Khalif nodded. “I think so. Mulay planned to take them back to Tunis and crucify them also as an warning to any who might contemplate rebellion. ”
Indicating the bleeding, headless corpse of the former Bey of Tunis, Dragut spat contemptuously. “Well then, we will take this cur’s head back to his city and spike it over his own gate so that all may see the fate of a tyrant! ”
Khalif was listening with only half an ear, bending down to pick Charlotte up gently in his strong arms. Looking down at her limp form worriedly, he cradled her to his chest.
“Are you all right, Khalif? ”‘Mad’ Jack Fletcher wiped his bloody sword on a torn piece of cloth as he arrived back at the dais. “I am sorry we could not act sooner. ”He looked regretfully at the limp figure of the English girl. “I would have spared her that had I been able,” he said. “You knew, of course, that we planned a rescue? ”
“Yes. I recognised your ship in the bay. Mind you, I was a little surprised to see you at Mulay’s side. ”
Fletcher smiled grimly. “Dragut sent me on ahead when your message reached Algiers. It was as we thought. Mulay Aruj, greedy for loot and allies, made us welcome. Even so, we were lucky Dragut spotted our ships in the bay. Had he been sailing further from shore, the outcome might well have been different. ”
Khalif, breathing easier now, looked down sorrowfully at the unconscious figure of Charlotte. “Once again I owe him my life,” he said softly, “and now my mother, father and sister are avenged at last. ”There was a quality to the corsair’s voice which clearly indicated the depth of his feelings. “Until I heard his voice on the beach I had no idea, but this so-called Bey was the devil I have searched for all these years. ”
Fletcher glanced at Mulay Aruj’s huge corpse in surprise. “So it was he who murdered your family,” he said. He looked around the hall. The carnage was over, blue cloaked bodies littering the floor and all the surviving Janissaries disarmed and chained. “Then Khalif Barbar’s private Jehad would seem to be finished! ”
It was at this moment that Dragut came back with Zamil and the three girls. “Mistress . . . oh, Mistress,” sobbed a distraught Meylissah. She turned a tear-stained face to Khalif. “What have they done to her, Lord? Will she live? ”
Zamil looked from the weals, burns and other marks of torture on Khalif’s body to the ashen-faced, bandaged girl lying so still in his arms. “What happened? ” he queried.
Kahlif gently shifted Charlotte so that she lay more comfortably. “Mulay Aruj had her crucified,” he said bitterly. “Also, she is cut inside. The cur did it with a dagger while she was nailed to the cross. ”He glanced up at the Nubian with a look of desperation on his face. “Leila has knowledge of medicines and healing. Perhaps she can help. ”
“Of course . . . of course . . . the others, too, will want to assist. She will be in good hands, Khalif. Do not worry! ”
Khalif got up and swayed, momentarily unsteady, then turned for the door with his unconscious burden. “I will take her aboard the San Cristobal then,” he said decisively. “We can make her more comfortable there. ”
Dragut Bey nodded. “Zamil and the slaves can accompany you. I will come later. Right now our men are looking for spoils. ”His look was seriously calculating. “Remember also, my son, Tunis now awaits us unguarded. Let us hope Mulay’s treasury proves to be as rich as people say. ”
Chapter Twenty Two
‘Separation’
“You spent time with Mulay Aruj. How did he know where we would be? ” Khalif asked ‘Mad Jack’ Fletcher. They were in the large stern cabin of the San Cristobal, moored in the great harbour at Tunis. Zamil, Dragut, Hawkins, Fletcher and John Frith sat at the big table with Khalif while Charlotte lay covered with furs on the large sleeping couch. Meylissah was in close attendance at her former Mistress’s side.
