Katharine ignored the overtures and settled into London society. She saw her father more, as he tended to be in London and live at their townhouse, though she was with her brother and his wife.
Though Katharine saw no wrong in avoiding and even ignoring several of the more aggressive men, they were men used to the power and prestige of their positions and thought a mere woman could not deny them.
One older baron named Horace Adams was known amongst his group as arrogant, greedy, and wealthy, though not extremely so. He had married an older woman though it was her first marriage, but she brought with her a hefty dowry for which he was very grateful. He used the money to increase his holdings and spent many a night in the local brothels where he was well known.
On the outer circle of polite society, he enjoyed the theatre and gaming rooms and spotted Katharine with her newfound friends at one such event. Katharine paid him scant attention and was more interested in the newest play.
Charles noticed the attention paid to his sister, but was not concerned. She had attracted many admirers, so much so that he knew Sarah was growing jealous. A beautiful woman attracts the good and bad in everyone, he mused. He came to believe that his mother was correct, that Katharine needed to marry. Of course, Baron Adams was out of the question since he was a married man. But the sooner his sister married, the better.
The Earl of Benton was available and unwed, yet he too was much older than Kat and he cut a poor figure. Charles mused on the subject. He wanted Katharine settled and happy, not only for the family’s sake but for her own. She tended to be very free compared with the average woman and was far too educated; on that, he was in complete agreement with his mother. But then, his father had spoiled the girl and there was nothing that could be done now.
Things could have continued along and Katharine might have married a lord of the realm and lived happily ever after. But one event altered her life’s path forever.
***
One evening, a close friend of Charles’ who lived in the fashionable Mayfair district invited Katharine, Charles and Sarah to a ball. Charles readily accepted. Katharine would enjoy dancing and mingling with her friends and even Sarah was looking forward to the evening.
Katharine dressed in a deep red dress with a low neckline and elbow-length sleeves. The gown split in the front to reveal the petticoat worn beneath it. She wore a delicate diamond choker and diamond earrings.
Kat looked elegant in her red gown and diamonds. Sarah was dressed similarly, but in a golden yellow color.
The ball was well underway when the trio arrived. An orchestra at one end of the long gallery played a piece Kat recognized as Johann Sebastian Bach’s. It was a delight for her ears.
Upon entering the ballroom, she made eye contact with several of her new female friends and excused herself to join them. Standing apart from the group, slurping his third glass of champagne, was Baron Adams. He had been eyeing Katharine when she made her entrance and he was excited.
His wife Hettie was completely oblivious to his plans, and he preferred it that way. He would never divorce Hettie. Not only was the bovine woman a good mother, but as a Catholic, divorce was unthinkable. However, she was not pleasing to the eye and a man had needs.
Many a night he had laid awake thinking of the beautiful blonde and devising a way for them to be together. He had placed money aside for a townhouse in London and set up an account with a fashionable dressmaker in town as well. He had everything ready. Tonight, he would let her know that she need not worry about her future. He was prepared to offer her the position of mistress.
Baron Adams had found himself stroking his member many nights, imagining the blonde on her knees and taking him everywhere he wanted. He could not wait for their first night together. He knew she would be a pleasure-seeking woman. Her zest for life and intelligence told him everything he needed to know. She would please him in all ways.
Truth be told, he did not value education in women and he figured all of her fancy lessons had been for naught. He believed her father should have known better. But that was in the past, and perhaps he could find a use for her education.
He had wanted to choose his time perfectly and tonight’s ball would be the night. He would make the offer and he was sure she would be thrilled and honored. As a baron, he was a good catch, even to associate with as a mistress. He watched her the entire evening and waited for the moment when she was alone.
Katharine was enjoying herself. The music was lively; Bach’s Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments drifted through the rooms to delight the listeners. She had one glass of champagne but didn’t really care for the taste. She had lost eyesight of Charles and Sarah, and all her new friends were dancing. She had only danced one Minuet to Handel’s Watermusic before deciding she wanted to explore the house.
She walked along the gallery in the huge house where the portraits of past ancestors hung. At the end of the gallery, a large balcony opened up and overlooked the vast gardens. She stepped out onto the balcony. The chilly air felt refreshing after the warmth of the ballroom. She closed her eyes and thought of Willow Manor. She missed the safety and loveliness of her home.
“My dear,” she heard behind her and spun around.
Katharine tried to steel herself against the revulsion she felt at seeing the baron before her. She had met him at several parties and balls and was polite, but she did not like him. She felt he was dishonest and arrogant and he seemed to look at her in a distasteful manner.
“Lord Adams,” Katharine replied.
Horace smiled, revealing tiny white teeth. “Come, my dear. I’ve told you that you may address me as Horace.”
Katharine smiled in return. “Yes, but I cannot,” she replied. “That would not be proper.”
Horace’s eyes feasted on Katharine’s dress and watched as her breasts moved up and down over the neckline. He couldn’t wait to taste them.
“Proper, my dear? I am old enough to be your father. What could be improper about a young lady addressing an older man by his Christian name?”
Katharine gritted her teeth at the mention of her father. Edward was good and kind, nothing like this man before her, she was certain.
