Bought for the harem, p.20
Bought for the Harem, page 20
Kasim’s long stride closed the short distance between them. He crushed her to his chest and kissed her to an accompaniment of loud cheering. Laughing, he turned to face the Janissaries as he swept her up in his arms, carrying her towards the dais, where he set her on her feet before turning to the watching crowd.
‘This is my lady Harriet,’ he announced. ‘She will be my wife. Together we shall care for our people and try to bring peace and prosperity to you all.’
The Janissaries stamped their feet and cheered. Jamail’s body had been taken away and a troupe of dancers and entertainers swarmed back into the arena to entertain them.
Mellina came up to her, whispering in her ear. Harriet turned to Kasim. ‘The lady Katrina asks for me and the C … Lord Kahlid begs me to come to her.’
‘Then you must go. I shall follow soon,’ Kasim said, his eyes dark with passion as he looked at her. ‘Tonight you will come to me—or would you have me come to you?’
‘We shall meet in the courtyard,’ she said. ‘Excuse me, my lord. I must go.’
Katrina’s wound was slight and soon tended, but the Caliph was very frail. He had not felt strong enough to stay and watch the fight, instead following his still much-loved wife to her old apartments where she was treated. Now he was lying on his couch and his doctors and friends had gathered about him.
Harriet had comforted Katrina, but she had dismissed her own wound. She had begged to be allowed to sit with Kahlid in what everyone knew were probably his last hours. Harriet was not asked to share the vigil, though she knew that Kasim would probably wish to spend some time sitting with his friend.
Alone in her apartments, she ate a light supper of peaches and dates and then went into the gardens to sit and wait for Kasim.
It was late when he came at last and she had begun to think he might sit with his friend all night, but just as it was growing dark she saw his commanding figure walking towards her. She was wearing the robes he had sent her earlier that day and she rose from the bench on which she had been sitting and went to meet him.
‘You came. I was not sure you would.’
‘Kahlid is sleeping. The end must be near but Katrina and Angeline are with him, and Yuri. We spoke briefly, but all that needed to be said has been said. He knows that I shall keep my promise to him, Harriet.’
‘He chose well, Kasim. Everyone loves you. You will be a wise and just ruler.’
‘This from the woman who called me a cruel barbarian and told me she hated me?’ He looked down at her, a question in his eyes. ‘Have you thought long and clear about this, Harriet? If you give yourself to me I shall not let you go. You must choose now because there is no going back.’
‘Surely you know?’ she said softly. ‘When I thought I might lose you. I should not want to live if you were dead.’
‘I must be sure that you understand, Harriet. When Kahlid dies I shall set his harem free. Those who wish may return home; others may choose to marry amongst the Janissaries or to remain here as your friends—but I cannot free every slave in the province. If I made a decree to free them, it would cause terrible unrest. All I can do is lead by example. Every servant in the palace will be free and no more slaves will be brought here. I will create no more eunuchs. If a man or woman chooses to work for me, he or she will be paid a fair wage. It is the most I can do and it will not be universally approved. I can do nothing about the custom of a man taking more than one wife or keeping a harem. It is a matter of religion and culture, and each man must live according to his beliefs. Prisoners must be punished and some may be executed or sent to the galleys.’
‘Yes, I understand,’ she said. ‘I have studied the books you gave me and I am ready to accept that much of what you believe in is just and good. If there are some things I do not like I shall learn to accept—as you have.’
Kasim took her hand, leading her into his apartments. ‘The time is right to tell you the truth about myself, Harriet. I am the son of Lord Albert Hadley and rightful heir to the title, though I dare say he has long given me up and handed his estate to his nephew. When I was very young I made friends at court—wild friends who drank and consorted with whores and behaved in a licentious manner. I shall admit that for a time I did much as they did, gambling and drinking … but they went too far and I began to sicken of their pranks.’
‘Did something happen to make you leave England?’
