Capture My Heart

by Bobbi Smith

Tori had never thought she would consider Serad her savior, but she could have thrown herself into his arms to express her gratitude at his curt refusal.

  Hasim didn't give up. He released her chin to pick up a sable curl where it lay on her shoulder just above her breast. He rubbed the silken tresses between his fingers as he continued to negotiate, never taking his eyes from her face. "Name your price, my brother. Money does not matter when the pearl is of such luster."

  "She is not for sale," Serad repeated, wondering why he was growing angry at the sight of Hasim's hands on Tori. He understood why Hasim wanted to touch her hair for he'd longed to run his hands through its glossy, silken length for days. Still, understanding it didn't ease his aggravation.

  Tori glanced nervously at Serad, and she was surprised when she saw how furious he looked. She had no idea what she could have done to incur his wrath.

  Hasim was completely unaware of Serad's discomfort as he dropped his hand away from Tori's hair and looked back at him. "If you ever change your mind, you have only to let me know. She would add grace and loveliness to my harem."

  The two men turned from her then and walked away as if she were no longer of any importance to either one of them. Tori was left standing there all alone in the middle of the deck feeling degraded and humiliated. It was then she realized just how lowly her status really was. She was Serad's slave. He could have sold her to the other man without a second thought if he'd wanted to, and there would have been absolutely nothing she could have done about it. She was his to do with as he pleased.

  A tremor of horror shook her. She swallowed and tried to control the nervousness and uncertainty that filled her. She didn't know what the future held, but at least she knew for right now Serad intended to keep her for himself.

  A trumpet and a drum sounded on the docks, and Tori was glad for the distraction as she let her attention be drawn away from thoughts of her own trauma. She watched in fascinated misery as the still-chained men of La Mouette were herded down the gangplank and assembled on the dock. Some of the Scimitar's crew came to stand behind them carrying trunks and cases of the bounty they'd stolen.

  Tori was wondering what was happening when Mallah came back to her side with a very subdued Miss Jones.

  "It's time to go to the palace," he said in way of explanation as he urged them both toward the gangplank.

  Tori and Jonesey shared a worried look as Mallah directed them to the rear of the gathering. Tori looked around for Serad and finally saw him standing in front of the chained sailors with the other man he'd called Hasim. As the drum and trumpet continued to sound their rhythm, the procession began its slow trek through the narrow, winding streets to the entryway to the Kasbah and then on to the entrance of the dey's home.

  Both Tori and Jonesey were aware that they were the center of attention as they made their way through the city. Afraid, they clasped hands and hung on to each other for dear life. Tori looked for Serad ahead of them again, but could not see him now, for he was deep in the crowd. She wondered why she felt so afraid without him nearby.

  When they reached the palace, Hasim and Serad entered first and went straight to the audience chamber to meet with Malik. Serad never failed to be impressed by his adopted father. As he entered the room and saw him sitting on a plush sofa conferring with one of his advisers, he thought of how very little the man had changed through the years. Only the graying of his hair at his temples betrayed his age. Otherwise, he was still the same impressive, robust, vigorous man he'd been when Serad had first come to Algiers.

  "Hello, Malik," Serad greeted him.

  "Serad, my son! Welcome back! You've returned and you are well!" Malik rose to embrace Serad.

  "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. How is my aunt?"

  "She is fine. I'm sure she'll be expecting to see you when we finish here."

  "I will visit her without delay," he promised. He had missed her during his time away.

  "So, how was your voyage?"

  "Very successful," Serad told the older man with pride. Even after all this time he still took great pleasure in proving his worth to this man. A single word of praise from Malik was worth more to him than the bounty of ten ships. "We took a French ship, but the foolish captain tried to escape us and we were forced to fire. It was too badly damaged to bring back, but we did have time to empty the hold before we sank it."

  "Once again you have proven that you are truly worthy of your name, Serad," Malik told him. The young man's successes and abilities never ceased to impress him. "Let us see what tribute you have brought me today."

