Captive of the Harem

Home > Romance > Captive of the Harem > Page 25
Captive of the Harem Page 25

by Anne Herries


  ‘Omar is the captain of the palace guard,’ Marisa whispered

  in her ear as the men walked to the centre of the arena. ‘They

  say he is the strongest and most skiled of al—apart from your

  lord.’

  Eleanor nodded but could not speak. Her chest was tight with

  the mixed emotions raging inside her. She was conscious of an

  overwhelming excitement, but there was also fear. Supposing her

  lord was hurt? She had requested this contest, and it had proved

  entertaining—but now she was tingling from head to toe.

  She watched breathlessly as the contest began. The men

  seemed evenly matched as they circled each other, waiting their

  time. Omar moved in first, his arms surrounding Suleiman in a

  time. Omar moved in first, his arms surrounding Suleiman in a

  huge bear hug, but Suleiman’s strength broke that hold easily.

  Before Eleanor could draw breath, Omar had seized Suleiman’s

  arm and had him flipped over and lying on his back on the

  ground beneath him.

  She gave a little cry of alarm, but the next moment they were

  on their feet again. ‘What is happening?’ she asked Marisa.

  ‘The first fal has gone to Omar—there are two more, for it is

  the best of three.’

  Eleanor watched in apprehension. She suddenly wanted

  Suleiman to win. He must win! She could not bear to see him

  lose. He was her lord and her love and she wanted to see him

  triumph.

  Seconds later, Suleiman brought Omar down and held him

  easily. He was laughing as they both regained their feet, and

  Omar was grinning as if he too enjoyed this test of skil between

  them. They were the best of friends, yet neither wanted to be

  bested and it was a true contest.

  ‘One fal each,’ Marisa said. ‘Al depends on the last!’

  Eleanor could not speak. She could see that both men were

  relishing their fight, testing each other to the ful. The third fal did not come easily, for both were skiled in the art and both seemed

  determined to win. The tension was almost unbearable for

  Eleanor. Her nails curled into the palms of her hands as she

  watched, on the edge of her seat, breath catching as the

  advantage swayed one way and then the other—and then quite

  suddenly it was over. Suleiman had won!

  Eleanor jumped to her feet to applaud, then, conscious of al

  Eleanor jumped to her feet to applaud, then, conscious of al

  eyes upon her, sat down again. Perhaps she was not supposed

  to show her approval so openly.

  The two men were laughing and hugging each other, stil

  jostling as though they would have liked to continue the contest.

  ‘The tournament is over,’ Karin announced and stood up,

  beckoning to the other ladies. ‘We should return to the palace

  now. Come along, Eleanor. We must not linger. The lord

  Suleiman wil send for you later if he wishes to see you.’

  Eleanor was reluctant to leave. She glanced at Suleiman,

  wanting to catch his eye, but he was stil laughing and jesting with

  his friend. She knew that she must do as Karin told her, for the

  ladies had become very excited and she had noticed that the men

  who had taken part and were stil in the courtyard arena were

  looking their way rather too often. It was not seemly, and it

  would not do to flout the customs too much. Suleiman had been

  generous to give so much; his trust must not be abused.

  ‘Yes, we shal come,’ she said, taking Marisa’s arm firmly.

  The other woman was clearly very reluctant to move and she

  gave her a little push. ‘Be patient, Marisa. Karin wil arrange the

  marriage if Ahmed is wiling.’

  ‘I wish that I could speak with him.’ Marisa’s tone was

  petulant. The promise of a marriage with a man of her choice had

  made her impatient.

  ‘I am sorry, but you cannot,’ Eleanor said. ‘Be grateful that

  you are to be alowed to marry.’

  ‘Yes—yes, I am grateful to you and the lord Suleiman,’

  ‘Yes—yes, I am grateful to you and the lord Suleiman,’

  Marisa said with a last wistful look over her shoulder. ‘I am so

  thankful that Fatima did not kil you, Eleanor. She deserved her

  punishment, awful though it was.’

  They were back inside the palace now. Eleanor felt the chil

  strike her as she stopped walking and turned to look at her

  companion.

  ‘What do you mean—her punishment? I thought she had

  been sent back to her home?’

  ‘Oh, my foolish tongue! I am so sorry.’ Marisa’s eyes

  darkened with remorse. ‘Karin told us we were not to say

  anything—in case it distressed you. I forgot after al the

  excitement. She wil be so cross with me!’

  ‘And I shal be angry if you do not tel me what happened to

  Fatima.’

  ‘The lord Suleiman ordered that she be beaten and sent to the

  slave merchants. She wil have been sold by now, but not to the

  harem of a noble lord. She—she was marked by the whip. Our

  master ordered it so, because she had misused her beauty and

  must never be able to do so again.’

  ‘How cruel!’ Eleanor cried. Her face was white with shock

  and she felt sick. ‘How could he have done such a wicked thing?

  I cannot bear to think what wil become of her.’

  ‘I should not have told you,’ Marisa said, looking guilty. ‘It

  was no more than she deserved, my lady—truly.’