‘One of my friends abducted and raped a young woman of good family. She escaped when he got drunk and she drowned herself in the River Thames. When I saw her body dragged from the water I vowed I would have no more of them—but my father was told I was the one who planned the whole thing, though I swear to you I played no part in the sordid affair. In his rage, my father disowned me and cut me off without a penny. I had a small inheritance from my mother and I purchased a ship. I sailed with the intention of being a privateer, but I was naïve and fell victim to a corsair vessel. My crew and I were taken prisoner and set to work in the galleys, as I have told you before.’
‘I saw the scars on your back and shoulders,’ Harriet said and reached out to touch his hand. ‘I begin to understand why you care for Kahlid so deeply.’
‘He was more of a father to me than Lord Hadley. My father was never a loving parent and he closed his mind to my pleas for understanding. Kahlid trusted me and honoured me. I repaid him by showing loyalty.’
‘But he demanded a promise of you in return for my life?’
‘Yes, because he was afraid that my love for you would be too strong. He would not have put you to death, Harriet. From the start he saw that you would be the right wife for me, and he knew that I loved you. He made me promise because he thought you would draw me back to England and it was the only way he could keep me here.’
‘What will you do if I choose to return to England?’
‘It would tear me apart,’ Kasim said. ‘Yet if you wish to go I shall arrange it. I have already written to your brother and invited him to visit. I told him that you were to be my wife. Do you think he will come?’
‘I cannot tell. Richard lives in London and will seldom visit his estate in the country. I do not think he will travel all this way to see me.’ Harriet frowned. ‘He may think me lost … beyond the pale.’
‘And will you mind if you never see your family again?’
‘Yes, a little,’ she admitted. ‘If you were free to return to England, I might have preferred to live there, but you cannot leave and I shall not go without you.’
‘I should send you away,’ Kasim said, his voice heavy with emotion. ‘It is unfair of me to keep you here, where you can never be as free as you are in England—but I love you too much to let you go. Without you, my world would be an empty sham. Nothing means anything to me without you, Harriet.’
‘Promise me you will not send me away,’ she said and pressed herself against him in a burst of passion. ‘I want to spend my life with you, Kasim. You must believe me.’
‘Then you belong to me and I shall keep you with me always.’
Kasim bent down and swept her up in his arms, carrying her into his bedroom. He laid her down amongst the silken covers and then sat beside her, bending down to touch his lips to hers.
‘I have pictured you here so many times. Wanted you here with me so many lonely nights. Are you ready to be mine, Harriet?’
‘You know I am. I burn for you.’ She smiled up at him, her lips parting invitingly. ‘Take me, Kasim. Make me your woman. I want to be yours always.’
‘My beloved Harriet,’ he murmured and kissed her. ‘I adore you. I love your spirit, your courage, your honour—and your lovely body.’ He reached out and pulled at the knot in her sash. ‘Why did you not wear my colours today? Was it just to spite me?’
‘It was my foolish pride,’ she said and laughed huskily as she helped him dispense with her clothes. ‘Had you not sent them I should have worn a white robe I had selected and a red scarf.’
Kasim raised his brows. ‘I must remember that …’ he murmured and stroked her cheek with his fingertips. ‘You are so beautiful, Harriet. How could I have thought your cousin the better prize?’
‘I am not beautiful,’ she said and smiled. ‘It is just that you have become accustomed to my plainness.’ She watched as he disrobed. His body was so honed and strong, the golden tan of his skin broken only by thin white scars, proof of the beatings he had endured and the wounds he had taken in battle. ‘You are beautiful … like a Greek god …’
‘And where have you seen pictures of a Greek god?’ he questioned as he bent over to touch his lips to hers. ‘Must I remind you that you are the Caliph’s wife and must have no eyes for other men?’
‘It was long ago in my father’s library,’ she whispered. ‘I see no other man but you, Kasim. I have never loved any other man or wished to lie with them … and I am not yet your wife.’
