"I have put the elixir in her tea each morning," Nilak answered. "As she does not speak our language there is no one to tell her of such things, my lady. I will do whatever you command me regarding this girl."

"I like her," Alia said. "I think I have read her correctly and that there is no malice in her. Right now, however, I know she longs for her husband and her homeland. Rashid's passion toward her will soon change that. With Fatinah and Hasna gone, he will take her for his wife, I am certain. Two wives for the caliph of Cinnebar are quite enough, don't you think? One seems rather paltry. Four is a bit ostentatious. Two is sensible, and just right. Noor is healthy and young. She will give our lord several children when the time is propitious. Begin tomorrow to teach her our language as I have previously commanded you. I long to speak with her directly, Nilak."

Baba Haroun reentered Alia's apartments. He went immediately to his mistress and bowed low. "It is done, lady. Shall I have their bodies set out for the wild dogs?"

"No," Alia said. "They were my lord's wives and the mothers of his children. Have them buried immediately in an unknown place. But first escort the lady Noor back to her apartments. She is sensitive and not quite used to our ways yet. She understands what happened had to happen, but her heart is gentle. She will need time to recover if she is to please our lord tonight, Baba Haroun. Unless she proves unworthy of my friendship, she has it. Do you understand me? This girl is not my enemy, nor do I expect her to be. Hasna and Fatinah were common creatures. Noor, like me, is the daughter of a prince."

"I understand, my lady Alia," the chief eunuch said, bowing again, and then he turned to Rhonwyn and bowed once more. "I will escort the lady Noor to her quarters," he said to Nilak.

Nilak gasped with her surprise. Never before had Baba Haroun bowed to any other woman in the harem but Alia. She imparted this information to her charge. Rhonwyn arose, and taking Alia's hands in hers, she kissed them. Then she followed the chief eunuch from the apartments of the caliph's wife without another word, Nilak scurrying in her wake.

When they were once again in Rhonwyn's chambers, Baba Haroun said to Nilak, "You will tell your mistress that I am her friend and mentor as long as she is true to the lady Alia. Should she ever betray my mistress, I will personally strangle her with my bare hands."

"You will tell the chief eunuch," Rhonwyn replied when Nilak had translated, "that I am a prince's daughter, and betrayal is not in my nature. I am grateful for lady Alia's friendship and the wise counsel she has provided me with. I will be grateful for the counsel and friendship of Baba Haroun as well."

The chief eunuch smiled slightly, then asked, "Are you truly reconciled to this life that it has been fated you will now lead, Noor?"

Rhonwyn shook her head. "Not yet," she told him.

"Your honesty is to be commended," Baba Haroun said. Then he bowed to her again and departed the chamber.

"Oh, fortunate girl!" Nilak cried. "How can you fail to succeed now with the aid of both the lady Alia and Baba Haroun? You must rest, for the caliph will desire your presence tonight surely."

"I am hungry," Rhonwyn complained. "I have had nothing but sweets since I awoke. I want a meal else I faint in the caliph's arms from starvation, Nilak. How will you explain that?"

"If you faint in the caliph's arms, Noor, he will think you are overcome with passion for him, which is to the good," Nilak teased.

"Chicken," Rhonwyn said firmly.

"I will go to the kitchens myself," Nilak said, and hurried from the chamber.

She had been gone but a few moments when two young slave girls entered the apartments and bowed to Rhonwyn.

"Halah," said one, pointing to herself.

"Sadirah," said the other, making the same gesture.

They then set about preparing a small table for Rhonwyn's meal, chattering to each other as they did so. Rhonwyn realized these were the two serving girls Alia had promised her. They looked harmless enough, although she knew everything she did would be reported back to the caliph's wife even as Nilak reported her words. She smiled to herself and sat next to the fountain in her gathering room. To her surprise it had several water lilies and four small golden fish who swam busily about, darting amid the lily pads. She sighed. Everything about her was so peaceful and beautiful. It was probably the most idyllic place in which she had ever been.

Rising, she walked out into her garden. The mountains beyond and below the edge of the terrace were a hazy blue. She suspected that on a clear day she might even sec the sea beyond. She needed to get to the sea. By the sea was Carthage-and the crusaders' encampment. How long now had she been gone from Edward. Six days? Seven? She had to find him again. She had to get back to him. What did he think happened to her? Would he have determined that the warrior who was captured was his wife? Had he looked for her? Would he indeed appear in Cinnebar, demanding her release? Oh, Edward, she thought sadly. What have I done? I love you! I love you! But will I ever see you again? She felt the tears coursing down her pale cheeks and struggled to regain control of herself. She looked up, startled at a touch on her shoulder.