  Eleanor did not speak again until they were back in the

  harem. She went up to Karin as the other woman prepared to

  leave them.

  leave them.

  ‘Why did you not tel me about Fatima?’

  Karin stared at her in silence for a moment, and then sighed.

  ‘Because I knew you would react this way. You do not

  understand, Eleanor. The lord Suleiman had to make an example

  of her. She could not simply be banished after al her

  wickedness. He might have had her put to death for her crimes

  had he wished.’

  ‘Would not that have been kinder?’ Eleanor asked angrily.

  ‘She has been treated worse than a dog. To have her beaten in

  such a way that she could not hope to be sold into a harem!

  What wil happen to her now? Is she to be sent to a brothel in

  the back streets of the city, to be used and abused by any man

  wiling to pay a few coins for her? Cruel! Wicked! I cannot

  believe that my lord would do such a thing.’

  Karin hesitated, but it was not for her to tel Eleanor the

  extent of Fatima’s crimes, ‘She tried to kil you,’ she said. ‘You

  should not blame Suleiman. He had little choice. Fatima knew

  what she did was punishable by death. She is fortunate to have

  escaped it.’

  ‘Fortunate?’ Eleanor stared at her in disbelief. ‘I think what

  he has done is barbaric—despicable. Suleiman promised me she

  would be sent home. He promised!’

  ‘That was before she tried to kil you.’ Karin gave her a

  severe look. ‘Remember where you are, Eleanor. I warned you

  that a beast lurks in al men. The lord Suleiman is no different

  from any other man, though I have always found him just. As
he

  has been this time. He has acted according to the law.’

  has been this time. He has acted according to the law.’

  ‘A savage, cruel law!’ Eleanor retorted.

  ‘But the law by which we al live,’ Karin reminded her. ‘You

  have been much indulged—perhaps too much. Our laws are

  perhaps wiser than you think, though they may seem harsh at

  times. You must learn to accept that there are some things you

  cannot change.’

  ‘Never! I shal never accept such brutality.’

  ‘Learn this, then,’ Karin said and her tone was harsh. ‘You

  wil gain nothing by defiance. The lord Suleiman cares for you

  and you might make life easier for many in this place—but only if

  you learn to bend a little, to give as wel as take. Tame the beast

  with tenderness, make him weak with chains of love, Eleanor,

  and you could bring happiness to many. Do not seek to fight the

  beast—or it may turn and devour you.’

  ‘I want to see the lord Suleiman!’

  Karin looked at her beautiful, tempestuous face, then shook

  her head. ‘No, I shal not request an audience for you. Not while

  you are in this mood.’

  ‘Then I shal go without permission.’ Eleanor cried

  impetuously. ‘I shal demand to see him.’

  ‘You do not yet rule here.’ Karin gave her a hard look. ‘If

  you persist in this foly I shal have you locked in your room and

  place a guard over you—’ She broke off as Hasar approached.

  ‘Yes? You wished to speak with me?’

  ‘The lord Suleiman has sent for the lady Eleanor. He wishes

  to see her at once.’

  ‘I shal come at once.’ Eleanor’s eyes were bright with anger.

  ‘I must not keep my lord waiting, Karin.’

  Karin caught at her arm as she would have passed. ‘Take

  care, Eleanor,’ she warned. ‘I am not your enemy. You know

  that I tried to protect Fatima from herself. I would have had her

  banished if that were possible—but Suleiman was angry. He

  came to you when we feared you might die, and he was half out

  of his mind with grief. I have never seen a man so close to

  breaking. I do not say that he was kind to have punished Fatima

  as he did—but he was within the law. He could have punished

  her a thousand times more harshly. Many men in his position

  have done far worse things for less reason.’

  ‘But I do not wish to marry those other men,’ Eleanor cried.

  ‘I believed I had come to love Suleiman—but he is a barbarian.

  A cruel savage! And I do not wish to marry such a man.’

  She tore herself from Karin’s grasp and walked away. Karin

  stared after her with anxious eyes. Although it was not often

  alowed to rage out of control, Suleiman did have a fearful

  temper. And she was very much afraid that this time Eleanor

  would try his patience too far.

  Chapter Eleven

  The struggle with Omar had heated Suleiman’s blood, leaving

  him with a sense of exhilaration and triumph. He had won fairly

  and Eleanor had been watching—that gave him a deep sense of

  satisfaction. Her request for the tournament had told him that she

  was far from being indifferent to him, as she had tried to pretend.

  Indeed, he had sensed the last time he’d held her in his arms that

  she was close to surrender. He could have taken her then, but he

  had controled his desire and let her go.

  Suleiman knew that he could possess Eleanor with or without

  her consent, but the act of possession without love was only a

  fleeting pleasure that he might have found with any of his

  concubines. There must be more! He had for some time past

  been aware of an emptiness within himself, but until he had begun

  to know and understand Eleanor he had not realised what was

  lacking in his life.