  Malik settled on his couch looking every bit the powerful ruler while Hasim and Serad moved to stand one on each side of him. The order was given and the French crew and Malik's share of the loot were brought into the chamber before him. Tori and Miss Jones were the last to enter. They stood at the very back of the room farthest away from the men where they couldn't hear what was being said.

  "Father . . ." Hasim spoke up when he saw his father look their way. "Serad took two very special captives. I offered to buy the young one from him, but he wouldn't sell her. Do you suppose he's brought her to you as part of the tribute or do you think he has finally found a woman he wants to keep for himself?" Hasim knew his father hadn't taken any women in tribute payment since Rabi had come into his life, and he was deliberately teasing Serad now just to find out what his reaction would be.

  "Well, Serad?" Malik glanced at him with open curiosity, a twinkle glowing in his golden eyes. "Which is it? Did this Frenchwoman catch your eye or is she mine to add to my harem?"

  "She's not French, Malik. She's English, as is her companion." Serad was hard put to make his answer sound casual.

  "You didn't answer my question."

  "No," Serad admitted with a quick grin. Try as he might, he had never been able to get away with anything before this man. "I didn't."

  Malik and Hasim both laughed at his attempt to avoid telling the truth.

  "Then the two women are part of my tribute?" Malik threw out again watching his adopted son's expression as he spoke.

  "I give you freely all the riches we have taken from the ship, but I claim the women for my own," Serad declared.

  Malik nodded approvingly after seeing the flare of fire in his eyes. "So, a female has finally caught your attention."

  "Yes."

  "She's a pretty one," Hasim agreed.

  The dey studied the young woman and her companion with interest before asking if he had considered ransom.

  "I have not decided yet. Maybe in time I will send word, but for now I plan to keep her in my harem."

  "I understand," Malik said, and he did. Memories of another time swept through his mind. He knew exactly what Serad was feeling.

  "What is the older woman to her?"

  "She is her companion," he explained.

  "Then take them both and enjoy with my blessing. It is long past time that you began to think of having a family and children."

  Serad wanted to argue that he didn't plan to marry the woman, but he knew it would be a pointless debate. Malik had already changed the subject and was speaking of something else. Serad gave Mallah a signal that the sailor interpreted correctly, and following the instructions he'd been given earlier, he quickly ushered Tori and Miss Jones from the audience chamber.

  The two women were surprised at being so quickly and summarily dismissed, and they voiced their objections to Mallah.

  "Don't we get the opportunity to speak with the dey? It's important we tell him who we are so he can arrange for us to be sent home. Where are you taking us now?"

  "I am taking you to Serad's home. You will be staying there in his harem."

  "In a harem?" Miss Jones was aghast.

  "But . . ." Tori, too, tried to argue, but Mallah cut her off.

  "There is nothing more to be said. That was my order from Serad."

  Tori and Jonesey fell silent, knowing it was pointless to argue with this man. They had not paid much attention
to their surroundings as they'd been led into the chamber, but now as Mallah took them through the palace on their way out, they were awed by the obvious wealth of the ruler of Algiers. Gold-inlaid mosaics adorned the tile walls. Fine tapestries hung in splendor in the wide, airy halls. The floors were of polished marble, and the doorknobs were of solid gold and silver. Every now and then they would catch a glimpse of the center gardens of the house, and they were overwhelmed by the lush foliage and splashing fountains there. Even in their fear and uncertainty there could be no denying that they both found it all quite beautiful.

  Mallah led them from the palace to Serad's home a short distance away. Though not as palatial as the dey's residence, it was spacious and luxurious in its own right. Because the harem had not been occupied before, Serad had sent orders to his servants before he'd left the ship to see that everything was readied for Tori and Miss Jones's arrival. Two female servants now waited expectantly at the entrance to the harem as Mallah delivered them there.