‘Oh, yes, you are,’ he said. ‘We may not have had the ceremony yet, but when you promised to love me in the courtyard you handfasted yourself to me in the way our ancestors saw fit—and that means you are mine. You will always be mine. I shall never let you go …’
Harriet opened her lips as he kissed her, their tongues touching lightly, tasting and inflaming. Her heart thundered as he stroked her thigh and his mouth sought her nipples, licking and caressing them with his tongue until they peaked, aroused and sensitised. His kisses moved lower and lower, making her arch her back and cry out as she trembled with need and longing, rising to meet his caressing hand as he slid between her thighs and found her moist centre. She thrilled as he stroked and caressed, his kisses moving lower, and then he pressed his face against her damp mound, his tongue licking delicately until she whimpered and her nails scored his shoulder.
‘Kasim …’ she shrieked his name as he sent her spiralling out of control. ‘Kasim, I love you …’
Then she felt his weight pressing on her and the hard length of his manhood pressed against her thigh, seeking entrance. He thrust up inside her and she stilled as she felt sudden pain. Feeling her tension, he eased back a little, not moving for a moment, but she ground her hips against his, wanting the glory that his earlier caresses had foreshadowed.
‘Come deep into me,’ she whispered. ‘I want to feel you inside me. I want to be a part of you.’
‘Cry out if I hurt you too much.’
She pressed her mouth against his shoulder, tasting the salt of his sweat as he thrust deeper. Yes, there was some pain for he was big and she a virgin. But she clung to him, letting her body dissolve in the tide of love and need that engulfed them both, and when he came in her she cried out with pleasure and clutched him to her, feeling the tears run down her cheeks.
‘I did hurt you. It was too much for your first time.’
‘No,’ she said and buried her face against his chest. ‘It was what I wanted. The pain will go.’
‘It will not be so bad next time,’ he murmured and stroked her hair, holding her clamped against him with his leg. ‘I wanted you too much, but next time it will be better.’
Harriet woke to discover that the bed felt cold beside her. Kasim had risen earlier, leaving her to sleep in. She stretched, feeling blissful and almost too lazy to get up. Then she laughed and threw the thin sheet back. Life was too good to waste in bed unless Kasim was sharing it with her. She knew that he must have a hundred and one duties as Caliph for he was also the commander-in-chief of the Janissaries. She would visit the infirmary before she went to the schoolroom, because she intended to show that she was as industrious as her husband.
Returning to her own apartments, she bathed and dressed in a white tunic and pants with a red scarf over her shoulders. She left and walked through the palace to the infirmary, where she pulled the scarf over her hair, though she did not hide her face, as some of the women did here.
She made a tour of the wards, inspecting water jugs, bedding and floors, and she ordered three bandages changed. Everyone hurried to obey her, their smiling faces testimony to the pleasure that was felt throughout at the palace at Kasim’s appointment.
The nurses were a mixture of men and women, but she thought that she might begin a school for young men and women, where they could be taught the ideas she herself followed. Although her knowledge of medicine was slight, Harriet believed that keeping the surroundings clean as well as the patients and the dressings was as important as the doctor’s pills. Now that Kasim was Caliph he could set up schools for medicine and nursing. Harriet found a lot of pleasure in thinking of the good that could be done here. Kasim could not change all the old ways, but he could make improvements.
After leaving the infirmary, she went to the schoolroom and spent an hour or two with the children. While she was there one of the eunuchs came to ask her if she would visit the lady Katrina in her apartments.
‘Is she back in her old rooms?’ Harriet asked and was told that it was so.
When she joined Katrina it was to find her with her arm in a sling, but looking happier.
‘How is the lord Kahlid this morning?’ Harriet asked.
‘Much better. We all thought that he might die last night, but he rallied at dawn and this morning he says he feels rested.’ Katrina smiled. ‘I am to join him at his place of retreat. He is no longer angry with me. Indeed, he wishes to make recompense for his unkindness and he has arranged a trip to the bazaar for us this afternoon, Harriet. He has given me a purse of gold so that we may buy all the trinkets we need—do say you will come with me, please. It may be the last afternoon we spend together for I am to go to my cousin’s home when Kahlid dies.’
