Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

other, we should be free to be ourselves and be one? I think this might eventually cure any jealousy between us. It isprobably harder to conquer jealousy than to love each other."He felt his legs weaken. "With your help I will try. Please hold on to me tightly, so I don’t lose my balance. It is a harddemand on a man in love."She gave him a kiss and leaned her head on his shoulder.Konrad took out his watch. "In five minutes the new year begins!""May I look at your watch? What is the blue crescent-shaped dial for?"Konrad explained that it showed the phases of the moon. "You see the moon is increasing, tomorrow it will have reachedthe first quarter."She examined the dial more closely. What were the markings along the rim of the blue half circle? He explained thatthese were the twenty-nine and a half days of the period of the moon.A smile of recognition flushed her attentive face. "Very pretty, I have never seen a watch that shows the phases of themoon. What do you use it for?"The music stopped. Konrad’s watch chimed twelve. A cacophony of firecrackers exploded in the streets, and the badlytuned bells tolled. The dancers hugged and kissed each other and the orchestra produced a belated fanfare."Alexandra, our year!"He took her into his arms, and she gave him a radiant smile and kissed him, but her thoughts seemed elsewhere. HadDato cast his shadow on her? In former years it had happened to him too that he had been touched by a dark mood onthis night, but this was the year of their new life.An hour later, the ball still in full swing, Alexandra surprised Konrad by asking him to take her home. He looked at herquestioningly. But she seemed to have found her usual self-assurance again and repeated her request, smilingenigmatically.Outside on the street she took his arm and closely held onto him. In a dark corner, she grabbed him unexpectedly andbegan kissing him in earnest. "Please, take me into your bed and make love to me!" she whispered, "I can no longer waitfor our new year to begin."10.Alexandra's abduction1899One clear night Alexandra was riding home from Zaguramo, where she had visited Olga Guramishvili to talk aboutKonrad and other female matters. The moon stood dimly over the hill of Zedazeni. The road through the vineyards toTiflis was empty except for a few revelers who, singing drunkenly, staggered home through the night.Suddenly three hooded riders appeared from the shadows and blocked her way. One brandished a pistol. The other twohad their hands on the daggers in their belts. Alexandra’s horse reared. The man with the pistol grabbed its halter. Thethree riders surrounded her closely. She could not move."Don’t scream," said the man with the pistol, "if you follow us quietly and without resisting we will not hurt you."She thought that she recognized his voice. Her heart was beating furiously. "What do you want?" she asked hoarsely."We are defending the honor of Georgian women. This German professor wants to marry you. We shall prevent him fromstealing another of our beautiful Georgian women." The speaker averted his face."Is this an abduction?" shouted Alexandra. "Let me go, you have no right or claim on me!""Don’t shout!" the man waved the pistol in front of her face. "I do have a claim on you." He pulled off his hood."Dato!" She cried struggling to regain her composure. "What do you want from me, you know I am engaged to Konrad.This is a romantic game you are playing. Let me go!"Dato raised himself in his stirrups. Proudly erect, looking very hurt, very beautiful, and very Georgian he refused to move."Alexandra," his voice was trembling, "I love you and will always love you. I will not let you go with this red-beardedGerman. I will either make you my wife, or shoot us both. If you will not resist, we will take you to Shuamta, and thereperform the holy marriage rites. These two friends are my witnesses."Alexandra calmed. She was able to think again. She discovered with a shudder that she secretly took pleasure in thisancient drama. This was high-style, Georgian tragedy looking for its invariably grand finale. Wild-eyed, thelover/hero/king struts on stage in short steps clicking his heels, he dances before the queen/mother/priestess who glidesacross stage as if floating. She has the right to choose her man. If she rejects him, he has no choice but to abduct and34