“I don’t know,” replied Fletcher, “but my guess is that someone from that village recognised you and told the Janissaries at the fort. It was common knowledge in the city that the Berber had taken an English slave from you and brought her to Tunis. ”He pondered for a moment. “Come to think about it, Mulay refused point-blank to sell her to me at the palace, insisting she be sold on the block. I think maybe he cooked up this whole business with Gebhr just to trap you. ”
Two weeks had passed since the battle. As soon as they were back on board the San Cristobal, Leila had examined Charlotte’s wounded passageway and, exhibiting a certain expertise with needle and thread, had managed to stitch the deep cut inside the English girl’s vagina. Charlotte had been lucky, if one could call it that. Her uterine sponge had taken the brunt of the dagger thrust and despite the obvious trauma of her torn inner flesh and the terrible wounds in her wrists and feet, she was already showing definite signs of improvement.
There a commotion on the couch and Khalif looked round as Charlotte struggled against Meylissah’s grasp to sit up, face pale and wan, the gold rings in her uncovered breasts glittering in the light of the oil lamps.
“Be still! ” chided Meylissah, quickly covering the English girl’s nakedness with the furs. “You must rest!
Khalif stood up himself and moved to sit at her side on the sleeping couch. “Yes . . . be still, slave! ” he repeated sternly. “Leila tells me that it will be several more weeks before you are well enough to move. ”
Charlotte sighed. “But I feel so much better already,” she protested. Please, let me at least sit up! ”
Khalif looked at her with a gentle, if somewhat exasperated, expression on his face. He shook his head resignedly and sat down at her side. “Very well,” he said slowly. “But you must promise to take things slowly. Your body needs time to recover. ”
Charlotte nodded. “I will, of course. Now please tell Meylissah not to fuss over me quite so much! ”
Khalif took her by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “It was I who gave Meylissah instructions to look after you carefully. She is only obeying as a good slave should . . . unlike someone else I might name. Truly, if Mulay Aruj had not nearly killed you, I might even now be punishing you for disobedience. ”
Charlotte flinched. “I am sorry,” she whispered. “I know I have caused you much trouble. I will not do so again. ”
Khalif pulled her close. “Good,” he growled.
Charlotte’s shoulders began to shake and she gave a little sob. “I love you,” she whispered, “and when you took me from Gebhr I was happy. ”She turned her face away to hide her tears. “But after Jahwar used me for his pleasure and called me slut, I knew it to be true. Mulay Aruj and the slave trainers all knew it well, as did other men who took their pleasure with me. I am not worthy of your love, Master. Perhaps you should have left me on the cross. ”
Khalif stroked her neck gently. “Hush now! ” he said softly. “That kind of talk is foolish. It is you who were betrayed, foolish slave. Did you choose to be in the hands of Jahwar and Mulay Aruj? Did you ever have any choice about what was being done to you? ”He answered for her when she made no reply. “No, of course not! ”
She continued to sob. “But they have branded me . . . and . . . and . . . other things. How could you want me now? ”
Khalif shrugged carelessly. “Slaves are usually marked in some way or other. As for the rings in your flesh, they can be removed . . . if I decide they do not please me. ”He smiled then, white teeth gleaming in his dark face. “But I shall leave them where they are for the time being. I think maybe I shall enjoy having my love slave belled sometimes. ”
Charlotte’s heart thumped in her chest. Love slave! The phrase echoed in her mind. It was all she wanted to be. Remembering the others in the cabin, she cast an embarrassed, sideways glance at the men gathered round the table. Dragut and Zamil were grinning openly, while the three Englishmen were each feigning deafness.
“Very little of what happened was your fault,” Khalif co
ntinued. “Much was mine. It was I who first enslaved you . . . and I who took your maidenhead. ”
Charlotte looked up shyly and let her head fall against his shoulder. “Not against my will,” she whispered. “You gave me much, and all that you took from me, I gladly gave. ”
Khalif went on as if he had not heard her. “Had I not left you virtually unguarded, Jahwar would never been able to take you. ”He stroked her blonde hair gently. “I know now that, even though I would have stood you on the block so that your value might be shared with my crew, I would have bought you myself, no matter what the cost. ”
She looked up at him tearfully. “Leila said this, but when you told me I was to be sold in Algiers, I thought you didn’t want me. And yet all the time, with Jahwar and Mulay Aruj and in the House of slaves, I prayed and prayed you would come. Oh, Khalif . . . Khalif . . . my Master! All I ever wanted was to be yours. I love you. ”
“And I you, slave . . . though I did not truly know it until it was nearly too late. ”He kissed her gently on the forehead. “I have heard of this thing and thought it to be nothing more than a female fancy. Yet it is true. I cannot deny it. You are my love slave. ”He looked down at her possessively and pulled her closer. “I will not give you up! ”
Hawkins shifted his chair and gave an embarrassed cough. “Khalif, if you can possibly tear yourself away from your woman for a few minutes, perhaps we can talk about this mysterious Spanish Fleet,” he said.