‘Yes, of course I shall come with you,’ Harriet said. ‘I must put on a casacche and leave a message for Kasim, but then I shall return.’
Katrina’s face lit up. ‘I want to buy you a lovely present,’ she said. ‘Had you not run to me yesterday I think Jamail would have killed me. You have been a good friend to me and I thought this a way of repaying some of your kindness.’
‘We have shared many troubles and sorrows,’ Harriet said and embraced her. ‘There were times when I did not know how to bear my life here, but I had you to help me.’
‘You are happy now?’
‘Yes, of course. I love Kasim very much.’
‘And he loves you.’ Katrina smiled at her. ‘I see you wear his colours. You should buy something for him at the bazaar … perhaps a fine leather belt or a gold ring.’
‘Yes, I shall buy a token, perhaps a leather belt. I saw some lovely tooled-leather items the last time we were there.’
Harriet hurried away to her rooms. She put on the dark blue casacche she had worn to the bazaar before. It enabled her to see through the veiling, but covered her face and hair so that no one could see her face. She left a message with her women and, seeing Mellina as she left her apartments, she told her that she was accompanying Katrina to the bazaar.
‘If my lord should ask for me, be sure to tell him where I have gone,’ she said. ‘I would not have my lord wonder where I was.’
Chapter Eleven
‘Look at these rings,’ Katrina said as they stood gazing at the display set out on the merchants stall. She glanced at the merchant, an old man with a wizened face and dark eyes that had sunk into his face. ‘May I try this one, please?’
‘Your highness may try anything you wish,’ the man said and his eyes gleamed. ‘Would the Caliph’s lady like to try?’
‘No, thank you,’ Harriet said. She had noticed a stall selling leather goods just two stalls away and, after admiring the ring Katrina displayed on her right hand, told her that she would move on. ‘I wish to look at the leather stall, Katrina. You should buy the ring if you like it.’
‘I am not certain,’ Katrina said and took it off, indicating another she would like to try.
Harriet smiled and moved on. Katrina had already purchased shoes, scarves and a fine gold chain. As yet she had bought nothing. They had brought two servants with them to carry their purchases and three armed Janissaries. As she moved to the next stall one of the guards followed her and the other two remained with Katrina.
The stallholder came out to her at once and invited her to see his goods. ‘I have more inside if her highness would like to see?’
Harriet looked through the belts on sale. There were several made of fine soft leather and tooled with gold, but she could see none that appealed to her. Kasim preferred plainer things, but she wanted something of good quality.
‘Do you have anything like this in red leather?’ she asked, indicating a very fine belt of tan leather. ‘I would like it tooled, but without the gold.’
Her guard interpreted and the stallholder smiled and bowed. ‘If her highness would step inside I can show her many examples of fine leather. A belt can be made to her exact requirements.’
‘Yes, I should like to pick the leather and the design,’ Harriet agreed. ‘Is it all right if I go inside, Rachid?’
‘Yes, highness. I shall come with you.’
Harriet glanced at Katrina and then went into the shop. It was dark inside and smelled strongly of new leather and dyes. She saw piles of leather all over the place, but none in red. The stallholder beckoned her and she followed him to the rear of the shop. A pile of leathers in different shades of red caught her eye and she moved towards them with a cry of pleasure. She felt various skins and picked three she liked, turning to the stallholder to ask if they would make a pair of boots as well as a belt, just as she saw a dark shadow move towards her guard. She cried a warning as the blow fell, but it was too late. Rachid had been knocked unconscious.
‘What have you done?’ she cried, but the stallholder was being restrained and she suddenly became aware that two men had come from a back room.
‘You will be quite safe, Lady Harriet,’ an English voice told her. ‘We have come to rescue you.’
‘No, I do not wish—’ Harriet cried, but the next moment a hand was placed over her mouth. She inhaled something strong that made her feel sick and faint. Her senses swam as someone put a blanket over her and then everything went black.
