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eyes,  “ Indeed, what is this? ”   His voice was softer as he reached out to thumb the gold necklace.  His eyes clouded . She wondered if he was thinking of Nicolae’s mother, of the moment when she received the necklace, most likely as a gift from the Rom Baro.  “ Ah, the kapara. ”   The Rom Baro blinked twice before he smiled at the woman in front of him.  “ You are wearing the kapara. ”
    Sahara lif ted her chin , hoping that the Rom Baro did not think she had stolen it .  “ If you mean the necklace, Nicolae gave it to me. ”
    The Rom Baro 's face lit up as he dropped his hand from the necklace.  His eyes crinkled into half moons as he laughed to himself.  Rubbing his hands together, the Rom Baro gla nced at Nicolae .  “ You gave it to her, yes?  And she wears it now, I see. ”   Nicolae joi ned his father's laughter.  The Rom Baro looked back at her, no ticing the crowd of people that had gathered close enough to hea r the exchange.  “ So, shey - bari, the necklace is yours?  It is but a small price for such a beautiful woman. ”   His words we re stiff and heavily accented.
    She narrowed her eyes, her heart pounding inside her chest .  “ But larger than my father's lost wager ! ”
    The Rom Baro nodded his h ead at her, a mischievous smile playing on his dried lips.  “ You are gadjo, shey - bar i.  There is no question about that. ”   His stea dy gaze unnerved her.  It was as if he knew her, the way he stared at her.  “ Your father gambled away so much, yes?  But do we gamble with what is most dear to us?  Perhaps you were not his to gamble…just as another was not his to keep, too. ”
    “ What do you mean? ”   Sahara demanded.
    Nicolae straightened his shoulde rs and lowered his voice .  “ It is mahrime for a woman to question a man. ”
    “ Mahrime? ”  
    “ Forbidden, S'hara. ”
    Sahara sighed, frustrated by the word games they played.  “ Then yes, I'm gadjo. But what exactly did you expect? ”   She tur ned toward the amused Rom Baro . Angered by the smile on his face, Sa hara spun around as she stormed past the curious faces watchin g her.  Children clung to their mothers' skirts.  The older men gaped at her audacity.  Younger women watched her with wide, amaz ed eyes.  Never had they seen a woman speak in such a tone to the Rom Baro or an y other man.  It was unheard of and certainly deserving of punishment. 
    Sitting in the shadow of a wagon, Sahara lowered he r head into her hands.  The tears flowed freely now that she was alone.  She felt lost and empty.  Her father had gambled with gypsies and sold her to wander forever.  Nicolae h ad been right.  She could never go home.   Sahara angrily wiped t he tears away.  There's no use crying, she thou ght.  What's done is done.  Her finger caressed the thick chai n around her neck.  The gem felt cold under her touch.  She lifted the necklace.  Her eyes grew as she saw the gem again.  “ What would you have gambled away for this, Papa? ”   Suddenly, she began to laugh.  For a gold chain worth a penny compared to what she wore around her neck, her father had given her away.  No w, a prisoner to these gypsies, Sahara wore a piece of jewelry worth ten times wh at her broken father had gambled for her. 
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    It was her father who broke the silence first.  She was nursing the infant, sitting alone in her section of the boat, next to several crates filled with stale hard tack and dried meat.  She had not seen him approach her, nor had she seen him standing behind her.  He must have been watching her for quite some time. But the woman did not know this.  Instead, she hummed to the baby in her arms, watching the sweet puckered mouth as it drank from her breast. It was the most wonderful of moments, to feel the drawing of the milk as it fed her sweet child.
    He cleared his throat. 
    She was startled and jumped, causing a momentary cessation in the