Khalif looked up. “Spanish fleet? ” he asked. “You said the Dey was worried about it? Why? How does it concern us? ”
Fletcher shrugged his shoulders. “It seems that the Spanish are assembling a large fleet for an invasion of my country. The Dey’s spies have told him that there are well over a hundred ships already in the ports of Lisbon and Cadiz. ” He chuckled grimly. Our countryman, Drake, has been raiding the Spanish settlements in the New World. He completely destroyed their fortifications at Saint Augustine, taking much gold and many prisoners. ”He paused for a moment to let what he was saying sink in. “At first the Dey thought that we in the Mediterranean might be threatened. The corsairs have, after all, taken many Spanish ships since the disaster at Lepanto. But evidently it is not so. Though his emissaries are still bargaining at the English Court, it seems that King Philip has now had enough of ‘El Draque’ and the other English privateers. The fact that Elizabeth has imprisoned Catholic Mary, the Scottish Queen, and now threatens to execute her has not endeared the English to him, either. From what the Dey’s spies told us, Philip seriously intends to try an invasion across the English Channel. ”
Hawkins nodded. “Philip is quite convinced that he is Master of the world. And if he succeeds in such a venture, who can say what his next will be? Algiers, Bizerta and all our safe havens may well come under fire. ”
Fletcher smacked a fist savagely into his palm. “I sail for England now that this matter of Mulay Aruj is settled. I cannot stand by and watch my homeland threatened. Most of the other English privateers will do the same, I think. ”
Both Hawkins and Frith nodded emphatically. “With your permission, Khalif, we will sail with Fletcher. If and when an invasion comes, our place will be with Drake and Howard in the English Channel! ”
Khalif nodded. “I understand! But what if the Dey’s spies are mistaken. Maybe Philip intends to deal a blow against us first. ”
Charlotte looked up at him. “Captain Fletcher speaks the truth,” she said weakly. “My uncle discovered the plan in Valletta. It was why he was hurrying back to England; why he had to leave me when I had the fever. ”She broke off as a coughing spasm took hold of her and Meylissah took the opportunity to wipe her brow again. The spasm subsided and the English girl went on: “What the Dey did not discover is that there is not to be one fleet, but two! One from Spain itself and one from Holland full of soldiers; coming together in the English Channel. ”She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “They have very many large fighting galleons and galleys,” she whispered, “as well as a whole flotilla of smaller vessels. ”She shivered and pressed herself even closer to Khalif. “And there are enough transports for the army sailing from Rotterdam. A famous General . . . my uncle called him ‘something something Guzman’, I think . . . is to command. ”
Khalif looked at the others sharply. “Anyone know of this ‘Guzman’? ” he asked.
Hawkins nodded and whistled soundlessly. “Yes. Alonzo Pérez de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia. ”His fingers drummed the table. “He certainly is their best General. Philip must really mean business this time! ”
“Yes, that was the name; Pérez de Guzman. ” said Charlotte. “And if they cross the Channel unopposed, England will certainly be vanquished. My uncle was on his way to warn the Queen. Now it is up to us! ”She wriggled painfully upright. “Someone must warn the Queen . . . and quickly! ”
“Shhhh. Everything is going to be all right,” soothed Khalif, gently squeezing her shoulder. “Fletcher and Hawkins will warn your Queen, never fear! ”
She rubbed her cheek against Khalif’s broad chest; red-rimmed eyes enormous in her pale face. “You and I both know Fletcher and Hawkins to be honourable men. ” she whispered. But who in England will believe them? Many . . . perhaps even the Queen . . . will see them as common pirates. ”She looked apologetically at the little group. “Please . . . I do not mean it unkindly. Uncle James told me what it was like. Traitors are everywhere - even among the Queen’s closest advisers, and she knows not who to believe. It was why she sent my uncle to the Mediterranean . . . to find out exactly what was going on.