  "Serad has insisted that I remain on guard here until he returns," Mallah told the women. "If there is any trouble, you have only to let me know."

  "We will," Oma, the elder of the two women servants, replied. Then, turning her full attention to Serad's newly acquired women, she greeted them. "Welcome. I am Oma, and this is Zena. We are here to serve you. Come in and we will show you to your rooms. We have already prepared baths for you, and there are clothes laid out for you to wear."

  Tori and Jonesey exchanged wondering glances as they followed the servants farther into the harem. They had never been inside one before, and they were surprised at the beauty of it all. Everything was white, from the marble floors to tile walls. Large arched doorways gave an open, airy feeling to the harem while they allowed cooling breezes to circulate through the interior. There was a private courtyard that was only for the use of the women and Serad, should he choose to join them there, and walkways bordered with flowers, shrubs, and trees wound through it, leading to its center fountain and pool.

  "Well, Miss Victoria, if we must be prisoners somewhere, I suppose this is a good place to be. Certainly it's a vast improvement over the ship," Jonesey remarked.

  Oma heard her remark and spoke up, protesting, "But you are not prisoners here in Serad's home. You are part of his harem now, and that is a great honor. Many women have longed for the places you hold. You should be proud and pleased that he has chosen you."

  Jonesey sniffed indignantly at her words. "If what you say is true and we are not prisoners, how soon can we leave?"

  "Leave? Why would you want to?" Zena was shocked that they would even consider it.

  "We want to go home to England. We don't want to be here. Serad kidnapped us from our ship and has brought us to Algiers against our will," Tori explained.

  "We know nothing about what you say. We only know that you have been given the honor and privilege of being in Serad's harem and it is our duty to make sure that you are comfortable and happy," Oma stated firmly, refusing to listen to anything disparaging about Serad. Though she was old, she wasn't blind. Serad was a magnificent young man, and she thought he was wonderful. "These are the baths. Come, we will help you undress and bathe. Perhaps after you've rested a while and have dined on a warm meal, you will feel differently about being here."

  "I shan't count on it," Miss Jones said tartly, but she did enjoy a very leisurely bath.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Rabi was sitting on a stone bench near the fountain in the center of the harem's garden, meditating on the news that had just come to her through Almira, her chief conveyor of palace gossip. Her mood was troubled, and she was hoping the rumor concerning Serad was false. She was waiting anxiously for him to come to her, as she knew he would, so they could speak privately about what she'd heard.

  "Aunt Rabi?" Serad called out her name as he entered the flowering paradise. Malik had told him she would be waiting for him there.

  She came to her feet to greet her beloved nephew.

  Serad hurried her way. She looked as lovely as ever, and he hadn't realized until then just how much he'd missed her during the long months at sea. They came together, and he enfolded her in a big hug. She was the only mother he'd ever known, and he loved her dearly.

  "I've missed you, and I'm so glad you're back," Rabi told him with feeling. "Life is far too lonely when you're away." She gazed up at him with open adoration. In her heart, she still thought of him as Alex, no matter what names they'd been forced to use here in Algiers. He'd grown into a fine man, as handsome as Avery had been, but with a strength of character and will that made him a thousand times the man his father had been.

  "Surely Malik keeps you so busy with his requests for chess games that you have little time to be bored or to worry about me," he teased. "As I recall, the night before I sailed you had soundly defeated him and he was demanding a rematch."

  The chess games between his aunt and Malik were legendary around the palace, for there weren't many people who could challenge Malik the way she did and get away with it unscathed.

  "Don't let Malik know that I've told you, but he's only managed to beat me a handful of times during your absence," Rabi laughed.

  "I'll keep your confidence," he returned with a grin, proud of her abilities.

  "Good. Now, tell me about you. How was the voyage, and what is this rumor I've heard?" She took his hand and drew him down with her onto the bench.

  "What rumor?" Serad asked a little cautiously, not quite sure what she'd heard.