“Nevertheless, my Lord. I will address you as befits your rank.”
Horace chuckled. He would love to break the little chit’s pride. She thought too much of herself. “As you wish, my dear,” he replied.
Katharine watched as he stood between her and the gallery and wondered what he wanted. He seemed intent on keeping her on the balcony.
“Was there something you wished, my Lord?”
Horace watched the beauty in the dark night sky. The diamonds at her neck flashed in the night and her eyes were luminous. By God, he would have the little bitch on her knees before the night was done.
“Yes, my dear. You are most perceptive. Intelligence is a quality not often found in women.” He strove to play on her vanity even though he hated educated women.
“Thank you. My father was very indulgent with me. Had I been a man, I would have followed my brother to Eton.”
Horace almost snorted. Never mind Eton. I have work for that pretty little mouth that doesn’t involve talking, he thought and almost stroked his hard cock.
“Yes. I’m sure you would have excelled. However, as a woman I understand that there have been offers of marriage. One offer has been turned down, though I believe the Earl is quite intoxicated with you.”
Katharine frowned at the turn of conversation. “Yes. I have had offers,” she said. “However, my father is indulgent. I do not need to rush into anything unwanted.”
“Your father is kind, generous.”
“He is,” she agreed.
“I’m sure you are aware that I am not without funds, and I am a titled baron as you already know.”
Katharine nodded, though wasn’t sure where the conversation was leading.
“Yes.”
“I find you quite alluring, my dear. So much so that I have be
en thinking about what remedy could assuage the situation.”
Katharine was at a loss for words as he came toward her.
“My lord?” she asked.
“I am unable to offer you marriage.” He was taller than she was and though older, he was compact and muscled. He was graying at the temples, and his hooknose and fleshy lips were inches from her face. “But I am enchanted. You must know that, my dear.”
Katharine shook her head, fighting the nausea as it rose up.
“My lord,” she began.
“Yes. Yes,” Horace said. He touched her golden hair and then her neck. His fingers lingered on her the diamond necklace, touching each jewel before he spoke. “I can offer you a comfortable life. I have a townhouse prepared for you and an account at the finest dressmaker in London.”
Katharine was frozen. Her icy hands were at her sides as she tried to take in the information.
“You want me as your mistress?” she asked, insulted.
“Yes, yes. Tonight. Tonight,” he said. His thick hands held her arms at her sides and he was suddenly pressing into her. She could feel his thickness through the fabric of their clothes and his fleshy lips were on her neck.
His one hand moved to touch her neck again and then his thick fingers were moving over the tips of her breasts. His other hand was clawing at her skirts, trying to raise them.
Katharine was disgusted and sickened, but moved quickly to stop the baron. She slapped him hard across the face, almost curling her hand into a fist.
The baron looked shocked that she had dared to raise a hand to him and moved toward her again.
She slapped his other cheek hard and she moved around him.
“You are disgusting! Do not ever come near me again!” she yelled.
Then she was gone, almost running, down the long gallery, passing the portraits of long-dead men and women hanging in their places. She found a looking glass before she entered the ballroom and tried to calm her nerves. Her hands were shaking and her cheeks were flushed pink. She closed her eyes.
Stay calm, stay calm, she told herself.
When she rejoined the party, she asked her brother to indulge her; though she had enjoyed the evening, she had a severe headache and wanted to return home. He allowed her to do so. She never mentioned the incident with the baron and chose to forget it. The baron, however, did not.
Horace visited his favorite brothel that evening. He was particularly degrading with the woman, taking her hard on all fours and then filling her mouth with his seed. The entire time he took her, he thought of the haughty blonde with her ice-cold diamonds and even colder stares.
How dare that little upstart bitch attack him? He had offered her a comfortable position serving him and doing little in return. She had attacked him like a feral cat on the street. His cheek had been red for hours and he even felt a loose tooth. Damn her! He felt his cock growing hard again at the thought of having her tight cunt and mouth service him. She didn’t want him? She thought herself too good to play mistress to a baron of the realm? The bitch would pay.
Suddenly he had a plan in mind: a delicious, evil plan. Horace rubbed his hands together. Who knew that such a dastardly people existed in the world? He learned of men or, more to the point, Arab pirates, who made a living buying and selling flesh. It wasn’t just any flesh. Their main objective was to abduct white women, who would then be sold in the Arab world to rich men. Horace chuckled. Soon enough, the little haughty bitch would be spreading her legs for some old, stinking Arab.
***
Sarah and Katharine each carried a small bag, while their maid, Lucy, had a large basket hooked around one meaty arm. Together, they made their way to Petticoat Lane Market. Though Sarah usually never went to market and thought it servant’s work, she was anxious to show Katharine the bustling city.
Katharine was overwhelmed at the throngs of people that seemed to move in and about the market, and she saw the bric-a-brac was enough to satisfy any shopper. She was separated from Sarah a few times, but usually managed to find her quickly. Lucy moved expertly through the crowd, and her sharp accent could be distinctly heard.
Katharine smiled at herself as she looked at the goods. Did she truly need anything? No, she figured, but she wanted to buy something to remember the trip.