Fletcher was quiet for a moment as he considered her words, then he nodded. “It is true, Khalif,” he said quietly. “Privateers like Hawkins and myself left England because we were being threatened with imprisonment. The Queen was advised to have us arrested by powerful Spanish sympathisers at the Court in order to placate Philip. Drake himself only escaped because he was the Queen’s favourite. ”He snorted. “Yet these are the men who must defend England if an invasion comes. Our army is small and mostly untrained. Without ships, Philip knows England will fall like a ripe plum. ”
“So, what is to be done? ” asked Khalif. “How will you convince those who need to know that what you report is the truth? ”
There was silence for a moment. Then Fletcher spoke. “There seems to be only one way,” he said quietly. He hesitated for a moment. “The Lady Charlotte. If she were to come with us, there would be no problem. ”
Both Hawkins and John Frith nodded eagerly. “Of course” said Hawkins. “She is the niece of the Queen’s envoy. With Sir James dead, the Queen would have to believe her. ”
Khalif was already shaking he head. “No! ” he replied flatly, his tone of voice clearly denoting he would brook no argument.
Charlotte laid a bandaged hand on his and looked up at him pleadingly. “Please, Master,” she whispered.
Khalif shook his head impatiently and pushed her hand away. “Be quiet, slave! ” he said gruffly. “I am Master here, not you. ”
Hawkins coughed apologetically. “We understand how you feel, Khalif. We would not ask if there was any other way. ”He looked down sadly at the bandaged girl. “Our Queen placed great trust in Sir James and knows the Lady Charlotte very well. Were she to confirm our report there would be no question . . . and the traitors thwarted. ”He smacked a fist against the table. “And do not forget; if England falls, the whole of the Mediterranean will almost certainly fall under Philip’s sway! ”
Khalif set his jaw defiantly. “It is out of the question,” he growled. He looked angrily at the three Englishmen. “For the love of Allah . . . just a few short weeks ago she was nailed to a cross. What would you do . . . finish the job yourselves? ”
“I can think of no other way,” said Fletcher, softly, and Hawkins nodded agreement. He speaks the truth, Khalif,” he said. “The Queen will not believe
us alone. We need Lady Charlotte to go with us. I know how you feel and I wish it were not so . . . but it is the truth! ”
There was absolute silence for a long, long moment as Khalif considered what had been said. His expression was dark as he made his reply. “I grant that no-one here is helped if England falls,” he admitted finally. “But what is that to me? I am not English . . . and if Philip sends ships to Djerba, I can assure you they will have a very hot reception. ”
Charlotte reached up to touch his face. “Please Master! ” she whispered. “These are men who risked their lives for us . . . can you not help them in turn? She gently traced the outline of the scar on his temple with one finger. “I beg you, let me go with them. It is my duty. ”
Khalif hesitated again, clearly undecided about what he should do. “You wish to go with them? ” he asked Charlotte gruffly. “You do not wish to stay with me? ”
Charlotte smiled up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “Oh my love . . . my Lord . . . it is my dearest wish to stay with you forever. But, don’t you see? I must do this! I would never forgive myself if by staying I caused my country’s downfall. ”She paused for a moment. “I love you and I always will. I will return as soon as I can. ”
Khalif shook his head, defeated, and looked at the three Englishmen. “Very well, then. As soon as Leila and Meylissah can assure me that she is recovered sufficiently to travel, we will both go to England with you. Is this agreeable? ”
Fletcher nodded. “Of course. A few days will make little difference . . . and will give us a chance to find a ship and re-provision.
Satisfied, Charlotte pressed herself close to Khalif. Fletcher hid a smile. Whatever the merits of the Master/slave situation between Khalif Barbar and the lovely English girl, it was fairly clear who was really calling the shots.
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