  He loved her—not just with his body, but with his heart and

  mind. For the first time in his life he had met a woman who could

  touch the inner man. His loins burned with the need to lie with

  her, and sometimes at night he had lain restless, unable to sleep

  for the need inside him, but he had given her the time she had

  begged for because he wanted her to come to him in love.

  ‘The hawk is made weak by the dove,’ he murmured to

  himself, amused by the discovery within himself that he would

  once have termed foly in others. ‘Yet I would have her come to

  me…’

  His pulses quickened as he heard footsteps and knew that

  she had answered his cal. It was for her sake that he had not

  sent for her before this, because she had been so il and he had

  wanted her to be truly wel again. But there must be no more

  play-acting. It was time that Eleanor understood the true nature

  of his feelings for her. He caught the scent of her perfume and

  turned eagerly. His smile faded as he saw the expression on her

  beautiful face. She had not looked at him this way since that first

  meeting in the gardens of the Corsair Mohamed Ali ben Ibn!

  ‘Why are you angry?’

  ‘You ask me why—after what you have done?’ Her eyes

  narrowed, her look one of utter contempt. ‘No one told me until

  after the contest. Karin ordered that it should be kept from

  me…’

  ‘Of what do you speak?’ Suleiman felt a sharp searing pain

  as he saw what he believed to be hatred in her eyes. ‘What have

  I done that has so displeased you?’

  ‘Was it so little to you that you cannot even remember?’

  Eleanor’s eyes flashed in anger. ‘You told me that Fatima would

  be sent back to her home. How could you have had her beaten

  so cruely and then—to have condemned her to a life of true

  slavery! She had been treated almost as a queen in your

  household…’ Her voice broke with emotion. ‘I cannot believe

  that you could have been so savage, so unjust.’

  that you could have been so savage, so unjust.’

  ‘You think I was unjust?’ Suleiman stared at her haughtily.

  That she should speak to him thus! It was unforgivable. How

  dare she criticise his judgement? He had alowed her much, but

  she went too far. A woman might not seek to dictate in such

  matters. ‘Fatima was guilty of many crimes—more than you

  know. I might have ordered a painful death for her—or

  imprisonment—but I granted her life.’

  ‘Life as a whore to be used and abused by any man who

  pays for her!’

  ‘She tried to kil you—and she murdered the woman

  Dinazade.’ His expression hardened. ‘I was merciful because

  she had once pleased me—but such crimes must be punished.

  Even in your own country murder is punishable by death!’

  ‘You are a barbarian!’ Eleanor cried, too angry to recognise

  the justice in what he said. ‘I had begun to believe that you were

  a man of wisdom and justice—but now I see I was wrong. You

  are as ruthless and cruel as those men who slew my father.’

  Suleiman stared at her, his lips white with fury. ‘Enough! You

  are insolent, woman. I have alowed you too much freedom, and

  now you seek to dictate what I may or may not do. I a
m the

  master here. You are a woman and my property.’

  ‘I am wel aware that a female slave is less than nothing in

  your eyes,’ Eleanor retorted scornfuly. ‘I almost believed in you

  —but now I know you for what you are! Do with me as you

  please, my master. You are strong and I am weak—but punish

  me as you wil, compel me to your bed, you shal never, never

  have me.’

  have me.’

  ‘Be careful, Eleanor. You push me too far at your peril.’

  ‘I care for nothing you do or say to me,’ she cried. ‘I thought

  I could be happy as your wife—that I could live here content to

  please you and leave behind al that I had known and loved—but

  now you make me hate you. You may force me to submit, but I

  shal never love you.’

  She felt a flash of fear as she saw the silver flame leap up in

  his eyes and knew that she had indeed pushed him too far. He

  moved towards her purposefuly, his intent stamped like a

  smouldering brand into the iron of his features.

  ‘Then there is no point in waiting…’ he muttered fiercely and

  there was something wild and primitive about him then as he

  reached out and caught her wrist. ‘I had hoped you would come

  to accept your duty, Eleanor—but as you wil not, I must teach

  you to know your master.’

  ‘No!’ Eleanor caught her breath as she gazed up into those

  dark eyes. ‘Please…do not do this, my lord. I— I beg you. Let

  me go—send me away and let me be free.’

  ‘I wanted your love,’ he said in a voice that even in her

  distress she recognised as tormented. ‘But if it is to be denied me

  even now, I shal glory in your hatred. You belong to me,

  Eleanor—and I wil have you, wilingly or no.’

  She gave a cry of denial and puled away as he began to

  draw her towards the inner chamber, struggling and fighting him

  every step of the way. He was much too strong for her. His

  fingers held her in a vice-like grip and she knew that she was

  helpless against the beast she had aroused in him. His grip

  helpless against the beast she had aroused in him. His grip

  bruised her, causing her to whimper with pain.

  ‘Let me go!’ she cried, fear sweeping her as she recognised

  the wisdom of Karin’s warning too late. ‘Let me go. If you do

  this I shal not forgive you.’

  ‘You hate me anyway. Why should I not take that which is

 

‹ Prev