jelonka had lied to him. Had he maybe fallen into a well-planned trap? A violent knock at the door pulled him from his lethargy. Who was that now? His father? He was doing everything that he was expected to do. Was it not enough that he was taking this little snake as his wife?

  There was another knock – this time more vigorously.

  “Yes!” he shouted, annoyed. “I’m coming, damn it!”

  Awkwardly he heaved himself out of the bed and staggered to the door. He felt wretched and the waggon was turning like a carousel. He had to hold onto the wall so as not to fall over. He made heavy work of unbolting the door before opening it.

  His grandmother stood before him.

  “You must find her, boy. She’s gone and it’s already getting dark. – The silly girl!”

  With these words the old woman pushed straight passed him and into the waggon. Shaking his head Ivo shut the door again and turned to his grandmother. He could not understand anything the old woman was saying. Who had gone? Why should he find her? – Had Jelonka run away – had she reconsidered after all? Hope spread through him. Grandmother Aneta sniffed and wrinkled up her nose.

  “You’re completely drunk!”

  “Yes!” declared Ivo with difficulty. “Commmm-pletely drunk!”

  “We’ve got to sober you up first. Go and sit down!”

  Ivo staggered backwards and tottered to an armchair that he fell into. He belched loudly. “Scu-use me!”

  “It’s OK. Stay there, I’ll be right back!”

  “Y-yes, OK. I won’t run … away,” Ivo assured her and chuckled. Somehow the whole situation seemed to him suddenly to be terribly funny. He felt a macabre sense of humour in this awful situation. It had been a long time since there had been so much excitement in his life. The whole world seemed to be acting crazily and he was standing in the middle of the drama.

  The old healing woman shook her head unhappily and set off to her waggon to prepare a potion for her grandson.

  *

  Some time later Grandmother Aneta returned with a cup, shut the door behind her and gave the draught to Ivo.

  “Here! Drink that!”

  Ivo put the cup to his lips and drank it in one go. He coughed and shook himself.

  “Uhh! What sort of poison is that?” he gasped in disgust. He felt as if his innards were collapsing.

  With great foresight Grandmother Aneta was standing ready with a bucket for when Ivo vomited.

  “Theriak Venezian. I got it from a Venetian peddler. I put it in brandy with a few herbs. A suberb miracle potion that can wake the dead!” the old woman informed him proudly.

  “Sooooooo! Wakes the dead …! – I was thinking that this devil’s potion nearly killed me!”

  “But you’re still alive,” the old woman stated dryly. “You also seem to me to be completely awake compared to the way you were before. Now you can fulfil your mission.”

  “If you think that I’m going to go and fetch this little madam then you’re much mistaken. I’ll be glad if I don’t have to marry Jelonka.”

  “But who’s talking about Jelonka? It’s Liz who’s disappeared.”

  Ivo shot out of his chair. Suddenly he felt completely wretched again and he swayed slightly.

  “Liz!? – Liz has disappeared?” Disbelief and horror lay in his voice and showed in his face.

  “Yes, she left the camp this morning, at least that’s as much as I can work out. You must find her and help her to save her inheritance. Your destiny is bound together,” explained Grandmother Aneta.

  “And Jelonka?”

  “That will sort itself out tomorrow, of its own accord. Another man is meant for her, and the child …”

  “What about the child? I’m not happy about this pregnancy but it is after all of my blood.”

  “The child will never see the light of day. It is a seed that will not grow because it was sewn in the wrong ground. Don’t grieve. Everything is as it is and everything happens as it should happen.”

  “How am I to find Liz when I don’t even know where she’s gone? The area is full of the tracks from our people so I’ll never find hers.”

  “You can’t let her down. The threads of your lives are woven together, don’t forget that. – Saddle your horse and ride away. Listen to your inner voice.”

  Ivo was still looking sceptically. He had just found out that he would not now marry Jelonka after all and that his child would never exist and now he was again bound to a woman without him being able to do anything about it. He was not yet sure what he should think about any of it but he knew that he had to find Liz and help her. They would see what would then happen. He had seen and experienced enough to know that his grandmother always spoke the truth. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

  “Good, my boy, and now go!”

  Chapter 26

  Ivo steered his horse up to the building and dismounted. It was already late but a light was still burning in the house so he knocked at the weathered door. It took a while, but then he heard dragging footsteps and the door was opened. Ivo looked at the old man who stood before him, pipe in hand.