  "Word has come to me that you've taken several women from the ship you captured to your harem. Is this true?" Rabi was praying with all her might that it was not. Though they had been forbidden to speak of England and his real heritage, she had tried in many different, quiet ways to instill the correct beliefs in him. She did not want him to turn into a barbarous savage, and she desperately hoped that her efforts had not been wasted.

  Serad never ceased to be amazed at how quickly news traveled to the palace harem. He knew he had to tell his aunt the truth, but he wasn't sure how she was going to react to it. "Yes. It's true."

  Rabi went a little pale at his reply. "Why?" she asked in a pained voice, her heart aching. "Did you take them there for safekeeping until their ransom is paid?"

  Serad's expression turned serious. "I mean to keep Tori for myself. The other is her companion, an older woman. I didn't want to separate them, so I took them both."

  Rabi's heart constricted at his declaration. It seemed everything she'd tried to teach Serad had been for naught and that he had turned out more Barbary corsair than duke. A wave of nausea rushed through her as she remembered her own fear and heartbreak when Muhammed had taken them into slavery, but it was immediately replaced by anger. She could not, would not, let this happen. She had to do something to help the two women. "What about this 'Tori', as you called her? Have you considered what she wants?"

  "What does it matter? She's my captive," he answered in all seriousness.

  Rabi stiffened at his arrogant words, her anger heating to the boiling point. She knew she had to convince Serad that he was wrong, and to do that she would have to appeal to the nobility she knew was still beating in his heart somewhere. "Do you care for her?"

  He shrugged, admitting only to his attraction to her.

  "I see," she replied quietly, staying in tight control. "Then I want you to think very carefully about what you're doing."

  "I know what I'm doing," Serad stated firmly, not wanting to hear her objections.

  "If you take this English girl to be yours without allowing her any part in the decision, how will you ever know what she's really feeling?"

  A part of him understood exactly what his aunt was getting at, and her words stung him. "Does it matter?"

  "How can you think for one moment that her feelings don't matter?" Rabi demanded of him sharply. She stood and took several agitated steps away from him, then rounded on him, her hands on her hips to make her painful point. "I thought I'd
raised you to be a better man than this. It's a simple thing for a strong man to take what he wants from a woman by brutal force, but the man who does is among the lowest of the low. Physical strength is not the true measure of a man. It takes far more courage and power to be aware of others and put their needs willingly before your own. You have the blood of the Wakefields of Huntington in your veins . . . noble blood. Generations of Wakefield men have served their kings with pride and honor. I had cherished a vision of your becoming a man of honor and dignity . . . a man like your grandfather. I hope and pray that I will not be disappointed."

  Serad could see that her eyes had misted with tears, and her words fell upon him like biting lashes from a whip. He couldn't remember a time she'd ever berated him this way. He came to his feet to stand straight before her, looking very much the Barbary pirate but feeling very much the chastised boy. His feelings were in turmoil and he could think of nothing to say. How could he explain to his aunt that he desired this woman more than he'd ever desired another? How could he explain to her that he couldn't bear to let Tori go?

  "Well?" Rabi asked. "What are you going to do?"

  "She is my captive."

  "She is a woman, a flesh-and-blood woman, whose whole life has been torn asunder because you raided the ship she had the misfortune to be sailing on. Will you do worse to her than that?"

  "I haven't harmed her in any way," he replied defensively.

  "You have taken her from her loved ones, and you have given her no choice in the matter."

  "I have treated her fairly."

  "Then you will continue to do so and ransom her back home as quickly as you possibly can," Rabi told him bluntly, wanting him to do the right thing. The thought of saving another young English girl from suffering the same loss she had drove Rabi on in this confrontation. Love Serad as she did, she couldn't allow him to do this without him understanding fully the results of his actions. She had to help the woman called Tori so she could resume her life without too great an interruption. A few months wouldn't matter, but years . . . Oh, the years were a different matter altogether.