Halah stood by her side, and the young slave girl pointed back inside. Then she made eating motions with her hands and mouth.

Rhonwyn nodded, giving the girl a weak smile. Brushing the evidence of tears from her cheeks, she arose and reentered her apartments where Nilak was busily setting out a meal with Sadi-rah's aid. Rhonwyn's nose twitched. There was indeed chicken, a small whole one stuffed with rice and raisins. There was a dish of cooked grain with bits of onion in it, flat bread, a honeycomb, and a bowl of fresh fruit. Bhonwyn sat down and began to eat eagerly, tearing the fowl in half and biting into it. "Delicious!" she pronounced, scooping up some of the stuffing with her fingers and popping it into her mouth.

"You eat like a ruffian," Nilak scolded. "Where are your manners, my child?"

"I'm hungry!" Rhonwyn protested. "I cannot even remember the last time I was fed. Do you mean to keep me half-starved all the time?"

"II you eat loo quickly, you will get pains," Nilak advised.

"I am thirsty," Rhonwyn replied.

Shaking her head in despair, Nilak poured fruit juice from a silver decanter into a silver goblet. "Drink slowly," she said. "Do you approve of the two slave girls Lady Alia has given you?"

"They seem pleasant and efficient," Rhonwyn remarked.

"They are. Tomorrow we will begin your lessons in Arabic, my child. Lady Alia is most anxious that you learn."

"I hope I have the facility for it," Rhonwyn said, "but then I learned the Norman tongue readily enough. My own language, Welsh, is difficult for outsiders to learn." Rhonwyn turned her attention again to her meal, eating almost everything that had been brought to her including a peach and a small bunch of grapes. When she had finished, her face and hands were bathed with scented water, and Halah cleaned her mouth and teeth.

"Now," Nilak said, "you must rest."

Rhonwyn did not argue. Her belly was comfortably full now, and it was hot. There was not even the slightest breeze stirring. Sadirah took her garments from her, and Nilak brushed her long gilt-colored hair. Rhonwyn was then content to lay naked upon the beautiful bed with its green silk gauze hangings, and was quickly asleep, her dark lashes brushing like small butterflies against her fair cheek.

"She is so beautiful," Halah said softly.

"They say the caliph fell in love with her at first sight," Sadirah murmured low.

"Do not be ridiculous," Nilak scolded them. "When the caliph first saw her she was garbed in men's clothing. I know, for I helped remove them. She was dirty and smelled like a stable."

"The gossip in Lady Alia's apartments is that he will make the lady Noor his wife now that Fatinah and Hasna are gone," Sadirah said. "That would mean our new mistress would be the second wife."

"If that is indeed so," Nilak replied, "then you have Lady Alia to thank for raising you up. You were merely two among many unimportant slave girls in her service. Now you are the serving women of the caliph's new favorite, who may possibly become his wife."

"She will be a wife. I am certain of it," Halah said. "We are fortunate. She would appear to be a kind lady like Lady Alia."

"She is," Nilak assured them, "There is no meanness in her."

The three women went about the business of removing all evidence of Rhonwyn's meal and neatening up the apartment. The afternoon slipped into evening. Eventually Nilak sent the two younger servants to bed, but she remained watching by her mistress's bed. She was not surprised when the caliph entered the bedchamber, garbed only in a loose white robe. Arising from Rhonwyn's side, she bowed silently to him and departed the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Rashid al Ahmet looked down upon the woman he called Noor, and his heart contracted in his chest. She had been in his possession two days, and while he certainly lusted after her, there was something more in his heart. He liked the contradictions of her. The fierceness and the vulnerability. He would never, he sensed, have all of her. There would always be a tiny something she would withhold from him, and therein lay the challenge. He removed his garment and lay down next to her. She was in a very deep sleep, and he was not surprised, considering all that had happened to her in the last week.

She had been on her side, but he gently drew her onto her back so he might look fully on her. His fingertips caressed her breasts, and she murmured contentedly. He smiled. Last night he had only begun to plumb the depths of her passions. He drew the back of his hand across her torso then, bending, began to kiss her lips with deep, hungry kisses.