  “Good evening! I’m sorry to disturb you so late in the evening but there was still a light burning and so I thought …”

  “It’s OK, young man. I usually only find sleep late in the night and I always read the Bible for a while. The young people are already asleep – they must of course get up when the cockerel crows and milk the cows. – Well then, what brings you to us? Do you need somewhere to sleep?”

  Ivo nodded.

  “Yes, I wanted to ask if I could sleep back there in the barn and whether you might have some spare water for my horse.”

  “”You can put your horse in the stable. There’s water in the drinking trough and in the corner is the box of oats– you can take a shovel-full. You can sleep in the barn. – Are you hungry? – I’ll give you something – wait here.”

  Before Ivo could reply the old man had disappeared into the house, so he waited at the door until the old man appeared again a while la
ter. He pressed a basket into Ivo’s hand.

  “Thank you, that is very kind of you.”

  “Oh, that’s OK. It’s just a little bread from yesterday, a little cold roast meat and a jug – you can fill that with water,” the old man waved him away.

  “Once again, thank you. Good night!”

  “Yes, sleep well, my boy.”

  After the old man had closed the door again Ivo took his horse to the stable, gave it something to eat and drink and set off to the well with the basket. There he filled the jug and then went to the barn where he was to sleep. His thoughts wandered to Liz. He was very worried about her. He had searched for her all day in the forest, but unfortunately without success.

  If she had managed to leave the forest then she may have come through this village, which was why he wanted to ask around the next day. But what if she were still wandering around in the forest? In the worst case she could actually die of hunger or thirst, fall victim to an animal or get into the hands of robbers. He did not want to imagine all the awful things that could have happened to her, but the horrible images came into his head of their own accord and tortured him. In the barn he found a place to eat his meal and he lay down to sleep. It took a while for him to finally fall asleep and his sleep was plagued by horrible nightmares.

  *

  When he awoke it was still dark but as he stepped out of the barn and looked east he could already make out a red shimmer on the horizon. It could not be long before the sun would rise. He wondered where Liz may have spent the night. Hopefully she was safe and was not suffering. It was not without danger for a woman to travel alone and she was not only without male protection but also travelling completely without means. He had to find her as quickly as possible. He would help her deal with her guardian and get to her rightful inheritance, then he would find work somewhere and earn the money that he would need for the crossing to America. By now he knew that he loved Liz but he also knew that he was not the right man for her. It was impossible for her to marry a gypsy if she did not want to risk losing her inheritance, and he could not ask that of her. No, she belonged in her world. What could he offer her? He was not only poor, he was also absolutely no gentleman. He wanted her more than he had wanted Lavinia – more than anything in the world. And precisely because he loved her he must leave her in peace. It was selfish to want her for himself when that would mean her social ruin. No! He would make sure that she got her home back and he would damn well look for the right marriage candidate so that he knew that she was well taken care of before he left England.

  Chapter 27

  12th August 1888

  I stretched lazily and yawned. I was cold. If only I had brought a shawl with me. I was hungry, too. I had no idea what was going to happen from this point on. It was against my better judgement to steal food. I had a really bad conscience about the cheese from the previous night. I had no money, nor my jewellery. Now I was really in trouble. Whatever should I do? I could not go back to the gypsies, even if I could find my way back. I never wanted to set eyes on Ivo again. I could not bear to see him with his wife. The thought of that made me feel totally wretched.

  Slowly I got up out of the hay and began to remove the stalks from my hair and clothes. Suddenly the door of the barn swung open and an elderly man came in with a jug and a basket.

  “Good morning. I thought you might like a little …,” said the man and stopped abruptly when he saw me. “Well, my goodness! So there are two of you? I had no idea. I thought the boy was alone.”

  I started in shock and looked the old man in amazement.

  “Boy? Two of us? I don’t understand.”

  Now the man was also looking bewildered.

  “You’re not with the young man who knocked at my door last night to ask for somewhere to sleep?”

  I shook my head in confusion. What did that all mean?

  “Hm. Did you not see him? He spent the night here, too.”

  Again, I shook my head.

  “Well, he will have set off earlier. That’ll be how come. Are you hungry? I wanted to bring the boy something to eat, but as he’s no longer here and as you …”

  The man held the basket and the jug out to me – both covered in a cloth. He noticed my hesitation and simply pushed the basket and the mug into my hand.

  “Take it. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

  “Thank you,” I said, ashamed.

  “That’s OK.”