Uthal and Sufyan watched the woman with interest. They had kept a watchful eye on the townhouse. When she had emerged today and traveled to the market, they knew their moment had come. The baron had paid them handsomely to take the woman, and Uthal knew of a sheik in Arabia who would want this one. He was renowned for his harem and would certainly want to add this beauty to it. Uthal was already counting the money in his hands.
The lady had become separated from her small group several times and Uthal knew all too well that she could be captured easily. It would be easy to slip in beside her as she walked. He had tried to dress and look more like an Englishman, though he was darker in skin. He would wait until her companions had left her again and he would pull her into the back of a stall, where one watching might think they were lovers in a small tryst. Once there, he would quickly bind her hands behind her back and take her to the awaiting coach.
He would tell her in a deadly voice, thick with heavy accent, that her life would depend upon her silence and that she should not make a scene. She would be too taken aback and frightened to do anything. By the time she recovered her wits, they would be inside the coach with the men on either side of her.
She might try to escape, in which case he would have to smack her sharply to show the seriousness of her situation. He would arrange passage aboard a ship and they would leave immediately.
Indeed, everything went exactly as Uthal had planned, and Katharine was soon aboard a ship, bound to a land she had never seen, as a slave.
Chapter 1
Sheik Mohammed Aksam Al Sabid was the eldest son of the old great sheik Mohammed Akmon, who had the soul of a good believer, and this had pleased Allah.
Mohammed Aksam was the eldest son at 35 years of age and already a commanding presence. At six feet, two inches tall, he had a golden bronzed body and brown eyes, which was common in Saudi Arabia. He always wore a gold earring in his ear, as he had crossed the equator, and he was proud of his seafaring abilities. His brown hair flowed just below his shoulders, and he had a small trimmed goatee.
As the eldest son of the great sheik, he had inherited much. He inherited vast wealth from his specially-bred Arabian horses and lands which cultivated coffee. He also inherited the role of judge and mediator in relation to the problems of his people, as his father was before him. He watched over his large family, which included his aging mother, numerous brothers, and many insignificant sisters.
He had married young at 18 and his bride had been only 14 years old, which was permitted under Islam. Yasmeen was a sultry Arabian beauty with dark eyes, long black hair, and a lithe body. She was the color of honey and oozed sexuality. She was the sheik’s toy and at his very beck and call. She was eager in bed, both to please him and to keep him. Although he slept with her often, Yasmeen had only borne him two children, but they were worthless daughters at that.
Mohammed was a great sheik. He was revered and respected for his wisdom and his wise counsel. But nothing impressed the Arabian men more than the sheik’s harem. Filled with exotic women from his part of the world, there were close to 27 women. He had numerous slim women from Arabia as well as dark, exotic Ethiopian women with large nipples and hairy snatches. Persian, Iraqi, Egyptian, Afghan, and a West African woman filled his harem.
Yasmeen was a jealous cat, but she knew he never slept with his whores more than once a night and he took extensive precautions to make certain his seed never impregnated his harem women. Yasmeen alone was the only woman who had the pleasure of growing large with his seed. The harem was a respected and well-known institution serving her husband, but Yasmeen treated the women as common whores and hated them all. She knew there were several favorites, and she went out of her
way to torment them. She was also secretly very frightened, as she had only given birth to two girls; she worried that the time would come when her husband would take a second wife because he wanted sons.
Islam allowed the taking of a second wife if the man was able to physically and financially take care of both wives and wanted them both.
Yasmeen lived with that fear every day. She prayed to Allah each time she lay with her husband that his seed would sprout into a boy child so that Mohammed would have no need to look elsewhere. She would often lie in bed for hours after their union had been completed, rubbing a sticky oil between her legs. The oil had been prepared by the local midwife and was said to have great powers. She thought only of Mohammed, creating a son, and having a child to parade over the whores in the harem.
***
Mohammed had long heard of the fair women who graced the lands of Saxony and Brittany. He heard tales of their sun-kissed hair, ocean blue eyes, and skin as cool and colored like marble. He became obsessed and had already commissioned his mercenaries in the Arabian Sea to bring him a woman of such surpassing beauty. There were many Arab pirates who patrolled and trolled the waters, and he knew word would eventually come of one such woman. He would gladly pay a king’s ransom for her.
***
Lady Katharine Fairfax’s ordeal had begun in London when Uthal and Sufyan had kidnapped her at the Petticoat Lane Market. She had remembered admiring a lovely beaded bag when suddenly she had been grabbed by the arm and pushed into the back of the stall. A dark, swarthy man stood before her, dressed in peasant clothes but looking out of place. His face was hard and dangerous.
He spun her around and bound her hands behind her back with a rope. She remembered being thrust into a dark coach and, fearing rape or death, she fought back. He slapped her and told her not to make a scene, that her life depended upon it.
She woke up later to the gentle swaying of the waves upon a ship. The room was dark and she was alone. She had not been molested and her hands had been unbound. She tried the door to the room but it was locked. She knocked loudly several times.
The Sheik and the Slave Page 2