  With these words he turned away and left me alone.

  *

  The unexpected breakfast consisted of a rasher of bacon, two thick slices of bread, a piece of hard cheese, boiled eggs and cool cider. I felt my spirits re-awaken. With my strength replenished I felt a lot better straight away. However, what was unsettling me was the thought of the mysterious man who had spent the night in the barn with me. Hopefully it was not one of my uncle’s thugs. The thought that I had not been alone here in the night made me feel uneasy. What awful things could have happened if the man had discovered me? I had to take a lot more care in future. I had been incredibly lucky. Who knew if I would be so lucky next time? After some consideration I decided that I would travel to London. Perhaps I could get support from my father’s employees – now they were actually my employees. We somehow had to manage until I came of age.

  Chapter 28

  16th August 1888

  The hustle and bustle had never been to my liking. I disliked still more the smog that hung heavy and damp in the air and reduced the sunlight to a minimum. It was shortly after sunrise but despite the earliness of the hour, and the smog, numerous street sellers were out and about offering their goods. I had completed the rest of my journey on a farmer’s cart – with his daughter he was bringing his goods to London to sell. I had no money, of course, for a train or a stagecoach. Also I had had to spend further nights in barns, rather than in a comfortable inn – and one could tell that from the condition of my dress; it was stained and crumpled – it was, after all only a simple dress made of coarse material that I had been given by the Sinti. Shortly before reaching London we had turned into a yard for a rest – it belonged to the brother-in-law of the farmer that I was travelling with. After having something to eat I washed my face and hands as well as I could with a bowl of warm water and some simple soap that the lady of the house had given me, and I did my hair again.

  “So, girl. Unfortunately I’ll have to set you down here. Will you manage alone?”

  “Yes, thank you very much. I have a cousin who lives near here,” I lied, and climbed down from the cart. I tried not to allow my uncertainty to show. I was not quite sure where I was. Previously I had only ever travelled through such parts of the town and had not taken any notice of the area. It was not the sort of area where a lady from the better circles stopped, let alone set foot outside the stage-coach.

  “OK, then. Good luck, girl!”

  I nodded, tensing my shoulders.

  “Thank you. Good bye!”

  The cart set off and I watched him until he disappeared into the smog. I was shivering. It was cold and damp and my dress clung damply to my body. It was better to keep moving, I thought, but in which direction should I go? I thought the west end lay to my left. My goal was one of my father’s jewellery shops. It was the first and biggest of the three branches and was situated in Bond Street. I hoped that old Mr Porter was still working there. I had known him since I was a child and I was sure that he would help me.

  “Mince pies! Fresh Mince pies!” someone was shouting behind me. “Fresh mince pies, perhaps?”

  A girl of about ten years old appeared at my side with a basket full of delicious smelling pies and looked at me hopefully. Most of the street sellers were children, most of whom tried to sell their wares to any man or woman from early in the morning to late into the evening. They were not allowed to go home until they had sold all their wares. I would have gladly bought a pie from the child: firstly because I would have liked to help the child; and secondly because I was hungry and th
e pies smelt simply delicious.

  “Unfortunately I have no money on me,” I said and looked apologetically at the child.

  The girl shrugged her shoulders in disappointment and moved on.

  “Mince pies! Fresh mince pies! Buy fresh pies! Mince pies!”

  I watched the child. I thought involuntarily about the Sinti children. The Sinti were simple-living people, too, who did not own very much, but they lived a more carefree life and their children did not have to work for twelve hours or more every day like the children here. It was even worse for the children who worked in the factories.

  “Watch out!” someone shouted and I startled. Someone grabbed me by the arm and yanked me backwards so that I almost lost my balance and fell. I banged back into the person who had grabbed me. I screamed in shock. A stage-coach raced directly passed me and I screamed again. With a pounding heart I stood there and tried to work out what had happened.

  “That ‘ere close,” said the person who was still holding my arm. I turned round slowly and stared at the woman who now let go of my arm and smiled apologetically. “Scuse me for grabbin’ y’ like that, but y’ nearly ran into the coach. Y’ wasn’t watchin’ out, was y’? Oh well, no ‘arm done.”

  “Th-thanks … was just thinking of something …, if you hadn’t been there …”

  “It’s OK! Not worth mentionin’. The name’s Molly – wha’ about you?”

  “Liz.”

  “You new ‘ere? ‘Aven’t seen you b’fore an’ I knows each an’ ev’ryone ‘ere.”